Who founded the British Darts Organisation in 1973?

Olly Croft founded the British Darts Organisation in 1973.

Croft created the BDO as a governing and organizing body for darts in Britain. The organization later became associated with major tournaments including the World Professional Darts Championship, commonly known as the Embassy or Lakeside world championship because of sponsorship and venue names.

The BDO was central to darts during the sport’s television expansion in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1992, leading players and officials broke away to form the World Darts Council, later renamed the Professional Darts Corporation, creating the sport’s major organizational split.

Olly Croft is therefore linked to the BDO’s foundation, while players such as John Lowe are associated with its competitive history. Barry Hearn became strongly associated with the PDC era, not with founding the BDO.