WILLIAM HENRY LENNARD, ‘Billy’ to all who knew him, was one of the best darts players in modern times. He was also one of England’s most respected and most loved men.
He died at home in Heywood, Greater Manchester, after illness, on Monday, August 5, aged 62. Hundreds turned up a week later at the service at St James’ Church in Heywood and at the committal in Blackley Crematorium to say goodbye to him and to console his wife, Mary, and family.Salford born, Billy’s family moved to east Manchester when he was very young.
He once told me of how his mother used to clean out the local pub in Beswick while he would sit on the doorstep waiting for her to finish. He had a fascination for the dart board then. Little did he realise, though, that he was to travel the world, play for his country and win many prestigious titles as a result of the game which he came to love and for which he did so much.
For all that, Billy was still as passionate about his local teams, playing on both Manchester Board and National Board most nights of the week.
Early honours included the NDA Nodor Challenge Cup in 1961 when he skippered the Cotton Tree from city centre Manchester to success in the Stratford Town Hall, London, and the National Mixed Pairs title when he teamed up with Bury’s Anne Westwood.
After the golden year of 1976 Billy Lennard was a household name as he lifted the British Matchplay, the Swedish Open and the News of the World titles to add to the National NDA Pairs championship he had taken earlier with Rochdale’s Ray Hatton.
He held most dearly the News of the World event as his greatest triumph, his final success in front of an estimated 10,000 at the Alexandra Palace coming at the expense of his great friend Leighton Rees.
His 33 appearances for England, including the 1979 World Cup in Las Vegas, saw him win 28 times, thus the ‘Mr Consistency’ tag which he so richly deserved.
Wherever he went on the exhibition circuit or on his travels around the land as a Lancashire player, Billy Lennard was admired — as much for his very personable qualities as that of a player.
He was an ideal county captain, one who could get the best out of his players by example both on and off the oche, and it was no surprise that he should lead the Red Rose team to championship success more than once.
As a member of Manchester’s Super League team, Billy was proud to see his side crowned county champions, too.
Until not long before he was taken ill, he was playing in the local league in Heywood. Indeed, the last time I spoke to Bill he rang me to tell of his son David’s splendid 11-dart leg of 501 in March. He was as proud of that as any of his own achievements. He was that kind of man.
Billy Lennard was a brilliant darts player and he was everyone’s pal.
BDO General Secretary and Billy’s former England manager, Olly Croft, says Billy will be sorely missed, pointing out that no greater gentleman put on an England shirt.
“He was so easy to get on with, a delightful character and an ideal man to have in the team,” he concluded.
“What a great player and what great company he was,” says John Lowe, a fellow member of the England side so many times who, at the same time, acknowledges that Billy gave nothing away on the oche. “Playing against him, you knew you’d been in a scrap!”
George Kelly, Billy’s former Manchester team manager and chairman of the Lancashire GMC Darts Organisation, was especially sad.
“Billy was my best player — and there were other good ones around — but he was, above all, a great guy. He never had a bad word for anyone. One of the best.”We agree, George. One of the best!
TONY O’SHEA continued to prove that he’s one of the best players in the region by having double success in July.First, he won the Cheshire Open in Crewe, defeating Yorkshire’s John Walton 5-1 in the final, and then took the Gorton Open by beating Salford’s Paul Whitworth by the same score.
Whitworth, reigning Greater Manchester champion and a current Lancashire GMC player, had been topped 4-1 by Walton in the semi-final at Crewe, the Yorkshireman replying to a 16-dart opening leg by hitting 13, 14, 18 and 15-arrow legs to finish with a 99.57 average score.
O’Shea had things much harder against former Staffordshire man Ted Hankey, now resident in North Wales, squeezing through 4-3 in 15, 18, 15 and 16-darts. Hankey, always the entertainer, included a brilliant 11-darter to level at 3-3 with scores of 134, 140, 140 and 87 via treble 17, double 18!
The final was nothing if not brilliant, too. John Walton had a mean score of 96.42 yet lost 5-1, his Stockport opponent hitting 13 and 14-arrow legs to go two up and, after the Yorkshireman had checked out 106 for a 15-darter, took the last three in 15, 12 and 15.
O’Shea had three 180s in his last five scoring shots (those other than in checking out) and finished with a 107.01 average.
He was in similar form at Breaks Snooker Centre, Belle Vue, in taking the Gorton event, an 11-darter in the quarter-final against Dave Adshead contributing to a 3-1 win — O’Shea averaged 107.14 — being followed by a 4-1 semi success against Boltonian Steve Coote, a relatively modest 96.81 being the mean score!
The final saw Whitworth open up with a splendid 13-arrow game only to see Tony O’Shea strike 16, 14, 15 and 14 and 12-darters to sail to victory.Respective organisers Herbie Dougherty and Peter Connolly told me the quality of play in their competitions was probably the best ever.
“For sheer consistency we’ve not had this kind of throwing at Crewe before,” said Cheshire secretary Dougherty.
“Brilliant. Could have graced the TV screens,” said Connolly of the Belle Vue contest.
He had not thrown badly himself, being ko’d in the semi-final by Paul Whitworth, 4-3.
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The Mancunian Way by John Gwynne
Darts World Magazine (Issue 286) September 1996
