Willie Wood (bowler)

Scottish professional bowls player

William Walker Wood MBE (born 26 April 1938 in Haddington, East Lothian) is a former Scottish professional bowls player, who has mainly competed in the outdoor or lawn form of the game. He is regarded as one of the leading bowlers of his generation and his list of achievements include appearing at eight Commonwealth Games and winning two gold medals and eight World Bowls Championship gold medals.

Wood took up bowls at the age of 12, With little else to occupy his time, Wood says he elected to bowl in his home village of Gifford, rather than brave the bus journey to the swimming baths at nearby North Berwick. Wood undertook his national service with the British Army, joining aged 18, serving in Germany with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. He first won two medals at the 1980 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in Melbourne in the fours and team event (Leonard Trophy). He competed in the finals of the 1984 and 1988 World Bowls Championship singles (held every four years), missing out by millimetres to Peter Belliss of New Zealand in 1984 on home soil in Aberdeen. He was back in the final four years later in Auckland, New Zealand but was beaten by England's David Bryant. He did however win team gold. During the 1988 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in Auckland he won two silver medals and four years later picked up two golds and one bronze at the 1992 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in Worthing. Two further gold medals were added during the 1996 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in Adelaide and two bronze medals were won at the 2000 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in Johannesburg. On home turf in Ayr at the 2004 World Outdoor Bowls Championship he won two golds. Wood competed in nine World Championships in total and most recently a gold medal in the triples at the 2008 event in Christchurch, New Zealand. His Commonwealth Games career included a singles bronze in 1974, a silver in the pairs in 1978, individual gold in 1982 and a captain's role in the 1990 winning fours team.

Wood also competed in over forty home international events and won the 2006 national pairs title for Gifford BC. In 1985 and 1986, he won the Hong Kong International Bowls Classic pairs titles.

He has 15 World Championship medals to his name, including four gold medals at the outdoor championships between 1992 and 2008. In 1992, he was awarded the MBE for services to sport, and in 2007, he became the first bowler to be inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of FameIn 2007, Wood became the first bowler to be inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame. His final act as an outdoor internationalist was to help Scotland retain the Home Internationals Series for a recording breaking forty second time. Woods retired with an impressive total of 134 outdoor caps to his name. Wood was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to bowls in the 1992 Birthday Honours. He has also written an instructional book, A Bias to Bowls, which was published in 1990.