Steve Davis today called time on a glittering career that saw him dominate the sport of snooker in the 1980s, a stranglehold that yielded six world titles and seven consecutive seasons ranked as world number one. Davis also took part in one of the finest moments of television in the BBC's history, as 18.5 million people tuned in late on a Sunday night in 1985 to see Denis Taylor win the World title on the final ball of the final frame.
Davis' career spanned 28 years and consisted of 1,453 professional matches.
In all, Davis won 28 ranking titles, making a ludicrous 356-century breaks in the process. Davis failed to qualify for this year's World Championship - losing to 10-4 to Ireland's Fergal O'Brien. At the Crucible today, Davis made public his decision to walk away from the sport. The announcement drew an incredibly visceral reaction among the crowd in Sheffield, as they reacted with a series of anguished groans and laments.
Davis strode out to acclaim with the World title in his hand, and then revealed his reasons behind retirement. He prolonged his career until the age of fifty-eight as he felt he owed it to his father. Sadly, Bill Davis passed away last week while his son was playing O'Brien, and Davis felt that he should end his career as a result.
Davis was visibly emotional as he explained the decision, which you watch below:
Davis went on to say that he feels maybe he should have stopped earlier, but that would have denied him one of his most famous victories: the last 16 triumph over John Higgins in the 2010 World Championships, which proved to be a remarkably stoic agitation against the dying of the light.
Nice pictures for @SteveSnooker on @BBCSnooker today,take a bow.
One of the Greatest that's ever or likely to play this sport of ours 👍👏— Ken Doherty Official (@kendoherty1997) April 17, 2016
Snooker does not command the attention it did in the halcyon days of Davis and Taylor, and today is overly-reliant on Ronnie O'Sullivan to produce magic to keep it afloat and in the public consciousness. But every year, The Crucible throws up some truly human moments, and there are few arenas in world sport which stage moments of genuine and tender humanity - simply good sport - as the snooker venue in Sheffield.
This is one such example. Ghosts rest easier at the Crucible. The memory of Davis will endure.
