John Lowe is remembered as the gentleman among world-class darts players. On a recent visit to Paphos he showed that he stills knows how to throw those arrows
Three times world champion darts master, John Lowe achieved the first-ever televised nine dart finish in the 1984 world match tournament, a feat the equivalent of a golfer sinking nine consecutive holes in one. It earned him prize money of 112,000 pounds sterling.
Ten million TV viewers were watching that night, transfixed by the sight of a group of overweight men drinking and smoking, in between throwing arrows at a round cork board. By the 1980s, darts had moved from the back rooms of dingy working men’s clubs to the somewhat more rarified atmosphere of London’s Alexandra Palace. Darts players could earn big money and earned the reputation of spending it on endless purchases of bling, light up cocktail cabinets and villas in the Costa del Sol.
For John, who was recently in Paphos at the invitation of the Paphos Darts League, the truth is slightly different. With more than 40 years at the ‘oche’, however, he is the first to admit that the game has changed. “It’s now firmly a mass entertainment sport, that gets millions of viewers of all ages. Women are some of its biggest supporters. But competitive darts still always comes down to players who can handle the pressure of these huge events, and never let their concentration go,” he said.
Growing up in Derbyshire, Lowe left school and trained as a carpenter before going on the darts circuit. He and Eric Bristow were the biggest draws of the day during the 1970s, 1980s eighties and early 1990s.
John now does exhibition matches with other members of the League of Legends. “We the older professionals have won our championships and travel around the UK and abroad, playing to audiences. We are invited by people like the Paphos Darts League to come over and play games with some of their club members.”
Top class darts players are not in the Wayne Rooney league when it comes to earning money, but they can certainly earn a more than comfortable living.
“I read recently that the ranking numbered 32nd in the world earns 100,000 pounds a year, so higher ranking players with the right kind of sponsorship and management behind them can make very big money. Although I’m also capable of earning a lot, it’s not my god,” said Lowe.
Lowe doesn’t exactly fit the stereotypical profile of a darts player. He doesn’t have an alcohol problem, is slim, fit and now in his sixties is still described as one of the gentlemen of the game. Was this a conscious PR image or his real character?
“I come from a very religious background, and I suppose my upbringing in a Christian home has made me less of a hell raiser than my contemporaries. I didn’t hold a dart in my hand until I was 21 years old, and that was only because it was the age I could go into a pub. Whilst I was in there a man asked me if I wanted a game and that’s how I started. Before then my ambition was to race motorbikes.”
Lowe’s nickname was Old Stone Face because of his serious, unsmiling face even after winning big prizes. Lowe says his stern visage was the result of simple concentration and taking the game seriously. “I always treat the game seriously. It’s all about precision, and an ability to count!” he said.
A momentary lapse in counting once cost him a match. “I miscounted my game and thought it was finished. I walked over to my opponent, shook his hand and thought that I’d won. In fact the game wasn’t over, but I’d terminated the game by shaking the man’s hand. I lost the game and the prize money of $10,000.”
Lowe says successful darts’ players need concentration, skill and mental agility, but not much else.
“Darts isn’t difficult. It’s just that people try and make it difficult. In fact it’s better if you are a bit dim and don’t think about it too much and just play, that’s why footballers are good at the game. It’s not rocket science and these lads aren’t always the sharpest knife in the drawer,” he said.
Gentleman John Lowe is a genuinely nice man whose talents as a dart player remain such that when he is on an exhibition tour, he will ask for a volunteer to stand with a lit cigarette in their mouth. He then expertly removes it with one throw of a dart, nailing it to the wall with one of his golden Hero darts. In a Paphos restaurant when Lowe withdrew his darts from their case and asked for a volunteer, the relief among his guests was palpable after it was swiftly pointed out to him that the establishment was a non-smoking venue. The lesson is: don’t light up when Lowe is around.
John Lowe would like to thank The Paphos Darts League, and Thomas Cook travel Company for their hospitality and sponsorship of his trip to Cyprus.