Rab Smith
Encyclopedia
Career
Smith won the 1977 British Matchplay, beating Bill LennardBill Lennard
William Henry Lennard was born in Manchester in June 1934, started playing darts in the early fifties and his enormous talent eventually enabled him to leave behind a £37 a week lorry driver's job and become a professional player.Lennard was a prolific exhibition player, and did many for the armed...
in the semi finals and then Eric Bristow
Eric Bristow
Eric Bristow MBE is a British darts player, whose skill at the game in the 1980s helped turn it into a worldwide spectator sport.- Early career :...
in the final. In 1977 he also won the Golden Darts Championship and the British Pentathlon.
Smith played in six successive Embassy World Darts Championship
BDO World Darts Championship
The BDO World Darts Championship is a world championship competition in darts, organised by the British Darts Organisation . It began in 1978, and was the only world championship tournament until 1994...
. In the first ever World Championship in 1978, Smith defeated Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
's Patrick Clifford 6-0 in the first round but lost in the quarter finals to Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
's Stefan Lord
Stefan Lord
Stefan Lord is a retired Swedish professional darts player, who competed in British Darts Organisation events, and is one of the country's most successful players....
. In 1979, Smith beat USA's Conrad Daniels
Conrad Daniels
Conrad Daniels is an American darts player who has competed since the 1970s.He appeared at the first three World Professional Darts Championships - but only managed to win one match. However, that match was notable as he beat highly fancied 21 year-old Eric Bristow, who was top seed for the event...
in the first round and then avenged his defeat of Lord in the previous year by beating him in the second round, he went on to bow out in the quarter final once more, losing to then-reigning champion Leighton Rees
Leighton Rees
Leighton Thomas Rees was the first ever World Professional Darts Champion.-Early life:Rees was born in the village of Ynysybwl, where he was to spend most of his life...
of Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. Smith suffered a first round exit in 1980, lost to Tony Sontag
Tony Sontag
Tony Sontag is an English former darts player.Sontag reached the semi finals of the 1978 British Open, losing to the eventual winner Eric Bristow....
. In 1981, he beat Wayne Lock
Wayne Lock
Wayne Lock is a Welsh former darts player.Lock played in the 1981 BDO World Darts Championship, losing in the first round to Rab Smith. He then played in the 1981 British Professional but lost again in the first round to Alan Glazier.-External links:*...
in the first round, before losing to American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Nicky Virachkul
Nicky Virachkul
Nicky Virachkul was a professional darts player who competed in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. He competed in the third WDF World Cup darts tournament in 1979 and won the singles title...
in the second round. He then suffered two successive first round exits, losing to fellow Scot Jocky Wilson
Jocky Wilson
John Thomas Wilson known as "Jocky" Wilson, is a former Scottish darts champion. He retired from the game in 1995.Wilson was twice World professional Darts Champion in 1982 and 1989...
in 1982 and to Australian, Kevin White
Kevin White (darts player)
Kevin White is an Australian darts player.White reached the semi finals of the 1976 World Masters before making his World Championship debut in the 1981 BDO World Darts Championship, beating 10th seed Stefan Lord in the first round before losing in the second round to 7th seed Jocky Wilson...
in 1983.
Smith reached the final of the 1980 Winmau World Masters
Winmau World Masters
The Winmau World Masters is one of the longest running and most prestigious professional darts tournaments, which began in 1974 - even before the current World Professional Championship...
, beating Cliff Lazarenko
Cliff Lazarenko
Cliff Lazarenko is an English professional darts player who competed for the British Darts Organisation and the Professional Darts Corporation...
, Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Bob Sinnaeve
Bob Sinnaeve
Robert "Bob" Sinnaeve is a Canadian darts player who won his national title five times.-Early career:Sinnaeve took up darts in 1973 as an alternative to bowling, as he felt the darts circuit would give him more time to spend with his wife, Judy...
and Virachkul to reach the final where he lost to John Lowe
John Lowe
John Lowe is an English darts player who was one of the best-known men in darts during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the United Kingdom. Lowe is one of only five players to have won the World Championship 3 times.-Biography:Lowe won the World Championship title in three different decades -...
.