History of Darts

There is a rich history behind the popular game we all lovingly know as darts today. The sport began in medieval England when a miniature version of archery was taken into local taverns during the winter months. Players threw shortened arrows into the bottom of wine barrels, to practice their hand to eye coordination.

The natural rings and radial cracks made perfect guidelines for scoring. The sport’s popularity was not just confined to the military or the working class and rumors suggest that Henry VIII was partial to a game of “arrows” and was even given an ornate set by one of his many wives Anne Boleyn, in 1530.

At around the turn of the 20th Century darts grew in popularity as a pastime, although it was commonly known as “Dart and Target”. The game was played on a board of numbered, coloured circles and at this time “doubles” and “trebles” did not feature: with the highest score being the bullseye, and the lowest around the board’s edge.

In the 1920’s darts leagues began to form and in 1928 Sammy Stone of the New South-West Club won the first major News of the World competition. In 1946 “the darts match of the Century” took place in Acton Town Hall where, in front of over 1,000 fans, Jim Pike was crowned as “Champion of the World”.

Darts quickly replaced quoits as the game of choice, and despite being banned in cities such as Glasgow and Liverpool, its popularity soared. Although the board and the rules have changed over the last hundred years or so, the sport continues to be hugely popular both in the UK and abroad with an estimated 6 million people playing regularly.

The standard throwing distance was set in the early 1900’s - marked out by lining up crates from Hockey & Sons, a brewery in the South of England, back to back. When the crates were later reduced in size to 2ft, thestandardbecame 8ft. To this day the toe-line is called the ‘hockey’, though it is pronounced ‘ochey’, dropping the h.