Autographs of Willie Thorne
William Joseph Thorne (4 March 1954 – 17 June 2020) was an English professional snooker player. He won one ranking title, the 1985 Classic. He also reached the final of the 1985 UK Championship, losing 16–14 to Steve Davis after leading 13–8. He was noted for his break-building, and was among the first players to compile 100 century breaks. He earned the nickname "Mr Maximum". After retiring as a player, Thorne became a snooker commentator, primarily for the BBC.
Thorne was born on 4 March 1954, at the family home in Anstey, a village located near Leicester, to Bill Thorne, a Desford Colliery miner, and his wife Nancy. He had two brothers. Thorne was educated at the Thomas Rawlins School in Quorn, and played multiple sports but excelled the most in snooker. He began playing snooker while holidaying in Eastbourne at the age of 14. He left school at age 15 and became an estimator for a glass factory while practising snooker in Loughborough and then Leicester's snooker halls. Thorne became national Under-16 snooker champion in 1970, and won three consecutive National Under-19 Billiards Championship titles from 1971 to 1973.
He turned professional in 1975, but never really converted his early promise into success, only winning one ranking snooker tournament (The Classic in 1985). The same year, he reached the 1985 UK Championship final against the then dominant Steve Davis and seemed to have built himself an unassailable 13–8 lead, but a miss on a straightforward blue off its spot during the first frame of the final session allowed Davis to take the frame and eventually win the title. Thorne later said that he had "hardly looked" at the blue, considering it a "certainty". Thorne was runner-up in four other events that season: the British Open (losing 7–12 to Davis), the Scottish Masters (losing 7–9 to Cliff Thorburn), the Irish Masters (losing 5–9 to Jimmy White) and the Pontins Professional (losing 6–9 to Terry Griffiths).
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Current items with a signature of Willie Thorne
These are the most current items with a signature of Willie Thorne that were listed on eBay and on other online stores - click here for more items.
Traded items with a signature of Willie Thorne
The most expensive item with a signature of Willie Thorne (Willie Thorne Snooker Player Hand Signed Original Trist Charactor Autograph) was sold in May 2026 for £187.18 while the cheapest item (Signed Willie Thorne card) found a new owner for £0.99 in October 2020. The month with the most items sold (21) was June 2020 with an average selling price of £10.00 for an autographed item of Willie Thorne. Sold items reached their highest average selling price in March 2026 with £37.78 and the month that saw the lowest prices with £0.99 was August 2013. In average, an autographed item from Willie Thorne is worth £9.17.
Most recently, these items with a signature of Willie Thorne were sold on eBay - click here for more items.
