By Elliott West
“He was comical, and a very good darts player. He had a terrible style. He used to throw the last dart like a hand grenade but he would hit the targets”.
Bobby George
Introduction
When you mention darts to someone, one name that is constantly mentioned is Jocky Wilson. This player from Kirkcaldy in Scotland ruled the television airwaves in the 1980s, having first started playing darts in 1972 and turning professional in 1979, Wilson went on to win the World Professional Darts Championship in 1982, beating John Lowe 5-3 and again in 1989, defeating Eric Bristow 6-4 in the final. He would also go on to win the British Professional Championship, a record four times between 1981 and 1988 and a whole host of other titles during his career.
The Man behind the Darts
Born John Thomas Wilson in 1950, Jocky spent some of his childhood in a children’s home after his parents split up and by the age of 19, he was claiming benefits in Kirkcaldy. Making ends meet previously by picking up jobs such as gutting fish, potato picking and working in the local coal mine, the man who his friends nicknamed ‘Gumsy’ due to his constant sweet-eating and refusal to brush his teeth. An oddity that was brought on when his grandmother had told him as a child that ‘the English poison the water’ and as a result caused him to lose all his teeth by the age of 28. Wilson would later buy a set of dentures, costing £1,200 after winning the 1982 World Championship. However, he could never get used to them, causing him to belch while drinking. In the end, they end up as a ball marker when he played pool with Eric Bristow. He later wrote in his autobiography entitled ‘Jocky’ :
“But I can manage just about anything with my gums. I can chew a steak provided it’s well done. I can even eat apples. Great Yarmouth rock and nuts are the only two things that defeat me.”
Jocky Wilson
Wilson turned to darts after first picking the arrows that would make him successful in life in the Lister bar, an evening where he was asked by the barmaid to fill in as a player in a team match but led to a whitewash or a ‘granny’ as they say in Scotland. An outcome that left him humiliated but he vowed never to let happen again. as a result, he got an old dartboard and practised day and night and the rest, as they say, is history. A defeat that led him to A heavy drinker and smoker whilst playing, Jocky would strike up a close friendship with Eric Bristow. However, the friendship was not always a bed of roses. Wilson once kicked Eric in the shin before a match and had to shake his hand on the stage whilst blood was running down his trouser leg.
However, Jocky’s love of alcohol eventually caught up with him, a tonic that once made him play better. As he grew older his game suffered as a result of it, causing him on one occasion to fall off a stage during a World darts semi-final. An accident that not only puzzled the cameraman but put a sudden end to a potential victory. Ironically he seldom drank when he wasn’t playing. A sad conclusion to such a successful career. A man who was one the life and soul of a party and worked tirelessly for various charities.
Solitude
After Jocky Wilson retired in 1995, he turned his back on darts and retreated to his one-bedroom council flat in Fife on the estate where he grew up. Living with his wife, Malvina, Wilson suffered from ill-health such as arthritis and diabetes, becoming a recluse, seldom leaving his front door. A lifestyle that reminds me of the last years of the snooker player, Bill Werbeniuk.
Now bankrupt after a series of incidents led to this status in 1997, Wilson once bought and lived in a five-bedroom bungalow, costing £40,000 with his family but copious binge drinking and disturbances, caused numerous complaints from the neighbours and the family had to move out after only three years. A life that ended with Wilson shuffling between his bed and the front room to watch television. A man that in the end was sadly engulfed with depression, passing away in 2012, aged 62 from lung disease.
Afterthought
Jocky Wilson was definitely one of the gifted players that darts has ever seen. The man who once served in the British army, became one of the sport’s own foot soldiers, having a unique and unorthodox throwing style and prowess that lit up any stage he set foot on. He was fierce, determined and like a dog with a bone, wouldn’t give up until the last dart was thrown. A jovial character when amongst friends and loved ones, Wilson was part of a golden era of darts and helped popularise a game that had largely been previously confined to pubs and working mens’ clubs. A true legend and someone I would hope will never be forgotten. A man who was once interviewed by Russell Harty and asked if he had won any big money that year. His response :
“I’ve won a few quid”.
Jocky Wilson
