Gardner showed some promise during early days of televised darts – although the only title he won was the Belgium Open in 1984, which was a non-televised event.
He failed to progress beyond the second round in his visits to Lakeside, but did come up against some legends of the game including Eric Bristow, Jocky Wilson and Mike Gregory.
He managed to reach the quarter finals of the World Masters in 1990 – but by this time, that tournament was no longer televised.
Only the World Championship remained on the screens during that era, which was one of the reasons that many top players became unhappy with their lack of television exposure.
The £650 raised was donated to the body scanner appeal at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham.