Margaret Lennan
 Margaret Lennan playing English Billiards at a charity tournament in Liverpool in 1927 | |
| Born | circa 1910 |
|---|---|
| Died | Unknown |
| Sport country |  Scotland |
Margaret Lennan was a Scottish snooker and billiards player. She was runner-up in the 1936 Women's Professional Billiards Championship.
Biography[edit]
Lennan started playing billiards at the age of 17,[1] and received coaching from Alec Donaldson, father of future world snooker champion Walter Donaldson. She won a Ladies Billiards Championship in 1922.[2]
in 1928 she won an unofficial "British Isles Championship" by beating Joyce Gardner,[3] and the following year became the first woman to qualify as a billiards coach.[4][1]
The Women's Billiards Association was formed in 1931, and Lennan was one of four professional players appointed to a committee to organise the professional championships, the others being Joyce Gardner, Ruth Harrison and Eva Collins.[5][6]
She played in both Women's Professional Billiards Championship and the Women's Professional Snooker Championship in the 1930s, reaching the final of the Women's Professional Billiards Championship in 1936 and losing 2872–3000 to Joyce Gardner.[7]
Collins was awarded a certificate from the Billiards Association and Control Council for the record break by a woman of 176, made on 3 February 1931[8] and another for her championship record break on 153 in the 1935 Women's Professional Billiards Championship[9] This record was superseded by Ruth Harrison's break of 197 in 1937.
Lennan had moved from Glasgow to Hillesden, Prestbury, at the beginning of World War II, and given up billiards in 1942 due to the pressure of her war work. She said in 1946 that she had taken to playing golf instead of billiards.[10]
Titles and achievements[edit]
Snooker
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent | Score | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semi-finalist | 1 | 1937 | Women's Professional Snooker Championship | Joyce Gardner | 4-5 | [11] |
| Semi-finalist | 2 | 1938 | Women's Professional Snooker Championship | Ruth Harrison | 3-6 | [12] |
Billiards
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent | Score | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1 | Nov 1935[a] | Women's Professional Billiards Championship | Joyce Gardner | 2,872–3,000 | [13] |
Notes[edit]
- ^ The Championship was played in both February and November 1935, and not in 1936
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Kiss Cannons Not Kisses". Derby Daily Telegraph. 8 February 1930. p. 1 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
- ^ "Warned Against Billiards Career". Coatbridge Express. 29 October 1947. p. 4 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ "Girl Billiards Player". Hull Daily Mail. 6 September 1930. p. 4 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ "Another Rampart Going! )". Liverpool Echo. 14 December 1929. p. 10 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
- ^ "Women's Billiards. Association Formed to Control the Championships". Lancashire Evening Post. 1 October 1931. p. 10 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
- ^ "(Untitled Article)". Uxbridge & West Drayton Gazette. 18 September 1931. p. 18 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
- ^ "Miss Gardner Wins Women's Championship". The Times. No. 47218. 11 November 1935. p. 6 – via The Times Digital Archive. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- ^ "Billiards Association and Control Council's Tenth Annual Report". Billiards and Snooker. No. October 1931). p. 3.
- ^ "All Satisfied". Gloucestershire Echo. 22 November 1935. p. 8 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
- ^ "Woman's Gossip". Cheltenham Chronicle. 10 August 1946. p. 6 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ Carpenter, Thelma. "Women's Professional Snooker Championship". Billiards and Snooker. No. June 1937). p. 4.
- ^ "Women's Snooker". Gloucester Citizen. 20 May 1938. p. 12 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
- ^ "World Billiards » Blog Archive » World Ladies Billiards Champions". www.world-billiards.com. Archived from the original on 19 January 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2018.