Alex Higgins
Alexander Gordon "Alex" Higgins (18 March 1949 – 24 July 2010) was a Northern Irish professional snooker player, who is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the game. Nicknamed Hurricane Higgins because of his fast play, he was World Champion in 1972 and 1982, and runner-up in 1976 and 1980. He won the UK Championship in 1983 and the Masters in 1978 and 1981, making him one of ten players to have completed snooker's Triple Crown. He was also World Doubles champion with Jimmy White in 1984, and won the World Cup three times with the All-Ireland team.
Higgins came to be known as the "People's Champion" because of his popularity, and is often credited with having brought the game of snooker to a wider audience, contributing to its peak in popularity in the 1980s. He had a reputation as an unpredictable and difficult character. He was a heavy smoker, struggled with drinking and gambling, and admitted to using cocaine and marijuana. First diagnosed with throat cancer in 1998, Higgins died of multiple causes in his Belfast home on 24 July 2010.
Alex Higgins (footballer, born 1981)
Alex Higgins, born 22 July 1981, Sheffield, England) is a former professional and semi-professional football player who last played for Northwich Victoria.
References
Andy Higgins (footballer, born 1960)
Andrew Martin "Andy" Higgins (born 12 February 1960) is an English former footballer who played as a defender. He played 71 league games in the Football League, mostly for teams struggling near the bottom of the Fourth Division.
Playing career
Higgins played for Chesterfield, but only played one Third Division game for the "Spireites" in 1978–79, under Arthur Cox. He signed with Port Vale in February 1981, with manager John McGrath looking to add some strength to a poor defence. Higgins played ten games in 1980–81, helping the "Valiants" to rise off the foot of the Football League. However he failed to nail down a regular place and played just four Fourth Division games in 1981–82. He was given a free transfer away from Vale Park in May 1982, and moved on to Billy Horner's Hartlepool United. He played four league games in 1982–83, scoring one goal for a team struggling near the foot of the Fourth Division. He later played for King's Lynn, before joining his former team-mate Jimmy Greenhoff at Rochdale, who were forced to apply for re-election to the Football League in 1983–84. He then played 19 league games for Chester City in 1984–85, before leaving for South Africa. He had been signed by John McGrath at Chester, before Mick Speight took over at Sealand Road.
Sandy Higgins
Alex "Sandy" Higgins (1888 in Kilmarnock – 15 March 1939) was a footballer with Newcastle United between 1905 and 1919, playing 150 games and scoring 41 goals. Sandy played in the forward position.
Sandy could go by players with ease, but sometimes would be selfish with the ball and would try to do more than passing a simple ball. He won a Championship and FA Cup with Newcastle. His clubs included: Kilmarnock, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, Jarrow and Norwich City.
He was the son of Sandy Higgins, Snr., who had been a Scottish Cup winner with Kilmarnock as well as playing for Derby County and Nottingham Forest. Higgins Jnr. won four caps for Scotland, all while with Newcastle United. He later played for Kilmarnock, and was with the club when they won the 1920 Scottish Cup, but did not play in the final.
Honours
References
Alexander Higgins
Alexander Higgins may refer to:
See also
Alex Higgins (footballer, born 1863)
Alexander "Alex" Higgins (7 November 1863 – 17 April 1920) was a Scottish footballer who played for Kilmarnock, Derby County, Nottingham Forest and the Scotland national team.
Higgins was born in Kilmarnock and began his career with Kilmarnock before joining English club Derby County in August 1888. Two years later he joined Nottingham Forest, where he remained until 1894 before retiring.
He won his only Scotland cap while at Kilmarnock on 14 March 1885. Despite scoring a hat-trick in an 8–2 win over Ireland, he was never capped again for his country.James B. Niven of Chelsea also gained his only cap that in that game.
He died on 17 April 1920, the same day his first club Kilmarnock won the Scottish Cup for the first time in their history. His son, Alex Higgins, Jr., also a Scottish international, was a registered Kilmarnock player at this point, although he did not play in the final.
References
External links
Podcasts:
