Bob Jackson: 1932-2023
It has been reported on croquet's "Nottingham List" that Bob Jackson passed away today at the age of 92. Jackson took up croquet in his late thirties after a career representing New Zealand at international table tennis. He brought a professional attitude to practice that was almost unknown in croquet in the late 1960s and helped him to rise rapidly to the top of the sport. He became particularly famous for his accurate shooting which was based on a remorseless practice routine.
He was inducted into the World Croquet Hall of Fame in 2008 and his bio includes the following accomplishments in the sport:
He won 14 New Zealand Open Championships between 1975 and 2003 and was the runner-up on many other occasions in that period. He also won 12 New Zealand Men’s Championships between 1977 and 2005 and 11 Senior Invitation Events between 1972 and 2004. He also won ten New Zealand Open Doubles Championships (nine with Joe Hogan) between 1973 and 1990.
Jackson represented New Zealand in the MacRobertson Shield on six occasions (1974, 1979, 1986, 1990, 1993 and 2000). He was regarded as the best player in the world by many in the period from 1979 to 1986 but what stands out is the longevity of his career at the top of both Association Croquet and golf croquet.
He made his last appearance in the 2008 Association Croquet World Championship at the age of 76. He took second in his block and produced an extraordinary one-ball finish to defeat Jonathan Kirby, a 28-year-old Great Britain MacRobertson Shield player, in the first round of the knock-out stage. It was an amazing display of skill for someone in his eighth decade.
Two years earlier, Bob had reached the quarterfinal of the 2006 Golf Croquet World Championship and, at the 2015 Golf Croquet World Championship, when aged 83, lost a play-off game 7-6 and so just failed to qualify for the knock-out stage. He is the first player to demonstrate that it is possible to play genuinely top-class Association and Golf Croquet when well over 65.
Jackson was also known as an equipment maker for both table tennis and croquet for many years. In the late 1970s, he began making mallets which had an excellent reputation for robustness and good value and they soon began making their appearance in England and Australia. He was one of the pioneers of what has since become a worldwide cottage industry.