And the Winner is...
Continuing our historical theme, this time we'll be looking at American achievements in world darts. Again, it is unfortunate that so many of these
achievements - and names - are now forgotten.
Starting out with the World Professional Championships, Americans haven't done particularly well - other than Stacy Bromberg. For those who don't know, Stacy won the inaugural PDC Women's World Championship last year, beating Tricia Wright (my old mixed doubles partner) in the final.
There are two men who have appeared in 10 or more World Championships; Paul Lim and yours truly. Of Paul's 18 appearances, 12 were at the BDO's Lakeside World Championship, with 6 for the PDC, while my 11 were all at Purfleet. My third place at the 1994 PDC World Championship remains the best American performance in that particular event, while Nicky Virachkul (1978) and Rick Ney (1988) both reached the BDO semis.
Mr Lim's best performance came at Lakeside in 1990, with a quarter-final appearance. Of course, that was the year that Paul made history by becoming the first player in World Championship history to record a perfect 9-dart leg, which he did against Ireland's Jack McKenna.
Moving on to the PDC World Matchplay, pride of place obviously goes to Larry Butler, who won the title in 1994. That Larry beat Dennis Priestley in the final is nowhere near as significant as the fact that he remains the only American male to win a world title on foreign soil.
Jerry Umberger and Gary Mawson are the only other Americans to reach a final of a televised PDC major. Umby lost out to Peter Evison at the 1994 Samson Classic (after beating both Dennis Priestley and Phil Taylor), while Gary just failed to get past James Wade at the 2008 UK Open. Highlight of that run was a semi-final victory over Raymond van Barneveld. Sadly, there is little else of note with regard to the PDC. I made it to the semis of the 1994 UK Masters (in England), and David Fatum managed to do the same at the 2008 U.S. Open in Connecticut.
As mentioned in an earlier blog, we don't have a great record at the Winmau World Masters. We've never supplied a male finalist, but the lovely Sandy Reitan stormed to a superb triumph at the 1991 Masters. That wasn't the only time Sandy captured a world title either, as in 1983, she returned home from Scotland with the World Cup Singles crown.
Staying with the this event, Americans have actually won the Women's World Cup on three occasions; in 1987 (Kathy Karpowich and Kathy Maloney), 1993 (Kathy Maloney and Stacy Bromberg), and 1997 (Stacy Bromberg and Lori Verrier). Apart from Sandy, the U.S. has provided three other singles champions, namely Eva Grigsby (1989), Kathy Maloney (1983), and of course, Stacy Bromberg in 2009. On their way to winning the 1987 World Cup, Kathy and Kathy annexed the pairs title, a feat repeated by Stacy and Lori eight years later.
Yet again, the men haven't fared as well, with no overall World Cup victory. Nicky Virachkul lifted the singles crown in Vegas in 1979, and we have twice won the team event. John Kuczynski, Ray Carver, Bill Davis, and George Walls were the champs in 2003, while Tony Payne. Rick Ney, John Kramer, and Dan Valletto thrashed England 9-0 in the 1985 final.
Moving on to the WDF Pacific/Americas Cups, there were overall gold medals at the Pacific Cup in 1986 and 1990, even though we did win the team event for five consecutive years (1982 - 1990). The only American to win a singles title was Kathy Karpowich in 1986.
Jerry Umberger and K.C. Mullaney won the men's doubles in 1982, with Lori (Branthwaite) Verrier and Katy Hopkins taking the women's doubles in 1988, and Sandy Reitan and Kathy Maloney doing the same in 1992. Paul Lim and Eva Grigsby took the mixed doubles in 1990. What is interesting is that it Paul Lim has a total of seven Pacific Cup gold medals - for three different nations! Paul has three for the U.S. (overall, team, and mixed), two for Singapore (both singles), and two for Papua New Guinea (singles and team).
Since the introduction of the Americas Cup in 2002, we have only lost the Cup once (2010). We have provided singles champions on seven occasions, namely Stacy Bromberg (2002, 2006), John Kuczynski (2004), Scott Wollaston (2006), Gary Mawson and Marilyn Popp (2008), and Chuck Pankow (2010).
Considering the quality of some of the players that the United States has turned out, it's not a great record, I know. However, I feel that we are stronger now than we have ever been, and I have a funny feeling that things may change...