32 Facts About Sid Waddell

Sidney Waddell was an English sports commentator and television personality.

Sid Waddell was nicknamed the 'Voice of Darts' due to his fame as a darts commentator, and worked for Granada, Yorkshire, BBC and Sky Sports.

Sid Waddell was nominated for two awards for his work, and published several books.

At Cambridge, Waddell played rugby for St John's, and the Cambridge University LX Club, the rugby second team.

Sid Waddell went into academia for a few years beginning in 1962.

Sid Waddell joined the Social Studies Department at Durham University and assisted the Professors of Politics and Economics in writing their books.

Sid Waddell toyed with the idea of writing a book on trade unions but settled for folk singing in a duo with Charles E Hall called the Gravyboatmen.

In 1966, Sid Waddell joined Granada Television working with Michael Parkinson on local news programmes.

Between 1968 and 1974, Sid Waddell was a producer for over 600 editions of local news programme, Calendar.

Sid Waddell devised the ITV network children's series The Flaxton Boys a historical adventure series that ran for three years from 1969.

Sid Waddell was an observer at Alexandra Palace during the 1972 News of the World Championship and was particularly impressed with the play and character of the eventual finalist, Welshman Alan Evans, who beat reigning champion Dennis Filkins in the semi-finals with a fiery display.

Also in 1972, Sid Waddell created the show The Indoor League, which featured various pub games including darts, pool, bar billiards, bar skittles, Table football, arm wrestling and shove ha'penny.

The Indoor League was only shown on Yorkshire Television in 1972 but went national on the ITV network from 1973 to 1977, although Sid Waddell had left ITV by the last series of the programme.

In 1976, Sid Waddell switched to the BBC and his experience with televised darts helped him to become one of the commentators on the first World Professional Darts Championship when it began in 1978.

Sid Waddell stayed with the BBC until 1994, commentating on all darts events covered by the BBC, with his last darts commentary on the BBC being the first four sets of the 1994 BDO World Championship Final between John Part and Bobby George.

Sid Waddell was the writer of two series of another children's show Sloggers which ran from 1994 to 1996.

Sid Waddell was a director for Mop and Smiff and assistant producer for the follow-up series Mike, Mop and the Moke.

Sid Waddell's credits include working with the eccentric scientist Magnus Pyke and he was Alan Whicker's producer on Whicker's Women in 1972.

Sid Waddell worked on the Russell Harty Show, and in 1993 did a series for Tyne Tees Television called Waddell's World in which he was a butler to a posh Tweeddale family, a caravanner and on the dole.

Sid Waddell made one performance as the "Voice of the Balls" on the National Lottery Red Alert on BBC in 1999.

Sid Waddell said he was sacked for being "too Geordie".

From 1994, Sid Waddell became an independently employed commentator, but was mainly associated with his work for Sky Sports.

However, as these events began to be hosted further away from the UK, Sid Waddell gradually withdrew from the sport.

Sid Waddell is remembered for coining the term "Golden Break", meaning when the 9-ball is pocketed directly from the break, giving the breaking player an immediate win.

In 2004, Sid Waddell was the commentator for the British game show House of Games in which two families competed in various household-based challenges.

In 2006, Waddell began to host Sid Waddell's Wrestling Show on ESPN Classic.

Sid Waddell was up for BAFTA best director in 1992 for a documentary in the Ipso Facto series, and in 1994 he was nominated for best scriptwriter in the Writers' Guild of Great Britain awards for his children's cricket series Sloggers.

Sid Waddell wrote eleven published books, including biographies of John Lowe, Jocky Wilson and Phil Taylor.

Sid Waddell was a fervent Newcastle United supporter, and lived in Pudsey.

In September 2011, it was announced that Sid Waddell had been diagnosed with bowel cancer.

Sid Waddell died of bowel cancer on 11 August 2012, the day after his 72nd birthday, in Harrogate, North Yorkshire.

Sid Waddell's funeral was held in Leeds on 22 August 2012.