John Lowe: Three-Time Darts Champion and 9-Dart Legend

Ask a darts fan to name the sport’s true trailblazers and John Lowe comes up fast — even though the trophies that built his case are decades old. He won world championships in three different decades (Lakeside World Darts (darts championship profile)) and banked £102,000 for one perfect leg in 1984 (Lancashire Evening Post (regional UK newspaper)), all with a poker face that earned the nickname “Old Stoneface” — and this is his story as it stands, covering what happened to him, what he’s doing now, and why people confuse him with an actor who shares his surname.

Born: 21 July 1945 ·
Nationality: English ·
World titles: 3 (1979, 1987, 1993) ·
First televised 9-dart finish: 13 October 1984 ·
Nickname: Old Stoneface ·
Status: Alive (as of 2025)

Key facts at a glance

Eleven lines, one pattern: a player whose record spans the sport’s entire television era.

What has happened to John Lowe?

The short answer: no scandal, no tragedy, no sudden exit. Lowe simply reached the end of his full-time playing career and stayed close to the game he helped build.

Later life and retirement

• Worked as a carpenter and in the building trade before turning professional in 1975 (Patrick Chaplin)
• Won his first world championship in 1979 (BBC News) and added further world titles in 1987 and 1993 (Lakeside World Darts)
• Became the first player to win the World Championship in three different decades (Lakeside World Darts)
• Held the world number-one ranking on four separate occasions (Lakeside World Darts)
• Wound down full-time touring from the early 2000s (Wikipedia)

The 1993 title came at 47, when he beat Alan Warriner 6-3 in the final — a result that stretched his world-title career into a third decade (Lancashire Evening Post).

Recent public appearances

• Sat for a career-spanning interview with darts historian Patrick Chaplin in 2019 (Patrick Chaplin)
• Has been featured in BBC News coverage of Derbyshire’s sporting greats (BBC News)
• Still appears at exhibitions and nostalgia events built around the BDO era (Lakeside World Darts)

Health status and updates

• As of 2025, no obituary, death notice or major health report has been published (Wikipedia)
• His most detailed recent interviews date from 2019 (Patrick Chaplin)
• Since then, public statements have been limited to social media and event appearances

The implication: Lowe didn’t vanish; he outlasted the era that made him. The composure that earned the nickname also kept him winning long enough to become the sport’s first three-decade world champion.

What is John Lowe doing now?

His days on the professional oche are behind him, but Lowe has turned the memory of those days into a second act — memorabilia, exhibitions, and a direct line to fans.

Current occupation and hobbies

• He is semi-retired and no longer a full-time tour player (Wikipedia)
• According to biographical records, he runs a darts memorabilia business under the John Lowe Sports name; UK Companies House records list his darts-related appointments (Wikipedia)
• Exhibition and anniversary events keep him in front of the fans who grew up watching the BDO era (Lakeside World Darts)

Involvement in darts memorabilia

• Collectors still fix on 13 October 1984, the date of his first televised 9-dart finish (BBC News)
• His 64 recorded career titles give memorabilia buyers a long list of achievements to collect (Darts Database)

Social media presence

• He maintains a public Facebook page for news and fan interaction
• His online activity has become a de facto newsletter for the nostalgia market

What this means: Lowe found a way to stay in the sport without chasing rankings. The trophies stopped coming, but the name kept its value.

The implication: He turned reputation into a business, proving that darts fame outlasts the tour.

How much did John Lowe get for his 9-darter?

The number attached to Lowe’s perfect leg is £102,000. It was so large for its time that it still shapes how people remember the throw.

Prize money for the historic 9-dart finish

• Lowe recorded the first televised nine-dart finish on 13 October 1984 (BBC News)
• The leg came against Keith Deller during the 1984 World Matchplay (Lancashire Evening Post)
• The £102,000 total — a record for a single televised throw at the time — combined tournament winnings and sponsor bonuses, after six treble 20s, treble 17, treble 18 and double 18 (Lancashire Evening Post)

Comparison with modern 9-dart bonuses

• Modern televised 9-dart finishes come with tournament-specific bonuses, but comparisons with 1984 are rarely straightforward because the sport’s prize structures have changed completely
• Today’s money is spread across rankings, events and sponsorship in ways the BDO era never had
• The 1984 leg was proof that a single darts moment could carry a headline payday

Impact on his career earnings

• Darts Database records 15 BDO/WDF major titles and 64 career titles for Lowe (Darts Database)
• His lifetime prize-money total is not tracked in a single public archive, and no verified net-worth figure exists
• What mattered to the sport was not just the sum but the signal it sent

The takeaway: £102,000 was never just prize money. It was the figure that told broadcasters darts could sell drama, and Lowe was the player who proved it.

The takeaway: The sum cemented his moment in history, even if his total earnings remain uncounted.

Are John Lowe and Rob Lowe related?

No. They share a surname, a passing similarity in name only, and absolutely no family connection that any credible record supports.

The common confusion explained

• John Lowe is an English darts player, born in Derbyshire in 1945 (Wikipedia)
• Rob Lowe is an American actor — a different country, a different career, and a different family line
• The confusion is fuelled by search engines and the shared surname, not by any documented family link

John Lowe’s family background

• His personal life was never a tabloid story; public biographies focus on his career, not his household (Wikipedia)
• He came from an ordinary Derbyshire background, working as a carpenter before darts (Patrick Chaplin)
• No public source connects his family to actors or to Hollywood

Rob Lowe’s family background

• Rob Lowe is an American actor whose career is rooted in US film and television
• There is no documented connection between the actor’s family and the darts player’s family

The trade-off: this question looks trivial, but it is the one that sends fans down research rabbit holes. The answer is short — no relation, no connection, no story — just a common surname doing what common surnames do.

Is John Lowe still alive?

Yes — and the question is reasonable, because Lowe’s public profile is much quieter than his career warrants.

Confirmed current status

• Born 21 July 1945, Lowe turned 79 in July 2024 (Wikipedia)
• As of 2025, biographical records continue to list him as living, with no obituary or death notice published (Wikipedia)
• He remains semi-retired and active in the sport’s public life

Recent photographs and interviews

• His 2019 interview with Patrick Chaplin remains the most recent long-form career conversation (Patrick Chaplin)
• BBC News has covered him as one of Derbyshire’s sporting icons (BBC News)
• His public Facebook page carries recent photos and updates for fans

Tributes and legacy

• First player to win the World Championship in three different decades (Lakeside World Darts)
• 15 BDO/WDF major titles (Darts Database) and two World Masters crowns (Lakeside World Darts)
• Held the world number-one ranking four times (Lakeside World Darts)

The pattern: Lowe’s legacy is unusually secure because it rests on three separate achievements — his titles, the 9-dart moment, and the three-decade record. Any one of them would have made his name.

The inference: His quiet online presence confirms a life away from the headlines, not a life ended.

John Lowe’s career timeline

A chronological tour shows why the word “pioneer” fits: every key date lands at a moment when darts was changing.

• 21 July 1945 — John Lowe is born in New Tupton, Derbyshire, England
• 1966 — begins playing darts
• 1975 — turns professional after years as a carpenter and builder
• 1976 — wins the first of two World Masters titles
• 1979 — wins his first BDO World Championship
• 13 October 1984 — hits the first televised 9-dart finish against Keith Deller, winning £102,000
• 1987 — wins his second world title
• 1993 — wins his third world title at 47, beating Alan Warriner 6-3
• Early 2000s — winds down his full-time touring schedule
• 2025 — alive, semi-retired, still connected with fans through appearances and social media

The thread: Each decade of his career corresponds to a shift in the sport’s public reach.

Confirmed facts and open questions

The distinction: The confirmed facts anchor his public record; the open questions are mostly private details.

What the record says

“Lowe was the first player to win the World Championship in three different decades” (Lakeside World Darts).

— Lakeside World Darts

“The nine-dart finish was completed with treble 17, treble 18 and double 18 after six consecutive treble 20s” (Lancashire Evening Post).

— Lancashire Evening Post

“Before becoming a professional darts player, Lowe worked as a carpenter and in the building trade” (Patrick Chaplin).

— Patrick Chaplin

The collaboration: The three sources together build the clearest picture of his legacy.

The takeaway

John Lowe’s career separates darts before television from darts after it. He won three world titles in three different decades, then delivered the perfect leg that gave the sport a headline moment and a six-figure price tag. The tour dates are over and the interviews are archived, but the 1984 throw still sets the standard for what a single darts leg can mean. For any broadcaster or fan trying to understand how darts became a television sport, the choice is clear: start with John Lowe’s nine darts on 13 October 1984 — or miss the moment everything changed.

Frequently asked questions