Alan Towe - A Look Back In Time - 1st October 2005
The men’s and women’s doubles knockouts have been top of the fixture card recently for the South West Birmingham Clubs Summer League. Taking the honours in the men’s event were Stirchley United WMC duo Dudley Smith and John Coggins, who with a close 2-1 result defeated fellow team mates Pete Conlon and 80 years young George Bird.
The ladies title went to the Shenley Lane pairing of Kelly Cahill and Kim Young, with Kerry McCurry and Belinda Prottey from Longbridge 26’ers runners up.
Playing at Stirchley United WMC, the Tascos Flights pairing of Maddie Mann and Ian Clements won the league’s mixed doubles competition. The winning duo beat Kelly Cahill and Terry Cahill in the final.
Unfortunately since these play off’s have taken place the league have had to come to terms with the sad news that their long serving member, George Bird passed away at the age of 80 after suffering a stroke. When George was seventeen he joined the paratroops. Following the war he began playing darts and continued to do so to within days of his sudden death.
Throughout his many years playing darts George played in numerous leagues including Stirchley and Cotteridge, Rubery and Rednal, Kings Norton, West Birmingham Summer League, South West Birmingham and South West Birmingham Clubs Summer and Winter League’s. Some of the teams he actually represented were the Cavalier, Fordrough (West Heath), Black Horse (Northfield), Steps (Harborne), Highbury (Stirchley) and Stirchley United WMC. During some sixty years of darts George played in excess of twenty for the Stirchley and Cotteridge League, he was a quiet and unassuming gentleman of darts and will be sadly missed by the many, many friends he made through the sport of darts.
I would like to thank John Bates, secretary of the Kings Norton League for the majority of the above information which he provided.
The Tigers completed a perfect season in the G.U.L.P. Charity League rounding off an unbeaten campaign with a tremendous 7-0 whitewash over Red Lion. Malt Shovel missed out on any chance of the runners up spot after losing 4-3 to shadow league winners Red Devils and ended the campaign in fourth place. With a win over Victoria 301 Club Hardy Spicer finished second in the table and Tribe third.
Tigers man Colin Wyatt had a very successful season, adding to his doubles and mixed doubles title the captains and secretaries crown with a final 2-0 success over Red Devils John McCaffrey.
Custard House lost the race for the runners up spot behind the Mitre in the Small Heath League as the season was drawing to a close. In their final game against Ward End Ex Service Club they went down 7-2 and Victoria 301 Club, who with a similar 7-2, but in their case a win over Innisfree claimed the second position.
In two of the leagues finals, first the KO Cup final between league champions Mitre and Victoria 301 Club, Mitre produced a high scoring show and ran out as clear victors, while in the final of the Up-Side Down Cup it was Ward End Ex Service Club who got the verdict over their rivals Gunmakers Arms.
The league season was rounded off with three outstanding fixtures. Champions Mitre defeated bottom of the table Victoria Inn 6-3. Victoria Inn then turned the scoreline around to beat Bromford Social Club, only their second win in 20 outings. The final fixture saw Ward End Ex Service Club chalk up a convincing 8-1 win to finish third in the table
In the 501 singles knockout Trevor Frost, who represented league winners Mitre became the new champion. Frost won the title with a final victory over Scouse O’Brian, who plays for the Victoria 301 Club. Losing semi finalists were John Burdett (Mitre) and Terry Webster (Gunmakers Arms).
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