The Darts World 50

AS OUR headline shows, the perfect leg of 501 had been sought since the dawn of TV darts. John Lowe’s effort followed a number of close attempts, most famously by Jocky Wilson.

Until this moment Leighton Rees held the honour of being the first to hit a 10-dart finish, the lowest recorded by the cameras. Lowe’s superbly cool execution lives strong in the memory and is surely one of darts’ seminal moments.

The relatively low-key nature of Darts World reports and the focus on the prize fund speak volumes for the times. It didn’t even feature strongly on the front cover, although this may have been due to editorial timing, instead, it was a small ribbon on the bottom corner.

Coach says: No wonder John achieved perfection, his stance, composure and simple repetitive throw were never better than this. Smooth and fluid and in total control. Watch here

Very few publications can lay claim to being “The Official Voice” of their sport. But then not many are almost 50 years old and have coexisted side by side with the object of their affection throughout the swings and roundabouts of two golden eras and at least one near collapse.

In the early 1970s, a handful of ingredients were coming together to form the recipe for the massive success of the hitherto lesser-known pub game. Darts World Magazine was one of those ingredients.

Editor, proprietor, and instigator, Tony Wood, welcomed readers to the new Darts World magazine for our November/December 1972 debut (Issue 1). The ingredients mentioned above could all be seen within those first 36 pages and then in every issue that followed.

DW has chronicled the ups and downs, the major events, and the minutiae while championing the game at every opportunity.

The Darts World 50 offers 50 highlights selected direct from our pages during what must now be thought of as the ‘Golden Age/s of Darts’.