NEWSLINE STORY

published July-August 2015

Horseshoe Pitching Facts & Folklore

Who is the Greatest Woman? (Part Two)

by Bob Dunn, NHPA Historian

Before we get into the article, I need to make a correction for last issue’s article. When talking about our first Women’s World Champion, I inadvertently stated that Marjorie Voorhees was from Asbury, New York. That is not correct. Marjorie was from Asbury, New Jersey. Thanks to Anne MacIntyre, for pointing that out to me, and for adding that Marjorie Voorhees is a member of the New Jersey Hall of Fame.

And now back to our story!

The 1970s brought more new stars. Ruth Hangen, a veteran of four world tournaments, with two third-place finishes and one runner-up finish, opened the decade with four straight world championships. That was an unheard of record. Previously, seven times a woman pitcher had consecutive titles but the record stood at just two in a row. Hangen had won four consecutive titles and pitched 79.6 percent ringers in the 1973 event. Was she about to step up to the top of all time?

Lorraine Thomas brought Hangen’s string to a halt in 1974 as she won her second championship, pitching 80.16 percent. Vicki Winston won her ninth title in 1975 and Hangen returned to the winner’s circle in 1976 with her fifth and final championship. Ruth Hangen was inducted to the NHPA Hall of Fame in 1975. Hangen’s world championship record:

Year Place W L R SP Pct.

1970 1 7 1 298 414 72.0

1971 1 7 0 323 440 73.4

1972 1 7 0 354 462 76.6

1973 1 7 0 363 456 79.6

1976 1 8 2 509 682 75.6

Then to close out the last three years of the decade, three new champions surfaced. Debby Michaud (Raynham, Massachusetts) won the Women’s World Championship in 1977; Opal Reno (Pike County, Ohio) followed as the 1978 champion and Phyllis Negaard (St. Joseph, Minnesota) won in 1979. The women’s class was expanded to 12 players for the 1978 and 1979 events.

The 1980s brought three new champions into the arena and there was a sharp increase to the competitive factor. During the 1980s, there were 20 80-percent performances and an additional 33 pitchers over 75 percent. Opal Reno opened the decade with her second title. Debby Michaud got her second title in 1985. Debby Michaud was inducted in the NHPA Hall of Fame in 1990 and Opal Reno was inducted to the NHPA Hall of Fame in 1992.

Tari Powell (Rankin, Illinois) became a first time women’s champion in 1984, and in doing so became the first former Junior Girls' World Champion (as Tari Carpenter in 1976) to also win a Women’s Championship. Diane Lopez (Lompoc, California) was a first-time winner in 1988.

There were major highlights during the 1980s. In 1981, Vicki Winston won her tenth championship in her 24^th world tournament appearance, going undefeated in Preimesberger Arena and pitching 78.0 percent. This would be her final championship, and at that moment, those 10 titles were thought to be a record that would never be broken.

Oh, by the way, Vicki Winston’s 10 titles still stands as the all-time record and when her pitching career ended in 1995, she had another record that may never be broken: 39 Women’s Championship Class appearances. Vicki Winston was the first woman inducted to the NHPA Hall of Fame (1970) and her record of World Championship years follows:

Year Place W L R SP Pct.

1956 1 9 0 52.6

1958 1 6 0 54.8

1959 1 4 0 75 142 52.8

1961 1 7 0 125 228 54.9

1963 1 7 1 170 290 58.8

1966 1 8 2 264 364 72.4

1967 1 7 0 290 394 73.6

1969 1 7 0 384 482 79.6

1957 1 7 0 73.5

1981 1 11 0 596 764 78.0

In one of the most memorable Women’s World Championships ever, Sandy McLachlin (Dresden, Ontario and now Sandy Janssens) won the championship in Eau Clair, Wisconsin. She was the previous year’s Junior Girls’ World Champion, pitching 67.33 percent. She had one more year of junior eligibility remaining, but waived that to enter the Women’s Division. What chance could she have against the incredible talent in the Women’s championship Class? And in 1986, the women’s class had been expanded to 16 players.

Going into the last game of the round robin, Sandy was undefeated at 14-0 and playing fellow Canadian Diane Cantin who had just one loss, a 37-40 loss to Phyllis Negaard. Cantin pitched an 89.6 percent game to beat the teenager and force a playoff Game.

Sixteen-year-old Sandy McLachlin won that playoff game in 108 shoes, 40-31, and averaged 88.2 percent for the entire tournament, to establish a new women’s world record. Just as impressive, Diane Cantin averaged 88.1 percent as runner-up. Sandy Janssens was inducted to the NHPA Hall of Fame in 2001 and Diane Cantin was inducted in 2002.

Beyond all this, the decade of the 1980s belonged to Phyllis Negaard. She won four times during the decade and now her total stood at five championships. She certainly was now among the few to be considered the greatest. To this point there were only five women that held at least five titles: Mayme Francisco (5), Laura Lanham (6), Ruth Hangen (5), Vicki Winston (10) and Phyllis Negaard (5). But this would be her final championship. Phyllis Negaard was inducted to the NHPA Hall of Fame in 1989. Her world tournament title years are as follows:

Year Place W L R SP Pct.

1979 1 10 1 513 730 70.2

1982 1 10 1 518 652 79.4

1983 1 9 2 589 700 84.1

1986 1 14 1 706 890 79.3

1989 1 14 3 830 1026 80.9

The 1990s can be considered the most competitive decade with 25 80-percent performances and another 33 of over 75 percent. The classes remained at 16 players. Tari Powell opened the decade with titles in 1990 and 1991 to bring her total to three championships. Sue Snyder (Indiana, Kentucky) became a first-time winner in 1992, as did Cathy Carter (Council Bluffs, Iowa) in 1993.

Then Sue Snyder won again in 1994 and repeated for her third championship in 1995. Both were very impressive performances of 85.16 percent and 84.19 percent.

With five championship class appearances on her record, Bev Nathe stepped up and won consecutive championships in 1996 and 1997. She became the 12^th woman pitcher to accomplish that feat. But even more unusual, she was the sister of Phyllis Negaard, and this is the first and only sister combination to be Women’s World Champions. Bev Nathe was inducted to the NHPA Hall of Fame in 2002. Her title years record:

Year Place W L R SP Pct.

1996 1 15 0 858 1050 81.71

1997 1 17 2 1061 1320 80.38

Sue Snyder was runner-up to Nathe in 1996. She averaged 88.38 percent ringers, setting a world tournament record, and came in second place.

Becky Kemper (Pleasureville, Kentucky) was just two years out of the Junior Girls’ Division and had just one year of experience pitching in the Women’s Division. She became a first-time winner in 1998, pitching 82.53 percent. Then Sue Snyder pitched 84.52 percent to win her fourth championship in 1999 to close out the decade and be the best of the decade.

The first decade of the new century remained as competitive as the 1980s and 1990s, and a new star stepped up, Sylvianne Moisan (Chertsey, Quebec, Canada) winning the first four events of the 2000s. She wasn’t new to the Women’s Division though, as she had been runner-up in 1995 pitching 85.49 percent; runner-up in 1997, averaging 85.1 percent; and again runner-up in 1999. There was also a third place finish in 1992, a top-ten finish in 1993 and a fifth place finish in 1994. She became only the second women’s pitcher to win four consecutive championships and only the second Canadian to win a women’s title. Her quest for another championship continued but there were two third-place finishes and four more runner-up finishes. Sylvianne Moisan was inducted to the National Hall of Fame in 2004. Her title years are shown as follows:

Year Place W L R SP Pct.

2000 1 14 1 870 1040 83.65

2001 1 14 1 895 1070 83.64

2002 1 15 0 743 864 86.00

2004 1 22 1 1085 1312 82.70

The Women’s Championship Class was expanded to 24 in 2003, 2004 and 2005. Sue Snyder won two more titles, in 2004 and 2005, to bring her total to six championships. Only three women pitchers had accomplished six or more titles and Sue Snyder won hers in the most competitive era of the sport.

In 2006, the class was reduced back to 20 players as it remains today. Joan Elmore, (Mt. Juliet, Tennessee) a veteran of seven championship class appearances, and coming off runner-up finishes in the past two years, became a first-time winner in 2006. Elmore won again in 2007. Sue Snyder broke Elmore’s string of consecutive wins, for her seventh championship in 2008. Sue Snyder was inducted to the National Hall of Fame in 1995. Her championship years were:

Year Place W L R SP Pct.

1992 1 14 1 885 1046 84.61

1994 1 17 1 666 782 85.16

1995 1 15 0 889 1056 84.19

1999 1 18 1 857 1014 84.52

2004 1 21 2 885 1140 77.63

2005 1 22 1 870 1056 82.39

2008 1 19 1 1065 1234 86.30

Joan Elmore then went on a four-year spree by winning the women’s crown in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. The Elmore run was stopped by Cindy Hoffman (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) in 2013 at St George, Utah. Elmore returned to the winner’s circle in 2014 and now at present has seven championships. Joan Elmore was inducted to the NHPA Hall of Fame in 2009. Her championship years are:

Year Place W L R SP Pct.

2006 1 18 2 845 1028 82.20

2007 1 19 1 949 1166 81.39

2009 1 19 1 1166 1372 84.99

2010 1 18 1 795 1000 79.50

2011 1 14 1 688 848 81.13

2012 1 15 0 721 852 84.62

2014 1 15 0 631 726 86.91

So at the last count of Women’s World Championships: Vicki Winston, 10; Sue Snyder, seven; Joan Elmore, seven; and Laura Lanham, six.

Now you can be the judge!

If you enjoy reading about the history of our sport, there are a couple of new books available for sale. First is the “AAU National Amateur Horseshoe Pitching Champions” and just recently released is “The Lee Rose Story.” Both have received strong reviews. They are available for purchase from your Game Related Sales distributor or direct from me. (link to: bobcharlesdunn@aol.com)

If you are attending the 2015 World Tournament, stop by the display of my horseshoe collection – all 36 feet of it. View the antique shoes, visit and purchase copies of the new books.