England international darts player Doug McCarthy on his long career

We don’t know how many 180s Doug scored but it must have been a few because he played in 19 full internationals for England from 1977 to 1982, winning 13 and losing six.

Doug McCarthy, on the right at the front, with the England Darts team which won the Home International tournament against Ireland, Scotland and Wales at Edinburgh in 1979. Players only in open necked shirts. Back L-R Eric Bristow, John Lowe, Tony Brown, Cliff Lazarenko, Tony Sontag, Paul Gosling, Bobby George. Front L-R Billy Lennard, Dave Whitcombe and Doug McCarthy.

He played alongside arrow throwers like Eric ‘the Crafty Cockney’ Bristow, Bobby ‘the King of Bling’ George, Cliff ‘Big Cliff’ Lazarenko and John Lowe, who was world champion on three occasions (in 1979,1987 and 1993) and who was the first player to throw the perfect game of 501 in nine darts on television.  
Doug recalled: “John Lowe wasn’t much of a drinker but Cliff Lazarenko could knock them back big style.  

“Cliff didn’t drive a car so he hired a driver to take him from place to place. One evening, Cliff’s driver took him to his local where Cliff knocked the pints back all night. He would get close to double figures, but his driver said that he was so popular and well known that he had another eight pints with people who he stopped and talked to on his way out.  

“I was once told, ‘Stop drinking with Cliff or you will lose your England place’.”

Doug entertaining in Crook Cricket Club in 1967

Doug did eventually lose his England place but it was more of an administrative error than poor form or too much beer.  

He said: “When you played for your county your scores and your average score were passed on to the England selectors. Unfortunately, my scores were not recorded properly and neither were they passed on to the England people.”

Doug talked about the County Press competition which involved newspapers in different counties.  

Doug said: “Each newspaper had its own competition which involved the best four players from each pub playing off against each other to find an outright winner and that player went on to play in an area final and then competed in a grand final.  

“I first played in the competition in 1965, was runner up in 1970 and 1977, reached the semi-final in 1980 and was the winner in 1982 and 1983.”
Other competitions which Doug won in his heyday were the Guinness World Pairs Championship in 1978 with John Lowe as his partner.

With Bonner Thompson as his partner in the Unicorn World Pairs he reached the semi-final stage of the North of England qualifiers in 1975 and 1976 and was a losing finalist in 1976. He was Nordor champion in 1975 and a Pontins winner in 1976.

The Durham Mens 'A' Darts team in 1980. Back L-R MC Brian Hewson, Dave Punshon, Mick Lumley, Brian Newby, John Cummings, George Hughes, Sandy Pattelson, Graham Sewell, Ken Spencer chairman. Front L-R Jonty Sterling, Maurice Quarmby, John 'Bonner' Thompson T/Man, Jimmy Hill, Doug McCarthy, Jack Harrison.

Doug smiled: “The prize money for some tournaments and championships was not great, sometimes £1,000, maybe £2,000 on occasions but the one prize that I have never forgotten was a five day trip to Paris.  
“We saw all the usual sights but the place that blew us away was the Moulin Rouge. It was absolutely fabulous and we have never forgotten those dancers.”

Doug started playing darts with the Earl Derby in Stanley and the RAFA Club in Crook. “I probably joined the King’s Head in Crook in 1964 and played with them until 1979,” he said.

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Doug now plays for the Crown in Crook and still practises every day. He can name all the Crook and District Darts League secretaries he has played under: Peter Featherstone, Tommy Richardson, Fred Wearmouth, Peter Hall, Billy Ferris, Harry Mangles and Alan Mangles who is in his 37th year in the job.

Doug added: “One year we entered the Double Top competition on the TV. This game was a mixture of darts and general knowledge. Our darts team was Bonner Thompson, John Burdess, Peter Hawkins and myself, our two general knowledge experts were Eddie Cairns and Gordon Harding.  

“I remember Gordon being asked who was the first man to swim the English channel and he answered ‘Tarzan’ which proved to be right because Matthew Webb, who was the first man to do it, had played Tarzan at some time.  

“Eddie Cairns was asked to name the five classics in horse racing, and he got those right as well.

“There have been some characters and none bigger than Jackie Harrison who played in Howden-le-Wear. He once played Eric Bristow in an exhibition game and when Eric wasn’t watching Jackie was helping himself to Eric’s cigarettes and his beer.”

Doug McCarthy in 2013, aged 71, when playing for Wolsingham Club in the Weardale League, he checked out on 132 with two bulls and a double 16

Finally, Doug recalled the night he walked 33 miles playing darts. “It was a charity marathon in aid of a policeman’s widow and took place in a pub in Richmond,” he said. “A chap called John Ferris worked it out that the number of times that I walked from the oche to the dartboard to retrieve my darts and back to the oche again added up to 33 miles. I remember Jocky Wilson saying that you had to be fit to play darts.”