Happy "Heavenly" Birthday John Thomas "Jocky" Wilson born on March 22nd 1950 in Kirkcaldy, Fife.
Because his mother could not cope with her many children, she had ten in total, he spent 14 years in a children's home on the grey North Sea in Elie; his brother Tom was abused while there, by the man who ran it , though all Jocky had to say about it was that he had won the pole-vault there.
Jocky’s jobs included a couple of years in the army, a coal delivery man, fish processor, and also a miner at Kirkcaldy's Seafield Colliery. He also worked for a time at the Lister Bar, the local where a 19-year-old Wilson first learned to play darts, he never thought when throwing those first arrows that he would ever become the champion of the world and a Scottish legend.
He qualified for all Embassy World Championship finals from 1979 to 1993, reaching the semi-finals on five occasions (1982, 1983, 1984, 1987 and 1989). He reached the finals twice and one both occasions won the title, in 1982 against John Lowe (5 sets to 3) and in 1989 against Eric Bristow (6 sets to 4). His first Embassy win in 1982 made him the first Scotsman to win the World title) and transformed his life. His annual earnings rose to an estimated £60,000 and he moved his family out of Collyer Road and into a spacious bungalow a short distance away, unfortunately he filled the garden with his empties until the neighbours asked him to move, he wasn’t comfortable living in a posh area anyway.
More than £1,000 of his world-champ earnings went on a pair of false teeth, but he never got on with them, and would take them out publicly to play. He bought a fishing boat in which he would escape, disguised in a bobble hat, out into the Firth of Forth, but had to sell it, and ran up tax bills he never expected.
Wilson once explained that he needed to drink before playing because it was the only way he could steady his nerves.
The amount Wilson could drink and still win has become the stuff of legend in the annals of dart history with rival players recalling that he’s routinely drink 10 pints of beer and 8 shots of vodka before every game.
As you can probably imagine, people at home loved Wilson with his antics routinely drawing millions of viewers in the televised tournaments he took part in, Jocky was a man that working class Scots could relate to. He was known for his impressively unhealthy lifestyle, eating nothing but fast food and sweets almost his entire life. Wilson’s love of sugary snacks famously cost him his teeth, it didn’t help that he didn’t he refused to brush them his entire life, allegedly because his grandmother told him that the English poisoned the water when he was a bairn.
Wilson’s drinking meant he would often mean trouble for the talented Scotsman. On one occasion he was banned for a year by the governing body of the sport.
Heavy drinking and smoking, the onset of diabetes and arthritis and bouts of depression plus a large unpaid tax bill, led Wilson to retire from darts in 1996 becoming more or less a recluse. In a rare interview at that time he told a reporter that same year that although he had been let down once or twice, he did not want anyone feeling sorry for him, blaming only himself for the situation he was in.
He played his last match, like his first, at Butlin's, and ended his days on benefit in a tiny council flat, much as he had started.
His popularity also went beyond the sporting arena, notably when Wilson famously saw his picture displayed on 'Top of the Pops' in 1982 during a performance by Dexy's Midnight Runners of their single Jackie Wilson Said.
In 2009 the PDC tried to coax Jocky out of retirement to make a personal appearance in the England v Scotland match named ‘The Jocky Wilson Cup’. Although Jocky agreed that the tournament could bear his name he declined the invitation to attend. However, he did agree to record a special audio message for the crowd gathered at the Braehead Arena, Glasgow. He said, “Hi, this is Jocky. Sorry I can’t be with you tonight. Hope you are all having a great evening. Please give all the players the respect they deserve” finally adding “COME ON SCOTLAND!” This would be the last time Jocky’s voice would be heard in public.
When darts fans thought of Jocky, what they remembered was his smile: huge, toothless and ecstatic, with his pudgy arms raised in victory on either side. It was the smile of a man who has triumphed over considerable odds; and also the smile of a Scot who has just thumped an Englishman.
Jocky Wilson died two days after his 62nd birthday at the home he shared with his Argentinian wife Malvina. They had three children. I doubt any player will ever be loved as much as the wee guy fae Kirkcaldy
