Plans to celebrate life of darts legend Jocky

Calls for a lasting tribute to one of Scotland’s most famous sporting stars are to be stepped up next year.

2019 will mark 30 years since Kirkcaldy’s own Jocky Wilson won his second BDO World Darts Championship.

There have been regular suggestions over the decades that his amazing achievement should be formally recognised in his home town, but none has been forthcoming.

A statue in his honour is one of the ideas which has been floated in recent years, although it has previously been ruled out, due to the expense. The Courier understands Fife Council is planning a celebration and commemoration of his life. Details are set to be revealed in early 2019.

Before his death in April this year, rival Eric Bristow, the man Wilson beat in 1989 to win his second world title, backed plans for a statue in honour of Jocky.

Another former challenger, John Lowe, has now taken up the cause.

Lowe, 73, lost 5-3 to the Scot in the 1982 World Championship final, giving Wilson his first world title.

The Englishman said: “I think if the people of Fife want this to happen, I am 100% behind them.”

After honing his skills in the Lister Bar in Kirkcaldy, Wilson turned professional in 1979 and quickly became a household name as one of darts’ great characters on and off the oche.

After beating Lowe in 1982, Wilson claimed his second world title seven years later by beating Bristow 6-4. He also lifted the British Professional Championship four times between 1981 and 1988, as well as the British Open and Matchplay titles.

He retired from the sport in 1995 and became something of a recluse, declining to give interviews and being rarely seen in public after moving back to Kirkcaldy with his wife Malvina.

Wilson died aged 62 in March 2012, having suffered from the lung disorder chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.