The Bald Eagle says memories of winning the very first World Matchplay in 1994 come flooding back every year when he sees the Winter Gardens stage...
It’s World Matchplay season and, as we prepare for the opening night of the 31st hosting, one man knows more and has more unique memories than most any other, and that man is the USA's Larry Butler.
The Bald Eagle says memories of winning the very first World Matchplay in 1994 come flooding back every year when he sees the Winter Gardens stage.
The Ohio native wrote his name in the history books when he clinched victory in the inaugural World Matchplay, with this year marking the 31-year anniversary of his landmark success in Blackpool.
SIGN UP FOR A DARTS WORLD MEMBERSHIP TODAY!
Butler was a 200-1 outsider before the start of the tournament and went on to beat Steve Raw, Jerry Umberger, Jocky Wilson, Shayne Burgess and the top seed Dennis Priestley to become the first winner of a tournament that is now regarded as one of the most prestigious in the game:
“I have fond memories every time I see that stage,” Butler told the Weekly Dartscast.
“I really enjoyed that. Hitting the double 20 to win the final is my favourite moment I’ve had in darts...I won the use of a car for a year (from the tournament sponsors Proton Cars), but they compensated for that in cash to lease a car in America.
Phil Jones, the announcer on stage, he took real good care of me. After I won the final he got me through the interviewers. I was getting mobbed by the press and he knew I had a 6 o’clock flight back to Vegas the next day.
THE FIRST PDC WORLD MATCHPLAY: Watch the Bald Eagle overcome The Menace
He got me back to the hotel room and the next morning he had a cab waiting for me to take me to the airport. When I got to Vegas we had a pretty big celebration and then went straight from there to another tournament.”
Reflecting on the final against Priestley, which saw him trail 7-3 in legs at the second interval, Butler says it was a mid-game pep talk backstage at the Winter Gardens that helped him to turn the contest around.
“At the second break I was 7-3 down and there was at least two or three legs where I had missed doubles. I was really upset,” Butler recalled.
“It was the first time I had been behind (in the tournament). Instead of going backstage and taking a couple of puffs of my cigarette or a few sips of beer I went in the men’s room and stood in front of the mirror.
“I just got mad at myself basically. I just said ‘I didn’t get you here to act like this.’ I just got mad and when I went back out I won all of the five legs in the next session.”
Butler would go on to win 13 of the next 18 legs to prevail 16-12 and will forever be remembered as the first World Matchplay champion.
Listen to the full interview with Larry Butler on episode 24 of the Weekly Dartscast’s Darts Legends series or read a full account of his remarkable career in Darts Worlds Unsung Heroes Section
World Senior Darts / Chris Sargeant
For the full stories and more in depth coverage of everything darts, together with the latest issues of their legendary publications, head on over todartsworld.com
Category: General Sports
