Leighton Rees | Darts World Magazine

Leighton Rees staked his claim to darting immortality at the first official World Championships in 1978. His defeat of John Lowe, in the final, capped the early period of Welsh darting dominance.

The much-loved Welsh skipper proved too strong for England’s Lowe, who would return the favour the following year.

The ‘Red Mist’ of Wales’s thowers had featured Rees, Evans, Ridler, and Obbard, among others, hoovering up major events and team titles, including the inaugural WDF World Cup in 1977.

Rees himself could be classed as one of the game’s earliest professionals and a superb ambassador for the game’s early TV years.

There appears to be, we are sorry to say, a slightly sniffy tone to the use of the word ‘professional’ in coverage around this time. The 1970s had become a bit of a battleground between the ‘amateur’ style, of previous decades, and a more modern structure where players could share in the rewards generated by their skills.

There was a smack of snobbery to this tone, somewhat similar to the Gentlemen vs Players attitudes in Cricket and Tennis.

It speaks volumes for Rees that he transcended such concerns and was so well thought of that he may well have played a major part in ensuring such views did not gain sway.