Leighton Rees

Leighton Thomas Rees (17 January 1940 – 8 June 2003) was a Welsh professional darts player who competed in British Darts Organisation (BDO) events. He won the 1978 BDO World Darts Championship, and was formerly ranked world number one. He was one of the sport's most successful players throughout the 1970s, and retired from the game in 1991.

Early life Rees was born in hospital in Mountain Ash and grew up in the village of Ynysybwl, Glamorgan, where he spent most of his life. He attended the local Mill Street School in Pontypridd where one of his teachers famously declared on his report card that he would be "good only for reading the sports pages of the South Wales Echo". After leaving school he found work in the store room of a motor spares company, a job he did for over twenty years until he became a professional darts player in 1976.

It was during his time working as a store man that Leighton found the sport of darts, becoming a regular for his local pub and county, and playing for Wales in 1970.

Personal life In 1980, Rees married Debbie Ryle, a Californian, in Las Vegas while he was competing in a tournament there. Leighton Rees Close in Ynysybwl is named after him.

World Championship results

BDO 1978: Winner (beat John Lowe 11–7) (legs) 1979: Runner-up (lost to John Lowe 0–5) (sets) 1980: Quarter-Finals (lost to Bobby George 1–3) 1981: 2nd Round (lost to Ceri Morgan 1–2) 1982: 1st Round (lost to Angus Ross 0–2) 1983: 1st Round (lost to Cliff Lazarenko 0–2) 1985: 1st Round (lost to Russell Stewart 1–2) 1987: 1st Round (lost to Mike Gregory 0–3) 1990: 1st Round (lost to Eric Bristow 0–3)

Career finals

BDO major finals: 6 (2 titles) Legend World Championship (1–1) British Professional Championship (0–1) Grand Masters (1–1) British Matchplay (0–1)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Winner 1. 1978 World Darts Championship John Lowe 11–7 (l)Winner 2. 1978 Butlins Grand Masters John Lowe unknownRunner-up 2. 1979 World Darts Championship John Lowe 0–5 (s)Runner-up 3. 1980 Butlins Grand Masters Bobby George 0–1 (s)Runner-up 4. 1980 British Matchplay Jocky Wilson 0–2 (s)Runner-up 5. 1987 British Professional Championship Keith Deller 5–7 (s)

WDF major finals: 2 (1 title) Legend World Cup (1–0) Europe Cup (0–1) Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Winner 1. 1977 World Cup Singles Cliff Lazarenko 4–3 (l)Runner-up 1. 1984 Europe Cup Singles John Lowe 0–4 (l)

Independent major finals: 1 Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Runner-up 1. 1976 News of the World Championship Bill Lennard 0–2 (l)

Performance timeline

Pairs ? ? ? Team Overall