BEST snooker player East Lancashire has ever produced? Not counting, of course, world champions Dennis Taylor and Alex Higgins, who were young men from Ireland when they began to light up the local snooker scene.

One man has no doubts who gets the No. 1 accolade. Colin Morton, a brush of chalk above 5ft 6ins and 39 years old while looking 10 years younger, is adamant: "Me," he confided. "I've been the best."

"I've won more than any of 'em," he says with utter conviction and for once the ready smile takes on an air of serious consideration.

Blackburn's Steve Longworth? After all, he did win the English amateur championship while Colin has never got past the quarter-finals. "A very good player," admitted Colin.

"I like Steve. When I was a kid he had a lot of time for me and I'll never forget that. But, apart from his amateur title, I've done more than he did and he'll be the first to admit that."

It's difficult not to give the impression that Colin Morton has rather a big head on his small frame. Not at all. He certainly isn't backward at coming forward as they say, but he is easy-going and popular.

He has been gracing the local snooker scene at all levels for many years and he has never lost the boyish charm and ready smile I first encountered more than 25 years ago.

I was a Grade A referee and had just qualified at Lilleshall as a national coach in the mid-70s when I first met little Colin at Burnley Boys Club where they had a three-quarter table. It took me less than five minutes to realise there was nothing I could teach him about the game. I've kept an eye on his career ever since. Colin and his family had moved to Burnley from the North East a few years earlier and his dad Gordon was steward at several clubs in the area including the Ribble Social Club where his young lad first picked up a cue at the age of about 12. There weren't the opportunities for good young players in those days and Colin played in the local Sunday League before graduating to local big table leagues where he quickly made his mark. His first 100 break came when he was just 15. "That's nothing special for a youngster these days," he says "but it was good going back in '76."

By the late 80s Colin Morton had really made his mark and he vividly recalls meeting Scotland's Ken Doherty in the final of the Pontin's Open championship after knocking out players such as John Parrott, Tony Meo and Barry Pinches along the way. From 5-4 down Doherty took the next two frame narrowly before clinching victory on the pink in the 12th frame.

Ken Doherty went on to become world champion and a millionaire; Colin Morton is a postman in Accrington - and he couldn't be happier. He lives with his girlfriend Adele and he has an 11-year-old son, Kyle, who is every bit as promising as his dad was when he took up the game.

So how did Ken and Colin's paths diverge? A lack of commitment, perhaps? "No," he says firmly. "I always put everything into my game. It's simply that Ken, and other top players, were lucky to have some solid financial backing. I just wasn't that lucky and that makes all the difference when you get down to it." Len and Eileen Caton and Peter Gemmell are among those who have supported Colin.

"They all did their level best," he says. "They were really good to me." But he was never showered with the big bucks which would have meant he hadn't to worry about a thing apart from his game.

Regrets? "None at all," he says. "I was a bit wild in my younger days. Nothing serious. Just a bit wild. I've had some bad times, but the good times outweigh them. I never moan about anything. You can hit me all over the place but I'll come back. You just have to get on with it." It's amazing that Colin, twice winner of the Lancashire Evening Telegraph East Lancs championship, has never lost his love for the game. So many good young players who fail to make it to the top lose all heart and seldom pick up a cue as the years roll by.

Not Colin. He had five seasons as a pro, knocking on the door of the big professional tournaments before deciding it was time to put down some roots and start thinking about mundane things such as a steady job, a regular wage and pension contributions.

He's an incurable optimist and always looks on the bright side. "It's great being a postman," he says. One of his pals, Brian Thompson, suggested he apply for a vacancy and he was taken on. "The money's good, there's plenty of fresh air, and they're a good crowd. I love it."

He's also just as enthusiastic about snooker as he's always been. "I love winning. It might be tiddlywinks or draughts. I play to win."

Colin has always given 100 per cent and he can look back on some wonderful moments. He has had 13 maximums and his best break in a competition was a 141 in a professional qualifying competition in Blackpool.

Earlier this year he hit a 136 in a qualifier for the North West individual championship. He beat Glenn Stevenson 5-1 to go into the quarter-finals and he has just joined the qualifiers for the North West area of the English Amateur championships.

He finally won the Lancashire title last season although he has won the pairs tournament five time with Russel Large, Dale Clark and Steve Whalley. "I've developed a happy knack of picking good partners," he grinned.

Colin moved to Accrington from Burnley about 11 years ago and now he plays all his local tournaments from Poplar WMC. "It's a great club. They made me welcome and they have been very supportive, especially Lennie Herbert, the president. He's done a lot for me."

His proudest moment out of so many? "Without a doubt it was my first match for England in 1990 playing alongside Peter Ebdon, Dave Harold and Anthony Hamilton. I beat Fergal O'Brien of the Republic of Ireland and I don't think I stopped smiling for a week."

The other day he was at the Wilpshire Hotel, Blackburn, playing in the Lancashire small table tournament with Brian Sims and their pals from Clitheroe British Legion. Still enthusiastic. Still smiling.

Colin Morton has never stopped smiling. He probably never will.

BIG Brian Sims from Clitheroe has seen thousands of snooker matches over the years and he has followed closely the careers of the East Lancs stars. His No. 1? "It's close," he says. "I saw Steve Longworth win his English Amateur championship against Wayne Jones and that's something that Colin hasn't managed, although he's won plenty of other events." Brian has travelled miles all over the country to watch snooker tournaments and he knows the local game inside out. Although he wasn't keen to commit himself, you get the impression he would just give the nod to Steve.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.