Walter Lindrum
Encyclopedia
Walter Albert Lindrum, OBE
(29 August 1898 – 30 July 1960), often known as Wally Lindrum, was an Australia
n professional player of English billiards
who held the World Professional Billiards Championship
from 1933 until his retirement in 1950. He was named Walter Albert to have the initials of the state where he was born - W.A. (Western Australia
). He was one of the most successful players ever seen in billiards, with 57 world records to his credit, some of which still stand. Lindrum is also considered amongst Australia's all-time greatest sportspeople.
having defeated the English master, John Roberts, Sr., in 1869. Walter's father, Frederick William Lindrum II, was an Australian Billiards Champion at the age of 20. According to Walter, from 1909 to 1912 his father was the greatest billiard player in the world but "only...my brother Fred and myself knew it. He passed over public matches to coach the two of us." Walter's older brother, Frederick William Lindrum III, became professional Australian Billiards Champion in 1909. Frederick II closely tutored his sons and their nephew Horace Lindrum
(who also went on to become a famed billiards and snooker pro). The family can be considered the greatest billiard playing family the world has ever known. His mother Laura (née Williams) was locally renowned at both sewing and baking, winning numerous Kalgoorlie baking competitions. Walter often cited her as an influence on him, saying in 1933 after winning the world championship: "She gave me my desire to win. She helped further my passion for both winning and the sport, and she's truly an inspiration to me."
Walter himself was born on 29 August 1898 in the Western Australia
n mining town of Kalgoorlie. He lost the tip of his index finger on his right hand in an accident in 1901, and his father taught him to play billiards left-handed. Much of his childhood was spent practising billiards for up to twelve hours per day, under his father's tutelage on his two billiard tables in the Palace Hotel in Kalgoorlie, and also guided by William (Billy) Weston, another Australian Billiard Champion, who owned a billiard saloon at the corner of Brookman and Wilson Streets in Kalgoorlie. Standing on a crate to reach the table, Lindrum was "polished" by Weston, who taught him the technique of playing "top of the table", a method to increase . The family were itinerant, and often moved from town to town. Lindrum's first professional game was played at the age of only 13 years.
By the age of 16, Walter was regularly making breaks of over 1,000 during practice at the London Tavern, Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, where Fred Lindrum II was running a three-table billiard parlour. By 1921 Walter Lindrum was defeating his older brother, Frederick III, then the Australian Billiards Champion. Walter refused to play his brother for the title.
es were often organised, especially with New Zealand
Billiard Champion Clark McConachy
. Lindrum published his instructional book, Billiards, in 1924. It was revised and reprinted in 1938 as Billiards and Snooker, "proceeds from the sale going to the Lindrum War Drive", his World War II
fundraising effort, in later printings.
It was not until 1929 that Willie Smith, World Champion
in 1920 and 1923, and one of the best English billiards players of the time, visited Australia and played three fairly even matches against Lindrum. With both players being one match up, Lindrum was forced to abandon the third game midway through, upon the imminent death of his girlfriend. While technically the match was a forfeit, Smith refused to accept the trophy and insisted it be awarded to Lindrum.
Smith, McConarchy and Lindrum departed Australia in September 1929 for a tour of England
. Between 1929 and 1933 Lindrum dominated the English billiards scene. Often he would start conceding up to 7000 points to his opponents. Lindrum and his main rivals, McConarchy, Smith, Joe Davis
(World Champion 1928–1932) and Tom Newman
(World Champion 1921–1922, 1924–1927), were called in the press "the big five".
On Lindrum's second tour of England, in late 1930, Donald Bradman
and other members of the touring Australian cricket team
, would sometimes attend Lindrum's matches at Thurston Hall
, London. As an indication of the esteem in which Lindrum was held, the critic Neville Cardus
referred to Bradman as "the Lindrum of cricket".
On 19 February 1931, Lindrum gave a billiards exhibition for the King and other members of the Royal Family
at Buckingham Palace
. King George V
presented Lindrum with a pair of gold and enamel cuff links bearing the royal monogram. These formed part of Lindrum's essential attire for the remainder of his playing career, and he wore them daily for the rest of his life.
His record break of 4,137 was made in a match he lost against Joe Davis at Thurston Hall on 19 January 1932. However, this precipitated a change in the rules of the game. A 1932 tour of the United States and Canada
by several players, including Lindrum, proved a disaster, with disappointing attendances and financial losses by the players.
Lindrum won the World Professional Billiards Championship
in 1933 and 1934, and held it until his retirement in 1950.
After the debacle of the 1932 North American tour and his winning of the 1933 World Championship, Lindrum argued that he should be allowed to defend his title in Australia. The 1934 match was organised to coincide with the Melbourne centenary celebrations in September 1934. His challengers were the New Zealand Champion, Clark McConachy, and United Kingdom
Champion, Joe Davis, with Davis finishing runner-up. Lindrum won this title, but in subsequent years the title became dormant for lack of challengers, until Lindrum relinquished it upon retirement. The title of World Professional Billiards Champion next passed to McConarchy in 1951 who held it until 1968, when he was defeated by Rex Williams
.
While some, including his nephew Horace
, made the criticism that Lindrum's play was somewhat mechanical and lacked style, rival and six-time World Champion Tom Newman
wrote: "It is the greatest injustice you can do to Walter to call him a scoring machine. Nothing could be more unlike him. He is showing you everything the beautiful game can show."
During the Second World War, Lindrum performed about 4,000 exhibition games, raising over £
500,000 for the war effort (including revenues from sales of his book). Over his lifetime he raised more than £2 million for charity. He was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire
(MBE) in 1951, and an Officer of the order (OBE) in the 1958 honours list.
During 1930 in Manchester, Lindrum set a record aggregate of 30,817 during the fortnight match against Willie Smith. In this match he made 10 breaks over 1,000 with a highest of 2,419. In his final match of the tour against Smith in London, Lindrum's performance set numerous records: the highest individual aggregate (36,256), the largest winning margin (21,285), a record match average (262), and a record number of four-figure breaks (11). Smith, although beaten, had played excellently with an average of 109 per innings for the match.
His record break of 4,137 was made in a match he lost against Joe Davis
at Thurston Hall, London on 19 January 1932. Lindrum occupied the table for 2 hours 55 minutes, for about 1,900 consecutive scoring shots. He also holds the record break for each country that he played in, the fastest century break (46 seconds) and 1011 points in 30 minutes.
In 1933 on a tour to South Africa Lindrum claimed a new world record for fast scoring when he completed 1,000 points in 28 minutes in Johannesburg.
On 30 July 1960, at the age of 61, Walter Lindrum suddenly became ill and died while on holiday in Surfers Paradise, Queensland
. The cause of death was officially listed as heart failure, but it has alternatively been suggested that he died as a result of food poisoning
from a steak and kidney pie
.
Following his death, cricketing legend Sir Donald Bradman
wrote to Lindrum's niece, Dolly Lindrum: "In my opinion he was not only the greatest billiards player who ever lived, but he was also the most modest of great champions."
His body was returned to Melbourne, and he was given a state funeral
attended by 1,500 people. He was buried at Melbourne General Cemetery
, with champion cyclist Sir Hubert Opperman
raising the funds for a distinctive monument consisting of a billiards table, complete with balls and cue; more than fifty years after his death the site reportedly remains the most visited grave in this substantial cemetery.
issued by Australia Post
, which featured a caricature
of him by famed artist Tony Rafty
. Lindrum was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame and the Western Australia Sporting Hall of Champions in 1985. His house in Melbourne at 158 Kerferd Road, Albert Park
, is noted for its historical association with him by the Port Phillip
Council. Lindrum is generally regarded as one of the all-time great Australian sporting heroes, along with the likes of Donald Bradman
, Heather McKay
, Margaret Court, Haydn Bunton, Sr.
and Hubert Opperman
.
In Melbourne, the Hotel Lindrum on Flinders Street has incorporated much memorabilia associated with Walter Lindrum. The building formerly housed the Lindrum's Billiard Centre run by Walter's niece, Dolly. One of the original tables from the Billiard Centre has been fully restored there by the original manufacturing company. In April 2009, the Hotel Lindrum hosted the Capital Cup, a billiards tournament that, on its 10th Anniversary, honoured the life and history of Walter Lindrum.
The mathematician John Littlewood nominated a shot of Lindrum's as "the best stroke ever made in a game of billiards". As Littlewood reported it, Lindrum "deliberately played to make a cannon in which the white balls were left touching, and succeeded. (The balls were spotted in accordance with the laws, and the break could continue.)"
It has been proposed to have a large collection of Lindrum memorabilia including personal and professional effects, newspaper clippings, diagrams of his shots, letters, and photographs moved to a special display in Australia's National Sports Museum
.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(29 August 1898 – 30 July 1960), often known as Wally Lindrum, was an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n professional player of English billiards
English billiards
English billiards, called simply billiards in many former British colonies and in Great Britain where it originated, is a hybrid form of carom and pocket billiards played on a billiard table. Billiards is less well known as "the English game", "the all-in game" and "the common game".The game is for...
who held the World Professional Billiards Championship
World Professional Billiards Championship
The World Billiards Championship is an international cue sports tournament in the discipline of English billiards. It has been played annually since 1980, is one of the oldest sporting World Championships in the world, dating in earnest to the mid-19th century...
from 1933 until his retirement in 1950. He was named Walter Albert to have the initials of the state where he was born - W.A. (Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
). He was one of the most successful players ever seen in billiards, with 57 world records to his credit, some of which still stand. Lindrum is also considered amongst Australia's all-time greatest sportspeople.
Early life
Lindrum's grandfather, Frederick William Lindrum I, was Australia's first World Professional Billiards ChampionWorld Professional Billiards Championship
The World Billiards Championship is an international cue sports tournament in the discipline of English billiards. It has been played annually since 1980, is one of the oldest sporting World Championships in the world, dating in earnest to the mid-19th century...
having defeated the English master, John Roberts, Sr., in 1869. Walter's father, Frederick William Lindrum II, was an Australian Billiards Champion at the age of 20. According to Walter, from 1909 to 1912 his father was the greatest billiard player in the world but "only...my brother Fred and myself knew it. He passed over public matches to coach the two of us." Walter's older brother, Frederick William Lindrum III, became professional Australian Billiards Champion in 1909. Frederick II closely tutored his sons and their nephew Horace Lindrum
Horace Lindrum
Horace Lindrum was an Australian professional snooker and carom billiards player. He was the great grandson of Australia's first billiards champion, the grandson of the great billiard coach, Frederick William Lindrum II, and nephew of Frederick William Lindrum III and Walter...
(who also went on to become a famed billiards and snooker pro). The family can be considered the greatest billiard playing family the world has ever known. His mother Laura (née Williams) was locally renowned at both sewing and baking, winning numerous Kalgoorlie baking competitions. Walter often cited her as an influence on him, saying in 1933 after winning the world championship: "She gave me my desire to win. She helped further my passion for both winning and the sport, and she's truly an inspiration to me."
Walter himself was born on 29 August 1898 in the Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
n mining town of Kalgoorlie. He lost the tip of his index finger on his right hand in an accident in 1901, and his father taught him to play billiards left-handed. Much of his childhood was spent practising billiards for up to twelve hours per day, under his father's tutelage on his two billiard tables in the Palace Hotel in Kalgoorlie, and also guided by William (Billy) Weston, another Australian Billiard Champion, who owned a billiard saloon at the corner of Brookman and Wilson Streets in Kalgoorlie. Standing on a crate to reach the table, Lindrum was "polished" by Weston, who taught him the technique of playing "top of the table", a method to increase . The family were itinerant, and often moved from town to town. Lindrum's first professional game was played at the age of only 13 years.
By the age of 16, Walter was regularly making breaks of over 1,000 during practice at the London Tavern, Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, where Fred Lindrum II was running a three-table billiard parlour. By 1921 Walter Lindrum was defeating his older brother, Frederick III, then the Australian Billiards Champion. Walter refused to play his brother for the title.
Billiards champion
During the mid-1920s Walter Lindrum's standard of play was without effective competition in Australia, with many players refusing to play against him. As a result, exhibition matchExhibition game
An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...
es were often organised, especially with New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
Billiard Champion Clark McConachy
Clark McConachy
Clark McConachy, MBE was a New Zealand professional player of English billiards and snooker.His endurance and longevity as a sportsman was astonishing. He was the New Zealand professional billiards champion from 1914 until 1980...
. Lindrum published his instructional book, Billiards, in 1924. It was revised and reprinted in 1938 as Billiards and Snooker, "proceeds from the sale going to the Lindrum War Drive", his World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
fundraising effort, in later printings.
It was not until 1929 that Willie Smith, World Champion
World Professional Billiards Championship
The World Billiards Championship is an international cue sports tournament in the discipline of English billiards. It has been played annually since 1980, is one of the oldest sporting World Championships in the world, dating in earnest to the mid-19th century...
in 1920 and 1923, and one of the best English billiards players of the time, visited Australia and played three fairly even matches against Lindrum. With both players being one match up, Lindrum was forced to abandon the third game midway through, upon the imminent death of his girlfriend. While technically the match was a forfeit, Smith refused to accept the trophy and insisted it be awarded to Lindrum.
Smith, McConarchy and Lindrum departed Australia in September 1929 for a tour of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Between 1929 and 1933 Lindrum dominated the English billiards scene. Often he would start conceding up to 7000 points to his opponents. Lindrum and his main rivals, McConarchy, Smith, Joe Davis
Joe Davis
Joe Davis, OBE was a British professional player of snooker and English billiards....
(World Champion 1928–1932) and Tom Newman
Tom Newman (billiards player)
Tom Newman was an English professional player of snooker and English billiards.He established himself as one of the best billiards players of the 1920s, appearing in every World Professional Billiards Championship final between 1921 and 1930, and winning the title six times.Newman was a great...
(World Champion 1921–1922, 1924–1927), were called in the press "the big five".
On Lindrum's second tour of England, in late 1930, Donald Bradman
Donald Bradman
Sir Donald George Bradman, AC , often referred to as "The Don", was an Australian cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time...
and other members of the touring Australian cricket team
Australian cricket team in England in 1930
Australia won the 1930 Ashes series against England, winning two of the matches and losing one, with the other two tests drawn:*1st Test — England won by 93 runs - *2nd Test — Australia won by 7 wickets -...
, would sometimes attend Lindrum's matches at Thurston Hall
Thurston Hall
Thurston Hall was an American film actor. He appeared in 250 films between 1915 and 1957 and is probably best remembered for his portrayal, during the later stages of his career, of often pompous or blustering authority figures.Hall's best-known television role was as Mr. Schuyler, the boss of...
, London. As an indication of the esteem in which Lindrum was held, the critic Neville Cardus
Neville Cardus
Sir John Frederick Neville Cardus CBE was an English writer and critic, best known for his writing on music and cricket. For many years, he wrote for The Manchester Guardian. He was untrained in music, and his style of criticism was subjective, romantic and personal, in contrast with his critical...
referred to Bradman as "the Lindrum of cricket".
On 19 February 1931, Lindrum gave a billiards exhibition for the King and other members of the Royal Family
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
at Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
. King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
presented Lindrum with a pair of gold and enamel cuff links bearing the royal monogram. These formed part of Lindrum's essential attire for the remainder of his playing career, and he wore them daily for the rest of his life.
His record break of 4,137 was made in a match he lost against Joe Davis at Thurston Hall on 19 January 1932. However, this precipitated a change in the rules of the game. A 1932 tour of the United States and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
by several players, including Lindrum, proved a disaster, with disappointing attendances and financial losses by the players.
World Professional Billiards Championship
The World Billiards Championship is an international cue sports tournament in the discipline of English billiards. It has been played annually since 1980, is one of the oldest sporting World Championships in the world, dating in earnest to the mid-19th century...
in 1933 and 1934, and held it until his retirement in 1950.
After the debacle of the 1932 North American tour and his winning of the 1933 World Championship, Lindrum argued that he should be allowed to defend his title in Australia. The 1934 match was organised to coincide with the Melbourne centenary celebrations in September 1934. His challengers were the New Zealand Champion, Clark McConachy, and United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Champion, Joe Davis, with Davis finishing runner-up. Lindrum won this title, but in subsequent years the title became dormant for lack of challengers, until Lindrum relinquished it upon retirement. The title of World Professional Billiards Champion next passed to McConarchy in 1951 who held it until 1968, when he was defeated by Rex Williams
Rex Williams
Rex Williams , son of Minnie Roberts and William Williams, is a retired English professional snooker and billiards player.Williams was an excellent junior player in both snooker and billiards. His professional career began in 1951, during a period of decline in snooker...
.
While some, including his nephew Horace
Horace Lindrum
Horace Lindrum was an Australian professional snooker and carom billiards player. He was the great grandson of Australia's first billiards champion, the grandson of the great billiard coach, Frederick William Lindrum II, and nephew of Frederick William Lindrum III and Walter...
, made the criticism that Lindrum's play was somewhat mechanical and lacked style, rival and six-time World Champion Tom Newman
Tom Newman (billiards player)
Tom Newman was an English professional player of snooker and English billiards.He established himself as one of the best billiards players of the 1920s, appearing in every World Professional Billiards Championship final between 1921 and 1930, and winning the title six times.Newman was a great...
wrote: "It is the greatest injustice you can do to Walter to call him a scoring machine. Nothing could be more unlike him. He is showing you everything the beautiful game can show."
During the Second World War, Lindrum performed about 4,000 exhibition games, raising over £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
500,000 for the war effort (including revenues from sales of his book). Over his lifetime he raised more than £2 million for charity. He was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(MBE) in 1951, and an Officer of the order (OBE) in the 1958 honours list.
Records
In June 1927 in Melbourne he claimed a world speed record when he scored 816 points in 23 minutes in an unfinished .During 1930 in Manchester, Lindrum set a record aggregate of 30,817 during the fortnight match against Willie Smith. In this match he made 10 breaks over 1,000 with a highest of 2,419. In his final match of the tour against Smith in London, Lindrum's performance set numerous records: the highest individual aggregate (36,256), the largest winning margin (21,285), a record match average (262), and a record number of four-figure breaks (11). Smith, although beaten, had played excellently with an average of 109 per innings for the match.
His record break of 4,137 was made in a match he lost against Joe Davis
Joe Davis
Joe Davis, OBE was a British professional player of snooker and English billiards....
at Thurston Hall, London on 19 January 1932. Lindrum occupied the table for 2 hours 55 minutes, for about 1,900 consecutive scoring shots. He also holds the record break for each country that he played in, the fastest century break (46 seconds) and 1011 points in 30 minutes.
In 1933 on a tour to South Africa Lindrum claimed a new world record for fast scoring when he completed 1,000 points in 28 minutes in Johannesburg.
Death
Surfers Paradise, Queensland
Surfers Paradise is a suburb on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 Census, Surfers Paradise had a population of 18,501....
. The cause of death was officially listed as heart failure, but it has alternatively been suggested that he died as a result of food poisoning
Foodborne illness
Foodborne illness is any illness resulting from the consumption of contaminated food, pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites that contaminate food, as well as chemical or natural toxins such as poisonous mushrooms.-Causes:Foodborne illness usually arises from improper handling, preparation, or...
from a steak and kidney pie
Steak and kidney pie
Steak and kidney pie is a savoury pie that is filled principally with a mixture of diced beef, diced kidney , fried onion, and brown gravy...
.
Following his death, cricketing legend Sir Donald Bradman
Donald Bradman
Sir Donald George Bradman, AC , often referred to as "The Don", was an Australian cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time...
wrote to Lindrum's niece, Dolly Lindrum: "In my opinion he was not only the greatest billiards player who ever lived, but he was also the most modest of great champions."
His body was returned to Melbourne, and he was given a state funeral
State funeral
A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honor heads of state or other important people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of military tradition...
attended by 1,500 people. He was buried at Melbourne General Cemetery
Melbourne General Cemetery
The Melbourne General Cemetery is a large necropolis located north of the city of Melbourne in the suburb of Carlton North.-History:...
, with champion cyclist Sir Hubert Opperman
Hubert Opperman
Sir Hubert Ferdinand Opperman, OBE , referred to as Oppy by Australian and French crowds, was an Australian cyclist and politician, whose endurance cycling feats in the 1920s and 1930s earned him international acclaim....
raising the funds for a distinctive monument consisting of a billiards table, complete with balls and cue; more than fifty years after his death the site reportedly remains the most visited grave in this substantial cemetery.
Recognition
In 1981 Lindrum was honoured on a postage stampPostage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
issued by Australia Post
Australia Post
Australia Post is the trading name of the Australian Government-owned Australian Postal Corporation .-History:...
, which featured a caricature
Caricature
A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Caricatures can be...
of him by famed artist Tony Rafty
Tony Rafty
Tony Rafty OAM is a Greek Australian artist. He specialises in drawing caricatures.Rafty was born in Paddington, New South Wales...
. Lindrum was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame and the Western Australia Sporting Hall of Champions in 1985. His house in Melbourne at 158 Kerferd Road, Albert Park
Albert Park, Victoria
Albert Park is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Port Phillip. At the 2006 Census, Albert Park had a population of 5827....
, is noted for its historical association with him by the Port Phillip
Port Phillip
Port Phillip Port Phillip Port Phillip (also commonly referred to as Port Phillip Bay or (locally) just The Bay, is a large bay in southern Victoria, Australia; it is the location of Melbourne. Geographically, the bay covers and the shore stretches roughly . Although it is extremely shallow for...
Council. Lindrum is generally regarded as one of the all-time great Australian sporting heroes, along with the likes of Donald Bradman
Donald Bradman
Sir Donald George Bradman, AC , often referred to as "The Don", was an Australian cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time...
, Heather McKay
Heather McKay
Heather Pamela McKay AM MBE is a retired Australian squash player, who is considered by many to be the greatest female player in the history of the game, and possibly also Australia's greatest-ever sportswoman...
, Margaret Court, Haydn Bunton, Sr.
Haydn Bunton, Sr.
Haydn William Bunton was an Australian rules football player and coach. He is regarded by some historians and observers of Australian rules as its greatest-ever player.-Playing career:...
and Hubert Opperman
Hubert Opperman
Sir Hubert Ferdinand Opperman, OBE , referred to as Oppy by Australian and French crowds, was an Australian cyclist and politician, whose endurance cycling feats in the 1920s and 1930s earned him international acclaim....
.
In Melbourne, the Hotel Lindrum on Flinders Street has incorporated much memorabilia associated with Walter Lindrum. The building formerly housed the Lindrum's Billiard Centre run by Walter's niece, Dolly. One of the original tables from the Billiard Centre has been fully restored there by the original manufacturing company. In April 2009, the Hotel Lindrum hosted the Capital Cup, a billiards tournament that, on its 10th Anniversary, honoured the life and history of Walter Lindrum.
The mathematician John Littlewood nominated a shot of Lindrum's as "the best stroke ever made in a game of billiards". As Littlewood reported it, Lindrum "deliberately played to make a cannon in which the white balls were left touching, and succeeded. (The balls were spotted in accordance with the laws, and the break could continue.)"
It has been proposed to have a large collection of Lindrum memorabilia including personal and professional effects, newspaper clippings, diagrams of his shots, letters, and photographs moved to a special display in Australia's National Sports Museum
National Sports Museum
The National Sports Museum is a museum dedicated to Australian sport and is located within the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia. It features exhibitions and galleries of items related mainly to Australian Rules Football, Cricket, the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, the Sport...
.