Jocky Wilson had been in and out of work until a defeat at darts in his local pub in Kirkcaldy pushed him to improve his game and led to him turning professional in 1979. In the 1970s, television coverage of darts competitions expanded, making Wilson with his unmistakable grin the face of the sport in Scotland. In 1982 he became the first Scot to win the World Championship – his dart in one hand, a cigarette in the other and a pint to help with his aim. In 1989 Wilson won the World Darts Championship for the second time in his career. Failing mental and physical health led him to withdraw from public life, following his retirement in December 1995.

The image was included in the Scottish Cartoon Art Studio’s first Fizzers exhibition of caricatures at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in 2006. The artist Derek Gray is a founding member of the Studio.