Sporting Legends: Stephen Hendry

COMPETITIVE ERA: 1984 - PRESENT

Stephen Hendry MBE (born January 13, 1969, Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland) is a Scottish professional snooker player.

Hendry has won the World Snooker Championships seven times, a record for the modern era, and is thus regarded by many as the greatest player of all time.

Hendry started his career early. He was Scottish Amateur Champion at the age of 15, and turned professional aged just 16.

Hendry first won the World Professional Snooker Championship in 1990 at the age of 21, becoming the youngest player ever to win the event.

He went on to dominate the game in the 1990s. His most recent win in 1999 was his seventh, eclipsing rival Steve Davis's six modern era victories.

Hendry holds several snooker records: He has earned more prize money than any other player (about £7 million); he has scored the most 147s (eight times), and is the only player to have scored a 147 in a major final, a feat he has achieved three times.

He has compiled the most century breaks, currently over 660, and he holds the most ranking event titles (34). In 1990/1991, despite not winning the World Championships, he won an amazing five ranking events, a record for a single season. Hendry was ranked number 1 from 1990 to 1998 in a record breaking 8 season streak.

Hendry was awarded an MBE in 1994 and voted BBC Scotland's Sports Personality of the Year in 1987 and 1996.

SPORTING LEGENDS: STEPHEN HENDRY

Stephen Hendry is a true snooker legend.

He has also been voted World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association Player of the Year on seven occasions.

He was married to Mandy in 1995, and has two sons - Blaine (1996) and Carter (2004).

In his spare time, he likes playing golf and poker with his good friend and two times World Snooker Champion Mark Williams. Both are coached by Terry Griffiths, the 1979 World Champion.

He played in the 2005 World Series of Poker.

SPORTING LEGENDS: STEPHEN HENDRY

Scott Burton’s Final Thought

Stephen Hendry dominated world snooker during the 1990’s. It was his decade, and no-one can ever take that away from him.

His short and long-range game were both superb, and his safety game was also a reliable weapon in his arsenal.

Unlike many of his contemporaries, Hendry never rushes his shots.