Conrad_Daniels

Conrad Daniels

Conrad Daniels

American darts player

Conrad Edward Daniels (born September 11, 1941) is an American former professional darts player who was active from the 1970s to the 1980s.

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Darts career

Daniels was an elite competitor who won or finished near the top of dozens of individual and team events in his career.[1]

In 1975, Daniels won both the US Open and North American Open, and reached world #3 in the 1975-76 ratings of the European Darts Organization.[2] He was also a member of the US team that took 2nd place at the 1979 World Cup,[3] and a member of the team that finished in 2nd place at the 1980 Elkadart Nations Cup.[4]

Daniels was one of the first American players to seriously challenge British darters at their own game. In 1975 he participated in The Indoor League (Yorkshire television's) Champion of Champions Dart Tournament, contested by the best players from around the world.[5] Daniels famously defeated the then-reigning World Master's champion Cliff Inglis in the final. This was the first time an American won such a high-profile competition in the UK.[6] Due in part to this victory, International Spider magazine named Daniels their inaugural "Darter of the Year."[7] In 1978, in the very first match ever played at a World Professional Darts Championship, Daniels defeated the top seed of the event, highly favored Eric Bristow.[8] Bristow, who would go on to become World Champion five times, later admitted in his autobiography that "[Daniels] got to me mentally."[9] ESPN has described Daniels' upset of Bristow as "one of the great shocks in darts."[10]

Daniels suffered first round defeats in the 1980 World Championship to Rab Smith of Scotland and in 1981 to Doug McCarthy of England. He never qualified for the event again. Daniels also played in the 1978 Winmau World Masters, beating Dave Lee to reach the quarter finals of the event, where he then lost to Tony Brown.[11]

Daniels was a pioneering figure in the early days of darts popularity in the US.[12] His successes abroad in the mid 1970s were recounted in scores of newspaper articles across the country at the time. Daniels was featured in a 1976 Sports Illustrated article,[13] and appeared as a guest on the popular American television program The Mike Douglas Show in 1977.[14] Later in his career, Daniels collected singles titles at the New York Open (1981), New Jersey Open (1982), and Washington Open (1984),[15] and was elected to the US Darts Hall of Fame in 1987.[16] Fellow American Hall-of-Famer Gerry Umberger singled out Daniels as having "one of the best minds I've seen in darts."[17] Author Jack McClintock describes Daniels the dart player as "serenely and disconcertingly confident, with an intimidating coldness of concentration."[18]

Daniels is a long-time resident of the Hamilton Square neighborhood of Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey, where he lives with his wife.[19]

Daniels quit the BDO in January 1985.

The Greater Trenton Dart League in Mercer County, New Jersey honors Conrad yearly with their Mr. Trenton tournament where the winner receives the "Conrad Daniels Trophy"

World Championship results

BDO

References

  1. [1]
    Silberzahn, George (2004). How to Master the Sport of Darts. Totem Pointe Books, Inc. pp. 61–62.
  2. [2]
    "The International Spider". Vol. 1, no. 4. International Dart Corporation. December 1974. pp. 14–18. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  3. [3]
    Brown, Derek (1981). Guinness Book of Darts. Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 138.
  4. [4]
    Brown, Derek (1981). Guinness Book of Darts. Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 142.
  5. [5]
    "The International Spider". Vol. 1, no. 4. International Dart Corporation. December 1974. pp. 14–18. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  6. [6]
    Kramer, Anne (2013). The Ultimate Book of Darts. Skyhourse Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-1-62087-785-2.
  7. [7]
    "The International Spider". Vol. 1, no. 4. International Dart Corporation. December 1974. pp. 14–18. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  8. [8]
    Murray, Scott (January 11, 2012). "The Joy of Six: darts". The Guardian U.S. Edition. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  9. [9]
    Bristow, Eric (2010). Eric Bristow: The Autobiography: The Crafty Cockney. Arrow Books. p. 88. ISBN 9780099532798.
  10. [10]
    "February 6 down the years". www.espn.co.uk. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  11. [11]
    Brown, Derek (1981). Guinness Book of Darts. Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 112.
  12. [12]
    "a forerunner of the American dart boom". www.dartoidsworld.net. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  13. [13]
    "Eight feet away from glory". www.si.com. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  14. [14]
    "The Mike Douglas Show: Season 15: Episode 150". www.tv.com. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  15. [15]
    Silberzahn, George (2004). How to Master the Sport of Darts. Totem Pointe Books, Inc. pp. 61–62.
  16. [16]
    "Members of the National Darts Hall of Fame". www.ndhof.org. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  17. [17]
    "Legends Speak to Us: Umberger, Gerald". www.howtodarts.com. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  18. [18]
    McClintock, Jack (1977). The Book of Darts. Random House. p. 13.
  19. [19]
    Mehlman, Peter. "Brestowski, Corcoran Nail Down Titles in Darts", The Washington Post, January 15, 1979. Accessed January 17, 2018. "Brestowski, from Hazleton, Pa., defeated 1975 champion Conrad Daniels in three legs to win the title before 800 spectators in his first U.S. Open competition.... Daniels, of Hamilton Square, N.J., thoroughly emotionless throughout the finals and semifinals, and was similarly stolid after the championship match, accepting his loss with a mildly disappointed shrug."
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