John Smyth (snooker referee)

Born in Dublin on 28 May 1928, Smyth moved to England when he was 21 and worked as a London Underground driver, becoming Piccadilly line snooker champion six times. He started refereeing in 1967, and first officiated a match involving a professional snooker player at the 1973 Norwich Union Open, which was Sid Hood's 4–0 defeat of Jackie Rea. He became a full-time referee in 1978.^[2]

He retired from the circuit in 1996. Shortly afterwards, he looked back on his career and said "I spent 28 years on the Underground, but gave it all up when snooker began to get big on television. John Street, John Williams, and myself, got more and more work as the circuit grew. In the end, my employers saw more of me on TV than they did at work. People told me it was daft to give up the Tube, and that I'd never earn a living from snooker. They said it would never last on TV, but they were wrong."^[3]

In 1977, Smyth was instrumental in the formation of the Professional Referees' Association, and was PRA president at the time of his death in 2007.^[4] He died of cancer at the age of 78 on 4 January 2007 at his home in Chesterfield.^[5]