John Roberts Junior (15 August 1847 – 23 December 1919) was a leading figure in the field of English billiards. During the 19th century, he was renowned for his skill as a player, winning the World Professional title on eight occasions between 1870 and 1885 in matches. In addition to his achievements as a billiards player, Roberts was also a well-known manufacturer of billiard cues and tables (his trade mark advertisements were published in the Civil & Military Gazette until the 1930s), and a promoter of both billiards and snooker.
Although in 1885 Roberts was one of the players who participated in the formation and the subsequent approval by the Billiard Association of an official set of rules for billiards, he was soon to become the object of opposition to this body and its representatives were actively engaged in efforts to reduce his authority. In response, Roberts sought to resist the bureaucratisation of billiards and to oppose the complication of the rules. At the end of the nineteenth century, Roberts was introduced to snooker (according to certain accounts during a tour of America) and was greatly intrigued. In 1908, he challenged the most accomplished players worldwide to a match of 101 frames, though the term “frame” had not yet entered common usage at that time. From 25 May to 6 June 1908, a professional snooker match took place in Messrs Burroughes and Watts’ Soho-square salon. The match was contested by John Roberts Jr and Tom Reece. This was the inaugural professional snooker match and attracted considerable attention from spectators. The match had a significant impact on future developments of snooker. However, the Billiard Association officials largely ignored this event, which has subsequently been largely forgotten. Nevertheless, the legacy of John Roberts, Junior deserves to be remembered, not only as the greatest billiard champion of all time, but also for his significant contributions to the advancement of snooker.