Jocky Wilson
Encyclopedia
John Thomas Wilson known as "Jocky" Wilson, is a former Scottish
darts
champion. He retired from the game in 1995.
Wilson was twice World professional Darts Champion in 1982 and 1989. A contemporary and rival of Eric Bristow
, Bob Anderson
and John Lowe
, Wilson won many titles in his career including the British Professional Championship a record four times between 1981 and 1988, as well as the prestigious British Open and Matchplay titles.
. However, it was a spell of unemployment which was to prove the catalyst to Jocky achieving darting greatness. During this period of unemployment, Jocky entered a darts competition at Butlins
in Ayr
in 1979, which he went on to win, claiming the top prize of £500.
His success at this tournament convinced him that he should turn professional as darts was beginning to become popular on television and the World Championship was in its infancy.
His record at the World Championship was one of great consistency. From his debut in 1979 until 1991 he managed to reach at least the quarter-finals on every single occasion. He was quarter-finalist eight times (1979, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1991) and three-times a losing semi-finalist (1983, 1984, 1987) in addition to his two World titles. In 1992 and 1993 he suffered first round defeats for the only time at the Lakeside Country Club
.
in 1993 to form the WDC (now Professional Darts Corporation
). He was never able to recapture the form that took him to two world championships. He never won a single match in the PDC World Championship in which he only participated twice. He lost both group games in 1994 (to Dennis Priestley and Graeme Stoddart) and again in 1995 (to Priestley and Lowe).
He did reach the final of the WDC Lada Classic in 1993, one of the very early tournaments during the acrimonious split. He lost that final to Mike Gregory. Wilson also reached the quarter-finals of the 1994 World Matchplay
, losing to eventual champion Larry Butler.
But his final appearance in a televised tournament came in the 1995 World Matchplay
. He beat Rod Harrington 8-7 in the first round, but lost to Nigel Justice in the second round. Wilson never appeared in a major televised event again.
In 1982, Wilson was banned from competing in darts tournaments after he allegedly threw a punch at an official during a championship. This was taken as a reaction to Jocky being under intense pressure at the time of the Falklands War
, as he was married to an Argentine
woman named Malvina (the Argentine name for the Falkland Islands
is "Islas Malvinas"). He was soon allowed back into professional competitions again.
In 1989 he released a record "Jocky on the oche" but it failed to spark the public imagination and is reputed to have sold just 850 copies.
Jocky and Malvina have two sons, John and William and one daughter Anne Marie.
Jocky had been a heavy drinker and his lifestyle contributed to the onset of diabetes in 1995. For ten years during his darts career he had a house in Wallsend
to cut down on travel expenses, but he left that to return to his home town of Kirkcaldy
. Within two years, he was declared bankrupt, and now survives on disability allowance, living as a recluse
in a one-bedroom flat back on the council estate where he grew up.
In 1996 he said, "I don't want anyone feeling sorry for me. There's only one person to blame for the situation I'm in, and that's me."
He no longer gives interviews to the press and television. An Observer reporter tried to interview Jocky in January 2007 on the 25th anniversary of his first title win to be told by his wife, "He never has (given an interview) since stopping and never will. He thinks it's all in the past, it's over with."
Despite Jocky's withdrawal from the game, in August 2009, the PDC announced a new tournament called 'The Jocky Wilson Cup
' in which Scotland's best played England's best. England beat Scotland 6-0 in the inaugural Jocky Wilson Cup in December 2009.
A heavy smoker for forty years, in November 2009 it was announced that he had been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
darts
Darts
Darts is a form of throwing game where darts are thrown at a circular target fixed to a wall. Though various boards and games have been used in the past, the term "darts" usually now refers to a standardised game involving a specific board design and set of rules...
champion. He retired from the game in 1995.
Wilson was twice World professional Darts Champion in 1982 and 1989. A contemporary and rival of Eric Bristow
Eric Bristow
Eric Bristow MBE is a British darts player, whose skill at the game in the 1980s helped turn it into a worldwide spectator sport.- Early career :...
, Bob Anderson
Bob Anderson (darts player)
Robert Charles "Bob" Anderson is a former world darts champion. He was ranked as world number one for over three years in the late 1980s. Nicknamed The Limestone Cowboy, he lives in Clevedon in Somerset.-Before Darts:Anderson threw his first darts maximum at the age of just five...
and John Lowe
John Lowe
John Lowe is an English darts player who was one of the best-known men in darts during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the United Kingdom. Lowe is one of only five players to have won the World Championship 3 times.-Biography:Lowe won the World Championship title in three different decades -...
, Wilson won many titles in his career including the British Professional Championship a record four times between 1981 and 1988, as well as the prestigious British Open and Matchplay titles.
Early life
Wilson had been a coal delivery man and also a miner at Kirkcaldy's Seafield CollierySeafield Colliery
Seafield Colliery was in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland at . Work on the colliery was started in 12 May 1954 and it was opened in 1960. On 10 May 1973, five men were killed when a roof collapsed. Despite it being said that it had a life of 150 years, with reserves of 60 million tons - much of the coal...
. However, it was a spell of unemployment which was to prove the catalyst to Jocky achieving darting greatness. During this period of unemployment, Jocky entered a darts competition at Butlins
Butlins
Butlins is a chain of large holiday camps in the United Kingdom. Butlins was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families....
in Ayr
Ayr
Ayr is a town and port situated on the Firth of Clyde in south-west Scotland. With a population of around 46,000, Ayr is the largest settlement in Ayrshire, of which it is the county town, and has held royal burgh status since 1205...
in 1979, which he went on to win, claiming the top prize of £500.
His success at this tournament convinced him that he should turn professional as darts was beginning to become popular on television and the World Championship was in its infancy.
Greatest achievements
His greatest achievements came in the World Championships, first in 1982 where he beat Lowe 5-3 in the final, and then seven years later, when he beat his other great rival Bristow 6-4 in a classic match, where Bristow had recovered from 5-0 down to find himself at 5-4 and 2-2 in the tenth set. This was to be the Scot's last taste of success in a major event although the odd final appearance still came over the next few years.His record at the World Championship was one of great consistency. From his debut in 1979 until 1991 he managed to reach at least the quarter-finals on every single occasion. He was quarter-finalist eight times (1979, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1991) and three-times a losing semi-finalist (1983, 1984, 1987) in addition to his two World titles. In 1992 and 1993 he suffered first round defeats for the only time at the Lakeside Country Club
Lakeside Leisure Complex
The Lakeside Leisure Complex is a hotel, entertainment and leisure complex in Frimley Green near Camberley in Surrey. It is most famous as being the venue of the BDO World Darts Championship.-History:...
.
Darts split
Wilson joined the other top professionals who split away from the ruling British Darts OrganisationBritish Darts Organisation
The British Darts Organisation, or the BDO for short, is a darts organisation founded on 7 January 1973 by Olly Croft, OBE. The BDO is a founder member of the World Darts Federation which was formed in 1976....
in 1993 to form the WDC (now Professional Darts Corporation
Professional Darts Corporation
The Professional Darts Corporation is a professional darts organization, established in the United Kingdom during 1992, when a group of leading professional players split from the British Darts Organisation to form what was initially called the World Darts Council...
). He was never able to recapture the form that took him to two world championships. He never won a single match in the PDC World Championship in which he only participated twice. He lost both group games in 1994 (to Dennis Priestley and Graeme Stoddart) and again in 1995 (to Priestley and Lowe).
He did reach the final of the WDC Lada Classic in 1993, one of the very early tournaments during the acrimonious split. He lost that final to Mike Gregory. Wilson also reached the quarter-finals of the 1994 World Matchplay
1994 World Matchplay Darts
The 1994 World Matchplay was a darts tournament held in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. This was the first World Matchplay tournament to be held at Winter Gardens, and was sponsored by Malaysian automaker Proton. The tournament was won by Larry Butler.-Results:Players must...
, losing to eventual champion Larry Butler.
But his final appearance in a televised tournament came in the 1995 World Matchplay
1995 World Matchplay Darts
The 1995 Websters World Matchplay was the second annual World Matchplay darts tournament organised by the World Darts Council . The Winter Gardens, Blackpool played host to the event for the second year running.Seven former world champions were in the field...
. He beat Rod Harrington 8-7 in the first round, but lost to Nigel Justice in the second round. Wilson never appeared in a major televised event again.
Personal life
Wilson was sometimes controversial, occasionally outspoken, but always extremely popular with darts fans who loved his honest approach and natural talent.In 1982, Wilson was banned from competing in darts tournaments after he allegedly threw a punch at an official during a championship. This was taken as a reaction to Jocky being under intense pressure at the time of the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
, as he was married to an Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
woman named Malvina (the Argentine name for the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
is "Islas Malvinas"). He was soon allowed back into professional competitions again.
In 1989 he released a record "Jocky on the oche" but it failed to spark the public imagination and is reputed to have sold just 850 copies.
Jocky and Malvina have two sons, John and William and one daughter Anne Marie.
- Wilson was a constant sweet-eater and generally refused to brush his teeth - "my Gran told me the English poison the water" - he had lost his last tooth by the age of 28. Following his 1982 World title win, he paid £1,200 for dentures, but never took to them. They made him belch when drinking, he complained.
After retirement
Wilson never formally announced his retirement from darts; he just departed from darts suddenly on the 23rd December 1995.Jocky had been a heavy drinker and his lifestyle contributed to the onset of diabetes in 1995. For ten years during his darts career he had a house in Wallsend
Wallsend
Wallsend is an area in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. Wallsend derives its name as the location of the end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 42,842.-Romans:...
to cut down on travel expenses, but he left that to return to his home town of Kirkcaldy
Kirkcaldy
Kirkcaldy is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. The town lies on a shallow bay on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth; SSE of Glenrothes, ENE of Dunfermline, WSW of Dundee and NNE of Edinburgh...
. Within two years, he was declared bankrupt, and now survives on disability allowance, living as a recluse
Recluse
A recluse is a person who lives in voluntary seclusion from the public and society, often close to nature. The word is from the Latin recludere, which means "shut up" or "sequester." There are many potential reasons for becoming a recluse: a personal philosophy that rejects consumer society; a...
in a one-bedroom flat back on the council estate where he grew up.
In 1996 he said, "I don't want anyone feeling sorry for me. There's only one person to blame for the situation I'm in, and that's me."
He no longer gives interviews to the press and television. An Observer reporter tried to interview Jocky in January 2007 on the 25th anniversary of his first title win to be told by his wife, "He never has (given an interview) since stopping and never will. He thinks it's all in the past, it's over with."
Despite Jocky's withdrawal from the game, in August 2009, the PDC announced a new tournament called 'The Jocky Wilson Cup
Jocky Wilson Cup
The Jocky Wilson Cup was a one-off international darts tournament, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation, held between England and Scotland in 2009...
' in which Scotland's best played England's best. England beat Scotland 6-0 in the inaugural Jocky Wilson Cup in December 2009.
A heavy smoker for forty years, in November 2009 it was announced that he had been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease , also known as chronic obstructive lung disease , chronic obstructive airway disease , chronic airflow limitation and chronic obstructive respiratory disease , is the co-occurrence of chronic bronchitis and emphysema, a pair of commonly co-existing diseases...
.
BDO
- 1979: Quarter Final (lost to John LoweJohn LoweJohn Lowe is an English darts player who was one of the best-known men in darts during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the United Kingdom. Lowe is one of only five players to have won the World Championship 3 times.-Biography:Lowe won the World Championship title in three different decades -...
1-3) - 1980: Quarter Final (lost to Eric BristowEric BristowEric Bristow MBE is a British darts player, whose skill at the game in the 1980s helped turn it into a worldwide spectator sport.- Early career :...
0-3) - 1981: Quarter Final (lost to Tony BrownTony Brown (darts player)Tony Brown is a former English professional darts player. He reached the World Professional Darts Championships semi-finals four times, losing twice to Eric Bristow and twice to John Lowe....
2-4) - 1982: Winner (beat John Lowe 5-3)
- 1983: 3rd place (beat Tony Brown 2-0; lost in Semi Final to Keith DellerKeith DellerKeith Deller is an English darts player, who won the Embassy World Professional Darts Championship in 1983. He was the first qualifier ever to win the championship and remains one of the youngest champions in history...
3-5) - 1984: Semi Final (lost to Dave WhitcombeDave WhitcombeDave Whitcombe is an English professional darts player who won several major tournaments and reached two World Championship Finals. He had a long professional career between 1980 and 1992.-Biography:...
5-6) - 1985: Quarter Final (lost to Dave Whitcombe 3-4)
- 1986: Quarter Final (lost to Dave Whitcombe 2-4)
- 1987: Semi Final (lost to John Lowe 0-5)
- 1988: Quarter Final (lost to Eric Bristow 2-4)
- 1989: Winner (beat Eric Bristow 6-4)
- 1990: Quarter Final (lost to Mike Gregory 3-4)
- 1991: Quarter Final (lost to Kevin KennyKevin KennyKevin Kenny is a former darts player who played for England and Merseyside. Kenny received 12 caps for England, winning 11 times, and 116 caps for Merseyside, winning 92. He was also a two time semi-finalist at the BDO World Darts Championships and a semi-finalist at the News of the World Darts...
3-4) - 1992: First round (lost to Kevin Kenny 1-3)
- 1993: First round (lost to Dennis PriestleyDennis PriestleyDennis Priestley is an English professional darts player. He has won two world championships, and was the first player to win both the BDO and WDC world championships, in 1991 and 1994 respectively...
0-3)
PDC
- 1994: Group Stage (lost both group games to Dennis Priestley and Graeme Stoddart)
- 1995: Group Stage (lost both group games to Dennis Priestley and John Lowe)
In popular culture
- In one famous incident in 1982 his picture was displayed on Top of the PopsTop of the PopsTop of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
during a performance of "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)"Jackie Wilson Said " is a song written and performed by Van Morrison and featured as the opening track on his sixth studio album, Saint Dominic's Preview. It was released by Warner Bros...
" by Dexys Midnight RunnersDexys Midnight RunnersDexys Midnight Runners are a British pop group with soul influences, who achieved their major success in the early to mid 1980s. They are best known for their songs "Come On Eileen" and "Geno", both of which went No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart....
, apparently an in-joke on the part of the production staff. - Jocky was one of the first sports people to have a computer game created after him. Published by Zeppelin Games, "Jocky Wilson's Darts ChallengeJocky Wilson's Darts ChallengeJocky Wilson's Darts Challenge, is a computer game of darts, created after famous darts champion Jocky Wilson. The game was published by Zeppelin Games and was released in 1989 for the Atari 8-bit family, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum Amstrad CPC and Amiga. Music for the game was composed by Adam...
" (1988) and later "Jocky Wilson's Darts Compendium" (1991) were created for several different home computer systems.
- One of the suites in the fictional Phoenix Club (as seen in Phoenix Nights) was named after Jocky Wilson.