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Eric Bristow

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Eric Bristow
MBE
Bristow in 1985
Personal information
Full nameEric John Bristow
Nickname"The Crafty Cockney"
Born(1957-04-25)25 April 1957
Hackney, London, England
Died5 April 2018(2018-04-05) (aged 60)
Liverpool, England
Darts information
Playing darts since1968
Darts22g Harrows Eric Bristow
LateralityRight-handed
Walk-on music"Rabbit" by Chas & Dave
Organisation (see split in darts)
BDO1976–1993
PDC1993–2007 (Founding Member)
WDF major events – best performances
World Ch'shipWinner (5): 1980, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1986
World MastersWinner (5): 1977, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1984
PDC premier events – best performances
World Ch'shipSemi-final: 1997
World MatchplayLast 32: 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999
Other tournament wins
Belgium Open 1978, 1980, 1981
British Gold Cup 1980
British Open 1978, 1981, 1983, 1986
British Pentathlon 1981, 1989
Denmark Open1980, 1984, 1989
Dry Blackthorn Cider Masters1984, 1985, 1987
Flowers Dartsathlon1984
French Open 1985
Golden Darts Championship1979, 1980
Golden Gate Classic1980
Isle Of Man Challenge1983
Japan Open1991
Las Vegas Open1990
Los Angeles Open1985
MFI World Pairs1987
North American Open1979, 1983, 1984, 1986
Pacific Masters1981, 1986
PDC World Pairs1995
Santa Monica Open1979
Swedish Open1979, 1981, 1982
Tokyo World Darts Grand Prix1988
WDF World Cup Singles1983, 1985, 1987, 1989
WDF World Cup Pairs – (Team event)1977, 1979, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989
WDF World Cup Team – (Team event)1979, 1981, 1983, 1987, 1991
WDF Europe Cup Pairs1978, 1986
World Champion Super Challenge1984
Best Old Major Results
News of the World1983, 1984
Butlins Grand Masters1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986
MFI World Matchplay1985, 1988
British Professional1982, 1985
British Matchplay1982, 1983, 1986
Other achievements
1989 Appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire MBE[1]
Updated on 14 May 2024.

Eric John Bristow MBE (25 April 1957 – 5 April 2018), nicknamed "The Crafty Cockney", was an English professional darts player and one of the most recognisable and successful players of the 1980s. He was ranked World No. 1 by the World Darts Federation a record five times, in 1980, 1981 and 1983–1985. He was a five-time World Champion, a five-time World Masters Champion a four-time World Cup singles champion and twice winner of the News of the World Darts Championship. He won 22 WDF and BDO Major titles, 65 individual career titles and 15 titles in team events, a total of 80 overall.

In 1993, Bristow was one of sixteen top players who broke away from the British Darts Organisation (BDO) to form their own organisation, which became the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC).

He retired from competitive darts in 2007 and subsequently worked as a commentator and pundit on Sky Sports darts coverage.

Early career

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In 1957, Bristow was born in the London Borough of Hackney, but brought up at 97 Milton Grove, Stoke Newington, when Stoke Newington was a borough in its own right, where his father was a plasterer and his mother worked as a telephone operator.[2] He left school at age 14.[2]

Bristow won his first world championship in 1980, defeating fellow Londoner Bobby George. Bristow retained his title in 1981 and won it again in 1984, 1985 and 1986. He also suffered a shock defeat in a final during the 1980s, when the relatively unknown Keith Deller beat him in the 1983 final; he had also lost to Steve Brennan in the previous year's first round. As well as his five world titles, Bristow also finished as runner-up on five occasions, the last in 1991.[3]

The nickname Crafty Cockney was given to Bristow when he visited an English pub of that name in 1976 during a visit to Santa Monica, California. Bristow wore a shirt (which he received from the same pub) depicting a uniformed British policeman, a Union Flag and the title Crafty Cockney whenever he took part in a tournament.[4]

Achievements

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Bristow emerged as the most successful and consistent darts player of the 1980s, reigning as number one in the world rankings during most of the period from 1980 until 1987. Television began showing increased interest in the sport in the late 1970s, with the first world championship occurring in 1978.[3]

As well as his world championship exploits, Bristow also lifted the prestigious Winmau World Masters crown five times (1977 beating Paul Reynolds, 1979 beating Canadian Allan Hogg, 1981 beating defending champion John Lowe,[3] 1983 beating Mike Gregory and 1984 beating Keith Deller).[3] He also reached the final in 1989, losing to Peter Evison.[3]

Bristow was a winner of the World Cup Singles on four occasions (1983 beating Jocky Wilson, 1985 beating Tony Payne, 1987 beating Bob Sinnaeve and 1989 beating Jack McKenna) and won the News of the World Darts Championship in 1983 beating Ralph Flatt and 1984 beating Ian Robertson (becoming only the second man in 57 years to successfully defend that title) together with countless other major tournaments including the British Open and Swedish Open three times each and the North American Open on four occasions.[3]

Dartitis

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During the Swedish Open in November 1986, Bristow found himself unable to let go of his darts properly – a psychological condition known as dartitis,[4] similar to the yips in golf. He was never quite the same player again, but did regain the number-one ranking briefly in late 1989 and early 1990 before losing his form again. He reached the semi-finals of the 1997 WDC World Darts Championship at the Circus Tavern, where he narrowly lost to Phil Taylor 4–5 in sets.[3]

Mentoring Phil Taylor

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In the 1980s, Bristow came across Phil Taylor,[5] then a raw young darts talent in Stoke-on-Trent, and he sponsored him with about £10,000 to fund his development in the game,[4] on the understanding that the money would be repaid. Taylor went on to usurp his mentor as the greatest darts player ever.[4]

Later career and retirement

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Bristow's form deteriorated in the early 1990s and he was dropped from the Merseyside team in 1992. Bristow had joined Merseyside, his third county, in 1988, after previously playing for London from 1976 to 1980 and for Staffordshire from 1980 to 1988. With Merseyside, Bristow played with his international teammate Kevin Kenny, and after being dropped by Merseyside, he was dropped from the England national side later the same year. The split within darts saw Bristow become a founding member of the Professional Darts Corporation.[4]

At the World Matchplay event in Blackpool, Bristow made six appearances without winning a match.[3] His swansong came in a classic semi-final at the 1997 PDC World Championship, which he lost to his protégé, Phil Taylor.[3] Bristow's last appearance came at the World Championships in 2000, ending his 23-year run of playing in a world championship,[3] after which, he stopped playing professionally after the event.[3]

From late December 1993,[6] until November 2016, when he was dismissed,[7] he worked mainly as a spotter, a pundit and an occasional commentator for Sky Sports[4] during televised PDC tournaments, while continuing to travel and play on the exhibition circuit. Bristow returned to TV screens as a player in 2008 on Setanta Sports to compete in the BetFred League of Legends tournament, beating Bobby George 7–5 in the opening match. Bristow failed to maintain his form, however, and did not win another match in the tournament, failing to qualify for the semi-finals and finishing bottom of the League of Legends table. In 2004, Bristow played John Lowe, with Bristow showing glimpses of his old form in winning the match 6 legs to 1.[3]

Personal life

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Bristow in 2009

Bristow was educated at Newington Green JM School before leaving for Hackney Downs Grammar School from 1968 to 1971, having passed his eleven-plus exam. He left grammar school at the age of 14.[4]

From 1978 to 1987, Bristow was in a relationship with former darts player Maureen Flowers. In 1989, he married Jane Higginbotham (born 1962). They had two children, a daughter and a son. They divorced in 2005 after 16 years of marriage, and he was later in a relationship with Rebecca Gadd until his death.[4]

Bristow was awarded the MBE in 1989 for his services to sport.[8]

In 2005, Bristow was accused of assaulting his wife. North Staffordshire magistrates ordered him to stay away from the family home in Milltown Way, Leek, Staffordshire and he was remanded on conditional bail.[9] Bristow was alleged to have punched her in the face during a drunken row in their bedroom on 29 April 2005.[10] He was subsequently cleared of the charges.[11]

In 2012, Bristow participated in the reality show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here![12] He was voted out on 29 November 2012, finishing fourth out of 12 celebrities.[13]

On 29 November 2016, Bristow was sacked by Sky Sports following a series of tweets in which he responded to the United Kingdom football sexual abuse scandal centred around the football coach and convicted child sex offender, Barry Bennell. Bristow suggested the victims should have "sorted out" the perpetrators when they were older.[7][14][15] According to him, "Dart players tough guys footballers wimps". Bristow was condemned by some social media users, including alleged victims of Bennell, for his comments.[16] Bristow apologised for his comments the following day. In a statement, he compared himself to a "bull in a China shop" and "appreciated my wording was wrong and offended many people".[17][6]

Death

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Bristow died on 5 April 2018 after a heart attack while attending a Premier League Darts event at the Echo Arena in Liverpool. Bristow had finished playing some VIPs at a promotional event and was walking back to his car when he collapsed and was rushed to hospital.[18]

Speaking to BBC Radio Two, Bobby George said: "In the afternoon, I was doing a show at a pub opposite the Premier League (darts) building, and he just came in, said 'hello' and had a pint, then said 'see ya'. I said 'see ya' because I was working... he went across the road, and two-and-a-half hours later, he was gone."[19][18]

World Championship results

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BDO

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Bristow's World Championship results are as follows:[3]

PDC

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Bristow's PDC results are as follows:[3]

Career finals

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BDO and WDF

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Bristow appeared in BDO and WDF major finals 31 times with a record of 22 wins and 9 runners-up.[3]

Legend
World Championship (5–5)
World Masters (5–1)
British Professional (2–0)
World Matchplay (2–0)
Grand Masters (5–1)
British Matchplay (3–2)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score[Note 1]
Runner-up 1. 1977 British Matchplay (1) Scotland Rab Smith Unknown
Winner 1. 1977 Winmau World Masters (1) England Paul Reynolds 3–1 (s)
Runner-up 2. 1977 Butlins Grand Masters (1) England John Lowe 4–5 (s)
Winner 2. 1979 Winmau World Masters (1) Canada Allan Hogg 2–0 (s)
Winner 3. 1980 World Darts Championship (1) England Bobby George 5–3 (s)
Winner 4. 1981 World Darts Championship (2) England John Lowe 5–3 (s)
Winner 5. 1981 Butlins Grand Masters (1) England John Lowe Unknown
Winner 6. 1981 Winmau World Masters (3) England John Lowe 2–1 (s)
Winner 7. 1982 British Matchplay (1) England Dave Whitcombe 2–0 (s)
Winner 8. 1982 Butlins Grand Masters (2) England Cliff Lazarenko Unknown
Winner 9. 1982 British Professional Championship (1) England John Lowe 7–3 (s)
Runner-up 3. 1983 World Darts Championship (1) England Keith Deller 5–6 (s)
Winner 10. 1983 British Matchplay (2) England Keith Deller 3–2 (s)
Winner 11. 1983 Butlins Grand Masters (3) Scotland Jocky Wilson 5–1 (s)
Winner 12. 1983 Winmau World Masters (4) England Mike Gregory 2–1 (s)
Winner 13. 1984 World Darts Championship (3) England Dave Whitcombe 7–1 (s)
Winner 14. 1984 Winmau World Masters (5) England Keith Deller 3–1 (s)
Winner 15. 1985 World Darts Championship (4) England John Lowe 6–2 (s)
Winner 16. 1985 Butlins Grand Masters (4) Australia Terry O'Dea 5–3 (s)
Winner 17. 1985 MFI World Matchplay (1) England Bob Anderson 5–4 (s)
Winner 18. 1985 British Professional Championship (2) England John Lowe 7–4 (s)
Winner 19. 1986 World Darts Championship (5) England Dave Whitcombe 6–0 (s)
Winner 20. 1986 British Matchplay (3) England Dave Whitcombe 3–1 (s)
Winner 21. 1986 Butlins Grand Masters (5) Canada Bob Sinnaeve Unknown
Runner-up 4. 1987 World Darts Championship (2) England John Lowe 4–6 (s)
Runner-up 5. 1987 British Matchplay (2) England Dave Whitcombe 0–3 (s)
Winner 22. 1988 MFI World Matchplay (2) Canada Bob Sinnaeve 5–1 (s)
Runner-up 6. 1989 World Darts Championship (3) Scotland Jocky Wilson 4–6 (s)
Runner-up 7. 1989 Winmau World Masters (1) England Peter Evison 2–3 (s)
Runner-up 8. 1990 World Darts Championship (4) England Phil Taylor 1–6 (s)
Runner-up 9. 1991 World Darts Championship (5) England Dennis Priestley 0–6 (s)

WDF

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Bristol appeared in WDF major finals 6 times with 4 titles and 2 runners-up.[3]

Legend
World Cup (4–0)
Europe Cup (0–2)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 1980 Europe Cup Singles (1) England Tony Brown ?–?
Runner-up 2. 1982 Europe Cup Singles (2) England Bobby George 0–4
Winner 1. 1983 World Cup Singles (1) Scotland Jocky Wilson 4–2 (l)
Winner 2. 1985 World Cup Singles (2) United States Tony Payne 4–2 (l)
Winner 3. 1987 World Cup Singles (3) Canada Bob Sinnaeve ?–? (l)
Winner 4. 1989 World Cup Singles (4) Republic of Ireland Jack McKenna ?–? (l)

Independent major finals

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Bristow appeared in independent major finals 2 times and won 2 titles.[3]

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1983 News of the World Championship (1) England Ralph Flatt 2–0 (l)
Winner 2. 1984 News of the World Championship (2) England Ian Robertson 2–0 (l)

Note

  1. ^ (l) = score in legs, (s) = score in sets.

Performance timeline

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Bristow's performance timeline is as follows:[3]

Tournament 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
BDO World Championship NYF 1R QF W W 1R F W W W F SF F F F 2R 2R No longer a BDO Member
Winmau World Masters W 3R W QF W QF W W 4R 4R SF QF F 4R 4R 4R Did not participate
British Professional Not held 2R W SF SF W 2R 1R 1R Not held
MFI World Matchplay Not held 1R W 1R QF W Not held
PDC World Championship Not yet founded RR RR RR SF RR 1R 1R
World Matchplay Not yet founded 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R DNP
News of the World ??? W W ??? Not held DNP Not held
Performance Table Legend
W Won the tournament F Finalist SF Semifinalist QF Quarterfinalist #R
RR
Prel. 		Lost in # round
Round-robin
Preliminary round 		DQ Disqualified
DNQ Did not qualify DNP Did not participate WD Withdrew NH Tournament not held NYF Not yet founded

High averages

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See also: High dart average
Eric Bristow televised high averages
Average Date Opponent Tournament Stage Score Ref.
105.30 17 September 1983 England Alan Glazier British Professional Championship Last 32 3–0 (S)
103.24 22 October 1983 Scotland Jocky Wilson World Cup Final 4–2 (L)
101.16 8 December 1984 England Keith Deller Winmau World Masters Final 3–1 (S)
99.66 11 January 1985 England Dave Whitcombe World Darts Championship Semi-finals 5–2 (S)

References

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  1. ^ "Do you remember when...Eric Bristow ruled darts? – Sport – The Observer".
  2. ^ a b Sandomir, Richard (10 April 2018). "Eric Bristow, the First Superstar of Darts, Is Dead at 60". The New York Times. p. A25. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Eric Bristow Results and Statistics". dartsdatabase.co.uk. Archived from the original on 14 April 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Nick Harper (August 2003). "Small Talk: Eric Bristow". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  5. ^ Prenderville, Paul. "Phil Taylor needs to accept his status and start enjoying his darts says Eric Bristow". skysports.com. Sky Sports News, 20 December 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  6. ^ a b Khomami, Nadia (30 November 2016). "Eric Bristow apologises for Twitter football sex abuse comments". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  7. ^ a b Menezes, Jack de (29 November 2016). "Eric Bristow axed by Sky Sports after calling football abuse victims 'wimps' and 'not proper men'". The Independent. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  8. ^ "Supplement 51578". The Gazette. 30 December 1988. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  9. ^ "Bristow accused of attack on wife". BBC News. 12 May 2005. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  10. ^ "Ex-darts champion 'punched wife'". BBC News. 24 November 2005. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  11. ^ "Darts champion cleared of assault". BBC News. 24 November 2005. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  12. ^ "I'm a Celebrity lineup revealed". RTÉ Ten. 7 November 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  13. ^ Sanghani, Radhika (30 November 2012). "I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! Eric Bristow misses out on the final three". The Independent. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  14. ^ "Eric Bristow sparks outrage for calling footballers 'wimps' in sex abuse scandal". The Daily Telegraph. 29 November 2016. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  15. ^ "Football sex abuse: Eric Bristow suggests victims not 'proper men'". BBC News. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  16. ^ "Bristow under fire over sex abuse tweets". The Times. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016. (subscription required)
  17. ^ "Eric Bristow: Former darts champion apologises for football sex abuse comments". BBC Sport. 30 November 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  18. ^ a b "Eric Bristow, five-times darts world champion, dies aged 60". Guardian. 6 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  19. ^ Allen, Dave. "Eric Bristow Passes Away". PDC. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
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Records
Preceded by World record highest televised average
17 September 1983 – 5 December 1991 		Succeeded by
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