A biography for Jimmy Whitehasn’t been written yet.
“Some people take the view that I'm too laid back. Yet it's how I feel.”
“Snooker still fascinates me and I still get a buzz from it.”
“I love Belfast, because of the way that people here love their snooker. And I won my first professional tournament here in 1981. It was at the King's Hall and I beat Doug Mountjoy in the final. That victory will always be pretty special for me.”
“I learnt the game as a kid hustling car dealers for cash.”
“In the past I'd lose and not talk for a few days. I'd become strange. Difficult to live with.”
“We earned any fans with the way we play.”
“I think I should win every tournament I enter.”
“Hendry's fine. I've got a lot of respect for him.”
“I like visiting new places where the game is opening up.”
“I really enjoy working as a pundit.”
“From having no money and coming from a very proud working class family, it was tough. But then all of a sudden we had loads and loads of cash. I realised that this was a great opportunity to do what I love for a living. I was going to tournaments up and down the country and I was able to win anything from five to seven thousand pounds.”
“I'm a supporter of Barry Hearn, I voted for him and will support him in whatever he wants to do.”
“If I didn't think I could win the World Championship I would go and play golf badly in Spain.”
“I've played 8-ball in Hong Kong and I'm more knowledgeable with that than 9-ball.”
“I never abused anybody but myself.”
“The best match I ever played in was the U.K. championship final against John Parrot in 1992. I won 16-14 and I felt like I could pot anything from anywhere.”
“I love playing O'Sullivan. It is a bit of a role reversal from when I used to play Alex Higgins.”
“I don't drink. Don't smoke.”
“Not only did I have to face the great Steve Davis for 10 years, Stephen Hendry came along, who attacked the balls. He was such an incredible potter with self-belief.”
“It is like any sport. You practise thousands of times and you miss the simplest ball and you don't understand why. But that's why snooker is so special, because all of sudden you can lose everything.”