Darts in St. Louis

Historical Features 

In this section, we will be looking at a variety of items from days gone by, many of which will be taken from the
pages of Bull's-Eye News magazine.  Sincere thanks to BEN's Jay Tomlinson for permission to reproduce these articles and scans. 

DARTS...A BRAIN GAME? (by John Reichwein)
Bull's-Eye News, June 1984 (Vol IV, Issue II)

  The mind and its powers have been the subjects many books, and the cause of considerable wonder.  The mind works with lightning speed, like a computer.  I have seen people in the sport of darts who can add and subtract their score and check their toe line in a split second after the last dart has left the hand.  Yet this is nothing compared to the capabilities of a person who has found his inner self, a detached state that he or she can go into anytime they want to - a state of objectivity, knowing what has to be done and doing it.

  This state is nothing new.  Zen and yoga masters, and many other great teachers, have taught it for centuries.  The reason the majority of the people have not been able to grasp this principle is because they are too involved in Ism, better known as the ego or self.  This is better explained in two good books: first and foremost, Eckankar - Key to the Secret World, and Zen in the Art of Archery.  There are numerous other books in any library on these and related subjects.

  To attain a detached state you have to be totally egoless, selfless, void of emotion.  In this state the only reason for doing anything is because it is to be done; therefore, you work in a state of objectivity, not subjectivity.  In the sport of darts I have heard some outstanding players say they have tried hypnosis, and that they believe in the positive thinking approach.  I feel the state of detachment has the greater advantage for the dart player than positive thinking or any other artificial means.

  Let's look at positive thinking and a person using this method.  This person goes into a competitive situation with the attitude, "I am going to win, I really feel good today, today is my day, I can't miss."  And all the time before the competition, practice goes well, so this confidence is confirmed.

  I have seen this attitude carry a player into competition.  In the first round the player jumps on his opponent like a cat on a mouse.  Second round, he is still going strong.  Third round, the competition is getting tougher and tougher, time is wearing on the player.  By this point, he has has something to eat and is drinking heavily.  (It is common knowledge that excessive food and drink slows down the mental and physical processes.)

  The positive thinking approach undergoes its greatest test at this time.  The players sees he has a chance at the top spot, so he applies more pressure on himself to win.  The competition at this time is relatively equal.  Having a more difficult time of it, the player may miss a few few shots he would not ordinarily have missed.  This is where the positive thinking theory starts to backfire.  The player presses hard for a win, he may hit a few wires, miss a few shots, then begin to panic.  He starts to have doubts and from then on it's all downhill, so to speak.

  I have seen grown people cry, others have a look of disbelief.  Some react in anger, and try to put the game on a more personal basis, saying such things as, "You were lucky to have won."  All these are scenes I have observed in watching players who use positive thinking.  If you pump yourself high enough with the "I can't lose" attitude and fail, how can you ever pump yourself up to that lie again?

  Now let us look at positive intention, which I believe is completely different than positive thinking.  When employing positive intention, you go into the competition knowing what caliber of play it will take to place or win, and you're realistic about your chances.  You know, for example, that the top competitors play a 301 game - in, down, and out - in 10 to 15 darts.  On a good day, you play the game in 17 to 22 darts.  If you are lucky, you may place, but your darts would not be good enough to win.  If you say, "I shot am 11-dart 301 game once." you will be kidding yourself if you expect to win.  The trick to positive intention is knowing what has to be done and doing it.

  Carrying this further, let's suppose you're in a crucial match.  You play very well, shooting a 10- or 11-dart game, but your opponent is one dart better.  Sure, you would be disappointed, but you would not be "defeated."  You merely would have lost the match.  Using the principle of positive intention, you prepared for the match, you performed to the best of your ability at the given time, and you didn't win.  Now I ask you, how can you possibly "lose" when you have done your very best?

  It is difficult for anyone to accept defeat of any kind in this day and age.  We are taught to compete from the first day we go to school.  From the time our parents first tell us to get good grades and life will go well for us, we are taught that the world loves a winner.  It seems everything we learn about success of any nature has to do with winning whatever the cost.  There is no room for failure.  This is a very sad and unfortunate situation.

  In our lives we have met and survived many setbacks without it affecting our egos.  That's because we accepted our setbacks with the knowledge that we did our very best, and that was enough.  Unfortunately, in our competitive efforts, our failures attack our egos and losing is traumatic.

  The principle of positive intention affords you the privilege of failure, whereas positive thinking leaves no room for error.  If you look at any competitive situation only as a measurement of your ability to perform at that given time, no more, no less, then you can learn to compete to a standard you set for yourself, working always to improve your ability and consistency.  You can then win more and lose less.

  What standard should you realistically set for yourself?  Observations show that we are not realistic in our evaluation of ourselves. Our minds tend to overrate us (or sometimes underrate us), which hampers our ability to perform.  But if we can look at things totally objectively, impersonal to our own gain, we can be realistic in our goals.

  I think a good suggestion, first, would be to go to a national tournament so you can see some good players in action, and then be truthful with yourself on where you stand as a player.  Study the great players, observe their form.  Learn how they always manage to place or win.  I think you will find that these players know when they have a chance to win, and they know wishing and hoping doesn't help.  They have learned to perform to a standard and always look forward to the day being "their day."  They have learned positive intention.  They know what has to be done and they do it.

  The secret to anything is that we must be consistent and confident in our ability to perform:

• Practice ensures consistency
  
• Consistency ensures confidence
  
• Confidence ensures the best performance we can give.
  

THE DART BARS OF...ST. LOUIS (by Janet Searcy)
Bull's-Eye News, June 1984 (Vol IV, Issue II)

  When it comes to dart pubs, I'm with Ernest Hemingway: give me a clean, well-lighted place.  But where are the dart pubs of yesteryear?  The frequency with which these emporia change their character (i.e., eliminate their boards) is breathtaking.  I have spent many an evening tooling around unfamiliar towns trying to find the places advertised in the Yellow Pages, only to discover that they are (a) out of business entirely, (b) now set up as discos with rollerskating waitresses, or (c) one-board establishments with a small dining table directly beneath the spider.  Every other month or so I find myself away from home on business, with nothing legal to do in the evenings.  Since I travel alone, I have to exercise a certain degree of caution on new turf.  We all know that the best places are often in grungy neighborhoods, places where you wouldn't mind taking your sister but wouldn't want her to go by herself.  This article - and the ones that follow in subsequent issues of Bullseye News - will try to describe the dart pubs I've found that meet my standards for safety and charm.  And, believe me, there are dart bars with charm.

  St. Louis is a good place to find some.  My connections with the town go back almost 20 years, to when I did my undergraduate work at Washington U. of St. Louis's two premier dart pubs.  One was a regular hangout at that time, although I don't remember seeing any boards back in the mid-sixties.

  Santoro's, at the intersection of Big Bend and Millbrook Boulevards just off the northwest corner of the campus, has been a mecca for the young and thirsty for years and years.  Its owners, Andy and Susie (Santoro) Garamella, still tend the bar and tables themselves,  (I can personally vouch for the fact that Susie knows how to make time stand still - she looks exactly like she did in 1966.)  The food runs to burgers and pizzas and can best be described as Italian ordinaire.

  The darting situation at Santoro's is much better than ordinary, though.  On the main floor there are a half dozen boards, well lighted and off to the side.  Wednesday night is league night, and Santoro's has several teams shooting in the A through C divisions in interbar competition.  More boards wait in the basement for overflow crowds during tournaments.

  Atmosphere is not the calling card at 'Toro's.  But the crowd, a mixture of college kids and locals from the University City area, is uniformly relaxed and friendly.  The neighborhood is safe, and you can get there on the bus (it's a scant mile west of city limits).

  If you find yourself in St. Louis mid-week, don't hesitate to drop in on league night.  The teams often find themselves short a shooter and will take on visitors to fill in.

  Undoubtedly, the best-known dart pub in St. Louis is Blueberry Hill.  This bar and restaurant, founded in 1972 by Joe Edwards and his wife, Linda, is the home of the Blueberry Hill Open, the oldest pub-sponsored dart tournament in the country.

  The Hill is also in University City, but a longish walk (over a mile) from Santoro's.  It occupies almost a whole block of the commercial strip on Delmar, less than a half mile west of city limits.  The neighborhood, called the U. City Loop, is a little racey, so keep your eyes open on the way in from the parking lot.

  Once inside, you won't have any trouble with your eyes.  There's something neat to look at in every nook and cranny of the Hill.  As its name implies, Blueberry Hill is a 'fifties bar - complete with what is probably the country's best jukebox of oldies and whole walls covered with album covers by Tommy Sands, Annette, Fabian, and the like.

  Joe Edwards' record collection, which rotates through the jukebox biweekly, includes every top 10 popular, rock, and R&B single on the Billboard Charts since January 1950.  Altogether, Joe owns 30,000 records, including 12,000 seventy-eights from the really old days.

  The bar is divided into four chambers - a video game room, the barroom itself, a tables-and-booths dining area, and the darts room (which also has a half-dozen video games and maybe 15 tables for diners and watchers).

  The barroom and restaurant areas are full of old St. Louis memorabilia, such as papier-mache animals from floats in the Veiled Prophet parade and posters of former Cardinals baseball greats.  There is one lighted case displaying lunch boxes just like you carried to grade school (you know, Roy Rogers with Dale Evans on the back), and another of Howdy Doody stuff.

  The bar itself is a beauty - twenty feet of mahogany circa 1870, with a sixteen-foot mirror.  Plant your feet on the brass rail and chat with managers Phil Carmody or Mike Peters, both of whom shoot darts.  The rest of the help are young and unpretentious, the food surprisingly good (A plus on burgers and French fries), and the crowd a real mixture of ages and backgrounds.

  Beer is the drink of choice at Blueberry Hill.  Joe Edwards has invented his own - Rock-n-Roll Beer, which is made for him in Philadelphia and marketed in several U.S. cities and throughout Japan ad the islands of the South Pacific.  (Would you believe that in Micronesia, one of Rock-n-Roll's best markets, per-person consumption among folks over 14 is 9.7 12-ounce bottles a day?)  You can also get the usual American and European beers, as well as the full range of mixed drinks.

  Suitably fortified, you make your way into the darts room.  Beaming down at you from above are the faces of the Open Singles winners from the last 12 Blueberry Hill tournaments.  Included are John Reichwein (many times over), John Hediger, Eddie Steitz, Fred Steeg, Jerry Pavlick, K.C. Mullaney, and Jerry Baker, the 1984 winner.

  The ten or so boards are kept in good condition, and each is well lighted.  There is a narrow wooden rail a few feet behind the line, which serves to hold your drinks and accessories and separates you from the onlookers.  A very utilitarian device, and overlooked by most bars.

  Over the years, Joe has expanded the setup every time another adjacent storefront became vacant, and this year he reached the point where there was only one way to go - down.  His $25,000 renovation of the basement has provided the Hill with 15 more boards, permanently mounted.

  So far, the basement has been used only for the annual tournament, but Joe plans to start monthly tournaments early this summer and expand to weekly events on Saturday or Sunday shortly thereafter.  In fact, the $5,000 Lucky Strike Filters St. Louis Open is being held at the Hill on June 15-17, 1984.

  Wednesday is league night, with shooting on three levels (A, B, and C).  Interbar competition with teams from Santoro's is a regular feature.  You can find a friendly game any day of the week, starting around the cocktail hour (although the Hill is open from lunch on, the shooters don't dome out until late afternoon).

  Mark your calendar now for the 1985 Blueberry Hill Open: February 23-25.  I've attended the last three, and in my opinion the tournament is more fun than those held in hotel ballrooms.  This year, over 400 people competed, including Conrad Daniels and Nicky Virachkul among the household names.  I lasted exactly one round in the Women's Blind-Draw Doubles (thank you, Marty Doore) and got back my entry fee plus a couple of bucks.  So, the tournament is run properly.  That is, money does come right back to the competitors.  The return has jumped every year, and 1985 may well see a $12,000 guarantee.  Payouts have generally exceeded the promised amounts.

  All the regular shooters in St. Louis will agree that this two-gun salute to the local pubs is not a complete list.  Devotees of the Sanctuary, somewhere in south St. Louis, will swear by their Saturday-night weekly tournaments.  But I couldn't personally vouch for the Sanctuary, or Beut's, or any of the other spots.  I still haven't gotten over the closing of Garfield's, a mainstay on South Grand Boulevard in a residential hotel.  Now that was a Hemingway bar.  Rumors fly around about the reopening, but nothing has been firmed up yet.  If Garfield's comes back without darts, without Sunday shootouts, without the stellar French fries, well, the world will be a sadder place.