Leighton Rees
| Leighton Rees | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Leighton Thomas Rees |
| Nickname | Marathon Man |
| Born |
17 January 1940 Ynysybwl, Glamorgan, Wales |
| Died | 8 June 2003 (aged 63) Ynysybwl, Wales |
| Darts information | |
| Playing darts since | 1970s |
| Laterality | Right-handed |
| Organisation (see split in darts) | |
| BDO | 1974–1991, 1994 |
| BDO majors - best performances | |
| World Ch'ship | Winner 1978 |
| World Masters | Quarter-final: 1981 |
| Other tournament wins | |
| Tournament | Years |
|
Indoor League WDF World Cup |
1974, 1976 |
WDF World Cup
1974, 1976
1977
Leighton Thomas Rees (17 January 1940 – 8 June 2003) was the first ever World Professional Darts Champion and former World No. 1 player.
Rees was born in the village of Ynysybwl, Glamorgan, where he spent most of his life. He attended the local Mill Street School in Pontypridd where one of his teachers famously declared on his report card that he would be "good only for reading the sports pages of the South Wales Echo". After leaving school he found work in the store room of a motor spares company, a job he did for over twenty years until he became a professional darts player in 1976.
It was during his time working as a store man that Leighton found the sport of darts, becoming a regular for his local pub and county. It was not until 1972 though that he gained any real national attention. Sid Waddell, who later became a commentator for Sky Sports, was at the time producer of Yorkshire Television's The Indoor League – a show with pub games tournaments. Waddell and his researchers had heard reports of a trio of great darts players in the South Wales valleys, an area that was quickly becoming a hotbed of talent for the sport. Waddell had already seen Alan Evans of Rhondda play at the Alexandra Palace during the 1972 News of the World Championship, the first darts tournament televised across Britain. The other two names mentioned were Tony Ridler of Newport and Leighton Rees of Ynysybwl.
Waddell quickly offered all three the chance to play on The Indoor League, which started being televised across Britain from 1973, and they did not disappoint, Ridler and Evans both scored a number of 180s in their matches, but although he did not perform as well in 1973, it was Leighton Rees who stole the show. Over a lager and a cigar he told presenter Fred Trueman, in his soon to be famous brand of dry humour, stories about himself and Evans hustling the English. Rees went on to have the most success of any darts player in The Indoor League, becoming the only player to win the darts tournament twice.
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