Bobby George

Darts player infobox
playername = Bobby George


fullname =
nickname = Bobby Dazzler, The King of Darts, The King of Bling
dateofbirth = Birth date and age|1945|12|16|mf=y
cityofbirth =
countryofbirth =
dateofdeath =
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
hometown =
homecountry =
since = 1976
darts =
BDO = 1976 to present
PDC =
currentrank =
BDO World = Runner-up 1980, 1994
World Masters = Semi-Finals 1979
World Darts Trophy = 1st Round 2002
Int. Darts League = 1st Round Group 2005
PDC World =
Matchplay =
Grand Prix =
UK Open =
Vegas =
Premier League =
tournament = Grand Masters
News Of The World
WDF Europe Cup
resultyears = 1979, 1980
1979, 1986
1982
achievement =
updated = December 28, 2006

Bobby George (born December 16, 1945) is an English darts player and pundit, who is known as one of the leading characters in the game for his flamboyant entrances (in which the 'King of Darts' comes in wearing a crown and cloak and holding a candelabra in his teeth to the sound of Queen's 'We Are the Champions') and many medallions and rings.

Although he became one of the sports biggest names, George initially worked as a floor layer and did not actually take up darts until the age of 29. He has famously never won the World Professional Darts Championship, losing the 1980 final against Eric Bristow, and to John Part in 1994. Nevertheless he has won a number of titles, including the News of the World Championship in 1979 and again in 1986 (defeating Rick Ney in the final), as well as the Butlins Grand Masters in 1979 and 1980 and the Nations Cup in 1980 (as part of an England triples team with Tony Brown and John Lowe). His profile as a darts player has fallen off in recent years, although he still takes part in the qualifying rounds for the World Championships.

His most memorable World Championship moment came in 1994, when going down 4-1 to Sweden's Magnus Caris and with a very bad back, Bobby came back to win the match 5-4 in sets and reach the final in one of the most famous comebacks in the history of darts. However, his back problems resurfaced in the final leading to a 6-0 loss to John Part.

Since 1998 he has been a co-presenter on the BBC darts coverage to Ray Stubbs and his media career has grown as a result. In 2004 he starred in the British comedy film "One Man and His Dog" [http://imdb.com/title/tt0350826/] and later he followed in the footsteps of fellow professional darts player Andy Fordham by taking part in the ITV programme "Celebrity Fit Club". In 2006, he appeared in a regular segment of UK TV Show "" series 4, in which he played darts in order to explode caravans. He was also a team captain in Showbiz Darts again alongside Andy Fordham.

His home, "George Hall" is an 18-bedroom mansion built by his own handVerify source|date=July 2007. George jokingly refers to it as "the house that Bobby built". The Hall is located on 12 acres of land near the borders of Essex and Suffolk, and has well-stocked fish lakes. The layout of the rooms have been designed to look like a dart. Bobby admitted it was "mad" but he liked it as it was and doesn't want to change it.

Darts fans from around the world come to fish in Bobby's ponds (fishing being his other passion).

Quotes

*"Ton-eigh'ies for show and doubles for dough"
*"That's the way to do it, Luvverly jubberly."
*"May the darts be with you."
*"John Part was too good, he destroyed me up there. I wish him luck in the PDC, where I'm sure he'll find a real challenge."
*"Ted jus' beat 'im up." (Bobby's response when asked for his analysis of the 2000 Embassy final when Ted Hankey beat Ronnie Baxter)
*"I don't believe it, e's 'it more ton-eigh'ies than e's 'it doubles!" (Bobby's review of the 2000 Embassy semi-final when Ted Hankey beat Chris Mason)
*"Adams will bully him up there" (Before Martin Adams beat Ted Hankey in the BDO World Darts Championship)

External links

* [http://www.bobbygeorge.com/ Bobby George]
* [http://www.darts1.de/interviews/george1e.php Interview with Bobby George]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/shared/spl/hi/other_sports/03/world_darts/html/intro.stm Kingdom of Bobby George]