NEWSLINE STORY
published November – December 2016
History: Midwest National Tournament (Des Moines, IA)
by Bob Dunn, Historian
The Midwest National Tournament was established because at the time there were no World Tournaments being held by the NHPA and these events were about as close to a national championship as could be. There were no other tournaments as large and prominent being held at the time. The Eastern Nationals had not begun yet and the New England Championships had been confined to the New England states. Knowing these facts indicated that the Midwest National Tournament would be worth researching, writing about and would be good reading.
The Midwest National Tournaments originated in 1933 and were held in Des Moines, Iowa, as part of the Iowa State Fair under the direction and supervision of NHPA Hall of Famer, Leland Mortenson. Most of the participants were world tournament veterans, some former world champions and also a batch of younger pitchers would go on to be stars of the sport in the 1950s as Murray, Utah held a long series of world tournaments. The first name mentioned in the 1933 event was Frank Jackson, a native of Kellerton, Iowa and many time world champion and Iowa state champion. The preliminary round may have been more growling than the finals, but at the end of day one, Frank Jackson was the leader over 6 time world champion, C.C. Davis and a new comer by the name of Guy Zimmerman.
At the end of the 3-day preliminaries, C.C. Davis, now living in Kansas City, MO, was at the head of the list, with a record of 34-0, followed by Frank Jackson at 33-1. Guy Zimmerman, of Sac City, Iowa, in third place, had a won/loss record of 28-6 and very interesting, three of Jackson’s sons had qualified for the finals; Vyrl Jackson on a 27-7 record was in 5th place, Hansford had a 26-8 record and Carroll also at 26-8 were tied in 6th place. Four members of one family were currently ranked in the top ten of the national best horseshoe pitchers.
The top 16 qualifiers moved on into the finals and after the 15 round robins, C.C. Davis and Frank Jackson were tied with 14-1 records and went to a best of three playoff of 50-point games. In the first playoff game, Jackson won 50-21, but C.C. Davis won the second game 50-20 and Davis prevailed in the final game 50-49 to win the championship and the $40.00 first place prize. A side note: Frank Jackson never won a tournament in which C.C. Davis was participating.
The 1934 event introduced a youngster from Waukesha, Wisconsin, a 15 year old Charles “Casey” Jones. Qualifying narrowed the entries to the high 34 pitchers and they played a 32 game round robin to determine the top 16 players for the finals. At the end of the preliminary round, Casey Jones was at the top of the list with a 31-1 record. Guy Zimmerman was in second place, followed by C.C. Davis, each having 30 wins and 2 losses.
In the finals, Zimmerman and Davis met in the final game, while each had a 13-1 record. Zimmerman had worked to a lead of 31-17, but Davis overcame that to win the game 50-42 and the 1934 championship. Zimmerman led the players with 72.9%, while C.C. Davis pitched 70.1% and Casey Jones 70.0%
Several new players entered the 1935 tournament. The previous tournaments had Hall of Famers: Frank Jackson, Charles C. Davis, Casey Jones and Guy Zimmerman. The 1935 event would introduce: John Paxton (Ottumwa, IA), Jimmy Risk (Indiana), and the current world champion, Ted Allen (Alhambra, CA). Each would also go on to receive Hall of Fame honors.
C.C. Davis would be on top after the 31 game preliminaries, but Ted Allen would edge Davis in the finals on a 13-2 record. Davis would be just one game behind, winning 12 and losing 3. Actually there was a three-way tie for second place, which Davis won in a round of playoff games against Ellis Griggs (Illinois) and John Garvey (Boone, Iowa). In the day, ties were not settled by points or ringer percentage, but played off in 50 point games and sometimes the best two out three 50 point games. The tournament was gaining in prominence, as the first place prize won by Allen was now up to $125.
The 1936 tournament brought some new process to the event but no surprise as Ted Allen again won the championship. The preliminary 36 player round robin was played at 25 point games. In previous years the preliminaries were 50-points. The 16 player round robin finals remained 50 point games but was played over two days as previous finals had been completed in one day.
In the finals, Casey Jones and Allen were tied with13-2 records but Allen beat Jones two straight games in a playoff, 50-39 and 50-33. For the tournament, Jones headed the class with an 74% ringer average and Ted Allen averaged 73%, however Allen averaged just over 80% for the playoff games.
The 1937 Midwest National Tournament went international as the all-time great, Fernando Isais entered, giving his address as Mexico City, Mexico. Isais was announced as the Mexico national champion, and he was also the reigning California state champion, so he was also a California residence. Future Hall of Famers Dale Dixon (Des Moines, Iowa), Carl Von Der Lancken (Tulsa, OK) and Roland Kraft (Lawrence, KS) were also new entries.
Isais led the preliminary round with 36 wins and 2 losses. In an unusual case, Isaias’s two losses came at the hands of Garland Gobel (St. Peter, MN), 25-18 and Andrew Stolarik (Canton, Ohio) 25-20, and neither player qualified for the finals. Isais went on to win the 1937 championship, in his first try and against a field that contained 8 (future) Hall of Fame players. First place money remained at $125.00.
The 1937 event was only 4 years past the time when Ted Allen shocked the horseshoe world by winning the 1933 World Tournament in Chicago, Illinois, by pitching 73.6%. C.C. Davis had pitched the very first 70% World Tournament a few years earlier in 1928, but the point is that 11 pitchers in the 1937 Midwest National Open passed the 70% mark. This was an unbelievable display of pitching skills. Did you know the stake was only ten inches back in 1937? The finals standing:
1937 Midwest National Open Final Standing
Player Hometown W L SP R Pct.
1. Fernando Isais Los Angeles, CA 15 0 924 1104 83.5%
2. Ted Allen Alhambra, CA 13 2 926 1148 82.4
3. Guy Zimmerman Sac City, Iowa 12 3 889 1112 79.0
4. Charles “Casey” Jones Waukesha, WI 11 4 873 1170 74.6
5. John Sebeck Canton, Ohio 10 5 944 1260 74.1
6. Ellis Griggs Plainville, Illinois 9 6 857 1158 74.0
7. Robert Bales Kansas City, KS 8 7 813 1150 70.6
8. Gaylord Peterson Varna, Illinois 8 7 901 1196 75.3
9. Sam Somerhalder Guide Rock, NE 8 7 1001 1346 74.3
10. Alvin Gandy Topeka, Kansas 7 8 859 1198 71.7
11. John Paxton Ottumwa, Iowa 7 8 818 1126 72.6
12. Roland Kraft Lawrence, Kansas 6 9 738 1070 68.9
13. Dale Dixon Des Moines, Iowa 2 13 711 1058 67.2
14. Sidney Harris Minden, Nebraska 2 13 700 1084 63.6
15. Oscar Bozick Kansas City, MO 2 13 623 1012 61.5
16. Howard Robinson Nebraska City, NE 0 15