Here, as part of the Roy Ling Mutual Grimsby Snooker League centenary celebrations, Mick Chew and Dave Webster reflect on one of the league's heroes – Ken Meech Snr.
WAY back in the sixties, Ken Meech organised a mini tournament involving the town's top six players who would compete against each other in a round-robin format.
By obtaining sponsorship for the event, the winner received the Gerry Steels Trophy.
In the first year, Ray Edmonds was the winner after he, Ron Barnes, Ron Handley and Sid Hood all tied in top spot and needed a play-off.
This was the beginning of Ken's dedication – not just to the local snooker scene; he also got involved in the professional game.
He re-kindled the Billy Hill Snooker Knockout and brought some of the top players of the day to the area, namely Steve Davis, Willie Thorne, Tony Knowles and Tony Meo among others.
On the completion of the Humber Bridge, Ken had the foresight to start the Humberside League, which in turn led to radio reports.
When Arthur Galloway, of Kingfisher Windows first thought of the Kingfisher 50, he asked Ken to organise the event, which featured any player who had made a break of 50 or over in match-play.
This event started in 1980 but, in 1982, his final year, Ken really demonstrated his organising skills when, from his hospital bed, not only did he organise the draw, but in order to attend the two-day event, he recruited Mick Chew to take him there in an ambulance.
Little did he know at the time that this involved Mick having a crash-course in all the duties required by an ambulance driver, including getting a wheelchair in and out of the ambulance.
Sadly, a week later, Ken passed away and in his memory, the Ken Meech Open Knockout was born.
To demonstrate the regard in which Ken was held, this event regularly attracted an entry in excess of 100 players.
His organising skills were further recognised by the World Professional body and, although he wasn't a qualified referee, he acted as recorder at the World Championships.
Ken was also a very good player, making breaks of 100-plus at both snooker and billiards, and was a member of many title-winning teams. He was also twice runner-up in the Grimsby Senior Billiards and once in the Senior Snooker, as well as runner-up in the Lincolnshire Senior Championship.