WHEN it comes to experience there can be few billiards players who have amassed quite as much knowledge over the years as Wilf Hoskin.

Wilf, aged 92, has been playing since l923, and was still playing competitively last week when he stepped in to help form a team for St Cleer in the Roseland Group Liskeard and District Billiards league.

Wilf put up a spirited battle against a strong player from Downderry, but unfortunately lost in the end.

He was only ten months old when he moved to Tremar with his family, and when he first played billiards locally did so for the St Cleer Unionist club. Once that closed down in the l930s he switched instead to the Liberal club in the village.

He much prefers billiards to snooker, saying that it has a greater variety of shots. He has had two l00 billiards breaks during his long and impressive career, one in l939 and the other in l963.

But Wilf is an all-round sportsman. He has played cricket, and soccer to a high level, starting with a club at Moorswater, and then appearing for Plymouth Argyle Reserves against Launceston in l930, and rattled four goals past them.

However, he didn't sign on for them because his father needed him on the farm. He also played for Torquay Reserves.

The greatest number of goals amassed in one season was 168 for Moorswater in l929/30. The greatest thrill of his soccer career was when he hit the equalising goal for St Cleer in the last minute of the Shield final.