7 January: Darts

The British Darts Organisation was founded on this day in 1973. Here are ten things you might not know about darts:

1. The game of darts originated in Medieval England. One theory is that it was a game designed to keep soldiers amused so they wouldn’t wander off, and which had the bonus of helping to improve their aim. The first darts were arrowheads thrown at an empty Wine barrel.

2. An old name for a dartboard is "butt"; the word comes from the French word but, meaning "target" or "goal".

3. As time went on, cross sections of tree trunks replaced the empty wine barrels. The wood used was usually elm, with scoring segments painted on. There were drawbacks to that, however, as the wood needed soaking every so often to soften the wood and close up the holes.

4. In 1935, a chemist called Ted Leggatt and a pub owner called Frank Dabbs came up with a better idea. They made dartboards from sisal fibres compressed into a round shape and bound with a metal ring. The best dartboards are still made from sisal fibres from Eastern Africa, Brazil, and China.

5. In 1908, darts was illegal because it was considered to be a game of chance. A Leeds landlord was arrested for allowing the game to be played in his pub, and set about proving that darts was, in fact, a game of skill. For his day in court, the landlord brought along a well known darts player called William Annakin, who duly scored three 20s on a dartboard set up in the court room. To prove the point (ha ha), a court clerk was asked to try and repeat this score and failed miserably. The charges were dismissed and darts was officially declared a game of skill.

6. Darts vary considerably. They can be made from brass, nickel, Silver, or tungsten, and weigh anything from 18 to 50 grams. Each weight and material offers the player a slightly different throwing experience.

7. A regulation board is 451 mm (17.8 in) in diameter and is divided into 20 radial sections.

8. The numbers around a dartboard are in that order for a reason. There are thousands of possible permutations of numbers but this one was devised by a craftsman called Brian Gamlin. The higher scoring numbers are flanked by lower scores, which means inaccuracy is penalised. A millimetre can be the difference between a high scoring 20 or a 1 or a 5.

9. John Lowe (aka Old Stoneface) was the first player who managed to get a perfect score in the classic 501 game, in 1984. He hit the triple 20 for 6 times in a row. Then, he scored on the triple 17, double 18, and finally, triple 18.

10. Champion dart players have nicknames. Phil Taylor, possibly the best player ever, having won the World Championship 16 times, is known as “The Power”. Other monikers include: Eric Bristow (The Crafty Cockney), Trina Gulliver (The Golden Girl), Dennis Priestley (The Menace), Peter Wright (Snakebite), Bob Anderson (The Limestone Cowboy), Tony David (The Deadly Boomerang), Beau Greaves (Beau 'n' Arrow) and Mark Webster (The Spider).