Alex Higgins

“Nobody worked as hard to make snooker a popular sport as I did.”

“I have a strong will-power.”

“The tobacco companies and snooker were as thick as thieves.”

“I might have been a jockey, you know. I started by riding horses bareback and holding on to the mane before they finally threw me off.”

“I had such a great affection and love for playing snooker.”

“No Alex Higgins, no snooker.”

“I want to be the Cassius Clay of snooker. Cassius is the greatest at boxing and that's what I mean to be at snooker.”

“I don't want my kids to live like I do, sweating in a little metal box. I want them to have sunshine. I want them to have light.”

“I'm quite a studious person, I think.”

“I haven't really had much to do with my life. All I've done is take part in it.”

“I'm very good when it comes to the crunch.”

“I used to play snooker in millionaires' mansions with marble floors and eat at the best places, but that's all over now.”

“What chance has cancer against me?”

“If I'd been from a different background, I could have gone to a grammar school, I suppose. I might have been a different person.”

“I love to sit and watch a bit of 'Cash in the Attic.'”

“I never had any doubts about my ability. The problem was getting into so many scrapes because of my erratic temperament.”

“I could think six shots ahead. It's no different to playing chess.”

“Would I have done anything different? I might have put a golf club in my hand instead of a cue. I love watching those guys play. Every situation is different, everything - every shot - has to be so precise.”

“I think I was the most natural, charismatic player who ever lifted a cue.”

“I invented every shot that has ever been played.”