John’s on the nail
John steps back up to the oche in bid to revive popular party trick
DARTS player John Irwin amazed his pals by scoring regular 180s throwing nails at the board.
He even managed to make a career out of it – exhibiting his skills in pubs around the country.
Now he plans to come out of retirement to challenge all-comers with his party trick.
When it comes to wacky sports, John has got it nailed.
A DARTS fan who plays the game using masonry nails is hoping to return to the oche.
John Irwin, 68, learned his “party trick” four decades ago and competed for 32 years – beating all-comers in exhibitions.
Throwing the nails “like a knife” into a traditional dartboard, John, from Glasgow, was so prolific at the height of his playing days that brewery firm Bass would offer up an 88-pint barrel of beer to anyone who won a match against him with regular darts.
John quit playing in 2011 but is now ready to pick up the nails he has owned for 45 years again.
He said: “It’s something I need to do. I’ve bought a dartboard and I feel ready to take on more exhibitions.
“It’s coming along fine, the only problem is I’m just playing against myself at the moment but I’m still banging in the 100s. It’s a bit of fun and I can’t wait to get going. “I want to get the first one under my belt and I’ll see how it goes.”
John completed a nine-dart finish – throwing the minimum number of arrows to score 501 – using normal darts in 1978.
But in 1979, he spotted three men chucking nails at a dartboard. He said: “I was fascinated by it. I asked to have a go and got the bug from there.
“The first ones I threw all landed in the floor but I began practising. For three weeks, I had backache having to pick the nails up off the floor.”
John – who is also handy at throwing screwdrivers at the board – competed in his first exhibition in 1984 before working on the roadshow where he’d compete against up to 16 opponents a night.
And he reckons he can get back to his best.
He said: “I want to give myself two years to get the nine-nail finish.”
To book John for an exhibition, contact him on kb1688@hotmail.com.