Jocky Wilson

John Thomas "Jocky" Wilson (22 March 1950 – 24 March 2012) was a Scottish professional darts player.

Wilson served in the British Army from 1966–68.

He also worked as a coalman, a fish processor, and also a miner at Kirkcaldy's Seafield Colliery.

However, it was a spell of unemployment which was to prove the catalyst to Wilson achieving great prowess.

After turning pro in 1979, he quickly rose to the top of the game, winning the World Professional Darts Championship in 1982, then again in 1989.

In 1979, during this period of unemployment, he entered a darts competition at Butlins, Ayrshire, which he went on to win, claiming the top prize of £500 (worth £2,296.76 in 2023).

His success in this tournament convinced him that he should turn professional.

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.

Wilson competed in all major darts tournaments of the era and won the British Professional Championship a record four times between 1981 and 1988.

A contemporary and rival of Eric Bristow, Bob Anderson and John Lowe, Wilson's ungainly appearance and rough-hewn lifestyle belied his prowess in the sport.

In 1981, Wilson beat world number one Eric Bristow and Cliff Lazarenko of England in the BDO Nations Cup final.

His Scotland teammates in the 5–4 win were captain Rab Smith and Angus Ross.

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 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.

He made several guest appearances on television including the popular darts themed quiz show Bullseye hosted by Jim Bowen, on 28 November 1982, produced by Central Television.

In the television documentary, Eric Bristow: Sports Life Stories, Bristow described various psychological ploys he used against his opponents to "scramble their heads".

He added that in response the only two opponents who would look him in the eye at the handshake at the start of a game were Wilson and Lowe, saying that like himself they had "no fear".

He also referred to Wilson's unorthodox style such as a tendency to jerk his shoulder on throwing the third dart.

Bristow commented that it seemed to have no detrimental effect on the accuracy, describing Wilson as "a one off".

Bristow stated though that Wilson's sporting demise was due to the increasing volumes of alcoholic spirits Wilson would consume remarking, 'At the end he was doing a 40 oz bottle'.

In 1992 and 1993 he suffered first round defeats for the only time at the Lakeside Country Club.

Wilson joined the other top professionals who split away from the ruling British Darts Organisation in 1993 to form the WDC (now Professional Darts Corporation).

He was not able to recapture the form that took him to two world championships however, and only participated in two PDC World Championships, failing to win a single match.

One of the highlights of Wilson's three years in the WDC was him reaching the final of the 1993 WDC Skol UK Matchplay in March 1993, which was broadcast on ITV and played on quadro dartboards.

Wilson became one of the few players to have hit 240 on television during a visit to the dart board, by getting 3 darts in the quadruple 20, during his semi final victory over John Lowe.

Wilson lost the final to Dennis Priestley.

He lost both group games in 1994 (to Dennis Priestley and Graeme Stoddart) and again in 1995 (to Priestley and Lowe).

Wilson reached the quarter-finals of the 1994 World Matchplay, losing to eventual champion Larry Butler.

He was dogged by health problems, however, and suddenly retired from the game in December 1995.

Wilson's final appearance in a televised tournament came in the 1995 World Matchplay.

He beat Rod Harrington 8–4 in the first round, but lost to Nigel Justice in the second round.

Wilson never appeared in a major televised event again.

Although Wilson never formally announced his retirement, he stopped competing professionally on 23 December 1995.

It is rumoured that he left after being diagnosed with diabetes, which stopped him from drinking during games.

He withdrew from public life, and was rarely seen in public or gave interviews before his death in March 2012.

In 2022 the new World Seniors Darts Championships was launched with the trophy engraved with the names of four deceased former World Champions on the darts: Wilson, Bristow, Leighton Rees and Andy Fordham.

As a child, Wilson's parents were deemed unfit to raise him and Wilson spent much of his childhood in an orphanage.

He began playing in a local pub in Kirkcaldy where the landlady supported his interest in darts by giving him a used board to practice on.