Pool vs Darts
I’ve seen a dozen websites that are Pool ‘n Darts. Jim’s Pool ‘n Darts Emporioum, Pete’s Pool ‘n Darts Warehouse, Yahib Shabodnik’s Pool ‘n Darts Extravaganza.
While it’s true that along with poker, pool and darts are the main games of rec rooms across America, I haven’t seen anyone tackle the differences between the two games. And specifically, give the top 5 reasons that darts are better than pool.
So, I thought I’d do it . . .
Reason #5 : It Takes Less Room - A friend of mine has the ultimate man cave, complete with 8 person bar, televisions, bar sink, kegmeister, refrigerator, etc. Swap that dartboard out for a pool table, and you’ll be left with the tv’s. It’s no fun having a rec room where you have to stand.
And the same holds true for a lot of entertainment areas, after all a basic small bar-sized pool table takes up about 11ft x 14ft if you don’t want to poke holes in the walls.
Dartboards don’t hog up the floor space like a pool table does.
Reason #4 : It’s Quieter - Once the kids go to bed, smacking a rack of eightball for the break disturbs the peace and tranquility of the night.
In my house I can play darts ’till dawn, but the billiards stop when folks put on their pajamas.
Reason #3 : Dartboards Are Lighter - Did you ever carry a pool table up two flights of steps into the attic bedroom? Probably not. You can put a dartboard anywhere you want in a house. Not so with the pool tables.
Reason #2 : You don’t need quarters to play American Darts - I’ve never seen a corner tavern pool table that was free all the time, and I’ve never seen an American dartboard where you ever paid a dime to the owner to use.
Of course electronic darts are a different story, so my advice is to play American darts. 
Reason # 1 : It’s just plain silly to poke a potato with a pool cue between shots.
Should the inside of the widdy or darto dartboard be loose like that??
That’s a question I’ve gotten a few (not too many, mind you) times by now. And, with dart season starting again, and new darters taking up the game, I’m sure to hear it a few more times than usual over the upcoming months.
So, I thought I’d address how an american dartboard (widdy or darto) is put together, and show some examples of how they work and wear.
Two Pieces:
The first thing to note is that there are two distinct pieces to a dartboard. There is the outer “frame”, and an inner “shooting circle”. Better dartboards are designed so that you can rotate the inner shooting circle. That’s because we often shoot the same innings over and over, and if left to mother nature, the dartboard would wear out in the popular innings with the unpopular innings still being almost untouched.
Here’s a picture of a board that we recently rotated . . .
As you can see, there is heavy wear in the 15, the 17, and the 19. those areas used to be the 2, 3, and 7 (popular innings to shoot). So, by being able to rotate the inner section of the board, we can add a lot of life to it.
If the inner section of the board is not sufficiently loose, rotating it is a bother, and requires some honest muscle work. I’ve had boards that were too stubborn to rotate, so I’ve had to actually take them apart, rotate the inner circle, then put them back together. Here’s a video of one of those adventures . . .
So, the answer to the question of “should it be loose” is yes. It should be somewhat loose.
Of course, if anything has ever been too tight, it’s been too loose as well. When I feel there’s too much give in the dartboard when the darts hit it, I’ll add some shims in between the inner scoring section and the frame to eliminate any “wobble” that might exist.
In taverns I’ve seen players just insert a matchbook and keep on shooting. I use small thin pieces of wood because they look nicer. But, anything that I can insert to stop the wobble, and pull out easily when I want to rotate the board is fine. It’s not like a dart hits the board with much force, so I don’t have to do anything too elaborate.
And obviously, if you can knock the inner section out of the frame by throwing a dart at it, that’s TOO LOOSE.
PA State Dart Tournament Dates Released
It seems like the smell of darts really is in the air earlier this year than most. The dates for the State Dart Tournament have been released already!
The tournament will be staying in Treskow this year, at the Fire Company.
There are only Three Qualifying Dates - all of them Sundays.
January 25th, Feb. 8th, and Feb 15th.
the flyer states there will be 2 brackets of 16 teams each day. So that’s 32 teams per day total, times three days, equals a max of 96 teams in the event.
The Finals are scheduled for SATURDAY Feb. 21st - 10:00 AM.
Once again, Joe Hagany will be the man to speak to concerning entry, or anything else about the tournment. I’ll be posting more information, including copies of the flyers in the darts forums and on the PA State Dart Tournament page.
August website updates
About the time that footballs begin to fill the air on the high school practice fields, you can almost smell the darts in the air. Leagues are putting out sign up sheets, tournament directors are filling in calendar spots on Saturdays in the fall, and recreational players are saying things like “i haven’t picked these up in a while, let’s see if i still have it”
For anyone putting together a league or tournament, let me remind you that the dart forums will be up and running full speed shortly, so posting your information there is a good idea.
During the long days of summer, I took some time to surf the web and managed to come across some pictures of more vintage wooden darts and some boards from the 40’s. I’ve added some of the picts to the vintage darts page, and opened a new page dedicated to Deco - the Dart Equipment company that worked out of Philadelphia for decades.
We’ve also added Darto Dartboards to the line of products available, and I fixed some of the images on the scoresheets page that got out of line when we moved to our new computer host.
I hope that everyone has been having a great summer, and look forward to seeing people at the line starting next month!
Happy 4th of July !!
Today, we celebrate Independence Day here in the States. For many of us that means picnics and parades, ballgames and fireworks. No matter what you do on the 4th, please do it safely.
While I’m at the fireworks show tonight, I’ll be remembering why we have fireworks and festivities today. Our founding fathers got together and managed to finalize the Declaration of Independence on (or around) the 4th of July. 56 people, from the thirteen states signed the document, including John Hancock (he of the oversized signature).
Even though the United States of America wasn’t exactly safe and secure (the Revolutionary War raged for years after the signing), they were born - at the potential cost of the ”Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor” of the signees.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
When in the course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation.
We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed.
That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is in the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient Causes; and accordingly all Experience hath shewn, that Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the Forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security.
Such has been the patient Sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the Necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The History of the Present King of Great-Britain is a History of repeated Injuries and Usurpations, all having in direct Object the Establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let the Facts be submitted to a candid World.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public Good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing Importance, unless suspended in their Operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the Accommodation of large Districts of People; unless those People would relinquish the Right of Representation in the Legislature, a Right inestimable to them, and formidable to Tyrants only.
He has called together Legislative Bodies at Places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the Depository of their public Records, for the sole Purpose of fatiguing them into Compliance with his Measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly Firmness his Invasions on the Rights of the People.
He has refused for a long Time, after such Dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the Dangers of Invasion from without, and Convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the Population of these States; for that Purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their Migrations hither, and raising the Conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the Tenure of their Offices, and Amount and Payment of their Salaries.
He has erected a Multitude of new Offices, and sent hither Swarms of Officers to harass our People, and eat out their Substance.
He has kept among us, in Times of Peace, Standing Armies, without the consent of our Legislature.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a Jurisdiction foreign to our Constitution, and unacknowledged by our Laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large Bodies of Armed Troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from Punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all Parts of the World:
For imposing taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us, in many Cases, of the Benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond the Seas to be tried for pretended Offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an arbitrary Government, and enlarging its Boundaries, so as to render it at once an Example and fit Instrument for introducing the same absolute Rule in these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with Powers to legislate for us in all Cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our Towns, and destroyed the Lives of our People.
He is, at this Time, transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the Works of Death, Desolation, and Tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and Perfidy, scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous Ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized Nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the Executioners of their Friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic Insurrections among us, and has endeavoured to bring on the Inhabitants of our Frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known Rule of Warfare, is an undistinguished Destruction, of all Ages, Sexes and Conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions we have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble Terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated Injury. A Prince, whose Character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the Ruler of a free People.
Nor have we been wanting in Attentions to our British Brethren. We have warned them from Time to Time of Attempts by their Legislature to extend an unwarrantable Jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the Circumstances of our Emigration and Settlement here. We have appealed to their native Justice and Magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the Ties of our common Kindred to disavow these Usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our Connections and Correspondence. They too have been deaf to the Voice of Justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the Necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of Mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace, Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World for the Rectitude of our Intentions, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly Publish and Declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be, Free and Independent States; that they are absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political Connection between them and the State of Great-Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of the divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
Signed by ORDER and
in BEHALF OF THE CONGRESS
JOHN HANCOCK,
PRESIDENT.
ATTEST.
CHARLES THOMSON,
SECRETARY.
PHILADELPHIA:
PRINTED BY JOHN DUNLAP.
Dart Forums
or message boards, or whatever you call them. We now have a place where anyone can go to chat with other darters about anything really. You can find it here . . .
I know it’s the “off season”, but I wanted to have something in place now so when the fall comes around, and players are looking for leagues, tournament directors are announcing events, and home shooters are wondering if anyone else shoots “darts like these”, we’ll have a place to meet online.
We’ve been averaging a couple of hundred visitors a day to the site, so if you’re running an event, it’s a good way to get the news out. and it’s easy to post recaps, and even pictures of the event to share with everyone who lives outside of driving distance.
The forums will replace the newsletter. Actually, when I started collecting names from people interested in receiving a newsletter, I thought it would be nearly 100% from Pennsylvania. Instead, there are people from South Carolina, Virginia, Texas, California, UTAH, and points in between who have been shooting American Style Darts. But, it was hard to put together announcements that would be interesting to everyone on the list.
Now, if you live in Florida, you won’t have an email landing in your box telling you about a dart tournament in Upstate New York. BUT, you will have a place to go to kindof keep track of the action, and tell others of your darting exploits.
The new dart forum is also set up so that members can add photos, either to their posts or to their own personal page. So, you can have a photo album online. Leagues can have pictures of their champions, or more colorful characters. People can post pictures of their home dart set-ups. That’s something that I’m looking forward to, actually.
I just got the finishing touches on the forums yesterday (well, there will probably always be more touches you can add), and no one has signed up yet, so if you’re looking for a chance to be the first to do something, this is it!! sign up and leave a “hello world” message, and you’ll be poster # 1!
2008 North American Darts Championship
Recently, the Mohegan Sun hosted both the U.S. Open and a new event, the North American Darts Championship. As usual, Phil Taylor won the U.S. Open.
The NADC event was only open to players who were citizens, or held a Green Card, from the United States and Canada. There was $50,000 in prize money for the event, which drew a field of 242 players.
Although it wasn’t an “American Dart” tournament, per se (as they used the English pub-style boards and darts), but it did feature some great American shooters. In fact, one of the shooters from the local tournament scene, Darin Young, won the event!
The final match was a 15 leg event, where Darin beat Brad Wethington by the slimmest of margins 8-7. The winner’s share of the prize pool was a hearty $15,000, with $5,000 going to the runner-up.
PlanetDarts.tv has recaps of the matches with scoring statistics:
http://www.planetdarts.tv/page/LatestDetail/0,,10180~1314345,00.html
http://www.planetdarts.tv/page/LatestDetail/0,,10180~1314614,00.html
You may remember Darin from States where this year he shot with E & B Construction, and also tied for high game in the tournament (with Tommy Hill) by shooting a 60.
There’s a great first-person recap of the tournament by Kevin from “New Jersey Darts” that you can read here.
Another “local” darter who had a strong showing at the Mohegan Sun was Johnny Kuczyski, who monied in the event by making it to the quarter finals.
Dartball
First let me say, again, that I love getting actual letters in the mail. The latest came from Ray H. of Grandview Missouri. He writes that he “would like to know if you have any knowledge of a game called Dart Ball. It was played on a 4×8 plywood with a paper playing field like a baseball diamond.”
Well Ray, yes I have heard of Dartball, and here’s some background on the game . . .
Origin:
Life magazine ran a story in 1941 the featured dartball, so the game has been around for quite some time. Well, actually the Mon Yough Church Dartball League has been active since 1928. At least one report puts the origin of the first dartball styled dartboard back as far as 1923 when the Apex company began offering them for sale.
Life Magazine noted that Kansas City was a “stronghold” of the sport. Other strongeholds were Philadelphia and Milwaukee. Today you can find Dartball alive and well in other areas, including Wisconson, Georgia and Kentucky.
The Board:
The playing surface is now 4×4, and consists of 1/4″ of fiberboard, backed by a 1/2″ of plywood for added stability. When put into place, the board is not completely vertical as most dartboards are. Instead, the board is tilted backwards, making it easier to accept a dart that is in a declining flight path. The bottom of the board is 8 inches closer to the shooter than the top of the board. The height of the board is set by one of the manufacturers by placing the bottom of the board at 24 inches from the floor.
Gameplay:
The game strongly mimics traditional baseball. There are two teams of 9 players competing. Each player’s turn at the throw line mimics a batter in baseball. They can throw until they strike out, are walked, get a hit, or hit into an out. Umpires are used to call the game. Sometimes 2 Umpires per side are used (an Umpire of Darts and an Umpire of Plays are used in the Spencerville PA Dartball League).
The darts used in the game are Apex # 2 and come in at a whopping 7 1/4 inches long. They come in both three feather and four feather flight configurations. By comparison, a standard Widdy dart is 5 3/4 inches long.
The distance of the throw line seems to differ from league to league, but 20 to 25 feet seems to be the norm. Also, players are sometimes restricted to a particular throwing motion. For instance, in Wisconson, players must “pitch” underhanded.
Churchgroups - not Taverns:
There are two chapters dedicated to Dartball in Dan Peek’s book “To The Point, the Story of Darts in America”. In one of them, it is reported that the president of Apex recollects that the sport of Dartball was spread across the country “by Johnny Appleseed types, such as Lutheran ministers who would bring their dartboards and their bibles as they moved from one congregation to the next.”
That quote may bear more than a bit of truth. In looking at the greater Dartball community, many of the active leagues are Church Leagues. And, for whatever it’s worth, Monday Night seems to be Dartball Night across the country.
Although the Washington PA dartball league isn’t a church league, they do have an upcoming movie based on their pastime, and a trailer is available for viewing at their website:
http://www.dartballthemovie.com/dartball_08.html
Parts and Labor:
If you’re interested in starting to play dartball, you’ll need a dartball board, apex #2 darts, a stand, and a lighting system.
The boards are available online, or can be manufactured. In an interview for “To the Point, the Story of Darts in America”, Robert Glass from Apex stated that “Every month or so we get a call from somewhere in the country from someone asking for materials. They are usually vague about what they want them for, but it’s not hard to guess that they are trying to make a Dartball board. We don’t mind at all, but everyone thinks they will be infringing on our patent. We don’t care about that, we’ll be glad to help anyone with materials or instructions on how to make a Dartball board at no charge, with no problems.”
The darts are available from Apex retailers. The stands and lighting systems seem to be made by each Dartball group. I haven’t been able to find any commercially available.
Resources:
Dartball ScoreSheets
http://www.dartballusa.com/
http://www.widartball.com/
Cabinets Shipping - Silver Bullet
To begin with, the dart cabinets have started rolling off of the workbenches, and have begun to make their way to their new owners. So, if you’ve been waiting for your dart cabinet to arrive, the days are upon us, and it should be at your door shortly.
Silver Bullet 16th Annual
Over the weekend I had the chance to attend the 16th annual running of the Silver Bullet dart tournament. It’s great to see that the tournament scene is healthy enough to support an event for that long of a time. Sixteen years ago Ross Perot was running for president, and they were shooting darts at the Sivler Bullet tourney.
There were some big names in attendance, including Darrin Young and the ever-accurate Mark Wuerstle. Well, it being the finals, it makes sense that some great darts were being shot. In the end, the tournament boiled down to Dorko’s vs the Raven’s Nest.
The Raven’s Nest took first place . . .
The picture was from a cell phone, so it’s a little fuzzy. Still, it’s great to have a snapshot. A couple of the faces in the scene are probably very familiar to tournament shooters with Mark Wuerstle on the left and Keith Bauer on the right.
Taking second place were Joe Swatsky, Kirk Wimble, and Ed Dormer from Dorko’s Cafe.
Darts World
Darts World
I spent a little time surfing the internet, reading through different dart sites. I happened upon several that were the web prescence for magazines. So, in an effort to let the rest of the world know that we exist, I wrote an email to Tony Wood, the man behind Darts World.
He was kind enough to write back and send me an issue of his magazine. Much appreciated!
Like a lot of the world’s darters, Tony and Darts World are located in the U.K. They publish new editions of the ‘zine monthly.
The copy I received was for the month of Feb. and had 60 full color pages dedicated to the sport of darting. There were sections that recapped the big tournaments, like the Ladbrokes World Championships. John Part, the winner of that event, took home £100,000. That’s roughly $200,000. To me, that is HUGE money.
They also have sections dedicated to the darting activities of particular regions of the UK, like Scotland and Wales. Between the interviews, the ads for upcoming tournaments, the regional updates, and some regular features there was plenty of dart info to digest.
They also have a list of “Professional Darts Corporation” money winners for the past two years. Recognizable Americans on the list include Darin Young and John Kuczynski. Ray Carver leads the American candidates on the list.
To get in touch with Tony, or just browse their website, visit them at: http://www.dartsworld.com/
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