I asked once before, but didn't have much response...what happened to the great Johnny Ripley from the Watling Street days?
I can still remember the crowd chanting "Ripley for England!" Well at least me and my brother did........
I still keep in touch with Rip, and keep him updated with news of the Darts whenever we bump into each other. When I ran a local Sunday League side, Southfleet Rams (now sadly disbanded) a few years back, I managed to talk John into becoming our manager for a few seasons in the mid 90's, which co-incided with our most successful period (relatively speaking!). Whilst he only made a couple of cameo appearances, his skills even in his 50's were outstanding in our training sessions.
John now has a garage business in Gravesend. A few years back he went into amateur dramatics with the Dartford Amateur Operatic & Dramatics Society (DAODS) and a few of us saw him perform in Showboat (I think!) at the Orchard. He earned a standing ovation for outstanding rendition of "Old Man Rvier". He then started doing some solo shows as a Max Miller impressionist, and was so good that he even appeared on a TV show on Channel 4. I saw him a couple of times in Dartford and Brighton.
See the attached link
http://www.gravesendfootballleague.co.uk/index_files/gravesend_motor_services.htm