Happy 25th birthday PDC

[Jobber]

Legends one and all.

Hope Mike Gregory gets a chance to read that.

[PT13]

I knew nothing about the split at the time but I was a child at the time, but I watched the BDO World Championships from a young age every year but not till after the split..

Happy Birthday

It was talked about during the 1993 Embassy. Dougie Donnelly was mentioning how the 16 WDC rebels had signed a statement saying that they would only participate in the 1994 Embassy if it came under the auspices of the WDC. Sid Waddell gave an interview over it, where he had to tread carefully as a BBC employee at the time. The frosty atmosphere towards the rebels was clearly present. I was 9 at the time.

Is this interview on youtube?

I have no idea if Sid's interview is on youtube. I'm going by memory with Sid's interview. But I still have a VHS tape, which I recorded at the time of the 1993 Embassy, of Dougie Donnelly mentioning about the statement that the 16 WDC rebels had signed saying that they wouldn't play in the 1994 Embassy unless it came under the auspices of the WDC. After saying this, Donnelly also read out a brief BDO statement that was put out in response, and Donnelly said that there didn't sound like much chance of a reconciliation there. It was on the evening of the Mike Gregory vs. Bobby George and John Lowe vs. Kevin Spiolek quarter finals. 3 of those 4 players were WDC rebels.

Sid's interview on the BBC was the next day, where Sid said something to the effect of the WDC being mostly correct, but that they were going too far with wanting to control the World Championship. From Sid's book, Bellies and Bullseyes, he then got a roasting backstage from Tommy Cox, who shouted at Sid "What kind of man are you? Doing deals with us one minute, and calling us greedy buggers the next". Dick Allix then asked Sid if their deal was now off about Sid talking to Tyne-Tees Television about getting a WDC darts tournament on there (later the Samson Classic). Sid said quietly to Dick that the deal was still on, but not to let Tommy know until the next day, "Let him sweat a bit".

From John Lowe's autobiography, Martin Fitzmaurice said "You lot (the WDC rebels) are a load of fucking rubbish. You all need throwing in the bin". Phil Taylor mentioned in his first book, ghost written by Sid, that he was forbidden from practicing in his usual room at the 1993 Embassy, over the WDC badges fallout earlier in the tournament, and Tommy Cox being Taylor's manager at the time.

[BeppeBergomi]

ALL HAIL UNCLE BARRY!!!!

ALL HAIL THE PDC!!!!

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[limegas]

From Trotter on TSOD. A good post

The I don't owe the players a living quote by Olly was a perfectly valid quote and has consistently been used out of context for years..there is no doubt that some of the breakaway players were past their best and could easily have not continued to qualify for Lakeside and they wanted more guarantees than Olly would give and he was basically telling them they had to earn a living but we're not owed it....an argument used by Barry Hearn continually since...and rightly so..
So there was no doubt a lot of self interest from the players at the time of the split and the split was good for them, albeit very risky at the time...but Olly has spent a lot of time putting the BDO where it was so you cannot blame him for not wanting to relinquish all that..he wasn't to know what the PDC would eventually become
In fact for years I don't think the BDO particularly suffered..it opened doors for new players and eventually created masses of new blood for the PDC...it was only when Hearn got involved that the gulf began and that gulf became enormous after Barney left.
The gap is huge now but nobody in 1992 or 1993 would have seen this,,,Olly had his faults but compared to today's lot he was fantastic...history gives him a raw deal but I think he needs cutting some slack to be honest..

[Randall]

They didn't want their "careers" to be one week in January.
They wanted what they created.
It was all on the table for olly.
Vanity and arrogance sent him down the route he went and trotter is misguided.

[The Thorn]

From Trotter on TSOD. A good post

The I don't owe the players a living quote by Olly was a perfectly valid quote and has consistently been used out of context for years..there is no doubt that some of the breakaway players were past their best and could easily have not continued to qualify for Lakeshite and they wanted more guarantees than Olly would give and he was basically telling them they had to earn a living but we're not owed it....an argument used by Barry Hearn continually since...and rightly so..
So there was no doubt a lot of self interest from the players at the time of the split and the split was good for them, albeit very risky at the time...but Olly has spent a lot of time putting the BDO where it was so you cannot blame him for not wanting to relinquish all that..he wasn't to know what the PDC would eventually become
In fact for years I don't think the BDO particularly suffered..it opened doors for new players and eventually created masses of new blood for the PDC...it was only when Hearn got involved that the gulf began and that gulf became enormous after Barney left.
The gap is huge now but nobody in 1992 or 1993 would have seen this,,,Olly had his faults but compared to today's lot he was fantastic...history gives him a raw deal but I think he needs cutting some slack to be honest..

His greed and uselessness was the main reason for the split. He simply couldn't offer what the players needed. After the split he run the BDO best as he could, certainly much better than todays gaff. But that's kinda irrelevant as the damage has already been done.

[limegas]

They didn't want their "careers" to be one week in January.
They wanted what they created.
It was all on the table for olly.
Vanity and arrogance sent him down the route he went and trotter is misguided.

Interestingly in 1993 BDO had more TV events then in 1992 (Aside from Worlds)

British Matchplay
British Internationals
Sky Challenge
World Masters
Gold Cup

So TV was still around for BDO Players.

[The Ginge Reaper]

How many of those events were not on the telly in 1994?

[limegas]

How many of those events were not on the telly in 1994?

Sky Masters/British Internationals

Had Olly Croft didnt want to be disloyal to the BBC and he rejected their move for BDO Worlds. And so they went to the PDC. Croft could have killed the PDC stone dead

[M H]

How many of those events were not on the telly in 1994?

Sky Masters/British Internationals

Had Olly Croft didnt want to be disloyal to the BBC and he rejected their move for BDO Worlds. And so they went to the PDC. Croft could have killed the PDC stone dead

Truth is Olly sat back and let the PDC park their tanks on his lawn. The rest my friend is history

[PT13]

Interestingly in 1993 BDO had more TV events then in 1992 (Aside from Worlds)

British Matchplay
British Internationals
Sky Challenge
World Masters
Gold Cup

So TV was still around for BDO Players.

I have heard of the Sky Challenge, but I never saw it.

What channels were those other events on in 1993? The British Matchplay had stopped being broadcast after 1983, hadn't it, the very start of the decline? And Internationals? Surely they finished on TV after 1988 if not 1985.

What I remember from the BDO in 1993 is the World Championship on the BBC, the last BDO event on Sky Sports from their 1991-1993 deal called the Sky Darts Masters, and the World Masters on Wire TV, the latter of which I didn't see. The WDC had the quadro board UK Matchplay on ITV and Eurosport, the Samson Classic on Tyne-Tees Television, then they agreed a deal with Sky Sports for the WDC World Championship and World Matchplay for 1994, and then there was the second annual Lada UK Masters on Anglia Television in November 1993. Within days of Mike Gregory winning his second consecutive Lada UK Masters, he went back to the BDO, despite the WDC World Championship being 4 weeks away from starting and Gregory due to be the number 2 seed in the tournament.

[limegas]

Interestingly in 1993 BDO had more TV events then in 1992 (Aside from Worlds)

British Matchplay
British Internationals
Sky Challenge
World Masters
Gold Cup

So TV was still around for BDO Players.

I have heard of the Sky Challenge, but I never saw it.

What channels were those other events on in 1993? The British Matchplay had stopped being broadcast after 1983, hadn't it, the very start of the decline? And Internationals? Surely they finished on TV after 1988 if not 1985.

What I remember from the BDO in 1993 is the World Championship on the BBC, the last BDO event on Sky Sports from their 1991-1993 deal called the Sky Darts Masters, and the World Masters on Wire TV, the latter of which I didn't see. The WDC had the quadro board UK Matchplay on ITV and Eurosport, the Samson Classic on Tyne-Tees Television, then they agreed a deal with Sky Sports for the WDC World Championship and World Matchplay for 1994, and then there was the second annual Lada UK Masters on Anglia Television in November 1993. Within days of Mike Gregory winning his second consecutive Lada UK Masters, he went back to the BDO, despite the WDC World Championship being 4 weeks away from starting and Gregory due to be the number 2 seed in the tournament.

Sky Challenge was the Sky Darts masters (Got the name wrong) World Masters & Gold Cup was on Wire TV & live TV until 1995.

[limegas]

Ronnie Baxter winning a TV event

[Randall]

Mabbsy will be pleased

[wintergardener]

How many homes were Wire/Live available in? Frontrunner must be in far more today!

[The Ginge Reaper]

How many homes were Wire/Live available in? Frontrunner must be in far more today!

Without a doubt, anyone who has the basic Sky package has Frontrunner and Sky have 12.7m across the UK and Ireland.

[Wolflanternbumbag]

Wouldn't of been much different if Gregory stayed in the PDC because he lost his form a few years later anyway..

[limegas]

How many homes were Wire/Live available in? Frontrunner must be in far more today!

No idea. But 1993 Cable TV wasnt that big

[PT13]

Gregory in 1995 was playing some of the best darts in the world when he won the European Masters on the BBC. His steep decline afterwards was puzzling.

[Randall]

Gregory in 1995 was playing some of the best darts in the world when he won the European Masters on the BBC. His steep decline afterwards was puzzling.

His action was fucking horrific so not that surprising.