Member Clubs
ANY LEAGUE IS INCAPABLE OF EXISTING WITHOUT MEMBER CLUBS. THE CLUBS PROVIDE THE FACILITIES AND HOSPITALITY THAT MAKE LEAGUE'S, SUCH AS OURS, THE COMPETITIVE BUT SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT THAT THEY ARE. ALL EXISTING LEAGUE CLUBS ARE DETAILED BELOW AND AT THE END OF THE SECTION ARE DETAILS OF SOME FORMER LEAGUE CLUBS.
Alderley Union club
The fourth club to leave the KADASL was Alderley Union Club who never managed to win division one but three times in the early nineties finished runners-up.
Two breaks of note by Alderley players are a 70 by Barry Belton in the league and 64 by Trevor Stone in the Jay Trophy.
The club rejoined the league in the 2016-7 season.
Two breaks of note by Alderley players are a 70 by Barry Belton in the league and 64 by Trevor Stone in the Jay Trophy.
The club rejoined the league in the 2016-7 season.
Mere parish club
Mere has occupied the same site since becoming a founder member of the league. However, the building it now uses as the club house is not the original one. The building you see to the left of the club being used recently as a children’s playgroup / care facility was in fact the original club. Success came early to Mere with the first league title contested but it was 21 more seasons before title two befell them. That said, the club did take other regular honours in all the league competitions and sections. Their most succesful player must be David Wright, a player or redoubled ability who won the Jay Trophy 4 years on the run and almost doubled up in 1978-9 season when he lost in the Rotary Cup final having given all opponents massive handicap starts due to his own minus 32 starting point. Other notable players include Life Members Sid Jones and Ron Tagg. Notable members of the club though, show Mere’s part in widening the influence of our league due to it’s location on the main road between the M6 and Manchester. A quick check of their history books show former members and regular visitors including Alex Higgins – a regular on Friday and Saturday nights after exhibitions; David Taylor – a resident of nearby Dunham; Doug Mountjoy – also en route to exhibitions and competitions in Manchester but also due to family and practice partner connections in south Manchester. This all made a heady mix for one of the smallest club in the league (in terms of area) where interesting tales, most not for printing, abound. Until the 2011-2 season, Mere had a rare honour of being one of only two (the other being Mobberley) clubs in the league to have a maximum compliment of 4 teams but the demise of their ‘cricket’ C team dropped them back to ‘just’ 3. The club are still a vital component of our league and in servicing their mainly farm family membership and community with snooker, social and bowls facilities.
Mobberley Victory Hall Memorial club
Formerly known as the Men’s Club, Mobberley is the home of the Knutsford & District Amateur Snooker League. All the league honours boards are installed on the walls and the safe keeping of returned league trophies entrusted to the cabinets. The Mobberley Victory Hall Memorial Club - as it has been known since the Annual General Meeting of 2005 - was gifted to the men folk of the village in deeds dating back to an agreement in 1922. The journey from very humble beginnings, where the ‘club’ was merely a meeting room, to what is seen on site today began soon after. The first improvement came with the installation of a billiards table and a bar. Pure heaven! The addition of a lounge came next and then a second billiard table plus heating. Many committee members were active in helping to acquire additional parts of the site and ‘converting’ them to a more sociable use. In essence, though, the club was a self-contained compact affair where the males ‘escaped’ for a few hours whilst enjoying their pastimes. The club stayed almost unaltered then for almost 30 years until a major revamp in the late 1970’s when additional land was officially acquired for car parking, a crown bowling green, toilet facilities, bar extension, storage and a third snooker table - note the word ‘snooker’ - as the previous tables were actual billiard tables. These improvements have also served the club well and only required upgrades and refurbishments in order to maintain an excellent facility where membership is now available to all sectors of the local, and wider, community. The club now has a dedicated 3 table snooker room that is generally accepted as the best in the league and facilities to rival any in the area. From the formation years of the league, Mobberley has produced winners of all the league titles and competitions and holding many league records along the way. Officer posts have been held on a regular basis and the club is the most often host to a range of league events.
Shaw Heath social club
The clue is in the name, you may say, as this is the second club in our league that defines itself as a Social Club. The distinction between Shaw Heath and other clubs in the league is that all the others, whilst providing social facilities and events, have separate snooker rooms from the rest of the other facilities. This makes for a unique, and sometimes challenging, atmosphere – but none the less one we welcome. The club only joined the league when the existing site was developed in the late 70’s / early 80’s and soon after they found their feet and commited to the league, success came at a rapid rate. Indeed, a division 1 title in 1982-3 signalled the start of a probably never to be repeated run of 11 titles in 14 seasons that included an incredible 9 on the bounce and 3 division 1 / Team KO cup doubles. Star players of note include David Boswell (also a fine local bowler) Paul Westbury, a winner previously at other league clubs, and Dave Rainford. Top flight success, though, had been elusive from the mid 90’s though and this led to the demise of the former 4 team club gradually losing teams until almost a total departure a few seasons ago. Thanks to the work of several key players including Life Member Dave Rainford, the club is now resurgent with a hardcore of young players – moreson than any other league club – and they are reaping the rewards. The club future may not be orange but it is certainly bright!
The Tatton club
The club building is located in Tatton Street, Knutsford and dates back to 1829. It was built and used as a Baptist Chapel until 1854 and from 1854 to 1874 it was used as a parochial girls’ school. In 1874 it became “The Knutsford Club”. This was a men’s club with billiards and a form of pool played amongst other activities. At this time the manager was “Trumpet Major Smith”, a survivor of the Charge of the Light Brigade. It is rumoured that when he died, “of a surfeit of laudanum” he was laid out in the club and that his ghost still haunts the club! Around 1905 the club was taken over by the Parish Church men’s Institute and in 1926 became the Knutsford Recreation Club. In 1947 Lord Egerton bought the club premises for £2,600 and in 1954 he sold it to the club trustees for £800. This is when the club became The Tatton Club. There is a “Presidents Board” on the wall of the club with names going back to 1926 and is headed - “The Tatton Club – Formerly Knutsford Recreation Club” Prior to 1994/95 Tatton had not been involved with the Knutsford & District Amateur Snooker League but due to problems at Knutsford Conservative club, their B team moved to Tatton and became their A squad. After one season the team returned to the Conservative Club and Tatton made a new team of existing club members and this remained in the 1st division as Tatton A. Unfortunately this team was relegated in its 1st season but by 1997/98 interest in the league was high and a Tatton B team was entered into the league. Tatton A won the second division title in 1997/8 and again in 2000/01 but each time struggled in the 1st division. Tatton A & Tatton B have both won the Team Knockout cup in 2000/1 and 2002/3 (adding the Presidents Charity Trophy for good measure) respectively and in 2009/10 Tatton went back to only one team in the league and managed to gain promotion to the 1st division under the captaincy of Paul Townsend. Phil Roden captained the Tatton B team for several years until its demise and Steve Franklin (2002/3) and Dave Blackburn (2008/9) have both won the Redwood Hire Champions Trophy. It is good to confirm that all the other team members contribute to the success and enjoyment that The Tatton Club teams have playing weekly in the Knutsford and District Amateur Snooker League.
Wilmslow Conservative club
Wilmslow Cons are founder members of the league with two current life members in Peter Watson & Dave Nuttall. A club where the famed Alex Higgins was an occasional guest, the club has won most of the major team and singles honours. Club member Gerry Wilkinson was the doubles partner with the former world Billiards champion Mark Wildman and one of his many sayings was that “its much better to be a has-been than a never-was” and although Gerry never talked about his snooker past he did have several 147’s in his heyday and a 105 break in practice about 10 years ago. As with most clubs, the pool of players varied year on year by one or two out and likewise in. The C team from 1988 onwards consisted of Dave Nuttall, John Higgins, Mike Coburn, Glen Wright, Alan Dumville, Glyn Batten and the Wilson clan (Ted, Richard and occasionally Dave) while the A team had Peter Watson, Chris Booth, Howard Stubbs, Keith Capps, Nick Kidd, Stewart James, Jim Quinton, Irvine Macdonald and Andy Stott. Club honours include Division 1 Winners in 2000/1 and runners-up from 1984 to 1988 and 2001/2. They won Division 2 in 1991/2 and Division 3 Runners-up in 2004/5. Teams have won the Knock-out Cup in 1986/7, 1997/8 and 2004/5 and were 2nd in 1999/2000 and 2002/3. Individual honours came in the Jay Trophy with wins in 1968 to 1970 for A (Pat) Daniels and 1970/1 by Howard Stubbs and runners-up places in 1966/7 (Howard Stubbs), 1967/8 (Pat Daniels), 1970/1 (Jack Rigby) and 1988/89 (Stuart James). In the Rotary Cup there were wins for Stuart James in 1986/87, D Worth the following season and Jonathan Smith in 2008/9 and two runners-up places for J. Uttley in 1967/8 and Stuart James in 1994/5. Finally, the Pairs competition has also seen some success with 1992/3 titles for Jim Quinton and Stuart James who then retained the title with Trevor Stone the following year before Andy Stott and Jonathan Smith brought the cup home in 2007/8. When players were asked about their favourite venues to play matches, the consensus was Shaw Heath and Mobberley Victory Hall, both having pleasant snooker rooms and very competitive teams, while the most memorable venue was of course Mere, where at times in the early 90’s, the atmosphere was so damp you could almost see a fine spray coming off a rolling ball!
Former Member Clubs Of The League
Brook Street (Formerly Liberal) club
The former Liberal Club originated above the post office on King Street in Knutsford which is now a restaurant. The club tables and scoreboards date back to an incredible 1885. We don’t have an exact date but at some point the Coburn family from Booths Hall off Toft Road in Knutsford wanted to make a Liberal party head-quarter and from that a social side of the meeting room formed a snooker section. The current building used now on Brook Street was originally a Bottle plant, it was purchased outright and the club moved to Brook where it too became the new Liberal party head-quarters until 1974. During the First World War Brook Street was used as a soup kitchen and the cellar was earmarked as a morgue - maybe that why it has such a distinct aroma about it! All of which must have been strange news to the Grocers shop next door where the office is now. In the Early 1960's the Mr Coburn died and his 2 sons took over the estate and split the club into 2 parts: Upstairs being the Liberal Party HQ and downstairs being the Liberal Club itself. In August of 1974 the building was bought by the members for the princely sum of £3,000. On the 1st of July 2004 the members changed the name of the club because of its political suggestions to try to obtain a grant from Manchester Airport - this failed. The biggest project the club has taken on was the bar extension in 1979 and the club’s main claim to fame is that in 1995 Willie Robinson brought Alex Higgins into the club for a frame of snooker where he signed the Visitors book “Alex Higgins Snooker Champion”. In 2019 the club closed its doors and the 3 teams moved to The Tatton club.
Cranford Lodge
Cranford Lodge’s A team only managed to win the Team KO cup in 1962/63 but Cranford’s B team were more successful and won it the following season and were runners-up in 1957/58, 65/66, 70/71 and 71/72.
The B team added division two champions 55/56 and division one runners-up in 61/62 to their trophy cabinet. G.Horrocks and Tommy Pugh both finished runners-up in the Rotary cup in seasons 65/66 and 70/71 respectively..
The B team added division two champions 55/56 and division one runners-up in 61/62 to their trophy cabinet. G.Horrocks and Tommy Pugh both finished runners-up in the Rotary cup in seasons 65/66 and 70/71 respectively..
Crosstown
Crosstown’s A team won the division one title in the 1952/53 season. Then later in the 50’s they found themselves relegated to division two before bouncing back to the top tier by winning division 2 in the 57/58 season and then won the Team KO cup in the season of 59/60. Crosstown’s B team’s only success was winning the Team KO cup in 1953/54.
Individual players of note were A.Tiffin who was the first player in the league to score over 100 points in a league match, Frank Ward won the prestigious Jay trophy in 1960/61 and Ian Davies was runner-up in the handicapped Rotary cup.
Individual players of note were A.Tiffin who was the first player in the league to score over 100 points in a league match, Frank Ward won the prestigious Jay trophy in 1960/61 and Ian Davies was runner-up in the handicapped Rotary cup.
Ilfords
Ilford’s A team finished runners-up in division one in 1988/89 but were soon were relegated to division two before winning the second division in 1996/97.
Their B team were victorious in the KO cup in 93/94 season and the C team managed to finish runners-up in division one in 1995/96.
Their B team were victorious in the KO cup in 93/94 season and the C team managed to finish runners-up in division one in 1995/96.
Knutsford Private
The fifth club is Knutsford Private who in 2005 changed its name to Knutsford Bowling club before dropping out of the league at the end of the 2007/08 season. They were by far the most successful club to leave the league. In 1988/89, 95/96 and 2002/03 Private B won division two and 96/97 saw their A team finish runners-up in the KO cup. This season also saw Paul Hart score a mammoth 151 points in a league match. In 1999/2000 Ron Tagg was runner-up in the Rotary cup and a couple of years later Mike Roylance finished runner-up in the Jay Trophy. Dave Taylor and Chris Smith were to be runners-up in the H.Astles Pairs competition in 2000/01 season and went one better the following season by winning the handicapped cup. The 2002/03 Private A team of Steve Bond, Andy Vickers and Tony Prole were the first winners of the new CFS 3 player completion and the following year Steve won the Jay Trophy. In 04/05 Andy Vickers, Rick Edwards and Phil Crook finished runners-up in the 3 player competition. Having now changed its name to Knutsford Bowling club 2006/07 their B team won division one and the A team finished runners-up in the Team KO cup - also adding the President’s charity cup. This season had Colin Hamer winning the Rotary cup and in the H.Astles pairs an all Bowling club final saw Phil Crook and Andy Vickers beat Phil’s brother Adrian Crook and Paul Hart. 2007/08 Paul was runner-up in the Jay but the major talking point was when the Bowling clubs B team won the Team KO cup only to be stripped of the title due to fielding ineligible players when this became known.
Knutsford Conservative club
The most recent club to cease league membership is Knutsford Conservative Club who had been ever present in the K&DASL until their sad demise (due to building maintenance bills) at the end of November 2012 and provided the first ever winner of the Rotary Cup, the leagues most prestigious individual handicap competition in 1951 before the formal team competitions began. When the league began in earnest as a team competition in the 1951/1952 season the club provided the winners of the Team KO cup and also again the winner of the Rotary Cup. The club entered between two and four teams (currently three) each season and regular success followed for the clubs teams and individual players. Indeed, Peter Tittle played in the major individual finals many times in the late 50’s and early 60’s and partnered B. Edwards to win the first ever Pairs event in 1955-6. During the 50’s and 60’s regular honours came the clubs way and similar success followed in the 70’s and included a Rotary Cup win for one of the clubs current league Life Members, David Potter, in 1977. In that year the club provided three of the last four players in that competition including both finalists. After many seasons without such a formatted competition, in 1984 the league reintroduced the Pairs competition that was to be later named in honour and memory of Bert Astles (former League Chair) in recognition of his long standing and many contributions to the league. Bert was one of the key figures both for the league and for Knutsford Conservative Club and played on the clubs ‘A’ team for many years. Following the millennium the club’s ‘B’ team have consolidated their position as the club’s most successful team and have won the division one title three times and also took the Presidents Trophy twice. In 2009 players from the ‘B’ team also won the recently inaugurated Three Player Trophy competition. Overall, as a club, Knutsford Conservative Club are second in the list of league titles behind Mobberley Victory Hall and third in the list of Team KO cup victories and the club has provided the Chair of the league in over half of it’s 60 year existence including the current chair, Steve Power, who has held the position since 2006. All in all, Knutsford Cons club was a long-standing, valuable and successful member of the league it supported and developed.
Morley Green social club
Morley is the third most recent addition to the league having only joined in the early 1990’s. The club house is based in the hamlet that has a purpose built village hall that provides a focal point for village social activity.
The club have floated between two and no teams in the league over the years as the transient populous and enthusiasm of the club stewards have seen (or not) the importance of snooker to the club. What we do know is that when Morley are in the league, it is stronger for it because it has consistently punched above its weight with wins in every category except the 3 Player and Taylor Trophy.
Players of note include Life Members John Thompson who won numerous titles at Shaw Heath before joining Morley and Steve Redwood who not only gave his name to the league competition he sponsors but led Morley to the Division 1crown in 2008-9.
The club have floated between two and no teams in the league over the years as the transient populous and enthusiasm of the club stewards have seen (or not) the importance of snooker to the club. What we do know is that when Morley are in the league, it is stronger for it because it has consistently punched above its weight with wins in every category except the 3 Player and Taylor Trophy.
Players of note include Life Members John Thompson who won numerous titles at Shaw Heath before joining Morley and Steve Redwood who not only gave his name to the league competition he sponsors but led Morley to the Division 1crown in 2008-9.
Royal London (formerly Refuge)
The second most recent league addition but they have certainly made their mark. Only arriving in 2000 under the name of Refuge (Insurance) the club immediately committed itself to multiple and regular entries to all the league events and honours soon followed for the teams in the form of division 2 runners-up in 2001-2 season. Still based off the main Wilmslow to Alderley Edge road the club has a completely different feel to it as our only ‘business based’ club. The Mid-Cheshire league, of which many of our clubs have been members of over the seasons, was greatly based upon industrial / businesses which allowed staff a social outlet of a snooker room whereas the KADASL has always been a ‘village hall’ based league. There has been success on a regular basis for the club with two players standing out from the crowd in the form of Mark Newall and Steve Flinders. These pair have been consistently taking titles in all the competitions (plus best performance and break awards) since joining and Mark is already third on the all time finals list.
Wilmslow Royal British Legion
Wilmslow Royal British Legion were division two winners in 1990/91 and went on to win division one in the 96/97 season. Tony Bell was Rotary cup champion in 92/93 and bettered that by winning the Jay Trophy in 97/98.
They rejoined the league after a 13 season sebatical for the 2012-3 season and left again in 2014-5 only to rejoin a year later to become our most recent league club addition.
They rejoined the league after a 13 season sebatical for the 2012-3 season and left again in 2014-5 only to rejoin a year later to become our most recent league club addition.