Eric Bristow was a five-time World Champion, a five-time World Masters Champion a four-time World Cup singles champion and 2-time champion of the News of the World Darts Championship.
32 Facts About Eric Bristow
2.
Eric Bristow won 22 WDF and BDO Major titles, he won 62 individual career titles, added to 20 titles in team events, winning 82 overall.
3.
In 1993, Eric Bristow was one of sixteen top players who broke away from the British Darts Organisation to form their own organisation, which became the Professional Darts Corporation.
4.
Eric Bristow retired from competitive darts in 2007 and subsequently worked as a commentator and pundit on Sky Sports darts coverage.
5.
In 1957, Eric Bristow was born in the London Borough of Hackney, where his father was a plasterer and his mother worked as a telephone operator.
6.
Eric Bristow won his first world championship in 1980, defeating fellow Londoner Bobby George so beginning almost a decade of domination, retaining his title in 1981 and winning it again in 1984,1985 and 1986.
7.
Eric Bristow wore a shirt depicting a uniformed British policeman, a Union Flag and the title Crafty Cockney whenever he took part in a tournament.
8.
Eric Bristow emerged as the most successful and consistent darts player of the 1980s, reigning as number one in the world rankings most of the time from 1980 until 1987.
9.
Eric Bristow was fortunate to have been around at the right time as television began showing increased interest in the sport in the late 1970s, with the first world championship occurring in 1978.
10.
This, allied to the fact that a governing body had been formed in January 1973 and that Eric Bristow had not only supreme talent for one so young but an imposing personality and uncontained self belief, enabled him to make a very successful living.
11.
Eric Bristow played to the crowd during his game with Harry Patterson; following a treble 20, he turned to the crowd only to be greeted with boos; his next dart was a treble 20, after which he turned to the crowd who met him with even more boos and jeers; lastly, his third dart was only a single 20, but the crowd applauded and Bristow merely grinned it off.
12.
Eric Bristow reached the final in 1989, losing to Peter Evison.
13.
Eric Bristow was never the same player again, but did regain the number-one ranking briefly in late 1989 and early 1990 before losing his form again.
14.
Eric Bristow's form deteriorated in the early 1990s and he was dropped from the Merseyside team in 1992.
15.
The split within darts saw Eric Bristow become a founding member of the Professional Darts Corporation.
16.
At the World Matchplay event in Blackpool, Eric Bristow made six appearances without winning a match.
17.
Eric Bristow's swansong came in a classic semi-final at the 1997 PDC World Championship, which he lost to his protege, Phil Taylor.
18.
Eric Bristow failed to maintain his form 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.
19.
In 2004, Eric Bristow played John Lowe, with Eric Bristow showing glimpses of his old form in winning the match 6 legs to 1.
20.
Eric Bristow suggested the victims should have "sorted out" the perpetrators when they were older.
21.
Eric Bristow was condemned by social media users, including alleged victims of Bennell, for his comments.
22.
Eric Bristow was educated at Hackney Downs Grammar School from 1968 to 1971, having passed his eleven-plus exam.
23.
From 1978 to 1987, Eric Bristow was in a relationship with former darts player Maureen Flowers.
24.
Eric Bristow was awarded the MBE in 1989 for his services to sport.
25.
Eric Bristow was alleged to have punched her in the face during a drunken row in their bedroom on 29 April 2005.
26.
In 2012, Eric Bristow participated in the reality show I'm a Celebrity.
27.
Eric Bristow's father, George, was a big Arsenal supporter, and was an Arsenal season ticket holder for most of his life.
28.
George and Eric Bristow would go together to almost every Arsenal game, home and away, in the 1960s and the first half of the 1970s.
29.
Eric Bristow shared his father's negative opinions of London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
30.
Eric Bristow died on 5 April 2018, after a heart attack while attending a Premier League Darts event at the Echo Arena in Liverpool.
31.
Eric 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.
32.
Eric Bristow's death was announced during the match between Peter Wright and Daryl Gurney.