On this day: first ever World Snooker Championship final at Sheffield's iconic Crucible Theatre

On this day in 1977, John Spencer became the first person to win the illustrious World Snooker Championship at Sheffeld’s iconic Crucible Theatre when he beat Cliff Thorburn by 25 frames to 21 in the final.

Before that the annual Championship, which organisers still hope will go ahead this year, had been held at several different venues across England and the rest of the world, including South Africa and Australia.

The decision to move the tournament to the Crucible was inspired by the tournament promoter Mike Watterson’s wife Carole, who recommended the venue to her husband after seeing a play there.

Watterson phoned the Crucible’s manager, Arnold Elliman, and asked him whether he could stage the World Championship there. When they measured the stage (36ft), there was just enough room for two tables.

The rest is history. The first Crucible tournament took place between April 18 and 30 in 1977.

But it all could have been different. The 1976 Championship – split between Middlesbrough town hall and the Wythenshawe Forum in Manchester – was “beset with problems”, and it was feared sponsors Embassy would remove their support. The decision to move to the Crucible transformed the fate of snooker’s most high-profile event.

Englishman Spencer netted himself £6,000 in prize money for his win which, according to the Bank of England’s inflation calculator, is the equivalent of £37,500 in today’s money.