Contents

• Early life
• Life as a Paralympic athlete
• Recollections
• Retirement as a Paralympic athlete

9th March 1958 – 14th July 2018

Early life

Mick was born on the 9th March 1958 and lived in Farnham Common, Buckinghamshire. At 16 years old, on the 1st November 1974 Mick was involved in a car accident that killed his best friend and left him paralysed from the waist down.

Life as a Paralympic athlete

Mick began to play snooker whilst in hospital in the late 1970s. His family say it became his life.

Mick competed in wheelchair snooker. As a Paralympian, he won a bronze medal at the Stoke Mandeville 1984 Paralympic Games and a gold medal at the Seoul 1988 Games, which was the last time snooker was included as a Paralympic sport.

Mick Langley (left) in Seoul, South Korea

Recollections of Mick's family

Mick's accident

When Mick had his accident, he was taken to Stoke Mandeville Hospital, where his family visited him on a daily basis for several months.  

What was his attitude after his accident?

He was positive.  He never moaned or grumbled.  He just accepted it.  He was determined and it never stopped him from doing anything he set his mind on, including getting married twice.

What did the spinal unit and sport opportunity give him at Stoke Mandeville?

It just gave him a whole new lease of life.  We honestly do not know how he would have been if he had not taken up sport.  In Stoke Mandeville, he made such good friends and, once he got used to his wheelchair, we had many a laugh together.  When he went for his regular check-ups, he always went back to ward 1X and had a chat with them all.

At Stoke Mandeville, as well as the Paralympic Games, there were National Games.  Afterwards, Mick enjoyed going to the discos in the huts which were quite good fun.  

When he started playing snooker, his family often went with him to as many snooker tournaments as they could.  He met so many friends through playing snooker and travelling; he just loved it.

Mick visited Australia to compete in a wheelchair snooker tournament.  After this, he regularly went back for holidays as he loved spending time with his Australian cousins.  However, Mick found the journey difficult as his family recall him not eating for 24 hours before a flight as he found it difficult to access the aircraft toilets. 

His doctor was Dr Frankel - what are your memories of Dr Frankel?

As his sister was only fourteen when Mick had his accident, she has little memory of Dr Frankel.  However, she vividly remembers going with him to see a Dr Jamous when he went for his check-ups.  She remembered them having such a laugh with Dr Jamous, even when Mick was briefly admitted to hospital for a small problem.   

Mick looked after himself really well.  If he got anything he was worried about, he was straight down to Stoke Mandeville.  

Retirement as a Paralympic athlete

Mick stopped playing competitive snooker in 2003 but continued to play 9-ball pool competitively until 2015. 

Afterwards, it gave him the opportunity to watch football matches at Slough Town Football Club.  Also, as a very keen supporter of Manchester United, he would often drive up there on a Saturday and drive home after the match.  

His last illness

When he got his last illness, he realised he should not have gone that last time to Australia. Apart from that he always really kept quite well.  He never had much illness, and the blow was that he really did not realise just how poorly he was.

Sadly, Mick died on 14 July 2018 from Sepsis.  In August 2018, a minute’s silence was held for him at the Inaugural Kamui Open Disability 9-Ball Pool Championship, hosted by the British Wheelchair Pool Players Association.  

Mick had a rich, fulfilling and successful life, with travel, glamour and mixing with the likes of Princess Diana. His family were always so proud of him and supported him in everything he did.   

References

• Transcripts from interviews with Mick's family (February 2020).
• http://bwppa.com/calendar/news/page/2/ 
• https://www.paralympic.org/mike-langley