Bobby George is the showman of darts, the man they call the King of Bling. He reached two World Championship finals and lost both, so he never won a world title. Yet when people talk about who turned darts into a show, his name still comes up first. Here's the Bobby George story, from digging tunnels to playing a world final with a broken back to two decades on BBC darts coverage.
Who is Bobby George: a late starter at 30
Bobby George was born on 16 December 1945 in Manor Park, east London. Before darts he did hard physical work, laying floors and digging tunnels underground. He didn't pick up darts until he was 30, and he won the very first tournament he entered. A late start, then a fast climb.
1979 News of the World: the title without dropping a leg
In the 1970s the News of the World Championship was one of the biggest events in British darts, a months-long knockout that started in pubs and ended in a grand final. Bobby George won it in 1979 without losing a single leg, and he's still the only player ever to do that. He won it again in 1986.
Two World Championship finals, two defeats
In 1980 he reached the BDO World Championship final at his first attempt, losing 5-3 to Eric Bristow, the biggest name of the era. (For Bristow's famous later final against Jocky Wilson, see our piece on the 1989 world final.)
His second final, in 1994, was even more dramatic. In the quarter-final against Kevin Kenny, he jumped up to celebrate winning a set and hurt his back on landing, yet still won 4-2. He beat Magnus Caris in the semi-final through the pain. For the final he went against medical advice and played in a steel corset, losing 6-0 to Canada's John Part. Only later did he learn he had been playing with a fractured back.
Sequins, a candelabra and "We Are the Champions"
His trademark entrance is a crown, a cape and a candelabra to Queen's "We Are the Champions". We cover where that came from in our darts walk-on songs guide, so we won't repeat it here. What's less known is how he sees it himself. In a 2024 interview with the YouTube channel Online Darts, he said he never pushed hard for trophies; when he started out he needed people to know him, so he made sure they would never forget him, and that's what the glitter was for.
He chased crowds, not trophies
Bobby George never played the international circuit full time. He made his living from exhibitions, pub appearances and contracts, one of the first players to turn darts entertainment into a full-time income. He built his own mansion, George Hall, in Ardleigh, Essex, shaped like a set of dart flights, with fishing lakes in the grounds. Proof, in its own way, that darts could pay.
From the oche to the commentary box
From 1998 he worked as a co-presenter and pundit on the BBC's coverage of the BDO World Championship, staying on until the BBC stopped showing the event. For many British viewers he's the sparkly, straight-talking man on the TV. Today every PDC player has a walk-on song, a nickname and a look, think of Peter Wright's mohawk, and Bobby George was one of the first to walk that road.
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