Birthday profile

Sid Waddell

Sid Waddell, English sportscaster (died 2012)

Born
August 10, 1940
Died
August 11, 2012
Zodiac sign
Leo
Birth year
1940

About Sid Waddell

Sidney Waddell (10 August 1940 – 11 August 2012) was an English sports commentator and television personality. He was nicknamed the Voice of Darts due to his fame as a darts commentator, and worked for Granada, Yorkshire, BBC and Sky Sports. Due to his joke-telling skills he was also nicknamed the Thief of Bad Gags, firstly by Dave Lanning. He was nominated for two awards for his work, and published several books. == Early life == The son of a Northumberland miner, he attended King Edward VI Grammar School, Morpeth, and went on to obtain a scholarship to St John's College, Cambridge, where he graduated with an upper second degree in Modern History. At Cambridge, Waddell played rugby for St John's, and the Cambridge University LX Club, the rugby second team. Injury brought him to darts and he started the inter-college darts competition. St John's lost in the final of this in 1961 to a team of trainee vicars from Selwyn College. == Career == === Granada and Yorkshire === Waddell went into academia for a few years beginning in 1962. He joined the Social Studies Department at Durham University and assisted the Professors of Politics and Economics in writing their books.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

Sid Waddell timeline

  1. Also in 1972, Waddell created the show The Indoor League, which featured various pub games including darts, pool, bar billiards, bar skittles, Table football (aka foosball), arm wrestling and shove ha'penny.
  2. In 1976, Waddell switched to the BBC and his experience with televised darts helped him to become one of the commentators on the first World Professional Darts Championship when it began in 1978.
  3. Waddell stayed with the BBC until 1994, commentating on all darts events covered by the BBC, with his last darts commentary on the BBC being the first four sets of the 1994 BDO World Championship Final between John Part and Bobby George.

The world when Sid Waddell was born

Sid Waddell was born in 1940. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1940

  • #1 song"In the Mood" – Glenn Miller
  • Top movieRebecca
  • Best-selling bookFor Whom the Bell Tolls – Ernest Hemingway

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentFirst televised college basketball game
  • Top headlineWinston Churchill becomes British Prime Minister
  • Technology milestoneFirst McDonald's restaurant opens
  • Defining fadSwing music hits its peak
  • Notable inventionJeep (military vehicle)
  • World population2.30 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderFranklin D. Roosevelt
  • Sports championCincinnati Reds (World Series)
  • U.S. population132.2M

1940 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Sid Waddell's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19402026
Gas$0.18$3.45/gal
Average home$5,300$435,000
Average income$3,100$67,500
Minimum wage$0.30$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.25$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population132.2M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, IMDb, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.