NEWSLINE STORY
published May-June 2015
Horseshoe Pitching Facts & Folklore
Who is the Greatest Woman?
by Bob Dunn, NHPA Historian
In this issue, we will take a look back in history and determine who is the greatest woman horseshoe pitcher of all time. Very little has been written about the Women’s Division in World Tournament competition, although it dates back to 1920. There is a written book, “The World Champions of Horseshoe Pitching,” that is somewhere between being published and some other form of distribution. That book does tell all about the women in the World Tournaments and all the other divisions also. Being that I did the research and wrote the book, I am equipped to write this article and determine who are the great ones in the women’s history.
It began in 1920, in Akron, Ohio, as Marjorie Voorhees (Asbury Park, New York), won the first Women’s World Championship. There was little fanfare for this event, as there were just two contestants, but it was a start for the ladies. That is significant, as the sport was a male-dominated sport, and remained so for four more decades.
The influence of the sport in Florida during the wintertime is what allowed the women’s participation in the sport, and its World Tournaments, during the 1920s to grow and flourish. The snowbirds from Minnesota and Ohio and a few other northern states had strong horseshoe pitching organizations that welcomed women’s participation. However, most were spouses of pitchers.
It took a couple of years to develop a star of the sport, but by 1923 Mayme Francisco (Muskegon, Michigan; Columbus, Ohio) had won three championships (1922W, 1923S, 1923W) and was "Queen of the Courts." For five years in the 1920s, a winter world tournament was held in Florida, so there were actually 14 world tournaments conducted during the decade, and Francisco won five titles total (also 1928W, 1929). She was a star, and included with those five titles, were four runner-up awards. She was inducted to the NHPA Hall of Fame in 1990. Mayme Francisco’s world tournament record:
Year Place W L R SP Pct.
1922S 2 7 1 88
1922W 1 3 0 15
1923W 1 5 0 114 252 45.2
1923S 1 7 0 145 384 37.8
1924W 2 5 1 122 262 46.6
1925W 2 14 3 291 566 54.1
1926 2 10 4 222 216 43.0
1927W 2 11 2 252 536 47.0
1928W 1 12 1 245 446 54.9
1929 1 2 0 60 11 54.5
Another multiple title winner in the 1920s was Mildred Brouillette (Minneapolis, Minnesota), who won in 1926 and the winter tournament of 1928. Her career began in 1922 and extended through 1934, and included the two championships and four runner-up finishes (1924S; 1927S - 56.4 percent; 1928W –54.9 percent; 1929). She was inducted to the NHPA Hall of Fame in 1991. Mildred Brouillette’s championship years’ records:
Year Place W L R SP Pct.
1926 1 14 0 228 516 43.2
1927W 1 10 3 246 502 47.0
But neither Brouillette nor Francisco was the greatest in the decade. That recognition is for Laura Lanham (Bloomington, Illinois) who entered seven events and won six titles, and the seventh event was a runner-up finish. She was the best of the decade, carried the highest tournament averages and was the first woman to pitch a 70-percent game in a world tournament. She was inducted to the NHPA Hall of Fame in 1971. Laura Lanham’s world tournament record:
Year Place W L R SP Pct.
1922S 1 8 0 108
1923S 2 6 1 147 316 46.5
1924S 1 11 0 212 380 56.0
1924S P 2 0 43 80 53.7
1924W 1 6 0 145 256 52.7
1925W 1 16 1 245 428 57.2
1927S Prelims 7 0 169 290 56.0
1927S 1 8 1 241 439 56.9
1928S Prelims 7 0 198 384 51.0
1928S 1 9 1 298 538 55.2
If you think the averages were low, they are, if compared to today’s standards. Remember these were the pioneers of our sport, these ladies were pitching hookless shoes, and their averages were higher than the events of the 1940s and 1950s.
The sport suffered an incredible decline in the 1930s as there were just three world tournaments held. That doesn’t mean there was not some excitement and significant performances. In fact, one of the most outstanding pitchers of all time appeared in the 1933 event. The 1933 World Tournament was held as part of the World’s Fair in Chicago, which was also the first world tournament for the famous Ted Allen, and for the Schultz sisters of Harvey, Illinois. To this point in time, the highest tournament average by a female pitcher had been 56.9 percent (by Laura Lanham in 1927). So, 21-year-old Caroline Schultz set everyone back on their heels by pitching an unheard of 73.8 percent tournament. Yes, she went undefeated in five games. Her sister Charlotte was runner-up, pitching 65.1 percent.
The 1934 tournament (Los Angeles, California) was even more spectacular as Caroline pitched 81.3 percent to win her second title. Her sister Charlotte was again runner-up, pitching 69.7 percent. In fact, the entire eight-player class pitched well as six players averaged over 50 percent, a feat not accomplished in the 1940s or 1950s. In fact, it was 28 years later, in 1962 that a women’s class again had six players over 50 percent ringers. The final standings of the 1934 event:
Place Player W L R SP Pct.
1 Caroline Schultz 7 0 266 326 81.6
2 Charlotte Schultz 6 1 290 416 69.7
3 Grace Jackson 5 2 222 334 66.7
4 Grace Zimmerman 4 3 213 406 52.6
5 Dessie Grant 3 4 231 398 58.0
6 Mildred Brouillette 2 5 189 362 52.2
7 Nellie Young 1 7 59 262 22.5
8 Josephine Briggs 0 7 123 348 35.3
Note: Grace Jackson was the wife of Carroll Jackson, son of the famed Frank Jackson. Dessie Grant was the sister of the very popular Putt Mossman. And Grace Zimmerman was from Iowa and the spouse of Guy Zimmerman, 1954 Men’s World Champion.
The 1935 World Tournament was back in Moline, Illinois, right in the Schultz sisters’ backyard. A strange turn of events took place as Esther James (Hastings, Michigan) came out on top in the qualifying round, pitching 86 ringers in her 100 shoes, and both Schultz sisters withdrew from the tournament, supposedly due to the weather and the wet conditions. Well, James went on to win the title with a 66.4 percent average. Esther James was inducted to the NHPA Hall of Fame in 1983.
At this point, the Women’s Division was discontinued, although there were few World Tournaments held. It was another 12 years (1947) for a women’s class in a World Tournament. There were few skilled women pitchers due to this lag, so when the Women’s Division was reinstated, there were no great performances or what could be considered strong competition. Often there was the need to recruit players from the sidelines to fill out a class. But most importantly, a class was held and champions were crowned, and that is what is most important. Also very important, there has been a Women’s Championship class held every year at every World Tournament ever since.
A point should be made here regarding Caroline Schultz. How unfortunate that more events were not held in the 30s and 40s, as she would no doubt have won more than her two championships. She certainly was the greatest woman pitcher up to that point in time, and with more titles, just maybe of all time. Caroline Schultz did continue pitching some after 1935, but mostly exhibitions, one of which is on film and available to view in the Winston Theatre at our Hall of Fame Museum (link to: http://www.nhpf.info/random.html). Caroline Schultz-Decker was inducted to the NHPA Hall of Fame in 1982.
Three events were held at the tail end of the 1940s. There were two champions, Katie Gregson (Crestline, California) in 1947, averaging 50 percent and Anna Lindquist (Morgantown, West Virginia) in 1948 and 1949, averaging 43 percent and 48.2 percent. There was just the one 50-percent performance for the decade.
The 1950s had six different champions and no significant performances. The classes had eight players and there were six 50-percent performances for the 10 events in the decade. Katie Gregson won in 1954 to become a multiple champion (she was inducted to the NHPA Hall of Fame in 1975); Pat DeLeary (Phoenix, Arizona) won 1950 and 1953; Sarah Byers won in 1951 and 1952; Hazel Haris won in 1955: Gertsie Selby (Boulder, Colorado)(Ted Allen’s sister-in–law) was champion in 1957; and a young teenager from Portland, Oregon won three championships (1956, 1957 and 1959) in the decade. Her name was Vicki Chapelle. She was the daughter of Hall of Fame member Cletus Chapelle, and her brother was Hall of Fame member Barry Chapelle. She later married Earl Winston, who also is a Hall of Fame member. Today we know her as Vicki Winston and now we know how her career began.
The 1960s brought bigger highlights, new stars and more champions. Classes remained at eight players and there was one 80-percent performance and four of 75 percent, and if counting, there were 51 other performances of over 50 percent. That is a traumatic improvement. The decade had four different champions: Esta McKee won in 1960 and Lorraine Thomas won in 1968. At a record young 15 years old, Sue Gillespie (Portland, Indiania) won the 1962 Women’s World Championship, pitching 65.31 percent. Gillespie won again in 1964 with a resounding 81.13 percent, matching Caroline Schultz’s 30-year record. Gillespie repeated as champion in 1965. Now she had three titles, a record-setting performance and could have been looked upon as potentially the greatest ever with many years ahead of her if she had continued to pitch horseshoe, but 1965 was her last championship. Sue Gillespie was inducted in the NHPA Hall of Fame in 1976 and her world tournament career records:
Year Place W L R SP Pct.
1961 4 4 2 113 264 42.4
1962 1 7 0 256 392 65.3
1963 3 4 2 199 332 59.9
1964 1 7 0 344 424 81.1
1965 1 8 1 343 452 75.9
1966 3 5 2 261 426 61.3
1967 4 4 3 259 442 58.5
Vicki Winston (now from LaMonte, Missouri) had won in 1961 and again in 1963, for her fourth and fifth titles. Then she won again 1966 (72.41 percent) and 1967 (73.6 percent) and 1969 (79.6 percent). She had eight titles, more than any other lady pitcher, now pitching almost 80 percent, and the last five titles were against meaningful competition. She was the best woman pitcher at this stage of the sport.
To Be Continued
Due to the length of this article, this is a good spot to take break and continue in the next issue with the rest of the story. Please tune in to the next issue of Newsline.
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