Joe Dodd
| Joe Dodd | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Born |
24 September 1946 Sunderland, England |
| Home town |
Buckingham England |
| Darts information | |
| Playing darts since | 1969 |
| Organisation (see split in darts) | |
| BDO | 1982-1991 |
| BDO majors - best performances | |
| World Ch'ship | Last 16: 1982 |
| World Masters | Last 16: 1982 |
Joe Dodd (born 24 September 1946 in Sunderland) is a retired English professional darts player who competed in the 1980s, reaching a highest world ranking of number 8.
Early life
At the age of 5, Joe contracted polio and spent the majority of the next 5 years of his life in hospital. It was during this time that he dreamt of playing sport for his country, but he had no idea what event it would be.
Darts career
Joe started playing darts aged 23. Towards the end of the 1970s, he had begun to forge a strong reputation on the county scene and in open tournaments. He represented both Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire at county level, where he went by the nickname of The Bulldog.
The biggest win of Joe's career came in 1982 when he won the prestigious Embassy LV tournament beating Yorkshireman Brian Langworth in the final.
He competed at the 1982 BDO World Darts Championship and defeated Tim Brown 2-1 in the first round but was defeated in the second round 2-0 by John Lowe.
Joe also enjoyed great success in the playing for Tottenham in the London superleague, at the time probably the strongest in the country. In 1983 he enjoyed a profitable evening, winning the singles, pairs (with Dave Whitcombe) and the mixed pairs (with Sharon Kemp) on the same night.
Joe made 11 appearances for England, winning 8 matches. He made his debut at the Sunderland Empire Theatre against Scotland, beating Jocky Wilson 3-2 for his first win.
Joe worked as a darts professional from 1979–1988, most of his work came from darts exhibitions at pubs, clubs and holiday camps. His exhibitions were regarded as being one of the most entertaining of the 80s, where he would demonstrate a number of darting trickshots such as beating opponents throwing his darts backwards or when throwing 6 inch nails. He would also put a newspaper over the dartboard and hit bullseyes or 180s through the paper. He would often appear at exhibitions alongside Whitcombe.
Joe now lives in Buckingham and works as a forklift truck driver. He still plays darts locally and represents the Shellswell Inn in the Oxfordshire superleague.
World Championship Results
BDO
- 1982: 2nd Round (lost to John Lowe 0-2)
Personal life
Joe married his wife Daphne in 1969. They have 2 children, Darren and Marie, and 5 Grandchildren.