'GREATEST MC EVER'
Alan Hughes dead: Legendary ‘Voice of Snooker’ behind Ronnie O’Sullivan and Jimmy White’s nicknames passes away
Fans pay tribute to compere who also oversaw huge boxing nights and played for Spurs with Greaves
ALAN HUGHES, snooker's "greatest ever MC", has died - with tributes pouring in for the man who gave iconic stars their famous nicknames.
The "Voice of Snooker" turned Ronnie O'Sullivan into "the Rocket" while Jimmy White became "The Whirlwind of London Town".
4
4
Saddened fans are saluting Hughes as the finest compere in World Championship history - a well-loved Crucible figure for decades.
He was also MC at 42 boxing title fights, involving golden-age legends such as Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn, as well as previously playing for Tottenham alongside greats like Jimmy Greaves.
Hughes "oozed showbusiness" as he whipped up Crucible crowds and helped make the sports heroes even bigger household names.
And he once explained to the BBC that he never went full on with his football career so he could carry on as a stage entertainer too.
READ MORE TOP STORIES
Hughes said: "In those days you could sign part-time forms.
"I could combine the football with a summer season at Great Yarmouth and it would fit together nicely... You could never do it now."
Later it was his passion, warmth, knowledge and sheer professionalism that made him such a success in snooker.
Promoter Barry Hearn gave him his first such job - as he knew Hughes, a friend of top cuer Willie Thorne, had the lively personality he wanted.
Most read in Snooker
4
Hughes told his website: "When I came into snooker the players were just known by their names and I just thought that the players had more about them than that.
"So I started to slip some nicknames into the introductions. Cliff 'the Grinder' Thorburn was one of the first I came up with.
"What I like to do is build up a player's nickname.
"For a while Jimmy White was known as 'the Wind', but I didn't like that - it sounded like a bad case of indigestion!
"So I changed it to 'the Whirlwind' and then 'the Whirlwind of London Town' and then 'the Wonderful Whirlwind of London Town'."
But when arguably snooker's most popular player objected to his nickname, Hughes changed it, only for the new moniker to never stick.
He explained: "I started off calling Ronnie O'Sullivan 'the Rocket' but he didn't like it.
"Apparently there was a bloke in Birmingham they called 'Rocket Ron' because he couldn't pot a ball!
"But now I call him 'the Essex Exocet' because I think that's a bit more classy."
Affectionate praise for Hughes has flowed in on social media.
One fan called him "the greatest of all snooker MCs" who was "widely regarded as the man who introduced an entertainment side to the sport".
Another described Hughes as "the original snooker MC who no doubt paved the way for many in the business today" and added: "Lovely man and great company at the tournaments back in the day."
A third said "snooker's best ever compere" had "oozed show business. Pure old school. And boy did he give that job gravitas".
A fourth fan posted: "He was just brilliant & also came up with my fav nickname bar none “The Outlaw Joe Swail”.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Another admirer recalled the ex-MC's "fantastic, colourful life".
And this tribute spoke for many: "A wonderful MC, brilliant at introducing the players and never messed up either, a true pro, RIP Alan Hughes."
4
Topics