David McFadden of Blairgowrie, one of Scotland’s top darts players, has died aged 56.
He was capped 13 times for Scotland, played alongside Jocky Wilson and defeated greats such as John Lowe.
David’s home base was the Crown Bar in Wellmeadow, Blairgowrie, from where he travelled to games right across Tayside and Fife.
He was born in Blairgowrie to Hugh and Tilly McFadden and grew up in Rattray.
Darts family
David’s father was a renowned darts player in the town as was his brother Hugh. David’s son, Craig, also plays at a high level.
Sadly, one of David’s final outings was to see his son Craig win the Blairgowrie and District singles championship at Red House Hotel, Coupar Angus, at the end of July.
When he left Blairgowrie High School, David went to work on farms in the area and had a spell as a tree planter before training as an overhead linesman.
Power lines
His son, Marc, said his father worked for various companies including SSE, Balfour Beatty and Powerteam.
“He mainly did wooden pole work rather than pylon work and travelled all over Scotland, England and Ireland.
“Just before he died, my dad was unemployed because contracts had ended but had been due to start a new job.
“He got into darts through his father, Hugh, and was known to practise for hours to improve his skills and his efforts paid off.”
Five championships
David won Blairgowrie and District singles championship five times, which was a joint record. He also won the doubles competition seven times.
Between 1990 and 1993 he played with Jocky Wilson in the Scotland squad and won 13 caps.
In appearances in major UK competitions, David beat John Lowe among others but was narrowly defeated by Mike Gregory in a close match in 1991.
In 1988 he reached the last 16 of the Dry Blackthorn Cider Masters and, in 1990, the quarter finals of the Europe Cup Singles.
Tribute
Blairgowrie and District Darts League paid the following tribute to the player. “Dave was, simply put, a legend on the local and, indeed, national darts scene.
“He was arguably the best player to have played in the league.
“He will be a huge loss to darts in Blairgowrie and to the many who thought of him as a good friend.”