Davis scored the first officially recognised maximum break of 147 on 22 January 1955 at Leicester Square Hall in an exhibition match against Willie Smith. Because the match had taken place under the rules used by professionals that included the "play again" rule under which the opponent can require a player who has made a shot to play the next shot as well, the BA&CC initially refused to recognise the break because it was not made under their own version of the rules. The BA&CC recognised the break in April 1957, shortly before the "play again" rule was incorporated into their own rules for amateur players.