BullShooter Magazine April 2017 Number 4 Volume 34 | Page 18

This darter was a top competitor for years on the steel dart circuit and was
introduced to the electronic game when his friend, Matt Booth, invited him
along on a trip to Nashville, Tennessee. Since then he has been a force to be
reckoned with in soft-tip.
Joe Chaney lives in Harrison, Tennessee with his fiancee and fellow darter,
Sandy Haas. He is employed as a Maintenance Technician on the Southern
Belle River Boat, a luxurious dinner cruise boat on the Tennessee River in
Chattanooga. As you will learn, his decision to work on the Southern Belle
related directly to his dart career.
Joe Chaney
Pacer: All right Joe, let’s get
right down to it. Just how did
you get interested in the game of
darts?
Joe: Well, I was hanging out
in this little place called the Dew
Drop Inn, shooting a little pool,
and drinking a few beers. The
owner, Moe Morrow, got me throw-
ing darts with him one night. He
thought I had a pretty good knack
for the game, so he encouraged me
to keep throwing. I hung out with
the guys on dart night for the rest
of that season. Then, between sea-
sons, I practiced a lot and started
improving. I really started to
enjoy playing the game. The next
year I was on the team and became
Joe and Marlise Kiel won the Pro/Pro AA Mixed
Cricket Championship at
BullShooter 32 undefeated.
a member of the GCDA (Greater
Chattanooga Dart Association).
That was in 1999. Then I took a
job working nights, and for a few
years I played very little. Then
in 2003, I got a chance to move to
days. I knew that the only way I
could keep that day job and play
darts at night was to quit drink-
ing. So I made the decision to quit
drinking and start throwing (both
laughing).
Pacer: I can remember when I
lived in Nashville, over half of the
dart players in the state belonged
to the GCDA. Chattanooga was
just plain dart crazy. Carl Pars-
ley, who lived there, became a good
friend and also a pretty damn good
dart partner.
Joe: That’s a name that comes up
often when you talk about Chatta-
nooga darts. The GCDA isn’t as
big as it used to be, but Chattanoo-
ga is still a good dart town.
Pacer: Joe, when you look at
your career, there has been a lot
of accomplishments in the steel tip
game. I know you have competed
in England multiple times, just got
edged by Larry Butler for the ADO
points championship last year, and
16
recently you won the 501 Singles
at the North American Open in
Las Vegas. Tell us, just how did
you get introduced to soft tipped
darts?
Joe: Matt told me about a New
Year’s Eve dart tournament that
Danny Pace was having at the Hill
in Nashville. I had never played
electronics, and I figured it was
something to do on New Years
Eve. He said they were having
live entertainment and the