Eric Bristow: The Crafty Cockney who turned a pub game into a television spectacle

He once hailed Muhammad Ali as ‘the only bloke I look up to’ and, like Ali, his televised performances drew in those who normally took no interest in his sport

The much-loved darts player became a pundit on Sky Sports and in 2012 finished fourth in ‘I’m A Celebrity...’ (Getty)

From toothless Scot Jocky Wilson and “Old Stoneface” John Lowe to Welsh duo “The Rhondda Legend” Alan Evans and “Marathon Man” Leighton Rees, darts had plenty of personalities in the 1970s. It did not boast a bona fide superstar, however, until Eric Bristow, “The Crafty Cockney”, came along.

The five-time world champion transformed the image of what was regarded as a pub game, giving it credibility and inspiring a new generation. Never short of swagger, Bristow once hailed Muhammad Ali as “the only bloke I look up to”, and, like Ali, his televised performances drew in those who normally took no interest in his sport.

Born in Hackney, east London, Bristow grew up in neighbouring Stoke Newington. He received his first dartboard from his father at 11, after passing his 11-plus and winning a place at grammar school. However, his promise with the “arrers” did not stop his becoming involved in burgling, joyriding and fighting in a teenage gang.

,Bristow was one of darts’ original superstars (Getty) (Getty Images)

Bristow’s big breakthrough came in 1980 when he beat Bobby George to win his first world title. The venue was Jollees, a nightclub beneath a bus station in Stoke-on-Trent, the city to which he had moved and where he would open a darts-themed pub, The Crafty Cockney.

He was then living with Maureen Flowers, herself a fine player. Even after that relationship ended Bristow made his home in the Potteries, leading wags to rebrand him “The Crafty Stokie”. Four more world titles arrived between 1981 and 1986 and he also took the World Masters five times as well as winning both the British and North American Opens on four occasions.

Having been awarded the MBE in 1989, Bristow was one of 16 players who founded the World Darts Council in 1993. Its successor, the Professional Darts Corporation, propelled the game into a lucrative new era. One of the principal beneficiaries was another North Staffordshire player, Phil “The Power” Taylor, to whom Bristow loaned £10,000 to help him escape his job making ceramic toilet-roll holders. The protégé soon usurped the master.

​Bristow last played professionally in 2000 but sometimes appeared in the Leek & District League in the Staffordshire Moorlands town where he lived with partner Becky Gadd. He had a son and daughter from his marriage to Jane Bristow, which ended in divorce after 16 years. He also worked as a pundit on Sky Sports and in 2012 finished fourth in the ITV reality show I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!

He died from a heart attack in the setting where he spent his sporting life, among darts players and 8,000 fans at a Premier League meeting in Liverpool. Although he was aged 60, friends and admirers believed he would have preferred to call it treble 20.

Eric John Bristow MBE, darts player, born 25 April 1957, died 5 April 2018