Maureen Flowers
Maureen Flowers (born 5 December 1946 from London) is a retired English professional darts player who was for many years the number-one female darts player in the 1980s.[1]
| Maureen Flowers | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Nickname | Goldfinger |
| Born | 5 December 1946 London, England |
| Home town | Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire England |
| Darts information | |
| Playing darts since | 1971 |
| Laterality | Right-handed |
| Organisation (see split in darts) | |
| BDO | 1982-1988 |
| BDO majors – best performances | |
| World Masters | Runner Up: 1982, 1988 |
| Other tournament wins | |
| Tournament | Years |
| British Open Denmark Open Finnish Open Pacific Masters Swedish Open North American Open WDF World Cup Pairs WDF World Cup Champions | 1982 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983 1985, 1987 1986 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981 1977, 1979, 1981 1983 1983 |
| Updated on 27 January 2019. | |
Flowers grew up in Norton Green, Stoke-on-Trent.[2] She grew up learning to play darts in her father's pub.[3]
She won the Ladies National Pairs with her friend Yvonne Allen.[3] Flowers began competing in the Indoor League, a first for televised darts, from 1976 and later became the first professional female darts player.[3]
She won the North American Open Dart Tournament (NAODT) three years in the Ladies' Singles category: 1977, 1979, and 1981.[4]
Twice a World Masters finalist, Flowers lost on both occasions to Ann Marie Davies in 1982 and Mandy Solomons in 1988. At the WDF World Cup in 1983, she did win the Women's Pairs (with Audrey Derham) and Women's Overall events.[5]
Sponsored by Unicorn, Flowers designed her own signature darts.[3]
Flowers appeared on the UK television show 'Bullseye' in 1987 to score 330 for charity which was doubled to £660.
In 1988, Flowers quit professional darts.[2] In 1996, she was entered into the National Darts Hall of Fame.[6]
From 1978 to 1987, Flowers was in a relationship with Eric Bristow. Flowers was also the first manager of Bristow's protégé, Phil Taylor, during the late 1980s and early 1990s.[7]
References
- Gulliver, Trina (2008-01-01). Golden Girl: The Autobiography of the Greatest Ever Ladies' Darts Player. John Blake Publishing, Limited. p. 10. ISBN 9781782192633.
- "Former darts champion putting historic Tunstall pub up for auction". Stoke Sentinel. 28 July 2010. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
- "Maureen Flowers". Global Darts. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
- Kramer, Anne (2013-09-13). The Ultimate Book of Darts: A Complete Guide to Games, Gear, Terms, and Rules. pp. 81–83. ISBN 9781626365261.
- "WDF World Cup Roll of Honour" (PDF). WDF. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
- "National Darts Hall of Fame: The Hall of Fame (1990s)". Retrieved 10 January 2014.
- Taylor, Phil. The Power: My Autobiography.