The son of Ben and Cynthia Reardon,[2] he was born on 8 October 1932 in the coal mining community of Tredegar in Monmouthshire, Wales.

[3] When eight years old, he was introduced to a version of snooker by his uncle, and at ten he was practising cue sports twice-weekly at Tredegar Workmen's Institute as well as on a scaled-down billiard table at home.

He primarily played English billiards rather than snooker, which, according to authors Luke Williams and Paul Gadsby, helped improve his control of the cue ball and his potting.

[4] At the age of 14, following in the footsteps of his father, Reardon turned down a place at a grammar school to become a miner at Ty Trist Colliery.

[5]: 43  After a rockfall in which he was buried for three hours, and with Sue's encouragement, he quit mining and became a police officer in 1960 when his family moved to Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England.

[7] Reardon first won the Welsh Amateur Championship in 1950, defeating the defending champion John Ford 5–3 in the final,[8] and he retained the title every year until 1955.

[10] Reardon played a fellow Tredegar resident, Cliff Wilson, in a succession of money matches and faced him several times in amateur tournaments.

"[13] After losing in the first round of the 1957 English Amateur Championship, Reardon decided to take some time out from competitive snooker to work on improving his game.

When he played Jimmy van Rensberg in the South African Challenge, Reardon won the best-of-three matches event 2–1.

[17] The match featured lengthy tactical exchanges between the players, resulting in some of the longest sessions ever recorded in World Championship play.

[18][19] In July 1969, the BBC began broadcasting Pot Black, a competition of one-frame matches which became popular with viewers and enhanced the profile and earning power of the participants.

[29][30] Reardon defended his World Championship title in 1974, defeating Meadowcroft 15–3, Marcus Owen 15–11 and Davis 15–3 before beating Graham Miles 22–12 in the final.

[29] In a post-match interview, Reardon suggested that he had not played "any better than mediocre" in the final, but that Miles had not created any pressure for him, adding: "I don't feel the elation that I felt at winning last year.

[34] At the 1975 World Championship in Australia, he won a tough quarter-final against Spencer, 19–17, and then eliminated Alex Higgins 19–14 in the semi-finals to meet Charlton in the final.

During the final in Manchester against Higgins, Reardon complained about the television lighting (which was changed), the quality of the table (to which adjustments were subsequently made), and the referee (who was replaced).

[38] Both players made a century break in the match, Reardon pulling ahead to 8–5 after losing all of the first three frames, but then needing the last two when Davis took the score to 9–8.

[45][46] Soon after establishing this record, Reardon regained the Pontins Professional title, taking it for the fourth time in five years, defeating Spencer 7–2 in the final.

En route to the final, he defeated Jim Donnelly 10–5, John Virgo 13–8, Silvino Francisco 13–8, and Charlton, in the semi-finals, by 16–11 after winning five successive frames from 11-all.

In the next round, playing under TV lighting, he suffered a drying of contact lenses (which he started using in 1987) and lost 2–5 to David Roe, having led 2–1.

[67] Reardon played his last competitive ranking match in the second round of qualifying for the 1991 World Championship, where he was defeated 5–10 by Jason Prince, losing three frames on the final black.

[10][73] In January 1976, Reardon was the subject of an episode of the British TV show, This is Your Life, the guests including Spencer, Charlton, Higgins, Pulman, Miles, Thorburn, Jackie Rea and Joyce Gardner.

[86] Reardon was a castaway on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs in 1979, and chose a set of golf clubs and balls as his luxury item.

[87] His prominent eye teeth and widow's peak led to him being nicknamed "Dracula";[88][89] the sobriquet was first used by Paul Daniels after Reardon appeared on one of his television shows.

[90] Everton has described Reardon in his early career as a "deadly long potter", and praised his "nerve with which he identifies and seizes frame winning openings.

"[61] Jack Karnehm wrote that Reardon achieved "complete and utter dominance of the game" by 1976,[91] and "had a determination and will to win unequalled since the heyday of Joe Davis.

"[92] Williams and Gadsby described Reardon as "without doubt the most successful snooker player of the 1970s", and claimed "he set new standards for mental fortitude" in the game.

[103] Three-time world champion Mark Williams led tributes to his fellow Welshman, describing Reardon as "one of the best sportspeople ever from Wales and the best snooker player.