History of the First Lutheran Dart League  

     For more than three generations of south suburban Lutherans, autumn evokes memories of church basements, coffee cake and the satisfying thud of darts hitting a cork board.

     Dartball, a hybrid of darts and baseball, has been played by Lutheran men here since 1926.  At its height the First Lutheran Dart League sported 33 teams from area churches.  Today the league has 15 teams ranging east and west from Orland Park to Lansing and north and south from Worth to Beecher.   Although traditionally a men only league, women were allowed to join the teams and bolster the ranks in 2004.  

     Dart historians (yes, they do exist) say that dartball was invented in the United States sometime in the 1920's shortly after pub darts from Britain caught on here.

     Dartball's wave of popularity crested in the 1970's, leaving behind a handful of beachheads like suburban Chicago, Toledo, Ohio and Wisconsin (the only place where dartball is still played statewide),

     "It's a truly American sport," said Dan William Peek, a Missouri author who has written a history of darts in America.  He believes dartball was brought to the Midwest by traveling Lutheran ministers. 

     On dartball's origins, his best guess is that the game was invented in 1923 by Charles High, a Philadelphia manufacturer.  

     But Robert Glass, whose father bought High's business in the 1940's, said there is no conclusive proof.   "We're all trying to figure it out," he said.

     Glass said his Apex Manufacturing Co. ships about 150,000 of its handmade white birch dartball darts each year.  Most dartball players use the turkey-feathered Apex No. 2 dart.  

     Now that the league is co-ed, some of the game's terminology has changed.  A particular kind of out once called a "widow" has been renamed.  Different teams now call it a "duck", a "wedgie" (due to its triangular pizza wedge shape), or simple refer to it as a "red out".  

     What hasn't changed is that in dartball, heckling is encouraged.  "You're allowed to do anything except stand in front of the darts," said Jim Hensley, 65, a retired electrician for one of the teams at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Chicago Heights.  "You can throw chairs on the floor, you can scream, you can whisper."

     Players can throw under or overhand.   Most players find a base they are most comfortable with and try to maximize their hits at that base.  

     Although the batting title changes hands from year to year, many First Lutheran Dart League players consider Terry Schultz of Chicago Heights as one of the premier hitters.  During one season in the late 1970's, he batted .898.   For his efforts, the league added a little red "ruby" at the home plate making it a bit more difficult to get a hit at the bottom base.

     With a playing surface stretching 4x4 feet, the board may seem large and easy to hit.  But standing back 20 feet from the base of the board trying to zero in on a 4 inch square target can be quite challenging.   So it is not that difficult to imagine how an errant throw can land off the board.    These throws are called "woodpeckers" and are usually greeted by good-natured ribbing and/or a song or two.  

     You can't always guarantee where your dart will land, but you can always count on good friends, good fun and good Christian fellowship.  And that is, after all,  what the First Lutheran Dart League is all about!