How The Game Of Darts Came To be

Darts is a sport unique in many ways; no specific outfits required, the price of equipments for the game is moderately reasonable and little space is needed to play the game. Furthermore, gender, age and the size of the players does not in any way influence the individual's game.

Some believe and claim that dart history began when bored soldiers challenge each other by throwing their spears into turned over barrel base, that later evolved into a cut up tree trunk for target.

The rings in the tree trunk turned out to be perfect for keeping scores. As winter took the game indoors, darts of shorter lengths were used and rules were created and implemented.

Darts maintained its military relation during the founding and formation of the "British Empire"; soldiers use their drinking clubs and fitted dartboards extended all over the entire Empire. Citizens in different countries embraced the sport, and the British participants remained in the lead.

As the habit of throwing "spears" at targets turned into a universal pastime, the dart then became regulated; normally the barrel was a piece of cut wood trunk that has a length of four inches with feathers fixed to one end and a metal tip at the other end.

In 1898, a "folded-paper" target was patented by an American and the barrel made up of metal was patented in 1906 by an Englishman. By this time, the system of numbering on the dartboard was formulated and accepted.

The regulation of the throwing or tossing distance also happen at about the same time, however, there are many "standards" that are used. The "throwing distance" was indicated or marked by means of three crates placed from one end to anther from a certain brewery named "Hockey & Sons" that provided beer to the Southwest part of England. The beer crates were about three feet in length, thus the distance will be nine feet in length from the line to the dartboard. The "Hockey & Sons" crate size was ultimately decreased to two feet, and thus four crates are lined up as indication to mark the distance which is eight feet in length. This eight foot space or distance continued to be the standard pattern for several years.

By the 1900's, the game of darts and its rules was established into what is recognized and accepted today. The board size, the distance of throwing and the darts size was standardized. All over the world, many people enjoyed playing the simple sport of darts so that teams were organized to play for medals and trophies and professional clubs and associations begun.