Bill Werbeniuk
A larger-than-life snooker personality who combined immense talent with a legendary capacity for lager, battling both opponents and his own unique physical needs.
1947–2003 (age 56)·Canadian snooker player·Birthday: January 14·Baby Boomers
Biography
Bill Werbeniuk was a force of nature in the snooker halls of the 1970s and 80s, a Canadian colossus whose very presence commanded the table. Nicknamed 'Big Bill,' his playing style was as unflinching as his physique, built on powerful, straight-ahead cueing. His career was a parade of high rankings and deep tournament runs, peaking at world number eight. Yet, Werbeniuk's story is inextricably linked to his medical condition, an essential tremor, which he claimed required copious amounts of lager to steady his nerves—a prescription that became part of his mythos. This practice, and the subsequent battles with snooker's governing bodies over banned substances, defined his later years as much as his quarter-final appearances at the Crucible. He remains a beloved, tragicomic figure from snooker's boom era.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Bill was born in 1947, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Bill Was Born
The biggest hits of 1947
#1 Movie
The Egg and I
Best Picture
Gentleman's Agreement
Bill's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1947Born
India gains independence; the Dead Sea Scrolls found
Gas: $0.23/galHome: $6,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Near You" — Francis CraigBest Picture: Gentleman's Agreement
1952Started school
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1960Became a teenager
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1963Could drive
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1965Could vote
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1968Turned 21
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1977Turned 30
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1987Turned 40
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1997Turned 50
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2003Died at 56
US invades Iraq; Human Genome Project completed
Gas: $1.59/galHome: $146,000Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"In Da Club" — 50 CentBest Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Key Achievements
- Achieved a career-high world snooker ranking of number 8 for the 1983-84 season.
- Reached the quarter-finals of the World Snooker Championship four times.
- Was a semi-finalist in the prestigious UK Championship.
- Won the Canadian Snooker Championship multiple times during his career.
Did You Know?
He claimed to drink up to 40 pints of lager a day to combat an essential tremor, considering it medication.
He was eventually banned from the sport for using propranolol, a beta-blocker, to control the same condition.
His match fees were famously docked to pay for his substantial bar bills at tournaments.
Before snooker, he was a highly ranked pool player in Canada.
“I need about eight pints of lager before I can reach my peak concentration.”
