Ed Vollmer Darts

Tracking my progress since I got new glasses. I had been wearing progressive lenses and I swear if my stance was off even just a little it would alter my perception of the board. Often my first dart would either hit a 1 or Beverly close to to 20/1 wire and I’d have to make an adjustment. With the new glasses that’s become less and if I throw a dart in good form it’s hitting the target. These practice matches are no warmup or practice, just throwing 9 and going straight on.

Tracking my progress since I got new glasses. I had been wearing progressive lenses and I swear if my stance was off even just a little it would alter my perception of the board. Often my first dart would either hit a 1 or Beverly close to to 20/1 wire and I’d have to make an adjustment. With the new glasses that’s become less and if I throw a dart in good form it’s hitting the target. These practice matches are no warmup or practice, just throwing 9 and going straight on. Shot with Target Daytona Fire DF-01 Steel Tip Darts - 24gm

Back to back Olde English Dart League DIV 1 undefeated seasons. Back to back playoff champs. 8-0 in semifinals. 8-0 in finals. Best in US!

Hoping this is the right combo. 25g Wranglers by Shot Darts, Fit Flight Duralumin Slim Locked Dart Shafts - Short #3 (24.0mm), COSMO DARTS FIT Flight PRO Dart Flights - S-5 Black. When i bought the Wranglers at the ‘24 Philly Open they travelled to the dartboard nicely but didn’t use them in any matches. I did use them at the DPPHL Event #1. I had a Top 16 finish. They felt okay. I was using FitFlight slims but they were pretty beat up (see pic). Reason i went with the slims in the first place was the Standard size FitFlights were ripping up faster than i was putting them on! The cost really adds up to keep replacing them. I came across the FitFlight Pro so purchased the S2s. Really felt as if i was throwing the dart, almost pushing them and they werent landing consistely in a good tight group which i feel i do most of the time. I did start using them on team league night but wasnt getting the shots with confidence. Also used them in a TMC 31 doubles 501 best of 31. We won but didnt throw my best darts thats for sure. The S2s were holding up though. I decided to get and try the FitFlight Pro S5 flights. They arrived in the mail today. Throwing cold I shot a Best of 9 match against Dart Connect and shot a 90+ average. https://recap.dartconnect.com/matches/65d24c9795718706c38ed7d4 Definitely a fluke right? I out the darts down and ran some errands. I came back a few hours later and shot an 82+ average https://recap.dartconnect.com/matches/65d270cc95718706c38f0b71. Is this the right combo for me? Well I wont know until i have a real match. Should have another TMC 31 match in the next coupke weeks. To have a chance I think I’ll have to throw at least in the low 70s to get a W. We’ll see.

Yesterday was the Ray Fischer Cup, an annual tournament started in 2012 to pay tribute to the biggest legend in Philly darts. Earlier this year Ray passed away. Ray was not just known locally. He was known throughout North America and probably came up in conversations in the UK too. You see there are 4 moments in American History where America bested the Brits- The Revolution, The War of 1812, the US victory over England in a 1950 World Cup match, and St Paddy’s Day 1974 when Ray Fischer and a bunch of other Americans beat the World Champions from England 11-7.

The tournament is a competition among the 4 major dart leagues- Advanced Singles League, Greater Trenton Dart League, Olde English Dart League of Philadelphia, & Quaker City English Dart League. 12 of the best players from each league form the teams.

It is a round robin event with each team playing each other in 51 legs of 501 with a player being allowed to throw a maximum of 5 legs each round.
The 2 teams with the most points then play each other again for The Cup.

This year the final was Quaker City and Olde English. Quaker City had beaten Olde English earlier in the day 26-25. In the final Olde English fought hard and beat Quaker City 26-24!!! This is the first time OEDL won The Cup!

Thinking back to when I started league play. My friend, neighbor, and fellow house DIYer, Jim Branch, went to the Dicken’s Inn to throw some darts. We put our names on the chalkboard, waited patiently, until we got our chance. We got our chance and we owned the dartboard for the rest of the night. By the end of the night Ruben Macias recruited us to play on his team. That was in 2003 I think. We were the “young guys” back then. We played for a few years after that. I played a couple more years after Jim until 2007 or 08. I forgot about darts and didn’t throw a dart for 11 years until I got a call from my friend Dave Jost asking me if I was ready to throw again because they needed to fill a space on the New Wave Cafe roster in 2019. I figured I try again. I was long forgotten from the old days. I was one of the old guys now. I was okay but I remembered being better way back when. Still it was nice to make darts a hobby again. Then one night I showed up at an O’Neals luck of the draw. I signed up and while waiting around asked this young guy if he wanted to throw a warmup game. That’s the night I met Brian Wehrman and Stephanie Wehrman. In just that night they told me so much about the Philly dart community. If I didn’t meet them that night I don’t think I would be at the level I’m at today. And I probably would have never met Michael Campagna. He’s one of the best. During the shutdown, we played so many games virtually and he motivated me to take my game to a higher level. I definitely wouldn’t have played for ASL last year where we won the Fischer Cup. Then to go full circle, return to the league, return to the home, I started with in 2003 and be on the team that won the Cup for OEDL for the first time is absolutely the best feeling!