Life Magazine Article From 1941-Wisconsin State Dartball

Life Magazine Article From 1941

Much of the LIFE magazine pictured on the left talks about World War II. In March of 1941, the United States wasn't yet involved in the war. That changed on December 7, 1941,

when the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour forced the US and Britain to declare war on Japan. Then Germany and Italy declared war on the US, and on December 11, 1941 the US congress declared war on those countries.At the time this magazine was printed, the United States was preparing for war, and there are articles and pictures about the war inside this magazine.The bomber pictured on the cover of the magazine is a Curtis XSB2C-1 dive bomber. It had a top speed of 100 mph and a range of 600 miles, which at the time was far more than any other dive bomber of the time.

The US Navy had just ordered 50 million dollars worth of these bombers, which were built to be stationed aboard aircraft carriers. In such seperate centers as Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Kansas City, thousands of baseball fans have this winter found an outlet for suppressed desires by bringing the diamond indoors and hurling darts at it.

Called "dart baseball" or "dartball", this new variation of the old English pub game has won a respectable place on the sports calenders of hundreds of churches, factories, community clubs, schools, police & fire departments

Nowhere do dartball addicts pursue the sport more relentlessly than in Milwaukee, where some 3,000 players are organized into eleven major leagues. These pictures, taken at a tournament held especially to illustrate the game for LIFE, show the North and South Side All-Star teams of Milwaukee's Lutheran League in action.

Key point to note about dartball, which otherwise is played on straight baseball rules, is that the player pitches and bats simultaneously.

From Life Magazine 1941

Last Updated December 03, 2015 at 12:08am by Chad Kuhfuss