Скачать или смотреть Jocky Wilson: 2-Time World Champion Who Died Broke in a Council Flat

Jocky Wilson won 2 World Championships, played alongside Eric Bristow in darts' golden age, and had 18 million people watching him on BBC. Then he vanished from public life in 1995 and died alone in a council flat at age 62. This is the rise and fall of the man who chain-smoked his way to glory—and into an early grave.

March 24, 2012: Jocky Wilson was found dead in his council flat in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. He was 62 years old. He had disappeared from public view in 1995 and lived the final 17 years of his life as a recluse. The man who once had millions watching him died alone and broke.

John Thomas "Jocky" Wilson was born March 22, 1950 in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. He left school at age 14 unable to read or write properly and worked as a miner and fish processor. He was 5'3" tall, weighed around 200 pounds, and had lost all his teeth to diabetes by his playing days.

But Jocky could throw darts. And he chain-smoked cigarettes while doing it—on live television, in front of 18 million BBC viewers during the 1980s golden age when smoking on stage was completely normal.

1982: Jocky won his first World Championship at Jollees Cabaret Club, beating John Lowe 5-3 in the final. The entire nation watched a working-class Scottish miner who could barely read beat the sport's elite. He became a national hero overnight.

1989: Jocky won his second World Championship at the Lakeside, defeating Eric Bristow 6-4 in the final. He was now a 2-time world champion, ranked among the greatest players of his era alongside Eric Bristow, John Lowe, and Bobby George.

But Jocky's trademark was what he did between throws: he chain-smoked cigarettes on stage during matches. Every single match. On live BBC television. The 1980s darts culture normalized this—brewery sponsors, alcohol everywhere, smoking on stage was just part of the show.

Commentator Sid Waddell captured Jocky's appeal: "Old Stoneface—the Kirkcaldy Kid with the inscrutable face and the wicked darts." Jocky never smiled, never celebrated, just smoked and threw darts with deadly accuracy.

Jocky also appeared on the hit ITV show Bullseye alongside host Jim Bowen and became a household name. At his peak in the late 1980s, he was one of the most recognizable faces in British sport.

But Jocky had demons. He struggled with alcoholism throughout his career. He was a heavy drinker alongside the heavy smoking. His health deteriorated rapidly—diabetes cost him all his teeth, his weight ballooned, and decades of smoking destroyed his lungs.

1995: Jocky played his last professional match and completely vanished from public life. He became a recluse in his council flat in Kirkcaldy. Nobody saw him. Nobody heard from him. He refused all interviews, all public appearances, all contact with the darts world.

For 17 years, Jocky Wilson disappeared. The 2-time world champion who once had 18 million people watching him lived alone in a council flat and refused to come out. Friends said he was embarrassed by his health, his appearance, his poverty.

While Eric Bristow got an MBE and Phil Taylor earned millions in the PDC, Jocky Wilson had nothing. He didn't join the PDC when it split from the BDO in 1993. He didn't capitalize on his fame. He just vanished.

March 24, 2012: Jocky was found dead in his council flat at age 62. The cause of death was listed as COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)—30+ years of chain-smoking had destroyed his lungs. He died alone, broke, and forgotten by the sport he helped build.

His funeral was attended by a handful of people. Keith Deller, the 1983 world champion, said: "Jocky was one of the greatest players ever, but he suffered terribly in his later years. The smoking killed him."

Eric Bristow, who died in 2018, said of Jocky: "He was a brilliant player. Didn't say much, just smoked and threw darts. But he was one of us—a proper darts player from the old days."

Jocky Wilson won 2 World Championships, multiple major titles, and was ranked world number one in his prime. But he died in a council flat at 62 with nothing.

The 1980s darts golden age made legends—but it killed them too. Eric Bristow died at 60 from a heart attack after 30 years of drinking 10-15 pints daily. Andy Fordham died at 59 after his liver was 75% destroyed from drinking 24 beers daily. Jocky Wilson died at 62 after chain-smoking destroyed his lungs.

Did darts give Jocky Wilson a better life? Or did the culture of the sport—smoking on stage, alcohol everywhere, no money management—destroy him?

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TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - The Kirkcaldy Kid
1:30 - 1982: First World Championship
3:00 - Chain-Smoking on Live TV
4:30 - 1989: Second World Title
6:00 - The Vanishing (1995)
7:30 - 17 Years Alone
9:00 - Found Dead in Council Flat
10:30 - What Killed Jocky Wilson