Mick Price achieved snooker immortality by spending precisely five minutes and eight seconds sitting in his chair.
This month marks 25 years since Price gazed out from behind a pair of Dennis Taylor-style upside-down glasses as Ronnie O’Sullivan fired the fastest maximum break in history in the 14th frame of their World Championship first round clash.
With no likelihood of O’Sullivan’s record being beaten, Price’s place in history, as well as his brief starring role in the break’s inevitable annual TV re-runs, appear secure.
“I made a decent break and he played safe, and with my next safety shot I cut it a bit thin,” Price told the PA news agency. “Five minutes and eight seconds later, I’m in the Guinness Book of Records.”
Price retired from professional snooker in 2004 and after a period playing in local leagues in Nuneaton, packed his cue away for good seven years ago. Now 55, he is a maths teacher at Castlewood School for children with special educational needs in Solihull.
“I do sometimes show the kids the video, as an ice-breaker,” says Price. “But because they don’t see me having a go, they all just think I must have been rubbish.”
I made a decent break and he played safe, and with my next safety shot I cut it a bit thin. Five minutes and eight seconds later, I'm in the Guinness Book of Records
Price’s passive role in snooker history hardly does justice to a player who reached the Crucible three times, including the second round after victory over Taylor in 1992. In 1990 he became only the third player to make three consecutive century breaks in professional tournament play.
He confesses to having been quizzed so often about O’Sullivan’s break that he has had time to chisel out all the one-liners – “it was just a question of who got in first” – but his memory of the events leading up to the break are clear.
“It was 8-5 at the interval and we got a knock on the door to say they were holding us back for 10 minutes so the next frame could be shown live on the BBC,” recalled Price.
“It’s funny, because in the club you want people watching you, but playing at the Crucible it becomes nerve-racking. So I went a little bit more nervous, and Ronnie just went hyper.
“I couldn’t believe how fast he was going. I watch it back now and he’s virtually running round the table, it was ridiculous, just brilliant, mesmeric.”
Price remains a fan of the sport and is proud of the experiences it gave him. He reached the semi-finals of the 1993 European Open, losing to Stephen Hendry, and won three of four career meetings he had with Jimmy White.
“I regard myself as having been a little bit better than a journeyman,” said Price. “I was always around the top 32 and I peaked at number 17 in the world.
“I didn’t enjoy the last few years because there were kids doing things I just couldn’t compete with. But it’s great to be able to say I got to the Crucible and only lost 10-6 to the best player who has ever lived.”
