2008 World Horseshoe Pitching Championships (York, PA)

National Horseshoe Pitchers Association of America ^ | June 4, 2008 | Casey Sluys, NHPA

[RingerSIX]

 

The National Horseshoe Pitchers Association is proud to announce the World Horseshoe Pitching Championships to be held in York, PA July 7 through July 19, 2008. We are celebrating 100 years of World Horseshoe Pitching Championships. The first one took place in Bronson, KS in 1909.

Pitchers will compete for $170,000 in prize money and trophies. There are 1,320 pitchers entered, including five Cadets less than nine years of age.

Entries from 46 US states, five Canadian Provinces, and two other countries, Japan and Norway will vie for the crowns. Present Men's Champion, Alan Francis of Ohio, with an 88.01% ringer average will be present to defend his crown, as will Joan Elmore of Tennessee with an 87.97% ringer average, the current Women's Champion. The hosting facility will boast 56 new regulation clay courts at the York Expo Center; admission is free.

Champions will be crowned in the following Divisions; Men, Women, Senior Men, Senior Women, Elder Men (over 70 yrs. of age) Junior Boys, Junior Girls, and Cadets.

 

****

FACT SHEET
 

This beautiful state has a long history of horseshoe pitching. The men of George Washington's army were said to have done so for exercise. In June of 1863 Joseph T. Wagner of Spencerville, Ohio won the brigade championships prior to the battle of Gettysburg which was fought July 1st, 2nd and 3rd; the first horseshoe pitching president, Abraham Lincoln came in November to give his memorable address. The first known horseshoe club in America began in 1895 and became official in 1897 in Meadsville, PA; they kept meticulous records of their matches which still exist in the files of the NHPA. In the various championship divisions PA pitchers have a total of 11 world championships. There have been four PA NHPA members elected to the hall of fame. Dan Kuchcinski of Erie, 1976, Al Zadroga of Elizabeth, 1981, Herb Pinch of Sharon 1985 and Jim Solomon of Uniontown, 1997.

 

• The current defending champions are Alan Francis, OH in the Mens Division; Alan will be seeking his 14th World title. Joan Elmore of TN in the Women's Division will be going after her 3rd World title.
• 46 states and 4 countries are represented.
• The youngest competitor is Matthew Trader Grand Forks, ND, 7 yrs. old; the oldest is Eino Wiitala, Baltimore, MD 91 yrs. old. Records to be possibly set Alan Francis' 14th title, Walter Ray Williams winning the title left handed, having six championship titles right-handed.
• Key individuals entered in this event are Walter Ray Williams, leading money winner on the PBA tour.
• Dates of Championship Finals will be July 17, 18 & 19, with the titles being determined on the 19th.
• Most participants will play 3 consecutive days with 5 games per day. The one with the most wins is declared that class' champion.
• Economic impact on host cities is estimated to be upwards of 5 million dollars.

* Follow the World Championships at: http://www.horseshoepitching.com/wrld_rpt_08.html

 

 

[RingerSIX]

I've got four friends pitching in the tournament, which has been underway for a few days now, through July 19th. Three of them have pitched already, and of them, one took second in his division and the other two choked badly. The fourth guy is a much better pitcher and his division hasn't pitched yet. Wish I could have made it back to the Keystone State to enjoy one of Honest Abe Lincoln's pastimes.

[TexasCajun]

ESPN ??

[raybbr]

Are they in competition with the American Cornhole Association?

[Plumberman27]

Ringer,
Ever hear of a game called quates(sp)?
It is played with iron rings similar to horse shoes but no open end. I Think the same rules but they much more difficult due to not having an open end. One has to drop it right on the peg from the same distance. Takes one helluva lot of skill.

[RingerSIX]

>>ESPN ??

I wish! I’d watch it over 90% of other “professional” sports. There just aren’t many gentlemen’s sports left.

[RingerSIX]

>>Are they in competition with the American Cornhole Association?

Wow, I thought you were kidding me until I clicked on the link. I just figured you were a Beavis and Butthead fan or something. :)

I’ve been pitching horseshoes for over 20 years now but have never before heard of the American Cornhole Association.

[Deaf Smith]

We have the Washer Pitching Association

http://www.qlogo.com/justin/wpa/wpa.htm

[Eastbound]

Silver medalist, state olympics here.

[Eastbound]

Senior Olympics, that is.

[RingerSIX]

Ever hear of a game called quates(sp)? It is played with iron rings similar to horse shoes but no open end. I Think the same rules but they much more difficult due to not having an open end. One has to drop it right on the peg from the same distance. Takes one helluva lot of skill.

I've read about it, and other things like it before. There have been many similar games invented over the years. I guess that over the centuries when groups of men are sitting around a camp they tend to create games of skill to bide their time.

I've thrown a ringer with a real (from a horse) horseshoe once, which was quite a feat because of how small it is compared to a pitching horseshoe. I'd imagine that a "ring" with no opening would be MUCH harder. In horseshoes you have to worry about left/right aim much more than distance. The shoe has a 3 1/2" opening, so you must hit the left/right aspect within about 1 3/4" of the peg centerline. But the peg is 15" tall so the distance accuracy is not nearly as important as left/right.

Closing off the shoe to make a ring would increase the difficulty tremendously, especially if you're still pitching from 40 feet.

BTW, have you ever played that ring game before?

[gate2wire]

“Alan Francis of Ohio, with an 88.01% ringer average will be present to defend his crown, as will Joan Elmore of Tennessee with an 87.97% ringer average...”

Are you kidding me? 88% ringers? Oh my.

[RingerSIX]

>>Are you kidding me? 88% ringers? Oh my.

Yeah, the guys is an amazing pitcher. And a pretty nice person to boot. Here he is on YouTube talking about how he got started. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utjLNVFq0yY

Here’s another video of him defending his title last year... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3a0rUzd07o&NR=1

My favorite pitcher of all time is Ted Allen, who was a 10 time world champ from 1933 through 1959. He holds the record for 72 consecutive ringers in a tournament game, which he did twice.

Sadly, there are only one or two people today who will pitch in the 80% range, while back in the 1950’s there would have been 10 or 20 of them, or more. The competition has dropped off so much that Alan Francis goes through them like a hot knife through butter. Not to take anything away from Alan Francis, who is one of the best horseshoe pitchers of all time. But I think that back in Ted Allen’s day he would have had much stiffer competittion.

[RingerSIX]

>>Ever hear of a game called quates(sp)?

Look what I found!

http://www.quoits.info/history/history.html

[Fractal Trader]

Close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades .... and atom bombs!

[RingerSIX]

>>Silver medalist, state olympics here.

In which sport? Horseshoes?

[Eastbound]

Horseshoes — State Senior Olympics, New Mexico

[RingerSIX]

>>Horseshoes — State Senior Olympics, New Mexico

Awesome! Congratulations. I’ve won a few local tournaments, but not many, and always the C or B division... never the A. And lately I’ve been falling apart because I don’t practice anymore. I had been pitching over 30%, but I’m probably closer to 20% right now. I’ve been in a bad slump lately. :(

What sort of shoe do you pitch? A flip or a turn? What was your ringer % when you won the Olympics? If you were in the senior division then I’m guessing you throw a 1 flip from 30 feet? I throw a 1 1/4 turn and my shoe of choice is either a Ted Allen or a Diamond Tournament.

You’re the first FReeper I’ve seen who actually pitches horseshoes. FRegards!

[Eastbound]

Thanks! Threw a turn at 40 feet. I don't remember the brand of horseshoe, but I'd guess it was a Dimond. Was kind of squarish. Threw better than 90 per cent.

I used to practice 6-8 hours a day. Wore off part of my back bone and had to quit pitching. Chiropractor could no longer help me. Quit about 13 years ago.

Used to take me about an hour to zone in and then I was practically unbeatable. Used to play three or four others at the same time with only one shoe. They were amazed and soon nobody wanted to pitch with me any more. Was great exercise that I missd these days.

[RingerSIX]

Thanks! Threw a turn at 40 feet. I don't remember the brand of horseshoe, but I'd guess it was a Dimond. Was kind of squarish. Threw better than 90 per cent.

That would have made you one of the best players in the world, if not the best.  Elmer Hohl pitched 88.2% in the 1968 world championships, which was the highest 40 foot ringer percentage ever pitched in a world championship tournament.  I looked around the net but couldn't find any historical ringer % results for the New Mexico Senior Olympics.

I used to practice 6-8 hours a day. Wore off part of my back bone and had to quit pitching. Chiropractor could no longer help me. Quit about 13 years ago.

Sorry to hear about your back.  It's hard to give up horseshoes, particularly if you have a good group of friends who play.

Used to take me about an hour to zone in and then I was practically unbeatable. Used to play three or four others at the same time with only one shoe. They were amazed and soon nobody wanted to pitch with me any more. Was great exercise that I missd these days.

I would have loved to have seen that.  It's always a pleasure to watch a great pitcher.  Did you ever play in the world tournament?
 

[Eastbound]

Well, perhaps the 90 per cent was a little high. It just seemed that high, rarely missing a ringer. Try maybe 70 per cent. I wasn’t world class, but would have liked to compete but my back ran out by the time I was good enough.