BACK IN THE DAY WITH: Bobby George: Never world champion, but first multimillionaire in darts

In this column, we regularly go back in time. Today we do so with the legendary Englishman, Bobby George.

Bobby George was born on December 16, 1945, in Manor Park. Remarkably, he did not start playing darts until he was 30 years old. That he was extremely talented soon became apparent, as he won his first tournament immediately and was allowed to participate in the Winmau World Masters just one year later. He experienced his real breakthrough in 1979 when he reached the final of the News of the World Championship. At the time, this was the first major tournament to be broadcast live on English television (ITV). In the final, he defeated Alan Glazier 2-0. That same year he also won the Butlins Grand Masters, another major tournament at the time.

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First World Championship final

His good results also allowed George to debut at the BDO World Championship in 1980. After wins against Dave Whitcombe, Leighton Rees and Cliff Lazarenko he faced Eric Bristow in the final. George eventually had to acknowledge his superiority to "The Crafty Cockney" and lost 5-3.

In the following years, George confirmed his status as one of the best players in the world by winning the News of the World Championship once again and also the WDF Europe Cup Singles. Until 1987, he was also an annual presence at the World Championship, but he could not repeat his final place from his debut for the time being.

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Fan favourite

George chose not to go down the international circuit full time afterwards. On the contrary, he had become the absolute fan favourite partly because of his emergence with all kinds of jewelry and candlesticks. To the tones of Queen's "We are the Champions," he was constantly supported loudly. George was the first player to make a full-time living from all sorts of exhibition tournaments and appearances in pubs all over the country.

He made an extraordinary amount of money as a result and became the first multimillionaire in the darts world. George built out his own estate where he went to live with numerous rooms, fishing ponds, a pub and so on.

Bobby George worked for years for the BBC as an analyst at major darts tournaments

Second World Championship final

George still ventured into the BDO World Championship qualifying tournament every year. In 1993 he was back at Lakeside Country Club after an absence of six years. In the semifinals he lost 5-3 to John Lowe.

A year later, he started the World Championship with a fracture in his back. Miraculously, he still reached the semifinals, where he managed to win over Magnus Caris after a sensational match. In the final, however, the barrel was empty and John Part destroyed George 6-0.

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TV analyst

In 1998, he was asked by the BBC to act as an analyst at major TV tournaments. He eventually held that position until the BBC lost the rights to the BDO World Championship in 2017. It did earn him even more popularity if possible; George was often much more in demand for autographs at Lakeside Country Club than many of the other players.

In 2002, at the age of 56, he was finally there for the last time as a player at the World Championship. In the opening round, he lost 3-1 to Raymond van Barneveld.

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Son Richie

In 2013, the Lakeside audience got to see a new generation of George at the World Championship. Son Richie immediately did extremely well on his debut and even reached the semifinals. There he eventually lost 6-1 to Scott Waites. A year later he went down in the opening round against Robbie Green.

Bobby George is now 78 and continues to make regular appearances at all kinds of exhibitions. He also still gives sporadic analyses at darts tournaments. Furthermore, he enjoys his well-deserved retirement at his own domain 'George Hall'.