Jocky Wilson - After Retirement

After Retirement

Wilson never formally announced his retirement from darts; he just departed from darts suddenly on 23 December 1995. It is believed that he left after being diagnosed as having diabetes, which stopped him drinking during games.

For ten years during his darts career he had a house in Wallsend to cut down on travel expenses, but he left that to return to his home town of Kirkcaldy. In 1996 he said, "I don't want anyone feeling sorry for me. There's only one person to blame for the situation I'm in, and that's me." He was declared bankrupt in 1998, and then survived on disability allowance, living as a recluse in a one-bedroom flat back on the council estate where he grew up. Wilson also suffered from arthritis in his hands.

He ceased giving interviews to the press and television. An Observer reporter tried to interview Jocky in January 2007 on the 25th anniversary of his first title win to be told by his wife, "He never has (given an interview) since stopping and never will. He thinks it's all in the past, it's over with." Despite Jocky's withdrawal from the game, in August 2009 the PDC announced a new tournament called 'The Jocky Wilson Cup' in which Scotland's best played England's best. England beat Scotland 6-0 in the inaugural Jocky Wilson Cup in December 2009.

A heavy smoker for forty years, in November 2009 it was announced that he had been diagnosed as having chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Reports stated that Wilson had smoked up to 50 cigarettes a day for most of his life. He died just after 9 p.m. on 24 March 2012 at his home in Kirkcaldy, at the age of 62. His funeral was held on Monday 2 April at the crematorium in his home town: his great rival Eric Bristow and sports presenter Helen Chamberlain were amongst the estimated 400 mourners.