A league of their own: Jon Joslin builds friendly competition at The Bird
Story by: Christian Booher
Video by: Michael Gonzalez and Christian Booher
Wednesday nights are for laughs.
Three Bullshooter dart boards rarely go unused at The Bird, but on Wednesday nights they serve as one of the hottest attractions in Mount Pleasant. Community members converge from all over to enjoy the fellowship that comes with Jon Joslin’s dart league.
The first dart is thrown at 7:30, as teams of two unite on the boards. One-by-one, they fire away. The groups play a total of nine games, a best-of-nine series between two teams sharing a board.
There is no trophy for the winner. The league is not built on competition, but rather the camaraderie that comes with the players having been together for so long.
Joslin’s dart league has withstood the test of time. Originally, he led a league at the Blackstone. This remained the case until the COVID pandemic shut down the Blackstone in 2020.
Joslin and other members of the league wanted to keep playing darts as a source of enjoyment through the pandemic. They changed venues as a result, and they haven’t left since.
“Right before COVID The Blackstone had started to shut down and these guys were still open, so we moved over here,” Joslin said. “There used to be two boards in the back and one in the front, so we had to split. But then they added the third, so we just stayed here.”
One of the more prominent players is Chris Cataldo, who has been dubbed ‘Wednesday night Chris’ for his consistency and liveliness that he brings to the league.
“It’s a brotherhood,” Cataldo said. “It’s just a nice Wednesday night to hang out with your friends, chill out, relax, throw some darts and have a good time.”
Another tenured member of the league is Bruce Eberhart, who has been playing in the league for five years. Eberhart sees the league as a way to stay connected with the friends he has made around Mount Pleasant.
“We’ve kept in touch with a lot of friends, for sure,” Eberhart said. “We have a pretty big friend group and you don’t always get to see them, so we’ve been able to hang out with them once a week.”
The league used to be somewhat competitive, but has transitioned to be more conversational. The teams exchange friendly trash-talking in the heat of the game, but in between showdowns the competitors will share conversations while enjoying their choice beverage.
“It’s a rec league,” Joslin said. “So, you know, every once in a while people get competitive, my wife included. The whole objective is to just to come out on in the middle of the week and get out of the house, especially in the winter. It’s something to do.”
While The Bird isn’t directly involved in the league, it serves as the home base. The league has played there since 2020, meeting consistently there during the six month darts season.
Joslin acknowledges that a big part of what makes his league successful is the atmosphere that The Bird provides.
“The Bird’s great,” Joslin said. “It’s got food, great atmosphere.”
Three Bullshooter dart boards rarely go unused at The Bird, but on Wednesday nights they serve as one of the hottest attractions in Mount Pleasant. Community members converge from all over to enjoy the fellowship that comes with Jon Joslin’s dart league.
The first dart is thrown at 7:30, as teams of two unite on the boards. One-by-one, they fire away. The groups play a total of nine games, a best-of-nine series between two teams sharing a board.
There is no trophy for the winner. The league is not built on competition, but rather the camaraderie that comes with the players having been together for so long.
Joslin’s dart league has withstood the test of time. Originally, he led a league at the Blackstone. This remained the case until the COVID pandemic shut down the Blackstone in 2020.
Joslin and other members of the league wanted to keep playing darts as a source of enjoyment through the pandemic. They changed venues as a result, and they haven’t left since.
“Right before COVID The Blackstone had started to shut down and these guys were still open, so we moved over here,” Joslin said. “There used to be two boards in the back and one in the front, so we had to split. But then they added the third, so we just stayed here.”
One of the more prominent players is Chris Cataldo, who has been dubbed ‘Wednesday night Chris’ for his consistency and liveliness that he brings to the league.
“It’s a brotherhood,” Cataldo said. “It’s just a nice Wednesday night to hang out with your friends, chill out, relax, throw some darts and have a good time.”
Another tenured member of the league is Bruce Eberhart, who has been playing in the league for five years. Eberhart sees the league as a way to stay connected with the friends he has made around Mount Pleasant.
“We’ve kept in touch with a lot of friends, for sure,” Eberhart said. “We have a pretty big friend group and you don’t always get to see them, so we’ve been able to hang out with them once a week.”
The league used to be somewhat competitive, but has transitioned to be more conversational. The teams exchange friendly trash-talking in the heat of the game, but in between showdowns the competitors will share conversations while enjoying their choice beverage.
“It’s a rec league,” Joslin said. “So, you know, every once in a while people get competitive, my wife included. The whole objective is to just to come out on in the middle of the week and get out of the house, especially in the winter. It’s something to do.”
While The Bird isn’t directly involved in the league, it serves as the home base. The league has played there since 2020, meeting consistently there during the six month darts season.
Joslin acknowledges that a big part of what makes his league successful is the atmosphere that The Bird provides.
“The Bird’s great,” Joslin said. “It’s got food, great atmosphere.”