By Elliott West
“Just settle in”.
Tony Green
Introduction
Every sport has its voice and for darts aside from Sid Waddell, the precursor and trailblazer was Tony Green. Tony had a velvety and silky-smooth voice that was perfect for the microphone. He eased the viewer into a darts match but there was to press the nuclear button when drama hit the oche. A true professional of the highest degree, Green’s voice never lost its Hull birthplace. A man who witnessed the golden era of darts, Bob Anderson, Eric Bristow, Keith Deller, Bobby George, John Lowe, Leighton Rees, Cliff Lazarenko, John Part and Jocky Wilson, powerhouses of the game. All staged in iconic venues such as the Circus Tavern, Purfleet, Lakeside, Winter Gardens, Blackpool and Jollees Cabaret Club in Stoke-on-Trent.
Whatever role Tony was tasked in the world of darts, Green played it to perfection. Always suited and booted, he was a true ambassador for the arrows. Brilliant as a scorer, commentator and a fine amateur player in his day, playing county darts for Lancashire. A key player in the revolution of darts that created the PDC away from the BDO. He was also a one-time chair of the International Darts Players’ Association (IDPA), the ‘players’ union’ for those who remained with the BDO.
Longevity
Anthony John Green was born in Hull on January 29, 1939. A working-class lad with a passion for darts. A pub game that quickly became a sport. A game that in the early days was played for love and passion and the monetary return was minimal. A world that worked hand in hand with a drinking culture and was accompanied by copious amounts of cigarettes. Tony saw it all and upskilled as he went along. A man who loved the rough and tumble of the working men’s clubs and followed so many players from their infancy to their glory days.
Tony Green’s job history in darts is second to none. The lead BBC commentator from the first British Darts Organisation World Championship in 1978, held in the Heart of the Midlands in Nottingham and won by Leighton Rees. A tournament devised by Mike Watterson, the man who brought the World Championship in snooker to The Crucible in 1977 and first thought of this darting idea in a barber’s chair in 1977. A stalwart who remained with the BBC until the very end with their last coverage of the tournament in 2016.
Bullseye
When Central Television commissioned the idea of a Sunday afternoon darts quiz show, the only sidekick to Jim Bowen, a regular on The Comedians and a former school teacher, was Tony Green. The pair worked in perfect partnership despite the Crossroads set and script that didn’t always go to plan. The show brought in the elderly by the coach load to populate the audience. With contestants, some were just as wobbly at darts as at general knowledge. The prizes improved with time, upgrading from a teas maid to a speed boat, a crystal decanter to a caravan and eventually to a car or a holiday abroad. Whether you won the tankard or Bendy Bully or both, Jim had to have his two minutes to count out a handful of old ten-pound notes in the advertising break.
Yet Bullseye grew into a cult status, attracting all the big names of darts at the time to throw for charity and attempt to win to attain the golden Bully. A show that boosted the profile of darts and left the winning contestants with a mountain of prizes that would be difficult to fit into your house, especially the cumbersome speed boat. With a catchy theme tune and the moos of Bully a must, this would be a show that ran between 1982 and 1995 and a return on Challenge TV hosted this time by Dave Spikey of Phoenix Nights fame with Tony Green again in tow. Tony would also come back as the scorer for a special edition of the show as part of a Gameshow Marathon on ITV on 19 May 2007. Green would also later appear on Meet Ricky Gervais in 2000 and co-hosted Challenge TV’s coverage of the inaugural PDC US Open tournament in 2007 and as a commentator and narrator for Let’s Play Darts For Comic Relief in 2015. Tony took a career break in 2010 while he underwent treatment for tongue cancer. Treatment was successful but sadly passed away on 4 March 2024, aged 85 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
