Jocky Wilson
| Jocky Wilson | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Full name | John Thomas Wilson |
| Nickname | Jocky |
| Born |
22 March 1950 Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland |
| Died | 24 March 2012 (aged 62) Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland |
| Darts information | |
| Darts | 21g datadart |
| Laterality | Right-handed |
| Organisation (see split in darts) | |
| BDO | 1978-1993 |
| PDC | 1993-1996 (Founding Member) |
| BDO majors - best performances | |
| World Ch'ship | Winner 1982, 1989 |
| World Masters | Runner Up: 1982, 1990 |
| PDC premier events - best performances | |
| World Ch'ship | Last 24 Group: 1994, 1995 |
| World Matchplay | Quarter Final: 1994 |
| Other tournament wins | |
| Tournament | Years |
| Autumn Gold Cider Masters British Open Bullseye Darts Championship Finnish Open MFI World Pairs Scottish Masters Best Old Major Results British Professional British Matchplay |
1985 1982 1980, 1981 1986 1988 1980, 1983, 1984 1981, 1983, 1986, 1988 1980, 1981 |
| Other achievements | |
| Denmark Open Pairs Winner 1981, 1983, 1984 | |
| Updated on 17 January 2007. | |
John Thomas "Jocky" Wilson (22 March 1950 – 24 March 2012) was a professional darts player from Fife, Scotland. 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. 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. He suddenly retired from the game on 23 December 1995, withdrew from public life, and was rarely seen in public or gave interviews before his death in March 2012.
As a child, Wilson's parents were deemed unfit to raise him and Wilson spent much of his childhood in an orphanage. Wilson served in the British Army from 1966 to 1968.
He had been a coal delivery man, 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 darting greatness. 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. His success in this tournament convinced him that he should turn professional.
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. 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 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 though that despite this, 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'.
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