Eva Collins

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Eva Collins
Collins (left) versus Madame Strebor
Born29 July 1887
Camberwell, London, England
Diedc. October 1972
Croydon, London, England
Sport country England

Eva Elsie Collins Parsons (29 Jul 1887–c. Oct 1972) was an English snooker and billiards player. She was runner-up in the 1930 British Women's Billiards Championship and in its successor tournament, the Women's Professional Billiards Championship in 1931.

Early life and billiards career

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Ella Collins

Eva Collins was born in London, England, on 29 July 1887. She was the daughter of Sarah Grace Haydon and professional billiards player George Alfred Collins, who was the all-England billiards champion in 1877 and 1888. Her sister, Ella Collins, was also a pioneering women's billiards player.[1][2]

She started learning to play in July 1902, and a few months later, at the age of 12, she was the subject of an article in the Portsmouth Evening News for beating a boy of 16 in a billiards match.[3]

In 1906, Collins played two series of billiards exhibition matches against "Madame Strebor," a pseudonym used by an unknown woman player who had toured with John Roberts Jr.[4] The series held at Burroughes Hall finished 7–5 in favor of Madame Strebor.[5] Shortly afterward, Collins won 15 of 24 matches against Strebor in Manchester.[6]

She married insurance salesman Charles Parsons on

Collins became a billiards instructor at the Lyceum Ladies Club.[7] As of January 1936, she had been coaching for over 24 years.[8] She used her father's cue in competition.[1]

Her death was recorded in the final quarter of 1972, at the age of 85.[9]

Women's Billiards Association and Women's Professional Billiards Championship

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In 1930, Collins was the losing finalist in the British Women's Billiards Championship organized by the cue sports company Burrouhges and Watts.[10]

When the Women's Billiards Association was formed in 1931, Collins was one of four professional players appointed to a committee to organise the professional championships, along with Joyce Gardner, Ruth Harrison, and Margaret Lennan.[11][12]

From 1931, the Women's Billiards Association organised the world championship, with the same trophy used in the 1930 British Women's Billiards Championship, and Collins was again a losing finalist in the first competition under the Association's control, in 1931.[13][14]

Collins played in the Women's Professional Billiards Championship each year from 1930 to 1937, but did not play in 1938, possibly due to her other commitments as a coach and referee.[15]

She also competed in the Women's Professional Snooker Championship, but never reached the final of that tournament.

Refereeing

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She was the first woman to qualify as a billiards and snooker referee,[16] at a time when only around 200 men held the same qualification.[17] At the Boy's Billiards Championship in 1932, became the first woman to referee a championship match.[18]

Titles and achievements

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Snooker

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent Score Ref.
Semi-finalist 1 1934 Women's Professional Snooker Championship Ruth Harrison 2–7 [19]
Semi-finalist 2 1936 Women's Professional Snooker Championship Ruth Harrison 1–5 [20]

Billiards

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent Score Ref.
Runner-up 1 1930 Women's Professional Billiards Championship Joyce Gardner 727–1,500 [21][22]
Runner-up 2 1931 Women's Professional Billiards Championship Joyce Gardner 1,185–2,000 [21][22]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Holder Heading for the Finals". Leeds Mercury. 22 February 1933. p. 9 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  2. ^ "Champion in Form". Daily Herald. 14 February 1935. p. 19. Retrieved 2 October 2023 – via The British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ "Juvenile Billiard Match". Portsmouth Evening News. 19 December 1902. p. 6 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  4. ^ Everton, Clive (1985). Guinness Snooker - The Records. Guinness Superlatives Ltd. pp. 154–156. ISBN 0851124488.
  5. ^ "Sporting Paragraphs". Nottingham Evening Post. 5 November 1906. p. 8 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  6. ^ "Ladies Matches in Manchester". Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. 19 November 1906. p. 9 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  7. ^ "Women's Billiards Tournament". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 2 April 1930. p. 2 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  8. ^ Carpenter, Thelma (January 1936). "Billiards for Women". The Billiard Player. No. 181. p. 4.
  9. ^ "England & Wales Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 3 October 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ "Midland Girl's Billiards Title". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 4 April 1930. p. 1 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  11. ^ "Women's Billiards. Association Formed to Control the Championships". Lancashire Evening Post. 1 October 1931. p. 10 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  12. ^ "(Untitled Article)". Uxbridge & West Drayton Gazette. 18 September 1931. p. 18 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  13. ^ "Women and Billiards". Uxbridge & West Drayton Gazette. 18 September 1932. p. 18 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  14. ^ "Women's Billiards. Association Formed to Control the Championships". Lancashire Evening Post. 18 September 1932. p. 10 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  15. ^ "In The Billiards World". Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette. 6 April 1938. p. 11 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  16. ^ "Quorn Hounds". Nottingham Journal. 19 September 1936. p. 10 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  17. ^ "Women Referees Soon in Birmingham?". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 15 May 1937. p. 14 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  18. ^ "Woman billiards referee". Portsmouth Evening News. 16 December 1932. p. 3 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  19. ^ ""Trade" Snooker". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 20 February 1934. p. 12 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  20. ^ Carpenter, Thelma. "Billiards for Women". The Billiard Player. No. June 1936). p. 8.
  21. ^ a b "Women's Billiards Championship". Leeds Mercury. 23 February 1933. p. 9 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  22. ^ a b "Women Professionals". The Scotsman. 23 February 1933. p. 15 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
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  • Miss Eva Collins plays Mr Frank Smith in a Billiard Match in aid of comfort for mine sweepers, 16 February 1918
  • Potting The Ball. Eva Collins teaching women to play at her Kensington billiards school, London, 2 November 1937.
  • Eva Collins in 1939.