| Eric Bristow MBE | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Bristow in 1985 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Eric John Bristow | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | "The Crafty Cockney" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1957-04-25)25 April 1957 Hackney, London, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 5 April 2018(2018-04-05) (aged 60) Liverpool, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Darts information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing darts since | 1968 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Darts | 22g Harrows Signature | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Laterality | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Walk-on music | "Rabbit" byChas & Dave "Crazy Crazy Nights" byKiss | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Organisation (seesplit in darts) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BDO | 1976–1993 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| PDC | 1993–2007 (Founding Member) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| WDF major events – best performances | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championship | Winner (5):1980,1981,1984,1985,1986 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Masters | Winner (5): 1977, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1984 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| PDC premier events – best performances | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championship | Semi-final:1997 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Matchplay | Last 32:1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other tournament wins | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Other achievements | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1989 AppointedMember of the Order of the British Empire MBE[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Updated on 14 May 2024. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Eric John Bristow (25 April 1957 – 5 April 2018), was an English professionaldarts player who competed inBritish Darts Organisation (BDO) andProfessional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Nicknamed "the Crafty Cockney", he was one of the most recognisable and successful players of the 1980s. Bristow was rankedworld number one by theWorld Darts Federation a record five times, in 1980, 1981, from 1983 to 1985 and from 1989 to 1990. Between 1980 and 1991, he featured in tenBDO World Darts Championship finals, winning the title five times: in1980,1981,1984,1985 and1986. He was also a five-timeWorld Masters Champion, a four-timeWDF World Cup singles champion and a two-time winner of theNews 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. He hosted the first two episodes of the darts-themedITV game showBullseye and regularly featured on the show.
In late 1986, Bristow began experiencing symptoms ofdartitis, which affected his career thereafter. In 1987, he began sponsoring and mentoringPhil Taylor, who went on to become the most successful darts player of all time. In 1993, Bristow and Taylor both became involved in thesplit in darts as two of the 16 players who left theBritish Darts Organisation (BDO) to form the World Darts Council, which later became theProfessional Darts Corporation (PDC). Bristow's last major achievement as a player was reaching the semi-finals of the1997 WDC World Darts Championship, where he narrowly lost to Taylor.
After retiring from competitive darts in 2007, Bristow worked as a commentator and pundit onSky Sports darts coverage until the network sacked him in 2016 following a controversial series of tweets. In April 2018, Bristow suffered a heart attack while attending aPremier League Darts event inLiverpool and died at the age of 60.
In 1957, Bristow was born in theLondon 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 aplasterer and his mother worked as a telephone operator.[2] He left school at age 14.[2]
The nicknameCrafty Cockney was given to Bristow when he visited an English pub of that name in 1976 during a visit toSanta Monica, California. Bristow wore a shirt (which he received from the same pub) depicting a uniformed Britishpoliceman, aUnion Flag and the titleCrafty Cockney whenever he took part in a tournament.[3]
Bristow emerged as the most successful and consistent darts player of the 1980s, reigning as number one in theworld 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.[4]
Bristow won his firstworld championship in 1980, defeating fellow LondonerBobby George. Bristow retained his title in 1981 (over John Lowe) and won it again in 1984 (over Dave Whitcombe), 1985 (over Lowe) and 1986 (over Whitcombe). He also suffered a shock defeat in a final during the 1980s, when the relatively unknownKeith Deller beat him in the 1983 final; he had also lost toSteve 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.[4]
As well as his world championship exploits, Bristow also lifted the prestigiousWinmau World Masters crown five times (1977 beating Paul Reynolds, 1979 beating Canadian Allan Hogg, 1981 beating defending championJohn Lowe,[4] 1983 beating Mike Gregory and 1984 beating Keith Deller).[4] He also reached the final in 1989, losing to Peter Evison.[4]
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 theNews 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.[4]
During the Swedish Open in November 1986, Bristow found himself unable to let go of his darts properly – a psychological condition known asdartitis,[3] similar to theyips ingolf. 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 the1997 WDC World Darts Championship at theCircus Tavern, where he narrowly lost to Phil Taylor 4–5 in sets.[4]
In the 1980s, Bristow came acrossPhil Taylor,[5] then a raw young darts talent inStoke-on-Trent, and he sponsored him with about £10,000 to fund his development in the game,[3] on the understanding that the money would be repaid. Taylor went on to usurp hismentor as the greatest darts player ever.[3]
Bristow's form deteriorated in the early 1990s and he was dropped from theMerseyside 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 teammateKevin Kenny, and after being dropped by Merseyside, he was dropped from the England national side later the same year. Thesplit within darts saw Bristow become a founding member of the Professional Darts Corporation.[3]
At theWorld Matchplay event in Blackpool, Bristow made six appearances without winning a match.[4] His swansong came in a classic semi-final at the1997 PDC World Championship, which he lost to his protégé, Phil Taylor.[4] Bristow's last appearance came at the World Championships in 2000, ending his 23-year run of playing in a world championship,[4] after which, he stopped playing professionally after the event.[4]
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 forSky Sports[3] during televised PDC tournaments, while continuing to travel and play on the exhibition circuit. Bristow returned to TV screens as a player in 2008 onSetanta Sports to compete in theBetFred League of Legends tournament, beatingBobby 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.[4]
John Lowe played Bristow many times in televised tournaments, often in finals. Bristow said "Lowey has the perfect throw and he is a steady rather than spectacular player, but all I had to do was play my normal game and I'd beat him every time because he can't go up a gear. He couldn't raise his game like I could, or Jocky for that matter. However, I also knew that if I was off my game he'd grind me down and win by simply hitting ton, ton, ton, ton and just being consistent with his throwing", said Bristow in his autobiography.[8] Lowe talked about Bristow (in Lowe's autobiography) "I've been friends with him, I've fallen out with him and I've celebrated on more than one occasion with him. Indeed, my own darting career wouldn't have been the same without him. Eric Bristow, MBE, is simply one of the greats".[9] Lowe also admitted he would have won a lot more world titles if Bristow hadn't come along.[10]
Bristow's rivalry with Jocky Wilson was sometimes volatile. Just before walking onto the stage for a World Cup match in Edinburgh in 1983, Wilson kicked Bristow, as Bristow recalled in his autobiography. "We were both standing at the back of the stage waiting to go on, the TV cameras were running and everything was set. Then the announcer said 'representing England we have Eric Bristow'. Just as I was about to go on stage and give the booing crowd some gyp Jocky took a run at me and kicked me as hard as he could in the shin. He took about two inches of skin off."[11] Bristow responded saying "I grabbed him by the throat and I was going to kill him, but five officials managed to prise me off".[11] Blood was dripping down his leg but Bristow said he proceeded to beat him easily "I had to after what he did to me. I was fuming all the way through the game. When it was all over he put his arm round me and, with a smile on his face, said 'I've got to try to beat you somehow'. I couldn't do anything but laugh. One minute I wanted to tear him apart, the next we were at the bar having a drink".[11] Bristow said "deep down, I think he liked me, and I had a soft spot for him".[12]
Bristow was educated at Newington Green JM School before leaving forHackney Downs Grammar School from 1968 to 1971, having passed his eleven-plus exam. He left grammar school at the age of 14.[3]
From 1978 to 1987, Bristow was in a relationship with former darts playerMaureen 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.[3]
Bristow was awarded theMBE in 1989 for his services to sport.[13]
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.[14] Bristow was alleged to have punched her in the face during a drunken row in their bedroom on 29 April 2005.[15] He was subsequently cleared of the charges.[16]
In 2012, Bristow participated in the reality showI'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here![17] He was voted out on 29 November 2012, finishing fourth out of 12 celebrities.[18]
On 29 November 2016, Bristow was sacked by Sky Sports following a series of tweets in which he responded to theUnited 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][19][20] 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.[21] 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".[22][6]
Bristow died on 5 April 2018 after a heart attack while attending aPremier League Darts event at theEcho Arena inLiverpool. 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.[23]
Speaking toBBC Radio 2,Bobby George said: "In the afternoon, I was doing a show at apub 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."[24][23] On learning of Bristow's death, PDC chairman Barry Hearn said "We often talk about the absence of characters in sport but Eric Bristow was a character with a capital 'c'. He was very much a man of the people. He understood what crowds wanted to see - he was controversial, he was a maverick, he spoke his mind and upset a few people from time to time, but the man in the street warmed to him because he was very much one of theirs."[25]
Bristow's World Championship results are as follows:[4]
Bristow's PDC results are as follows:[4]
Bristow appeared in BDO and WDF major finals 31 times with a record of 22 wins and 9 runners-up.[4]
| 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) |
Bristow appeared in WDF major finals 6 times with 4 titles and 2 runners-up.[4]
| 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) |  Tony Brown | ?–? |
| Runner-up | 2. | 1982 | Europe Cup Singles(2) | Bobby George | 0–4 |
| Winner | 1. | 1983 | World Cup Singles(1) |  Jocky Wilson | 4–2 (l) |
| Winner | 2. | 1985 | World Cup Singles(2) |  Tony Payne | 4–2 (l) |
| Winner | 3. | 1987 | World Cup Singles(3) |  Bob Sinnaeve | ?–? (l) |
| Winner | 4. | 1989 | World Cup Singles(4) |  Jack McKenna | ?–? (l) |
Bristow appeared in independent major finals 2 times and won 2 titles.[4]
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 1983 | News of the World Championship(1) | Ralph Flatt | 2–0 (l) |
| Winner | 2. | 1984 | News of the World Championship(2) | Ian Robertson | 2–0 (l) |
Note
Bristow's performance timeline is as follows:[4] CH= County Heats, CF= County Finals, DF= Divisional Finals
BDO
| Tournament | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BDO World Championship | NYF | 1R | QF | W | W | 1R | F | W | W | W | F | SF | F | F | F | 2R | 2R |
| Winmau World Masters | W | 3R | W | QF | W | QF | W | W | 4R | 4R | SF | QF | F | 4R | 4R | 4R | DNP |
| British Matchplay | F | SF | QF | SF[27] | SF | W | W | SF | SF | W | F | SF | QF | QF | QF | DNP | |
| British Professional Championship | Not held | 2R | W | SF | SF | W | 2R | 1R | 1R | Not held | |||||||
| Butlins Grand Masters | F | QF | 1R[28] | 1R | W | W | W | SF | W | W | Not held | ||||||
| MFI World Matchplay | Not held | 1R | W | 1R | QF | W | Not held | ||||||||||
| News of the World Darts Championship | ??? | DF | ??? | CF | ??? | W | W | CF | ??? | DF | ??? | CH | CF | Not held | |||
| Tournament | Event | World Cup 1977 | Euro Cup 1978 | World Cup 1979 | Euro Cup 1980 | World Cup 1981 | Euro Cup 1982 | World Cup 1983 | Euro Cup 1984 | World Cup 1985 | Euro Cup 1986 | World Cup 1987 | Euro Cup 1988 | World Cup 1989 | Euro Cup 1990 | World Cup 1991 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WDF World Cup &WDF Europe Cup | Singles | QF | L16 | QF | RU | QF | RU | W | QF | W | SF | W | SF | W | QF | QF |
| Pairs | W | W | W | L16 | RU | L16 | W | L16 | W | W | W | QF | W | RU | L16 | |
| Team | RU | SF | W | W | W | W | W | W | SF | W | W | SF | SF | W | W | |
| Overall | RU | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W |
PDC
| Tournament | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PDC World Championship | RR | RR | RR | SF | RR | 1R | 1R |
| World Matchplay | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | DNP |
| Performance Table Legend | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | Won the tournament | RU | Runner-up | SF | Semifinalist | QF | Quarterfinalist | #R RR L# | Lost in # round Round-robin Last # stage | DQ | Disqualified |
| DNQ | Did not qualify | DNP | Did not participate | WD | Withdrew | NH | Tournament not held | NYF | Not yet founded | ||
| Average | Date | Opponent | Tournament | Stage | Score | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 105.30 | 17 September 1983 | Alan Glazier | British Professional Championship | Last 32 | 3–0 (S) | |
| 103.24 | 22 October 1983 | Jocky Wilson | World Cup | Final | 4–2 (L) | |
| 101.16 | 8 December 1984 | Keith Deller | Winmau World Masters | Final | 3–1 (S) | |
| 99.66 | 11 January 1985 | Dave Whitcombe | World Darts Championship | Semi-finals | 5–2 (S) |
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | World record highest televised average 17 September 1983 – 5 December 1991 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
