Darts Trivia

Darts Facts Trivia goes back for well over 100 years when the game originated in Europe at the end of the 19th century.

The Dart Board
Darts Facts Trivia

  1. It is believed that soldiers used to throw short arrows into casks or trunks of trees. Over time, the battlefield pastime evolved into a pub game.
  2. Originally, patrons would throw steel-tipped darts in to circular blocks of elm, which the bar owners would have to soak over night to close the holes up.
  3. Later, dartboards were made of clay and finally cork. Of course, most dart boards in bars these days are plastic and keep score for you. Quite a progression from arrows and tree trunks.
  4. On at good dartboard, the metal framework or spider is removable, allowing the owner of the dartboard to rotate the spider and increase the life of the board.
  5. The maximum allowable length for a dart is 12 inches, although most are 5-6 inches long.

Flights or Arrows
Darts Facts Trivia

  1. Originally, darts were made from cut down arrows or crossbow bolts.
  2. The primary purpose of the flights is to prevent the rear of the dart from overtaking the front of the dart.
  3. Modern flights are made from plastic, but they had originally been made of turkey feathers.

Dart Games
Darts Facts Trivia

  1. The fewest number of darts to throw a perfect game of 501 is nine. John Lowe first achieved this feat on television in the 1984 World Matchplay championships. He hit triple 20 six times in a row, followed by triple 17, triple 18 and double 18.
  2. The fewest number of darts needed to win 301 double-in and double-out is six. You can do this by hitting double 20, triple 20, triple 20, triple 20, triple 19 and double 12. Best of luck in achieving this feat.
  3. A player needs 8 darts for a perfect darts game of cricket, hitting the triple 20, triple 19, triple 18, triple 17, triple 16, triple 15, single bull and double bull.
  4. The highest possible score with three darts at a World Dart Federation board is 180. A player would have to hit the triple 20--three times.
  5. Darts was first shown on British TV in 1962. That's when Westward Television broadcast the Westward TV Invitational.

Game of Skill Legally
Darts Facts Trivia

  1. As far as darts are concerned, English law allows betting in small amounts on games of skill, but not games of chance.
  2. Originally, English magistrates considered darts to be a game of chance. A trial in 1908, however, led to dart throwing to be a game of skill.
  3. Jim Garside, the landlord of the Adelphi Inn in Leeds had been charged with allowed betting on a game of chance, the darts in question, on his premises. Garside did not refute having allowed betting on darts, but he did claim that the game of darts was skill, not chance or luck. With the help of William Bigfoot Anakin, a local dart champ, Anakin showed the magistrates that he was capable of hitting any number on the board, as chosen by the magistrates. Garside's charges were dismissed and darts were officially declared a game of skill in England.