The San Francisco call., 1896-02-18
EXPERT PIGEON SHOOTERS
Gentlemen Sportsmen Who
Compete for Cash
Prizes.
Rules That Do Not Make a Distinction
Between the Amateur and
Professional.

Now that SO much has been said and
written concerning athletes and wheel
men who have been charged with pro-
fesslonaIlsm some of the New York papers
have taken up the cudgel against amateur
ing pigeons from traps for cash prizes.
The New York Spirit of the Times, com
menting upon a pigeon shoot which took
place recently, said that the first money
was divided between two men, each re-
ceiving $475; the second received $2lO, and
the third took $40 as his share of the prize.
The article goes on to state that if these
same gentleman who had won cash prises
at trap shooting had run, or jumped. OF
rowed. or wrestled for the same prizes
they would be Immediately classed as pro-
fessionals, but as they are only pigeon
shots they are still gentlemen ANA.
teurs," and that many intelligent people
are not sufficiently acute to understand
such anomalies.
The laws which were made purposely to
keep the gentleman athlete and wheelman
from associating with the professional by
meeting the last named in open COM petit
ton would materially alter the present
conditions governing trap-shooting tour
naments and matches if the trap-shoot-
ing clubs and associations were in any
way connected with the Amateur Athletic
Union of the United States, the laws of
which are very strict as regards the giving
of cash prizes for contests of any kind.
OF recent years q number of men who
had gained fame because of their ability
to kill pigeons, both of the live and arti-
ticial kinds received lucrative positions
from large gun and ammunition establish
ments. Those expert pigeon-grassers
are dispatched through the country
to advertise certain makes of powder
They generally manage to arrive at some
town or city when a big tournament is in
progress, and as there are always "open"
contests and pool-shoots ad libltum the
professional never fails to rake in q good
sized pot, together with scoring O good bit
OF free advertising for whatever implement
OF bird torture he may be canvassing. Lo-
cal ira ap-shooters have but meager chance
of winning a good purse FROM any of the
many famous trap-Shooters who are now
travelling in the interest of powder and
gun firms. If the trap-shooting associa-
tions were connected with the Amateur
Athletic Union there would be very poor
gold-dust picking for the many professionl
through the country, and, besides, the
sport, which is becoming very popular,
would remain free from tarnish.
This is how the Sporting Life of New
York sums up the situation:
We consider a pigeon shooter professional
when he makes q living or part OF his living
from the money he wins by shooting indiyid-
ual matches or who follows tournament for
the sole purpose of adding to his bank ac-
count The definition OF a professional Is "be-
longing to ones profession; profession means
vocation, vocation q trade calling or occupa-
ton. Therefore professional shot is one
whose vocation or trade is shooting. Such
men as Heikes, Elliott, Brewer, Carver, Van
Dyke and few others are professional shots in
a strict sense OF the word, but men who shoot
against them in open matches are not made
professionals by so doing, but if an amateur
wheelman raced against professional he
would be barred from future contests in the
amateur class, but not so with the pigeon
shooter. Ii every shooter who has contested
in the same events in which professional WAS
entered were thus made professionals there
would hardly be an amateur shooter in the
country.
In that case man who never fired a gun in
his life could enter match in which q profes-
sional was shooting and even if he never killed
bird he would at once become professional
marksman, and be ready to attend shoots and
lose a few thousand dollars before he would
awake TO the fact that it did not pay There
are many expert marksmen who attend nearly
all the big tournaments who are purely
amateurs. They have "money to burnu in
powder and enjoy the sport and associations to
that extent that they will stand loss as cheer
fully as q profit These men pay for their snort
and under no obligations TO any gun
manufacturers powder or shell companies
and always pay their expenses from their own
pockets, and try to win enough by their skill to
repay them in measure for the OUTLAY in en-
joying this fascinating but somewhat exneu-
sive recreation. Such men are amateur sho Of
ers, and cannot be classed as professionals
until they receive pay from some firm or in
diyidual for their services as marksman.