John MaGowan - a Portrait
We often hear and discuss "darting heroes" or more recently "Ambassadors" and every time when I thought about who impressed me
most of all the players I had the chance to meet as a fan or a "reporter" one of the players that come to my mind is John MaGowan.
I wouldn't say John is a hero neither would he I am sure. And he certainly is not a Phil Taylor who goes from win to win.
Nevertheless he's for me some kind of "hero" or better one of those characters in darts, who leave their mark in British darts
and would be missed a lot on the circuit.
I first "met" John on TV in 2006, when we here in Germany were lucky to see all major tournaments televised life. In this year
he played in the semi-finals of the UK Open Final where he lost to Raymond van Barneveld.
Admittedly I was not really impressed...
In autumn 2006 I did see him play in Newport, but was to busy to get to know Bob Anderson and his wife to really notice him.
In June 2007 I travelled to Hayling Island to watch a Players Championship weekend. It took place in a holiday village where
some of the players stayed as well and where I was seated for the meals with some of the players. The dart players were seated
separately from the rest of the other guest there. I think I was the only "Fan" who had booked there and I was seated with
Barrie Bates, Harry Anderson and John MaGowan. I rarely laughed as much while visiting a darts tournament .
We all had our problems to understand one another. Harry Anderson, from Northern Ireland as well, speaks a really strong
Irish dialect - hard to understand when he was talking fast for me and Barrie; Barrie Bates on the other side speaks in a
Welsh dialect - difficult for me and the two players from Northern Ireland. John MaGowan, by far the oldest of us,
tried his best to help us on.
Since then I frequently met John and talked to him, last year I got acquainted with his wife too, who accompanies him to
the major tournaments.
John was born on 10.June 1941; he lives in Donaghadeen in Northern Ireland. He plays darts for a long time now, around 50 years.
He started to play in the local league and he still plays there. Often he plays doubles with his partner
Denis Cassidy who qualified for the first PDC Unicorn Women World Championship. Later he played for the County and 35 times for the
Northern Irish team.
Three times he was Northern Irish Champion, six times Northern Ireland Pentathlon Champion.
With the Northern Irish team he took part in some Europe Cups and travelled around the world, he did even play darts in Australia.
1994 he joined the BDO, but was not too successful there. One time he could qualify for the BDO World Championship in Lakeside,
but lost first round.
2002 he with 61 years, an age a lot of players already have retired, he decided to switch to the PDC as he told me
because "there play more good players". And he was quite successful. 2004 he reached the last 16 of the UK Open final.
2005 he caused a sensation as to get back to the World Grand Prix in Dublin for his quarter-final match he was flown
there with a helicopter directly from his sons wedding. He lost this match against Dennis Smith.
He qualified for the PDC World Championship 2006, reached the semi-finals of the UK Open and qualified for the Las Vegas Desert
Classics the same year.
2008 the pensioned civil servant once again qualified for the UK Open final but a little unlucky was drawn against the strong
Northern Irish player Brendan Dolan in the third round where he lost.
Later in 2008 John MaGowan once again hit the headlines -
during a players championship in the Netherlands he hit his first Nine-Darter in an official tournament, he is the till now
oldest player who managed that. He made it through the qualification for the World Championship 2009 and played a great first
round match against Chris Mason whom he defeated averaging 92. As he told me afterwards, he enjoyed it thoroughly, feeling
neither stress nor pressure because of all his experience. He had no chance second round against Dennis Priestley.
John MaGowan still practices every day for two or three hours in his garden shed. It even happened that his wife locked him
up there unintentional, well, he practiced five hours then. He usually practices the doubles and the triples, often the twenties.
He hopes to keep up his skill level by this. He practices a lot with other local players.
He did some exhibitions but only for charity till now.
John "Mr.Magoo" MaGowan has recently learned to use the computer as he's the one who keeps the group of Northern Irish
players organised, he books the flights and searches for accommodations, that's an achievement, I know myself how time
consuming and difficult it can be sometimes.
Usually John is cheerful when I meet him. He's not one to lament should he lose. And never did I hear he wails over costs
or lack of comfort. Till now I only heard him curse once, as two of his friends had failed to turn up and he had to pay
for them as well.
When I asked him, what he likes the best when playing all those tournaments he told me he enjoys it very much to be able
to meet such a lot of different people.
What impresses me most is the attitude with which he encounters all, all the strain, all the money it costs him. He does
that all because he "loves his darts".
Note: Due to the illness of his wife Maggie, who died in May 2010, John withdrew for some time from the circuit. He returned in June 2010 and even managed to qualify - now 69 years old - for the PDC World Grand Prix in Dublin where he lost first round against Raymond van Barneveld.