By Dougie Tobutt

THE world's best ever darts player Phil "The Power" Taylor can count himself lucky - Bolton's Jackie "Mighty" Wilks was born 50 years too early for him.

Born in 1914 as John Clifford Wilks, he was affectionately known as Mighty, small in statue, but big in reputation.

A champion darts player of his time.

The end of the Second World War started a darts boom. This was one of the games that people brought back home with them, skills learnt during their nights off from their duties, and it wasn't long before clubs and public houses boasted their own darts team.

Percy Porter got the first league off the ground in Bolton with the "Sunday School League". Then at the beginning of the 50s Wilf Barlow developed "The Bolton and District League". "The Dunstens League" followed and then the breweries got in on the act and Magees, Duttons and Walkers leagues were born.

Soon after that the players in those leagues founded and ran competitions for their individual championships and so from those competitions a rich vein of talent was unearthed.

Players such as Jimmy McGrath, Freddie Fitton, Tommy Lions, Charlie Wiseman, John Willy Enty, Arthur Gaskell, Ross Isherwood, Tommy Longworth and Ronnie Fletcher were among these.

They were probably the best bunch of players in the country. They could beat each other on their night, but the reason that Mighty stood out was because he was such a showman.

He loved an audience. One way he would show off his skills was to pin a newspaper to the dartboard, aiming for each double in turn and finishing with the bull.

Then he would ask a brave (or mad) volunteer to put a sixpence between their teeth and ask them to face side on to him and he would knock it out of their mouth with a dart. That stunt made some of the national papers. Yet another party piece was to put the head of a match in the middle of each double, then go round the board, striking all the matches.

Landlords where not happy with that stunt when they finished with a smoking dartboard.

JOHN Hutchinson, a well-known footballer in Bolton in the 50s, and secretary of the Bolton and District League said: "Mighty was certainly larger than life. I remember when his team, the British Oak on Derby Street, came to play my team at the Howcroft. They were unbeatable at that time so they gave us 200 start a game, but they still pulverised us! They felt sorry for us after the match and bought us a drink. Now that was unusual.

"Mighty used to go round the pub and borrow three different darts, the heaviest he could find, a "half pint" which was very light, and one in the middle. Many a time he got 180, much to the amazement of the customers."

Roland Greenwood used to play darts in the Clarence on Bath Street. He said: "Mighty loved to leave himself a 170 finish, then he could do his party trick -- two treble 20s, then he would sink to his knees and finish with a bull. It looked pretty spectacular when it came off. Then he would pull out some six inch nails and play a game with them."

Bolton's well known darts couple, Ada and Len Shepherd, have some fond memories of Mighty. Len used to referee some tournaments and said: "Mighty was a real character. Darts was a way of life for the players in those days. There was more camaraderie between the players than there is today."

There was a heavy demand for the best players to play in several leagues and that meant practically playing every night, that incurred expense and so came the money challenges.

Winning a few challenges would pay for a night out. and as ever here Mighty excelled.

If his team was on the way to victory he would put on a dismal performance, hoping to be challenged after the match by one of the opposition who wasn't impressed with him. But he soon gained their respect again when they lost money.

Another plan would be to lose the first couple of games then up the stakes and start playing for real money like half a crown. Playing for money in those days was big business. If the stakes were high it sometimes became more profitable to back against yourself, that way you couldn't lose, financially at least!

Once a friend of Mighty said: "I'm putting a shilling on you, do your best." Mighty said: "Tot your money on my opponent and put half a crown on for me as well!"

Mighty used to work on the trams before getting a job at Townsons. He worked there for 30 years. He died in 1985 aged 71. His remaining relatives are daughters Joyce Rae and Irene Devlin, sister Edith Ward, brother Les Wilks and nephews Terry and Mick, and Dave Wilks who is the Landlord at the Gypsies Tent.

All darts players of the 50s and 60s will have a story to tell about Mighty - a legend of his time.