Volume 33, No. 3 - Twin City Darts Association

Fall 2009
www.twincitydarts.com
Volume XXXIII No. 3
See inside for more on T.C.D.A. Annual banquet and much more.
Visit www.twincitydarts.com for more information on darts.
you. It was brought up that not everyone is
aware of this, so now you are. If you wish to
see these minutes, please contact myself or
Vice President, Peter Jirik and/or our
Secretary, Sharon Lohmar. We will provide
you with a copy.
Hello Darters
I have to say how wonderful it was to see
everyone at the T.C.D.A. Banquet, it sure
looked like everyone enjoyed themselves. I
know there will be more written about the
banquet further on in this issue so I don’t want
to take away from anyone’s article.
I know that things happen that we sometimes
can’t explain or control in our life, and that
has happened with our past President, Jeff
Hafner. I want to say “thank you” to Jeff for
everything he has done for our great
organization. Jeff continues to serve on the
Board as a Divisional Advisor, and to this day,
answers the call when needed. He is truly an
asset to all of us.
It is an honor for me to become the President
of the Twin City Darts Association. It is a
title that I take great pride in. I will do my
very best to keep this organization strong and
competitive. I am very lucky to be working
with an outstanding Board of Directors; they
all bring an abundance of energy and ideas to
the meetings.
It seems like yesterday that we had our annual
General Membership/Captains meeting. Time
is just flying by this year, Halloween is right
around the corner and then we kick it in to
high gear for the Holidays.
As most of you are aware, the Board of
Directors has a meeting every month through
out the year to discuss issues pertaining to the
T.C.D.A., be it financial, or tournaments, or
anything else that needs to addressed. The
reason I am bringing this to your attention is
because we take minutes of each meeting, and
those minutes are available upon request to
I wish everyone continued success in your
darting, I look forward to our next get
together.
Until then, take care.
Alan Finnegan
President
Twin City Darts Association

Darter Directory
By Steve Millman
Have you ever wanted to line up a sub, or find
a partner for a tournament, or contact an old
dart friend who might have moved... and you
did not have their contact information readily
available? Well, I am building a Darter
Directory to accommodate those situations
and more.
The directory will contain name, email and
phone contact info of those darters who
choose to be listed in it, and would be
available only to those people who are listed
within. There will be no charge for being in
the directory and the sole purpose of the
directory is social.
If you would like to be included in this
directory, email me the following information;
Your name
Email address(s)
Phone number(s)
My email address is,
[email protected]. Please put
‘DARTER DIRECTORY’ in the subject line
and I will add you to the directory, and
provide you with a link to access it.
Steve

To the T.C.D.A.:
few bars (as many one street towns have) and
they had American Dartboards in them.
I would like to send you all my sincere thanks
for the honor of naming the 2009 banquet
“The 2009 Charles F. Stutz T.C.D.A. Annual
Banquet”. It’s quite an honor and I was very
flattered that you would do such a kind thing.
It was a pleasure to buy dinner for everyone –
you all mean so much to me – and over the
years I have derived much pleasure and
enjoyment from this wonderful organization.
Again, thank you for the honor.
The American Dart Board was the product of
the Widdy Dart Board Co which was
originally made wooden ladders. In the
1920s, not long after WWI, the company
began making Dart Boards as a tool for
relaxation for the returning Vets who had
served in Europe and had been exposed to
Darts overseas.
As you can see the American Dart Board
differs greatly from the Standard English
Board we now know in many respects. Unlike
the English Bristle Boards, the American
board is made of wood and paper. As such,
heavy darts would destroy it quickly, so the
Widdy people designed and built their own
darts, made from wood, steel and Turkey
Feathers. They are approx 14 grams in
weight.
Where I learned to play, the bar bought the
darts from Widdy. It was virtually unheard of
owning your own darts. The three darts in
play were shared by all who played... and they
were kept in a potato, when not in use.
Sincerely,
Charles Stutz
President Emeritus

American Darts
(a fond memory)
By Steve Millman
Like T.C.D.A. notables Charlie Stutz and John
McGovern, my roots were in American Darts
prior to coming to Minnesota in the 1970’s. I
learned to throw in a bar In Otisville, NY
(named for the elevator designer’s brother),
which is in Western, NY near the tri state
borders of NY, NJ and PA. Otisville had a
The game we played was called Baseball, and
like Cricket, was comprised of throwing darts
into several successive pie slices and tallying
scores. Unlike Cricket, slop did not count... as
you were restricted to points earned in the
precise frame you threw at. The play began in
the slice numbered one and continued, in
order, until the 9th. At the end of each play the
team would accumulate their score. 3 for the
outside ring (white), 2 for the inner ring (red)
and 1 for the rest of the pie slice.
I read that the Widdy dart company was set to
make American Darts a reality for many when
the US government ordered over 1 million
boards for them during WWII for military use.
But unfortunately, the government reneged on
the order after they came to the realization that
the darts needed for recreational play were
made from steel and lead, which were
restricted metals during the war. It’s too bad
the Widdy folks could not have invented
another kind of rigid tip... we might be
playing on American boards in T.C.D.A. now
if they had.
Ah, those were simpler times.

The Charles F. Stutz T.C.D.A.
Banquet 2009
A Celebration of Fun,
Friendship and Darts!
On October 10, 2009 the T.C.D.A. held its
annual Banquet at the Eagles Club in
Minneapolis. Margo Ulrich was in charge of
the planning for this event so the next time
you see her, take a minute to say thanks. The
Eagles Club did a great job with everything.
Many thanks to the Eagles Club for the
tremendous job they did hosting the event.
T.C.D.A. President Al Finnegan officially
opened the festivities with his first Banquet
Speech as President. Among other things he
issued his first Presidential Proclamation
declaring that the 2009 Banquet was to
officially be the Charles F. Stutz T.C.D.A.
Banquet 2009. Former T.C.D.A. President
and present Board Member Emeritus Charles
Stutz had decided that he wanted this year’s
banquet to be free to the membership so he
personally covered the cost of the banquet. A
hearty thank you to Charles!!
There were door prizes galore! The T.C.D.A.
Board members traditionally contribute items
as door prizes and this year they contributed a
lot. The T.C.D.A. threw in a few free oneyear memberships as well (and T.C.D.A. Pres.
Al Finnegan donated another one)! Banquet
emcees Jeff Hafner and Peter Jirik were busy
most of the night giving away all of the prizes.
Thank you to everyone who contributed door
prizes!
Charles gave on of his famous quizzes and
regaled the audience with a song. You can
read more about that in the article about
Charles in this issue of the Bull & Ton.
The Sportsperson of the Year Award went to
Karen Ekstrum and Paul Cook. They work as
a team so the award had to go to both of them.
Congratulations to Karen and Paul!
The Charles F. Stutz Presidential Award went
to Mike Morson. Mike has done a lot for the
T.C.D.A. over the years and is the creator of
the T.C.D.A. web site. Congratulations to
Mike!
The inimitable Sharon Lohmar did her usual
wonderful job of handing out the trophies to
all the first and second place teams.
The Banquet Tournament is always fun. It is
single elimination and you never know what is
going to happen. Many thanks to Stan
Wertman for taking over the job of putting the
tournament together. We had the teams of
Tiffany Finnegan/Kristen Jovle and Jeff
Hafner/Jim Anderson tying for third place.
In the Finals we had the teams of Tommy
Dunne/Dan Thomas
2009 T.C.D.A. SportsPersons of
the Year - Karen Ekstrum &
Paul Cook
Every year the T.C.D.A. Sportsperson of the
Year Award is presented to the person(s) the
Officers of the T.C.D.A. and the reigning
Sportsperson of the Year believe have
distinguished themselves in the past year in
the areas of Sportsmanship, Volunteerism,
Participation, and Promotion of the sport of
darts and of the T.C.D.A..
and Steve Millman/Chris Grieman.
As always the most difficult part of the
Sportsperson of the Year Award is retrieving
the trophy from the previous year’s winner.
2008 Sportsperson of the year Margo Ulrich
was very gracious when we contacted her
saying something about “you and what SWAT
team”. We did get the trophy and most of
those involved are recovering!
The 2009 Sportsperson of the Year Award
went to Karen Ekstum and Paul Cook.
Tommy and Dan emerged as Champions of
the 2009 Banquet Tournament!
A great time was had by all who attended! It is
always fun when a bunch of darters get
together to celebrate. Thank you to all who
came and made the Charles F. Stutz T.C.D.A.
Banquet 2009 a great banquet! For those of
you who were unable to come – you missed a
fun time so reserve some time next October
for the 2010 Banquet!

These two work as a team and it was only
right give the award to both of them. Karen
and Paul tirelessly promote darts and the
T.C.D.A.. They constantly work behind the
scenes to help make T.C.D.A. events a
success. They are the first ones there and the
last ones out. They constantly volunteer to
help at T.C.D.A. events, doing whatever needs
to be done. And to top it off – they are a lot of
fun!
Karen & Paul had this to say about the
Sportsperson Award:
Karen - We were both extremely
honored and surprised to receive this award.
We had no idea we were even being
considered. In fact, I (Karen) was speechless,
which for those of you who know me, is a rare
state! I'd like to tell you how it feels to be half
of a Sportsperson of the Year, but I'm still not
sure...maybe Paul can do better. The only
thing I am sure of is the debt of gratitude I
owe all the darting community for adopting
me and making me feel so welcome when I
moved to Minneapolis in 1998. I was
introduced to Minnesota darts through Paul
and the "Southern" Sunday Night League,
with characters the likes of Johnny Hubbard
and many others. Some of the closest friends
I have are from that league. I was flattered to
receive this award from Margo Ulrich, who I
have respected and admired since being
introduced around the turn of the century (yes,
it's been that long!!). I hope I can live up to
whatever being Sportsperson of the
Year means, but the best part is that I'll get a
say in who gets it next year!
who volunteers and serves when needed, who
supports organization events, who brings
harmony to league play, who sets a
sportsmanship example for others to follow,
who regards others with respect, and who is a
thoughtful member of the T.C.D.A..
The 2009 Stutz Award recipient is a long time
member of the T.C.D.A.. He has selflessly
volunteered countless hours over the years.
He has been active in Leagues, in
Tournaments, at T.C.D.A. Board Meetings
and has served the T.C.D.A. in many
capacities. His crowning achievement is the
creation and development of the T.C.D.A.
website. Without Mike there would be no
www.twincitydarts.com. Suffice it to say that
Mike Morson is a true sportsperson who
embodies the qualities recognized by the
Charles F. Stutz Presidential Award.
Paul - Thanks for the honor, I guess
this means I have to show up at all the events
this year!
The T.C.D.A. congratulates Karen Ekstrum &
Paul Cook. They are definitely worthy
recipients of the T.C.D.A. Sportsperson of the
Year Award. We all thank Karen and Paul for
everything they are doing for darts in general
and the T.C.D.A. in particular.

2009 T.C.D.A.
CHARLES F. STUTZ
PRESIDENTIAL AWARD
GOES TO MIKE MORSON
To commemorate his many years of
involvement with the T.C.D.A. and as a
legacy that will survive him, T.C.D.A. Board
Member Emeritus Charles Stutz annually
presents the Charles F. Stutz Presidential
Award. This award is an annual discretionary
award intended to bring recognition to the
type individual who supports the T.C.D.A.,
Charles Stutz and the T.C.D.A. congratulate
Mike Morson and thank him for his
outstanding service.

Charles Stutz –
T.C.D.A. #256
The Board of Directors of the Twin City Darts
Association was taken by surprise when
T.C.D.A. Board Member Emeritus Charles F.
Stutz informed them at the September Board
meeting that he wanted this year’s T.C.D.A.
Banquet to be free to the membership and that
he was going to personally cover the cost of
the Banquet. Charles stated that this was
simply a small way of giving something back
to an organization that has given him so many
wonderful experiences over the course of
many years. By special proclamation of
T.C.D.A. President Al Finnegan, the 2009
T.C.D.A. Banquet was officially named the
Charles F. Stutz T.C.D.A. Banquet 2009!
Who bring harmony to league play;
Who set a sportsmanship example for
others to follow;
Who regards others with respect;
And who is a thoughtful member of
the T.C.D.A..
Most of you already know Charles Stutz. He
became a T.C.D.A. member in 1974. He
served as Vice-President from 1983-1984 and
as T.C.D.A. President from 1984-1988 and
again from 1990 - 2006. He has played more
than 60 seasons of league play. Charles Stutz
has always approached the sport of darts with
a healthy attitude. He believes that winning
beats losing but having a good time is far
more important than anything. You get out
what you put in and if what you put in is
positive, what you get will be positive.
Charles has lost track of the number of
matches he has played and the results of all
those matches. What he always remembers
though are the people, the experiences and the
associations that have come over the years. In
the last 35 years there have been many events,
many matches, many people, and many
memories.
The watchwords for this award are
emblazoned directly on it,
Charles Stutz has always appreciated
being a member of the T.C.D.A. He is
known as Teammate, Captain, Divisional
Advisor, Board Member, Vice-President,
President, Mentor, and Friend.
In 1998 Charles created the Charles F. Stutz
Presidential Award. Charles initiated this
award to commemorate his many years of
involvement with the T.C.D.A. and as a
legacy that will survive him. This award is an
annual discretionary award to be presented to
an individual by T.C.D.A. Board Member
Emeritus Charles Stutz during his lifetime and
thereafter by the T.C.D.A. President. The
award is intended to bring recognition to the
type of individual who personifies the
qualities that Charles believes are most
important. The Stutz Award is intended to
recognize individuals who:
Support the T.C.D.A.;
Who volunteer and serve when
needed;
Who support organization events;
EXCELLENCE-COMMITMENTSPORTSMANSHIP-SERVICEINTEGRITY
The Sportsperson of the Year Award and the
Charles F. Stutz Presidential Award are
presented each year at the TDCA Banquet.
These awards are considered to be the highest
award honors the T.C.D.A. can bestow.
We sat down with Charles to talk for a while
and to ask him a few questions.
Charles Stutz was born on January 10, 1917 in
a bedroom of the family’s Philadelphia row
house. He says that according to his Mother it
was a wickedly cold blizzardy winter night.
He grew up in Philadelphia and on March 16,
1940 he married his wonderful wife, the late
Kay Stutz. Charles has two children, Nina
and Keith, and spent his career with Nabisco.
He was the Cream of Wheat plant manager
when he retired.
Charles Stutz began throwing darts in 1929
when his father brought home a dartboard &
put it up in the Stutz Philadelphia home.
Charles and his brother loved throwing darts
and eventually they stopped hitting the walls
and started actually hitting the board. So
began a lifelong love of darts. Since that time
Charles has always had a dartboard in his
house.
The Stutz family moved to Minnesota in 1968.
He transferred here from the East Coast when
Nabisco bought Cream of Wheat. The long
relationship with the T.C.D.A. began in 1974
when Charles’ son showed him a newspaper
ad for the recently founded Twin City Darts
Association. Charles eagerly answered the ad,
joined the T.C.D.A. (member #256), and
began throwing on T.C.D.A. founder Ed
Otjen’s team. He loved the weekly league
format. He also loved the Tournaments, the
Castle Pub, and winning a weekly tournament
with partner Mike Lamminen by taking a 167
out (trip 20, trip 19, double bull)!
Charles enjoyed the T.C.D.A. so much that
when approached about running for office he
gladly agreed. He figured that being such an
extrovert and enjoying the league so much it
was only natural to want to get involved. He
spent some time as T.C.D.A. Vice President
before becoming President for the first time in
1984. He served in that capacity until 1988;
took a 2 year break and again served as
T.C.D.A. President from 1990 until 2006.
Being a founding member of the Stutz
Bearcat team. The good memories just
from that could fill volumes. One of
Charles’ few regrets is that he is not
able to throw on league nights; his arm
strength just isn’t there anymore. This
is one of the few concessions to age
that Charles makes now that he is
almost 93.
Providing the famous Nabisco Boxes
as door prizes for the T.C.D.A.
Banquet. These were always the most
prized door prize.
When asked to name some of his favorite
memories Charles said that there are so many
that he was sure to leave some out. Here is a
non-exclusive list of some of Charles Stutz’s
favorite T.C.D.A. memories:
The atmosphere and fun at the Castle
Pub for so many years, as well as
getting to know Barb and Leroy, the
owners. Friday nights were the big
darts night and just about everybody
showed up. It was fun to compete, but
even more fun to mingle and enjoy
being out with such like minded
people.
Being “Fast Eddie” in the T.C.D.A.
segment Perk at Play did for Channel
11 News. A lot of fun was had during
the shoot. For those of you who have
seen the segment, Charles’ nailed a
first shot bulls eye – even with Eric
Perkins being nutty in the background
trying to distract him. A lot of thanks
to Mike Anderson for setting up the
whole thing with Kare 11.
question. Charles is a trivia lover and
this was a way to share that with
everyone. Of course, since there was
money involved it also got
everybody’s attention and made the
meeting easier to start!
Having the T.C.D.A. Board and
membership approve the by-law
creating the lifetime Board Emeritus
position. This was a wonderful gesture
on everyone’s part and it is truly
appreciated.
Singing “I’ll Be Seeing You” at the
Banquet this year. For those of you
who were not there it was
extraordinary. Here is a bit of Charles
Stutz trivia that not many know –
Charles loves to sing and actually
seriously considered a career as a
club/cabaret singer!
There are many more wonderful memories
and experiences that could be listed here.
Charles says that to a large extent getting into
darts made his life. He has met so many
wonderful people over the years. He simply
loves darts!
Sponsoring a Board at the Dartmania
Tournament and then finding out that
it would be the Championship Board.
Initiating the Charles F. Stutz
Presidential Award. Charles feels that
he has gotten so much from the
T.C.D.A. that he founded this award as
a way of giving something back. He
says that if you look for it, you will
always find somebody who is working
hard for the T.C.D.A. without thought
of recognition or reward. Sometimes
these kinds of efforts should be
recognized.
Doing the famous Charles Stutz
quizzes at Captain’s meetings and
other events. The standard was five
$1.00 questions and one $2.00
Charles Stutz spent 20 years of his life as
President of the T.C.D.A.. We asked him
what he thought about that and what it meant
to him. Charles said that for him one of the
best things about being T.C.D.A. President
was that it always kept him young. There are
always lots of things going on. You get to
meet a lot of wonderful people. Being
T.C.D.A. President was very important to
Charles. He says that the one thing he always
did was to make sure that he always kept the
best interests of the T.C.D.A. in the forefront.
Sometimes you face difficult situations or
hard decisions but you always have to think
about what is best for the organization. As
President you have to provide leadership.
That is why you are there. You should listen
to others, especially if you don’t agree with
them, and consider all points of view, but you
need to be the leader. Charles loved his time
as T.C.D.A. President but eventually all good
things must come to an end and although he
left the post regretfully, he also left it being
100% certain that it was the right time for it to
happen.
We asked Charles if he had any final thoughts
he would like to convey. We leave you with
Charles’ final comments, just as he spoke
them:
Thank you to everyone in the
T.C.D.A.. I hope that the organization
continues to grow and to thrive. The
number one thing for me is how
happy, how honored, I am to have
been, and to be, associated with the
T.C.D.A.. It is so gratifying to have
been able to have all of these
wonderful experiences. I love darts, I
love the T.C.D.A.. I have no
complaints, none at all and I am
looking forward to being involved in
the T.C.D.A. for as many years as I
have left. Thank you everyone for
making this such a wonderful
experience!

Pictures from the banquet

Cooper Pub
By Steve Millman
Kieran Folliard recently opened his 4th Irish
Pub in the West End Shopping Center in St
Louis Park’s, by the intersection of Highways
394 and 100, near the site of the old Turners
Crossroads.
Cooper Pub (named after the Cooper Theater
which once stood nearby, by the old Lincoln
Del, is at 1607 Park Place Blvd., St. Louis
Park, MN 55416. Their phone number is 952698-2000. Additional information about them
can be found on their website:
www.cooperpub.com .
The pub features two steel tip dartboards, a
pool table, great food and beverages and free,
underground parking. It is open 11am to 2am
daily with happy hour from 11 am to 6:30 pm
daily. .
Cooper Pub joins TCDA as sponsor to The
Wannabees, a new team throwing in Classic C
League.

New Spring Season
Cricket League
by Steve Millman and Shea Troyer
The T.C.D.A. is excited to offer a new league
format in the spring for Cricket lovers. The
new Cricket League will consist of two person
teams facing each other on Sunday nights at
McMahons Irish Pub on East Lake Street, and
possibly at the Hat Trick Lounge in lower
town, St Paul, if there is need for a second
pub. Play will consist of four games of team
cricket, four games of singles cricket and one
game of team Minnesota Cricket for a total of
9 points.
A kickoff meeting will be announced on the
T.C.D.A. website to allow interested players
to be assigned to teams and to choose a
Captain. This meeting would likely be held at
McMahons or the Hat Trick in early January
2010.
As with any T.C.D.A. team, members of this
league must join T.C.D.A. or already be active
members to participate. It is our hope that this
league will attract players who are nonT.C.D.A. members to join, as Cricket appeals
to steel-tip darters and plastic-tip darters alike,
and scoring Cricket on a Whiteboard or
Blackboard is an easier transition to Plastic
Tip Shooters than scoring 01 matches.
Please help us spread the word about the new
Cricket League so that we can get it off to a
great start in January.

We Need Articles!
Ladies and Gentlemen! Members of the
T.C.D.A.! Non-members of the T.C.D.A.!
We want your help. There are interesting
things going on in the T.C.D.A. and we want
to hear about them. We need people to submit
articles to the Bull & Ton.
You do not need to be a professional writer.
We want to hear your story. We want to read
about what you find interesting in the dart
world. Long, short or medium it doesn’t
matter.
We want your input – We want your stories –
What do you like about the T.C.D.A.? What
don’t you like about the T.C.D.A.? Share
your point of view – share your story!
A simple e-mail to Bull & Ton editor Paul
Cushing at [email protected] gets the
ball rolling. This is your organization – this is
your opportunity to participate.
Issues of the Bull & Ton are planned for
publication shortly after the T.C.D.A.
Banquet, The T.C.D.A. State Tournament, and
the Dartmania Tournament! Help make the
Bull & Ton everything it can be! Help us out
– write for the Bull & Ton!!!!!!!

Vice-Presidential Corner Return of the VP
6. The ability to use meaningless buzz
phrases like:
By Peter Jirik
-that could be a workable idea under
the right circumstances;
Hi Fellow Darters! Just like the legendary bad
penny; I am back. When Al Finnegan was
elected to the post of T.C.D.A. President this
year he had a year left in his term as VicePresident and needed to appoint someone to
fill the remainder of that term.
I know that Al seriously considered the
qualities he wanted in a Vice-President, really
the qualities held by most VPs:
1 The ability to say “I concur”
whenever the President speaks;
2. The very hard to perfect “blank
stare”;
3. The ability to pretend that you know
what people are talking about;
4. The “knowing nod” that substitutes
for actual knowledge;
5. The ability to operate from an
“undisclosed location” (that really just
means that you don’t know where you
are);
-we should study that and address the
underlying synergies;
-we need to address our action items
and maximize the deliverables while
developing an overall implementation
strategy that looks to the cost–benefit
analysis and watching for possible
paradigm shifts but still ensuring that
we do our due diligence to ensure that
we are investigating the best practices
for the issues at hand;
Apparently former T.C.D.A. President Charles
Stutz informed Al that in the many years I had
previously spent as T.C.D.A. Vice President I
had perfected all of these traits and could
actually use meaningless buzz phrase while
doing the knowing nod and assuring all that I
was concurring with the views of the
President.
So, until the next election cycle – I am
back!!!!!