Alan Towe - A Look Back In Time - 1st September 2001
Once again Tipton are champions of the West Midlands Men’s Super League, with Wednesfield finishing as runners up. The ladies title went to Wednesfield, Warley taking the number two spot. With the league positions decided the various knockouts were next on the agenda.
First the mens singles. In the first of the semi finals Langley’s Ian Stokes squared up to Martin Angell from Wednesbury. In the first leg Angell’s experience showed as with scores of a maximum and 118 he forged ahead and won the leg seventeen darts with his opponent back on 140. Two 140’s and 131 gave Angell a commanding lead again in the second leg. However, all of a sudden finishing doubles were not so easy to find. But eventually, with his twenty third dart and Stokes down to double top, Angell made it 2-0. Against the darts the Wednesbury player once more got off to the better start. Hitting 140, 100 and 76 he gave himself the breathing space he required. After eighteen darts Angell was down to double sixteen, Stokes hit 129 to leave double eleven, but never got a throw at it as his opponent found his finishing double first dart to wrap up a comfortable 3-0 win.
The second semi was between Tipton’s Lol Frazer and his team mate Gary Taylor.Frazer got off to a cracking start with scores of 100,180,81 and100 to leave double twenty. Taylor meanwhile had really struggled to find any form, hitting just one treble in his five visits to the oche. Frazer required another two throws to make the leg safe and go one up. The second leg was a nip and tuck affair. Taylor, after an opening score of 180 followed up with 140,41,85 and 15, missing double twenty to level the game. Lol Frazer started with 140 and then hit 99,60 and 81 and secured a 2-0 lead with a superb 121 finish. Both players hit three, three figure scores in the third leg, but it was Frazer again who took advantage with a 32 game shot with Taylor left nursing 36.
After two straight semi final wins, the final was expected to be very close. There was a ton for each of the players in their first throws, Frazer continued the good work with 2x140’s and went one up when he found double sixteen with his sixteenth dart. He then began the second leg with a ton. Angell hit 180 and with further scores of 100,55 and 98 left 68 after only a dozen darts. A dozen darts though were all he was allowed, as his Tipton opponent checked out on 116 after scores of 60,100 and 125.
Now within an ace of victory Frazer was playing against the darts. Unfortunately for Angell he was unable to cash in on the advantage and only managed on three figure score in the leg. Frazer recorded 2x100’s and 98, which was enough to give him a throw at 40, which with two more darts he put away and sealed a 3-0 win.
The ladies semi finals were made up of three Warley players and one Wednesfield player. The opening game saw Claire Hobbs; the only non Warley player, beat Val Arnold 3-0. The all Warley clash between Claire Hobbs and Teresa Johnston went the full five legs distance with Downing just getting the odd leg verdict.
In the final battle of the Claire’s it was the Warley one, Downing that drew first blood. She took the opener on double twenty with Hobbs requiring 46. The next leg was very similar. Downing steadily forging herself a lead and then clinching the game with a 24 outshot. The third leg proved to be the final one. Although Claire Downing had four throws at finishing doubles, time was on her side as when she found double two, Claire Hobbs was still left requiring 93. So the crown and title went to Warley’s Claire Downing with a neat 3-0 win.
Peter Wyse and Bob Carr (Tipton) won the first leg of the final of the men’s doubles. But their joy was short lived as Jamie Wheeler and Cav Timmins (Wednesbury) drew level when they won the second. A 99 game shot saw Wyse and Timmins get their noses in front once more only to see their counterparts, for a second time get back to level terms and in the process force a deciding leg to be played.
Wyse and Timmins hit three scores of a ton or more in the fifth and final leg to the opponents two. However, as always it’s doubles that count and it was the Wheeler / Timmins partnership that got the all important double twenty to seal a 3-2 victory.
The all Warley ladies doubles final saw Sue Smith and Teresa Johnston go one leg up against Claire Downing and Angie Perry. Downing and Perry won the second leg leaving their opponents back on 87 when they checked out on 8. The third leg was close and could easily have gone to either pairing, but it was Downing and Perry who claimed the leg to go 2-1 up and take the lead for the first time in the match. The next leg was a similar story, Downing and Perry again getting the decisive double to give them the title with a 3-1 success.
You just can’t keep darts players out of the news and I am pleased to say that two of my old team mates have certainly hit the headlines of late. However, it was by no means for their darting ability that the caught the media’s attention.
First Moss Turner, Moss, a regular listener to local radio station Beacon Radio, recently rang in for one of their competitions. The idea of the competition was that from listening to bits of a song Moss had to name the tune. The result was that Moss won, his prize…..an all expenses paid vasectomy!!!
At the time of the quiz Teresa, Maurice’s wife, was expecting their second child and the birth, for the second time was going to be by caesarean section. Wordsley Hospital, Stourbridge was the place of the birth, a seven pounds boy who Moss and Teresa have named Joseph. Moss said the birth was more than a little traumatic, but the two of them were soothed in the operating room by the music of none other than Beacon Radio.
Moss said that he is having the operation for his wife’s sake. After going through two caesareans he did not want her to have any more children as they would be by caesarean too. By the time this story has gone into print Moss will have gone through the trauma of his own ordeal, the operation due to be performed at the Nuffield Hospital, Wolverhampton on the 31st July. I wonder if Teresa will be sitting holding Moss’ hand when he goes under the knife?
Incidentally some of Moss’ answers were, Sex Bomb, Great Balls of Fire and very appropriately The First Cut is the Deepest. Personally I think I’ll stick to darts knockouts, the prizes are much, much better and not so painful.
Secondly my old mate John Walters is now the new Mayor of Dudley. For many years I have played darts with John and enjoyed more than the odd pint or three with him. I suppose John’s new role could well be advantageous in so much as if ever we’re stuck for a darts venue he could always fix us up with Dudley Town Hall and who knows he may even get a game himself.
For a second successive season the West Midlands County Darts Organisation will be staging their home fixtures at the Club 99, Tat Bank Road, Oldbury, West Midlands. Let’s hope that the forthcoming season will be be successful and they will make a speedy return to division two.
In a bid to raise money for charity the Ace of Clubs Charity team are almost prepared to go anywhere. They proved that statement to be true recently when they actually went to, of all places PRISON.
Hewell Grange Open Prison at Redditch was the setting for the exhibition game and a tremendous amount of £100 was raised as a result of the match, which was donated to the Princess Diana Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
The final scoreline was a 12-4 victory for the Ace of Clubs team, but as always the result was secondary. Team captain Joyce Webster said that they had been made very welcome at the prison and a return game is planned for some time in October. The team are obviously more than willing to take the players on again, but despite the hospitality and generosity afforded to them the players are reluctant to make their stay any longer than the time it takes to play the match.
A tremendous fifty pairs turned out for the annual South West Birmingham Clubs Summer League Doubles Knockout staged at the Bournbrook and Selly Oak Social Club. Tascos ‘B’ provided the winners of the event, Mick Rose and Bill Bonas. Rose and Bonas defeated Greenlands duo Paul James and Brian Andrews by 2-1 in the final.
Dingle’s Craig Mucklow hit two maximums during the competition.
Congratulations go to Alan Caddick, who with a straight 2-0 result beat John Varney in the final of the Small Heath Summer League’s singles knockout. Losing semi finalists were Mark Birch and Dave Brown. Terry Webster, Neil Parsonage, Vicky Hanlon and Kevin Maloney all made the exits in the quarter finals.
On Sunday 14th October the Warwickshire Darts Organisation will present their Midland Open at the Barras Social Club, Coventry. Top prize on offer for a £7.00 entry fee is £750, with cash prizes doan to the last sixteen players.
The £7 fee is to the 6h October. Any entries received after this date, including entries on the day will cost £8. All entries, plus the fee should be sent together with a stamped addressed envelope to Mr N. Pritchard, 99 Gleneagles Road, Wyken, Coventry, West Midlands, CV2 3BH.