Early Life
White was born in Streathbourne Road, Tooting, London, England, and studied at Hillcroft Comprehensive (Later renamed (Ernest Bevin College). He never achieved academic success, as he was often truant from school from the age of eight or nine, spending more and more time at "Zans", Ted Zanoncelli's snooker hall. The club was affectionally known as "Zans" and after Ted's death in 1978 it was handed down to his daughter Susan Kelly along with a second club based in the seaside resort of Worthing in West Sussex. The Kelly family often known as the royal family of snooker continued to run Ted's snooker empire up until February 2008. Interestingly between 2001-2008 the club was managed by Edward James Kelly b.1981, a former member of the Great Britain Judo Team. It was around this time that he met Tony Meo with whom he would compete in money matches in many venues. His natural aptitude for snooker led to a successful amateur career. After winning the English Amateur Championship in 1979, a year later he became the youngest-ever winner of the World Amateur Snooker Championship, aged 18.
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