Indoor League
Encyclopedia
Indoor League was a television series broadcast in the United Kingdom
by Yorkshire Television
during the 1970s.
It was hosted by England cricketer, Fred Trueman
who often wore a cardigan whilst smoking a pipe throughout his links. He always ended the show with the phrase, "ah'll see thee".
The show featured many indoor games, the majority of which were pub-games.
The sports included Table football
, Shove ha'penny
, Bar billiards
, pool
, skittles
and arm wrestling
amongst others.
The show was produced by Sid Waddell, whose major success was to include a darts tournament. Darts coverage on television was in its infancy, with the News of the World Darts Championship
having just begun to be broadcast on ITV
. Waddell would later go on to become one of the voices of darts on television when the World Championship
began in 1978.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
by Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
during the 1970s.
It was hosted by England cricketer, Fred Trueman
Fred Trueman
Frederick Sewards Trueman OBE was an English cricketer, generally acknowledged as one of the greatest fast bowlers in history. A bowler of genuinely fast pace who was widely known as Fiery Fred, Trueman played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1949 until he retired in 1968...
who often wore a cardigan whilst smoking a pipe throughout his links. He always ended the show with the phrase, "ah'll see thee".
The show featured many indoor games, the majority of which were pub-games.
The sports included Table football
Table football
Table football, also known as gitoni or foosball, is a table-top game and sport that is loosely based on association football.-Names:...
, Shove ha'penny
Shove ha'penny
Shove ha'penny , also known in ancestral form as shoffe-grote ['shove-groat' in Modern English], slype groat ['slip groat'], and slide-thrift, is a pub game in the shuffleboard family, played predominantly in the United Kingdom...
, Bar billiards
Bar billiards
Bar Billiards is a form of billiards which is often thought to be based on the traditional game of bagatelle. It is actually based on the French/Belgian Billard Russe game that preceded it....
, pool
Pocket billiards
Pool, also more formally known as pocket billiards or pool billiards , is the family of cue sports and games played on a pool table having six receptacles called pockets along the , into which balls are deposited as the main goal of play. Popular versions include eight-ball and nine-ball...
, skittles
Skittles (sport)
Skittles is an old European lawn game, a variety of bowling, from which ten-pin bowling, duckpin bowling, and candlepin bowling in the United States, and five-pin bowling in Canada are descended. In the United Kingdom, the game remains a popular pub game in England and Wales, though it tends to be...
and arm wrestling
Arm wrestling
Arm wrestling is a sport with two participants. Each participant places one arm on a surface with their elbows bent and touching the surface, and they grip each other's hand...
amongst others.
The show was produced by Sid Waddell, whose major success was to include a darts tournament. Darts coverage on television was in its infancy, with the News of the World Darts Championship
News of the World Darts Championship
The News of the World Individual Darts Championship was one of the first major organised darts competitions, which began in 1927. It became England's first national darts competition from 1947 until its demise in 1990...
having just begun to be broadcast on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
. Waddell would later go on to become one of the voices of darts on television when the World Championship
World Professional Darts Championship
The World Professional Darts Championship is one of the most important tournaments in the darts calendar. Originally held as an annual event between 1978 and 1993, players then broke off into two separate organisations after a controversial split in the game...
began in 1978.
Darts tournament winners
- 1972 Colin Minton (beat Charles Ellis)
- 1973 Tommy O'Regan (beat Alan EvansAlan Evans (darts player)David "Alan" Evans was a Welsh professional darts player who competed in the 1970s and 1980s.Evans was one of the early faces of television darts and had some tournament success in the 1970s...
) - 1974 Leighton ReesLeighton ReesLeighton Thomas Rees was the first ever World Professional Darts Champion.-Early life:Rees was born in the village of Ynysybwl, where he was to spend most of his life...
(beat Alan Evans) - 1975 Conrad DanielsConrad DanielsConrad Daniels is an American darts player who has competed since the 1970s.He appeared at the first three World Professional Darts Championships - but only managed to win one match. However, that match was notable as he beat highly fancied 21 year-old Eric Bristow, who was top seed for the event...
(beat Cliff Inglis) - 1976 Leighton Rees (beat Charlie Ellix)
- 1977 Tony BrownTony Brown (darts player)Tony Brown is a former English professional darts player. He reached the World Professional Darts Championships semi-finals four times, losing twice to Eric Bristow and twice to John Lowe....
(beat David Rocky Jones)