Walter Lindrum - Early life, Billiards champion

Billiards player, born in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. Regarded as the world's greatest billiards player, he set the current world record break of 4317 while playing Joe Davis in 1932, at Thurston's Hall, London. He competed in only two world championships (1933–4), and won both. He retired from competitive play in 1950.

Walter Lindrum
Personal Information
Nicknames	Wally
Date of birth	29th August, 1898
Date of death	30 July 1960
Nationality	Australia
Career
Professional	?
Best World Ranking	n/a
World Championship Best	Champion (1933, 1934, and retiring uncontested in 1950)
Highest Break	4,137 (19 January 1932)

Walter Albert Lindrum (29th August 1898 – 30 July 1960) was an Australian world champion professional billiards player.

Early life

Walter Lindrum was born in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, on the 29th August 1898.

Walter's grandfather, Friedrich Wilhelm Von Lindrum, was Australia's first Professional Billiards Champion having defeated the English Master, John Roberts Snr., in 1869. His father closely tutored his sons, Frederick Lindrum III, and Walter, and Walter's nephew Horace Lindrum.

By the age of 16, Walter was regularly making breaks of over 1000 during practice at the London Tavern, Elizabeth street, Melbourne, where Fred Lindrum II was running three billiard tables.

Billiards champion

During the mid 1920s Walter Lindrum's standard of play was without competition in Australia, with many players refusing to play Lindrum.

It was not till 1929 that Willie Smith, considered by many to be one of the best English billiards players of the time, visited Australia and played three fairly even matches against Lindrum.

Smith, McConarchy and Lindrum departed Australia in September 1929 for a tour of England.

Between 1929 and 1933 Lindrum dominated the English billiards scene.

On Lindrum's second tour in late 1930, Donald Bradman and other cricketers from the Australian team, would sometimes attend Lindrum's matches at Thurston's Hall.

On 19th February 1931 Lindrum gave a billiards exhibition for the King and other members of the Royal Family at Buckingham Palace.

A 1932 tour of the USA and Canada by several players, including Lindrum, proved a disaster, with disappointing attendances and financial losses by the players.

Lindrum won the 1933 championship and argued that he should be allowed to defend his title in Australia. Lindrum won this title, but in subsequent years the title became dormant for lack of challengers, until Lindrum relinquished it in 1950.

The title of World billiards champion was passed to New Zealand Champion Clark McConarchy in 1951 who held it until 1968, when he was defeated by Rex Williams.

During the Second World War Lindrum performed about 4000 exhibition games to raise over one million dollars for the war effort.

On 30 July, 1960 Walter Lindrum died while on holiday at Surfers Paradise in Queensland.

Lindrum was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame and the WA sporting Hall of Champions in 1985.

In Melbourne, the Hotel Lindrum on Flinders Street has incorporated much memorabilia associated with Walter Lindrum.

During 1930 in Manchester Lindrum set a record aggregate of 30817 during the fortnight [48 hrs] match against Willie Smith. In his final match of the tour against Smith in London, Lindrum's performance set numerous records: the highest individual aggregate (36256), the largest winning margin (21285), a record match average (262), and a record number of four-figure breaks (11).

In 1933 on a tour to South Africa Lindrum claimed a new world record for fast scoring when he completed 1,000 points in 28 minutes in Johannesburg.

The Naughton's Sports Council (NSC) came to the ultimate conclusion, in their innaugral meeting, that Walter Lindrum was the uncontested world sports champion.