Alan James Glazier (21 January 1939 – 12 November 2020) was an English professional

darts Darts or dart-throwing is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-pointed projectile, missiles known as dart (missile), darts at a round shooting target, target known as a #Dartboard, dar ...

player. He used the nickname "The Ton Machine" and was noted for his all-black outfits.

Career

Glazier was one of the first darts players who turned professional in an attempt to make a full-time living from the game of darts as it grew in popularity during the 1970s. He was one of the players who appeared in the very first

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, losing to

Alan Evans David "Alan" Evans (14 June 1949 – 12 April 1999) was a Welsh professional darts player and former World No. 1 who competed in the 1970s and 1980s. Evans was one of the early faces of television darts and had some tournament success in the ...

in the first round. In 1979, he reached the quarter-finals at the World Championship before being beaten by Tony Brown. Glazier then had a disappointing run as he went out in the first round of the World Championship in 1980, 1982 and 1983, and did not make it to the 1981 Championships. His best run at the World Championships came in 1985, losing a quarter-final to

Eric Bristow Eric John Bristow, (25 April 1957 – 5 April 2018), nicknamed "The Crafty Cockney", was an English professional darts player. He was ranked World No. 1 by the World Darts Federation a record five times, in 1980, 1981 and 1983–1985. He was ...

, and in 1986, when he reached the semi-finals for the only time, again falling to Bristow. Glazier's last appearance at the Lakeside Country Club was in 1987, when he lost in the first round to

Richie Gardner Richard Gardner is an English former professional darts player who had some success during the 1980s, and was one of the 16 top players who formed a breakaway organisation during an acrimonious split in darts, split in the game during 1992–9 ...

. Outside of the World Championship, Glazier managed to reach the final of the

News of the World Darts Championship The News of the World Championship was one of the first major organised darts competitions, which began in 1927. It became England's first national darts competition from 1947, as the years went by it gradually became international essentially ...

in 1979 and won the Swedish Open in 1978. Glazier appeared on the UK television show ''Bullseye'' 15 times as one of the professionals and he represented England 27 times between the years 1974–1988. Glazier quit the BDO in 1997. He went on to sell and distribute his own darts of the same design as the ones he used as a professional. These were originally manufactured by Winmau Darts but more recently are made by McKicks Darts. Glazier died on 12 November 2020 at the age of 81.

World Championship results

BDO

* 1978: 1st Round (lost to

4–6) (legs) * 1979: Quarter Finals (lost to Tony Brown 2–3) (sets) * 1980: 1st Round (lost to

Tony Clark Anthony Christopher Clark (born June 15, 1972) is an American professional baseball player and executive. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1995 to 2009 and is the sixth executive director of the Major League Baseball P ...

0–2) * 1982: 1st Round (lost to

Bobby George Robert Francis George (born 16 December 1945) is an English television presenter and former professional darts player. He is widely recognised as one of the game's biggest personalities, known for his flamboyant entrances in which the "King ...

1–2) * 1983: 1st Round (lost to

Jerry Umberger Jerry Umberger (born 21 January 1942) is a former American professional darts player, who played in Professional Darts Corporation events. He used the nickname Tucker. Career From Pennsylvania, Umberger first competed in the BDO World Darts Cha ...

0–2) * 1984: 2nd Round (lost to

Jocky Wilson John Thomas "Jocky" Wilson (22 March 1950 – 24 March 2012) was a Scottish professional darts player. After turning pro in 1979, he quickly rose to the top of the game, winning the World Professional Darts Championship in 1982, then again ...

0–4) * 1985: Quarter Finals (lost to

0–4) * 1986: Semi Finals (lost to Eric Bristow 3–5) * 1987: 1st Round (lost to

Ritchie Gardner Richard Gardner is an English former professional darts player who had some success during the 1980s, and was one of the 16 top players who formed a breakaway organisation during an acrimonious split in the game during 1992–94. Career Gar ...

0–3)

Career finals

Independent major finals: 1 (1 runner-up)

Performance timeline

References

External links

Alan Glazier's profile and stats on Darts Database
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Glazier, Alan 1939 births 2020 deaths English darts players People from Hampton, London British Darts Organisation players Sportspeople from London