This Day in History: 1908-05-27

Alexander Edward “Alec” Brown was born in London. Brown was a prolific snooker player in the years before and after World War II, reaching the QF or SF of each Snooker World Championship held between 1936 and 1950. He is remembered for the “fountain pen” incident, as on November 14, 1938, in a match in the Daily Mail Gold Cup, he played a shot with a specially designed fountain pen-sized cue, as the shot would be awkward with his regular cue. His opponent, Tom Newman, protested, and the official rules were subsequently changed to include certain minimum requirements for cue length, shape and form. Brown died in Plymouth on September 3, 1995, aged 87.