Olly Croft
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Oliver Albert Croft, (17 November 1929 – 23 November 2019) was a British
darts Darts is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-pointed projectile, projectiles known as dart (missile), darts at a round shooting target, target known as a #Dartboard, dartboard. Point ...
administrator and the founder of the
British Darts Organisation The British Darts Organisation (BDO) was a darts organisation founded on 7 January 1973 by Olly Croft, and dissolved in 2020 under the stewardship of Des Jacklin. Made up of 66 member counties, it oversaw professional, semi-professional and ...
(BDO). He was one of the most influential protagonists in darts for almost four decades, having set up and run the BDO from its inception in 1973 until he was voted off the board in August 2011. Prior to the formation of the BDO, the major organisation for county darts had been the National Darts Association of Great Britain (the NDAGB, commonly referred to as NDA) which had been formed in London on 25 September 1954. Croft began playing darts himself in 1961 for the Harringay Arms in
Crouch Hill Crouch Hill is a street in north London, England, running between Crouch End and Stroud Green in the boroughs of Haringey and Islington. It is not to be confused with Crouch End Hill which runs between Crouch End and Hornsey Rise. (The two ...
and was soon playing seven nights per week.


Early life

Croft was born on 17 November 1929 to the
North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...
tiler Oliver Croft and his wife May Gladys (née Robinson), who later died while giving birth to his younger brother. His father remarried and his son was rebellious towards his stepmother. She beat Croft and locked him in the home cupboard under the stairs in response. The children were subsequently evacuated when the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
broke out. After Croft did his
national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...
as an electrician for the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
, he established a kitchen tile company called Croft Brothers, which had two shops in
Muswell Hill Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over above sea level, is situated north of Charing Cross. Neighbouring areas include Highgate, London, Highgate, Hampstead Garden ...
and
Bushey Heath Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. It had a population of 25,328 in the 2011 census, rising to 28,416 in the 2021 census, an increase of 12.19%. This makes Bushey the second most populated town ...
,
Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...
, and generated £2 million in income.


BDO formation

The British Darts Organisation was formed at its inaugural meeting at Croft's home in Creighton Avenue, Muswell Hill in North London on 7 January 1973. Twelve others attended that meeting including his wife Lorna, Sam Hawkins, Jim Sweeney and James Rogers. They agreed to start an inter-county league that autumn and instead of working within the NDA decided to go it alone. After the British Darts Organisation separated from the NDA in 1973, he said, "We have 61 counties, our links with television and the big sponsors. Our ultimate aim? I think it is a headquarters where we can hold big finals... But I can't see that in our lifetime." There are now 66 counties providing competitive darts for men, women and youth, backed up with internal county Super Leagues. Croft also affiliated the British Darts Organisation as a founder member of the
World Darts Federation The World Darts Federation (WDF) is a sport governing body and (along with the PDC) a tournament organiser for the game of darts Darts is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-poin ...
which set up the
World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...
and Europe Cup.


Darts boom and bust

With the creation of the
Winmau World Masters The World Masters is a darts tournament, initially organised by the British Darts Organisation from 1974 and later by the World Darts Federation. It is one of the longest-running and most prestigious of the BDO/WDF tournaments. The tournament w ...
in 1974 and
World Professional Darts Championship The World Professional Darts Championship is one of the most important tournaments in the darts calendar. Originally held as an annual event between 1978 and 1993, players then broke off into two separate organisations after a controversial split ...
in 1978, darts began to become increasingly popular, appearing on BBC television and ITV usually on their ''World of Sport'' show. But as the mid-to-late eighties approached and World of Sport was cancelled, the image of the game collapsed. Some top players became frustrated at lack of opportunities, and Croft would become a central character in a devastating split in the game.


Acrimonious split

In 1993 the top players left the British Darts Organisation and formed the World Darts Council (which is now the
Professional Darts Corporation The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) is a professional darts organisation in the United Kingdom, established in 1992 when a group of leading players split from the British Darts Organisation (BDO) to form what was initially called the Wor ...
, PDC), but Croft and his organisation proceeded to ban the rebel players from playing County Darts. Croft - who was a salaried BDO official and lived rent-free in a BDO-owned property - was quoted as saying, "I don't owe any dart players a kidney stone". The acrimony ended up in court in an expensive proceeding that neither side could really afford - either financially or for the good of the game. The two sides eventually came to an agreement in 1997 via a '' Tomlin Order'', but there was still division, rivalry and often animosity between the two organisations.


After the split

Croft asserted that his British Darts Organisation set-up is for the good of all players and not just a select few. Many of the players that made their way through the county system, joined the PDC as their tournaments offer higher prize money and more chance of making a full-time living from the game. Passionate debate often raged amongst darts fans as to the relative merits of the BDO and PDC, and Croft's role in the split in the game. He pioneered a system of county darts which still produces top players and in many respects built the game's foundation in the 1970s and 1980s. But criticism for the fact that there are now two Organisations and thus no unified World Championship is equally rife.
Mike Watterson George Michael Edwin Watterson (26 August 1942 – 8 March 2019) was an English professional snooker player, businessman, sports promoter and television commentator. Watterson established the UK Snooker Championship and moved the World Ch ...
, the sports promoter who created the Embassy World Professional Championship (and arranged the TV and sponsorship deals), was one of Croft's biggest critics.


Voted off board

On 7 August 2011, Croft was voted off the BDO board at their AGM ending 38 years as the main figurehead of the Organisation. It also brought to an end his role as tournament director for the BDO as Wayne Williams succeeded him. Despite losing power over the BDO in 2011, Croft continued to be the Chief Technical Advisor at the WDF. Olly Croft died on 23 November 2019, shortly after his 90th birthday. Olly's wife, Lorna, had died in June 2003, aged 72.


References


External links


Interview with Olly Croft
{{DEFAULTSORT:Croft, Oliver Darts people Officers of the Order of the British Empire 1929 births 2019 deaths