The Nuneaton Pool league broke off on June 19th 1975 after delegates from local pubs and clubs met to discuss the possibility of starting up a league a few weeks before. That meeting was held at the Dugdale Arms with delegates from The Dugdale, Bond Gate Social Club, Newdigate Arms (Bedworth), Crystal Palace, Cock & Bear, Bull Inn (Attleborough), Attleborough Sports, Harcourt and Tony's Cafe. The first committee consisted of Bill Albrighton (Chairman), Steve Cross (Secretary), Roy Fall (Fixtures secretary) and Joe Kay (Treasurer). At the meeting the delegates agreed the team entry for the new league would be £2.50 per team and 10p for each player that signed. Wow!! Mind it was 1975, they were hoping to attract 16 teams with the matches being played on a Thursday night. It is thought the Nuneaton Pool League was the 2nd pool league formed in the country. 17 teams registered to enter the league and they were split into 2 groups, 9 side's in Group A with 8 side's in Group B, it was decided that the winners of each group would play off in a 2 leg match to determine the League's first champions with the runners up in each group playing for 3rd place. The founding members of the league were as follows,
| Group A | Group B |
| Cock & Bear | Salutation |
| Dugdale Arms | British Legion |
| Harcourt Hotel | Bull Inn (Attleboro') |
| Sterling Metals | Crown Inn |
| Griiff & Coton | Crystal Palace |
| Newdigate Arms | Stockingford Labour |
| Attleborough Sports | White Horse (Atherstone) |
| Cabbage | Bond Gate Social Club |
| NALGO |
Sadly only 6 of the originals remains open today, 2 having changed names, 9 are no longer with us and 2 are closed but may reopen.
The inaugural season saw the teams play 9 frames (6 singles and 3 doubles) a match, Attleborough Sports became the 1st team to drop out during the season which ended with both groups remarkable being won on frame difference. Cock & Bear winning Group A and the Salutation taking Group B with the Harcourt and White Horse finishing 2nd in their respective groups. In the final the Cock & Bear took a 6 - 3 lead into the 2nd leg while the White Horse took a narrow 5 - 4 1st leg lead. In the return legs both matches were close again with the Cock & Bear winning 5 - 4 for an 11 - 7 aggregate win and became the 1st ever Nuneaton Pool league champions. Atherstone's White Lion beat the Harcourt 5 - 4 for an overall 10 - 8 aggregate victory to take 3rd place.
| The 1st ever league table | Final league table Season No 1 |
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| Play off 1st leg score sheets. |
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1976
With the success off of the first season and pool steadily becoming more popular in pubs and clubs the league where optimistic on expanding from 17 teams when the new season started. Team's were asked to register by February 26th, the registration fee was increased to £5 but £2 was refunded on completion of fixtures, player registration remained at 10p per player. So on April 1st, 26 teams broke off the new league, 12 sides made up Division One with 14 going in Division 2. Only 9 sides from the inaugural season remained with holders Cock & Bear hoping to retain the title while the Salutation were hoping to go one better. Newcomers included the soon to be legendary Wellington plus The Donnithorne and Camphill WMC.
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1976 1st table |
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Players were now becoming better at the game and with some snooker players now taking up pool as the more social side to the night out appealed to them the standard started to rise. Certain player's were not only to become well known locally but also nationally as towards the end of the 1976 season pool was becoming more accessible to people more and more people were cueing up to play. So after 7 months of battle on the baize The Cock & Bear were on cue to regain the title losing only 3 matches all season. Bond Gate Social Club were runners up with the Bulls Head 3rd. The Wellington potted their way to Division Two with Camphill WMC 'A' 2nd and The Furnace from Bedworth 3rd. There was a singles competition introduced this year in aid of Mencap with the first ever winner being a certain Mr Dave Dolman! Big Dave who would go on to achieve great things in the world of pool and without doubt helped to put it firmly on the map in the UK.
| Final Tables 1976 |
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Division One Champions Cock & Bear |
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Joe Wallace, Dave Leadbeater, Harry Burdus, Howard Edwards, Dave Dolman, Barry McDermott. |
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Division Two Champions Wellington. |
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Malcolm Fowler, Peter Watkins, Fred Humphries, Bernard Edmonds, Peter Wright, Geoff Trollope, Les Trollope, Jim Burdett and Chick Murray. |
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Mencap Singles Champion Dave Dolman shaking hands with runner up Tony Griffiths. League officials Joe Kay and Peter Smith looking on. |
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1977
