| Martin Fitzmaurice | |
|---|---|
| Born | Martin Fitzmaurice 3 June 1940 Kensington, London |
| Occupation | Master of Ceremonies |
Martin Fitzmaurice (born 3 June 1940, in Kensington, west London) is an English darts master of ceremonies, caller, scorer and referee who has operated for one of the game's governing bodies the British Darts Organisation since 1985.
Martin introduces the players after reciting his catchphrase, "Are you ready? Ladies and Gentlemen... LET'S... PLAY.....DARTS!"
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Fitzmaurice was born near the Rainbow Suite in Kensington, which would coincidentally be a later venue for the Winmau World Masters. He spent all but six days of his first five years living in Wales during World War II. On returning to London he went to Clement Dane's Grammar School where he stayed on to complete his A-levels.
After school he had jobs in a solicitor's office and later worked as an electrician and also a tube train driver. He met his future wife Doreen at Queens Park Rangers football ground and they married in 1964. The Fitzmaurices moved to Colchester in 1975 where he was asked to chalk a match (keep track of players' scores) in a local pub which was the start of his long career in darts.
Shortly after refereeing a youth match in Essex, darts player Bobby George asked Fitzmaurice if he would referee for him in exhibition matches when his regular referee Freddie Williams was unavailable. The two ended up working together for around five years.
Then at the World Masters in 1985 regular caller Jack Price was taken ill, Bobby George's persistence with the BDO to use Fitzmaurice paid off and he stood in to fulfil the role.
Fitzmaurice was a chalker at the 1986 Embassy World Final, the first time the tournament had been held at the Lakeside Country Club. He was later the caller/referee and one of his biggest moments came in 1990 when Paul Lim became the first player to achieve a perfect nine-dart finish in the World Championships.
Fitzmaurice now fulfils the role as Master of Ceremonies at BDO tournaments - introducing the players onto the stage with his catchphrase, "Let's play darts!"
He is also synonymous with the British Darts Organisation and has made several disparaging comments about the Professional Darts Corporation. Asked in 2004 by the BBC web site whether he took any interest in the PDC World Championship he said, "None at all. There's a lot of politics that goes on, and a lot of black propaganda. All we want to do is make our system the best possible for a player."