 Tom Reece playing an anchor stroke at English billiards, from his 1928 book "Cannons and Big Guns" | |
| Born | 12 August 1873 Oldham, Lancashire |
|---|---|
| Died | 16 October 1953 (aged 80) Lancing, Sussex |
| Highest break | 901 |
| Best ranking finish | Six-times runner-up, World Billiards Championship |
Tom Reece (12 August 1873 – 16 October 1953) was an English professional player of English billiards. He was six times runner-up in the professional billiards championship, now regarded as the world championship, losing three times to Melbourne Inman in finals from 1912 to 1914, and three times to Tom Newman in the 1921, 1924 and 1925 finals. He made the unofficial world's highest billiards break of 499,135 in 1907 using a cradle cannon technique shortly before it was banned from the sport. In 1927, his prowess with the pendulum stroke led to that also being banned from use in competition.
His highest officially-recognised break was 901, which he compiled in 1916. He authored two books, Dainty Billiards: How to play the close cannon game (1925), and his autobiography Cannons and Big Guns (1928). Reece died on 16 October 1953, a week after suffering a stroke.