Pre-war career After a career in billiards in his youth, Davis concentrated on snooker. He first played in the
World Snooker Championship in
1937 but lost 17–14 to Welshman Bill Withers in the first round, a defeat that Davis put down to ignoring his worsening eyesight. His brother Joe considered this defeat an affront to the family honour, and hammered Withers 30–1 in the next round. Joe's fury with his brother's performance persuaded Fred to consult an optician, who devised a pair of glasses with swivel lens joints to help his play. He reached the semi-finals in
1938 and
1939 before reaching the final in
1940, losing 36–37. Davis was called up on 20 July 1940 to serve in the
British Army for the
Second World War, only five days after his wedding.
Post-war career Having dominated snooker from 1927 to 1946, Joe Davis retired from the World Snooker Championship after his
1946 victory. Fred reached the final the following year, but lost 62–82 to Scot
Walter Donaldson. The pair made up the final for five straight years until 1951, with Davis winning in
1948,
1949 and
1951. Joe Davis had been undefeated in the world championships, but Fred would go on to be the only player to beat Joe on level terms – a feat he achieved four times between 1948 and 1954, despite Joe previously telling Fred that he would never beat him. As defending champion, Davis did not play in the
1952 event, which was only contested by two players. Following a disagreement between some of the players and the governing body, Davis played in an alternative tournament – the
World Professional Match-play Championship. Davis then won each of the first five championships. Davis won the first three of these events over Donaldson, but when Davis won the 1954 event with a 39–21 victory over Donaldson, it was clear there was a decline in interest as only five players entered the championship; Donaldson then retired. After defeating
John Pulman in two close finals in
1955 and
1956, Davis chose not to play in the 1957 Championship—held in Jersey and, for financial reasons, featuring just four entrants—thus leaving the path clear for Pulman to win the event. After the war Davis and his wife had invested in a hotel in
Llandudno, and this gave them some financial security away from snooker. This proved a wise move; by the early 1960s Davis was playing exhibitions in aid of cancer charities, but soon even this limited amount of snooker activity dried up. Following tours of Canada and Australia (where he won an international tournament in 1960) and after an exhibition in
Pontefract where he performed in front of only a handful of people, Davis effectively went into retirement. He hardly played for four seasons before being contacted by
Rex Williams, who was keen to restart interest in snooker. Under Williams, the championships were resumed in 1964 on a
challenge basis. Davis challenged Pulman on three occasions, but lost in 1964 by 19–16, in 1965 by 36–37 and in 1966 by five matches to two.
Modern era The revival of the World Championship as a
single-elimination tournament in 1969 saw Davis defeat future world champion
Ray Reardon 25–24 before losing 37–24 to
Gary Owen in the semi-finals. Davis's match with Reardon would earn a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest recorded snooker session and Reardon would later note that he learned more from that match than he had in the previous 20 years playing the sport. That same year
BBC TV started its
Pot Black series. Davis's familiarity with long matches contested over several weeks in his prime meant he was not immediately suited to the single-frame format of the event; however, he adapted well to it, finishing as runner-up to
John Spencer in the 1971 series. He also achieved the highest in the 1970 (54), 1971 (73) and 1975 (87) series. Soon after winning a
Professional Snooker Association of Canada's Invitation Event, in which he defeated
Paul Thornley in the final in May 1970, Davis suffered the first of two heart attacks, and did not participate in the 1970 World Championship, which was held in Australia and won by John Spencer. He lost 31–21 to Spencer in his first match in the
1972 championship, but defeated
David Greaves 16–1 in the second round of the 1973 championship before losing to
Alex Higgins, the defending champion, 16–14 in the quarter-finals, a match most notable for a leak in the roof which forced rain to stop play while a cover was found and the position of each ball marked. Davis gained his revenge in
1974, when he beat Higgins 15–14 in the quarter-finals, having earlier beaten
Bill Werbeniuk 15–5. This return match with Higgins also contained a notable incident when the referee,
Jim Thorpe, called a in frame 25, a decision to which Higgins vehemently objected, swearing at the referee. Higgins blamed his subsequent defeat on the incident, but never blamed Davis for any part of it, clearly stating his admiration for Davis for playing so well following his second heart attack. However, Davis lost 15–3 to eventual champion Reardon in the semi-finals. In 1975, Davis travelled to Australia to compete in the World Championship, where he played
Dennis Taylor, but lost by a single frame, 15–14. Davis stated that a win over Spencer convinced him that he could still compete at the highest level of tournament play. Although Davis lost 15–13 to
Eddie Charlton in the quarter-finals of the 1976 World Championship, having beaten Werbeniuk 15–12 in round one, he came close to winning his first professional title for twenty years at the
1976 Pontins Professional. With victories over
Willie Thorne, 7–4 in the quarter-finals, and
Graham Miles, 7–2 in the semi-finals, he faced Reardon in the final. Davis missed a crucial in the , having made a break of 107 during the match, and Reardon won 10–9. He reached the semi-finals of the
1978 World Snooker Championship, at the age of 64, having defeated
John Virgo 9–8, Dennis Taylor 13–9 and
Patsy Fagan 13–10. He met
Perrie Mans and trailed 14–16, but missed a , which allowed Mans to take the frame, and eventually win 18–16. The crucial missed was watched by his brother Joe, who was taken ill after the miss; he was rushed to hospital to undergo a six-and-a-half-hour operation, but died a few weeks later. This would be the last time Davis would reach the semi-finals of the event. Davis closed 1978 with a quarter-final appearance in the
UK Championship. He defeated veteran Yorkshireman
John Dunning 9–2 before losing to Alex Higgins 9–4. In early 1979 Davis met Alex Higgins in the final of the Castle Open (an event hosted at Bernard Bennett's club in
Southampton). During the World Championship that year he beat
Kirk Stevens 13–8 to progress to the quarter-finals. This match was to be his last victory at the
Crucible Theatre, but Davis compiled the first century of the championship, a break of 109 in the sixth frame — an effort even applauded by the referee. In the quarter-final against Eddie Charlton, Davis soon fell 5–0 behind; he later admitted that he unwisely played an attacking game. This style enabled him to make a break of 110 in the eighth frame to reduce his arrears from 6–1 to 6–2, but he lost the match 13–4. During the first
World Challenge Cup in 1979 Davis acted as England's captain (the team was completed by John Spencer and
Graham Miles). He won his first seven frames as England won matches 8–7 over Northern Ireland and the Rest of the World. England were, however, defeated 14–3 in the final by Wales. Although Davis lost 13–5 to
David Taylor in his first match in the
1980 World Snooker Championship, he did reach the quarter-finals of the
UK Championship the following season, with a 9–6 victory over
Mark Wildman before his 9–6 defeat by Alex Higgins. In 1981, at the age of 67, Davis played in his last snooker final, the Raffles/Sheffield Shield Tournament played at the Sheffield Snooker Centre. He beat
Mike Watterson 9–6 and Dennis Taylor 9–5. In the final he led
Terry Griffiths 4–1, but eventually lost 9–5. Earlier in the season he played in his last Masters, beating Kirk Stevens 5–4 in the first round before losing to Terry Griffiths 5–2 in the quarter-finals. Davis showed similar resilience in the
1985 UK Championship qualifying rounds to survive 9–8 against
John Rea. He then went on to beat Werbeniuk 9–7 in the first round, having trailed 5–3 at the interval. Davis then lost to Alex Higgins 9–2 in the second round. That same month Davis defeated Billy Kelly and then Kirk Stevens in the Mercantile Credit Classic; Stevens amusingly asked Davis not to retire until Stevens had finally defeated him. Davis would be defeated 5–3 by
Eugene Hughes in the fourth round. In the qualifying rounds of the
1988 World Snooker Championship Davis beat
Jack Fitzmaurice 10–8 and
Jim Bear 10–4 before losing to Australian
John Campbell 10–3 in the final qualifying round. This gave Davis a cheque for £3,117, which despite winning the event eight times, was his highest ever in a professional snooker competition. The following year he beat
Bernard Bennett 10–4 in the second round of qualifying for the World Championship, it would be his last victory in a championship he had first graced 52 years earlier. During the
1989–90 snooker season Davis recorded wins over
Jimmy van Rensberg and Mike Watterson, but a 10–6 defeat by Ian Brumby in the second round of qualifying for the World Championship meant that he was forced into a 'play-off' to maintain his full professional status where he was defeated 10–5 by
Jason Prince. At the press conference, Davis announced he was now retired from competitive snooker but would keep playing in UK-based billiard tournaments. As a former World Champion, Davis was invited to compete in the
1991 World Masters, where he lost to
Steve Davis 0–6. This was Fred's last TV appearance in a competitive match. At the age of 79, Davis played in the preliminary rounds of the
1992 Grand Prix, losing 5–1 to the 17-year-old
Ronnie O'Sullivan. ==Billiards==