ALEX Duff only took up darts so he could win a bottle of whisky in a pub competition.

But he became Scotland's first professional player, winning hundreds of trophies - and even played in the British team.

His darts career ended 30 years ago but Alex has now received another prize - a place in the National Darts Hall of Fame in the US - for charity work he did out there while playing darts.

And the Glasgow man's achievements are all the more amazing as he was born with the genetic muscle disease muscular dystrophy and can't straighten his arms.

Alex, 57, said: "For me, to play darts at that level was such an achievement. I was playing as well as anybody else.

"The only people who are put into the Hall of Fame are those who have played darts for 10 or 15 years or done something really extraordinary."

Alex, from Whiteinch, was invited to tour the US in 1976 as part of comedian Jerry Lewis's Telethon, an annual fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

He lived the life of a pop star for a few weeks, raising thousands as people clamoured to play against him during his exhibition matches.

Alex, who grew up in Knightswood, was made an honorary citizen of Baltimore, one of the many places he visited.

He said: "I remember every single thing. I got taken to all the big events like basketball, football, baseball."

The only other Scot in the Hall of Fame is twice World Professional Darts Champion Jocky Wilson, from Fife.

Alex's trip was a far cry from the SouWester Bar in Bridge Street, where he took up the game when he was 20.

He said: "My pals made fun of me because I couldn't win the whisky so I bought a dartboard and practised every night.

"I wanted to get to a level where I could compete with people on the same level, not because I was disabled."

Alex went from the bar team - sponsored by the Evening Times - to playing for Glasgow, Scotland and Great Britain.

Sadly, soon after the US tour, Alex's illness meant he had to hang up his darts for good. He's now wheelchair-bound.

Alex couldn't go to the US to pick up his Hall of Fame certificate from the HQ in Virginia, as he was in hospital having his gall bladder removed.

But as soon as he's fully recovered he plans to collect his medal.

Jim Poliquin, CEO of the Hall of Fame, said: "We talked to members who remember him coming to the US and they said he was one of the greatest players they had ever contacted."