Tyler Moniz had written an article highlighting a long-serving Snooker Player Ed Gumbs.
October once again saw snooker players trying to find their cues and getting ready to take up the challenge of a new season. Many players have answered the call of the snooker sirens for five, ten or even twenty years but none, other than Gumbs, who has answer the bell for 54 years!
A check of the record would show Gumbs’ name first appeared on February, 18th, 1967. On this occasion, Gumbs was drawn against Hayden Evans in the first round of the Bermuda Open Singles Championships. Gumbs fell 2-0 to the irascible Welsh man the following night at Old Colony Club. This was only the beginning of a long and unbroken playing career. Undaunted by this early set back, Gumbs returned to the Open Singles Championship in January of 1966 where he met fellow Queen’s Club member, Willie Moran. This match ended on a happier note with a solid 2-0 victory.
Now at age 88, Gumbs is still capable of taking on the twenty something crowd and schooling them in the tactics and long potting of the game.
Gumbs’ style of play could be called cautious since he has a keen safety game. His movements about the table have the precision of a metronome and about the same speed! Gumbs will play no shot before he is totally satisfied that it is the “right” shot. But to say that Gumbs has played a long time would not tell the whole story. Gumbs has shown considerable leadership as for many, if not all, of his 54 years in the game he has been a team captain and for many of the past 30 years Gumbs has been a fixture on the Committee of Management of the Bermuda Snooker Association.
But longevity and leadership still does not tell the whole story! Gumbs is also a winner. In 1972 Gumbs Captained the Queen’s Club Second Division team to a League Cup Championship, and in so doing claimed his first piece of snooker silverware. In 1984, Gumbs’ Queen’s team again won the League Cup. However, this team dominated all team competitions that year when they also won the first Division title and the Hillman Cup (now known as the Island Construction Services Cup) title and, in so doing, became only the second team to win the elusive Triple Crown.
In total Gumbs captained six League Champions, three Hillman Cups winners and two League Cups Champions between 1972 and 2011 - a remarkable span of forty years.
On July 7th, 1977 Gumbs achieved every snooker players dream - he won the Bermuda Singles Championship by defeating Donald Taylor of Warwick Workman’s Club 4-3 at Old Colony Club. There were also a few near misses and on April 15th, 1982, Gumbs faced off with against future Triple Crown teammate, Phil Davies, at Spanish Point Boat Club. That night, the Welsh man, Davies overmatched Gumbs by a score of 4-0. Gumbs then made a return visit to the big game in 1987 when took up the challenge against Tyler Moniz, a former Triple Crown teammate, at the Old Colony Club. This match also ended in disappointment for Gumbs when Moniz played a patient game, giving full respect to Gumbs’ tactical skills, and defeated Gumbs by the identical score of 4-0. In 1999 Gumbs teamed up with five time Bermuda Singles Champion, Stephen Roberts, to win the Bermuda Open Doubles Championship. Gumbs’ last visit to the Doubles Final was with partner Chris Dakin. Unfortunately, this effort ended when they met defending champions Steve Bremar and Zane DeSilva.
On behalf of the legion of snooker players, both opponents and teammates, I would encourage as many of you as possible to come out and watch Gumbs going to battle once again this season!
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