Gary Owen

Who was Gary Owen?

Gary Owen was a Welsh snooker player.

Owen first emerged as the inaugural British Under-16 champion in 1944 and reached the final of the prestigious English Amateur championship six years later. He then gave up competitive play for a number of years, returning only in the early sixties.

In 1963 he matched the achievement of his brother Marcus, winning the English Amateur Championship. This qualified him to compete for England at the inaugural World Amateur Championship in Calcutta. He won all his matches in a round-robin format and took the title. He became world amateur champion for a second time in 1966, defeating future world professional champion John Spencer in the final.

In 1968 Owen, Spencer and Ray Reardon become the first players in a generation to turn professional. His best performance as a pro came in 1969 when he reached the final of the reconstituted World Professional Snooker Championship, losing to old rival Spencer by 37 frames to 24. A semi-finalist in 1970, he was defeated in the last eight in 1972 and 1975.

Owen emigrated to Australia in 1971, taking a job at the resident professional at a snooker club in Sydney.