Alex Higgins: The Life And The Funeral In Pictures

ALEX Higgins, the Hurricane who lived an admirably misspent life on the snooker baize and betting shops lawns, was laid to rest in Belfast. They came to salute a local hero. Someone called him the ‘People’s Champion’. It’s a sentimental turns of phrase for the life of a sporting champion who made the heart beat a little faster.

The Funeral:

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A woman photographs a new mural of Alex Higgins at the Royal Bar on Belfast's Donegal Road where his funeral cortege will pass along on it's way to St Anne's Cathedral where the funeral service will be held tomorrow.

We looked on as Jimmy White, the Whirlwind, carried the body of Alex Higgins down Belfast’s Donegal Road to St Anne’s Cathedral. It was fitting.

In 1984, White lost to Steve Davis in the World Championships final. Your writer was hooked on Higgins’ heir apparent. School took a backseat. White played truant to play the game. I played truant to watch it on the telly.

White would go on to lose in the final five times on the bounce between 1990 and 1994. He never won it.

If sport is about the glory and tragedy, then the snooker played by Higgins and White was among the greatest sport of all.

RIP Alex Higgins. Your nerves, skill and wit were the stuff of life…

His Life

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EDITORS NOTE: BLACK & WHITE ONLY File photo dated 01/02/1987 of Alex Higgins as he takes to the table at the Benson & Hedges Masters Tournament at Wembley. The snooker star has been admitted to Belfast City Hospital. The former world champion has fought a long battle with throat cancer but his condition is understood to be comfortable.

Anorak

Posted: 2nd, August 2010 | In: Key Posts, Sports Comments (2) | TrackBack | Permalink