Pride of place on Barry Hearn's office wall is afforded to a picture garnished with an autograph that took him 40 years to acquire.
For one of British sport's most influential puppet masters – especially in snooker, boxing, darts and football – it was the holy grail of squiggles. As a master salesman who could flog sandcastles in the Sahara and ice cubes in the Antarctic, Hearn could usually close a deal faster than most of us can shut a door.
He once pursued Don King through the night in Manchester, and warned the shock-haired promoter would get “no sleep” until he handed over Bazza's $2 million share of the pot from Chris Eubank's rematch with Nigel Benn at Old Trafford in 1993. But the man who mentored 16-times world champion Phil 'The Power' Taylor and made the launchpad for 'Rocket' Ronnie O'Sullivan didn't always call the tune in football.
