Mardle reveals story of Jocky Wilson's superstitious underwear in 1982 World title win: "He refused to change them until he won"

Wayne Mardle released his new book Slinging Arrows on Thursday May 20 and in this, 'Hawaii 501' revealed a story told to him by Bobby George about Jocky Wilson and his superstitious underwear.

George shared a room with Wilson during his 1982 World Championship triumph and how he didn't change them until he won.

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“Bobby tells a strange tale of the time when Jocky won the 1982 World Championship and, over the course of that event, he and Bobby had been sharing a hotel room at the Lakeside, the original home of world darts," said Mardle.

“Bear in mind they were both enormous superstars at this point, as close as dartists of that era came to being household names, and the image of them cooped up in the same room like Bert and Ernie off Sesame Street might sound quite comical.

“But it wasn’t so enjoyable for Bobby, who noticed a few days in that Jocky wasn’t changing his underpants. Jocky insisted they were lucky, and refused to change them until he won. He did eventually put on a clean pair, but that was after seven days. Poor old Bobby. Still, by that point Jocky was championship of the world.

“It’s hard to imagine any of the darting world’s current legends, from Gary Anderson to Michael van Gerwen, spending seven days in the same undercrackers.”

Mardle continued talking about Wilson and his own darting regret that he never shook his hand.

“I do regret never getting to meet Jocky. I never came close to regretting the hundreds of games I lost over the years, but I’ll always feel sad about never having the opportunity to shake Jocky Wilson by the hand.

“I’ve been around top darts players since 1985, yet an audience with Jocky always eluded me; by the time I joined the BDO he’d joined the PDC; then by the time I joined the PDC he’d retired."