Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-20
TRAP SHOOTING THE RACE
Greatest Of Winter Sports Around
New York Just Now.
TRAPS OPERATED BY ELECTRICITY
Close Competition an Annual Cham
piOnship at raw Island
Great Improvement In Form
OF Local Men.

NEW YORK, Dec. 19-Amateur trap
shooting Is the one winter sport that has
become universally popular OF late and
no outdoor pastime has attracted so many
recruits within the last two or three
years. From an Insignificant amusement
II has developed into something like in
ternational importance, for undoubtedly
the amateur championship held at Trav-
ers Island in December each year has no
equal as a shooting spectacle. Men of all
walks in'life are to be found on the firing
line at this. annnal tourney, such as mil
lionaire, merchants, doctors, lawyers and
professional men of every grade.
The conditions, of the fixture are that
each contestant shall shoot 100 clay birds,
orttargets. as they are called, at sixteen
yards rises and the man with the highest
number of breaks is declared the winner.
In case two or more should tie they shoot
an additional round of twenty-five, or
even two or three twenty-fives, until the
best man is discovered.
Two years ago there was a tie between
two shooters. both having broken 80 cut
of 100. and they shot off an additional
twenty-five. when one man broke a target
more than the other. By this close margin
he secured the title of champion OF America,
along with a massive silver cup and a gold
$1,000 1872 49, NV NAAAAAl oSN9 A1lNA
! the same reward, while the second and
third men also get prizes.
Last years event attracted more than 100
amateurs and they were from all over the
United States. The battle for first honors
was exceptionally keen between DIR. r +.
Gelason of the Boston Athletic association
and o. N. Ford of Central City, Ia, who
once won the grand American handicap in
the days when live pigeons were trapped.
But the Aesculapius from the Hub tri-
umphed by breaking IS out Of 100, a record
4! for the meet, and in fact for amateurs in
America Ford was the closest kind of a
second with ninety-four breaks.
The race was shot in rounds OF twenty
five and in the first two Ford made a
clean straight score of fifty, while the
man of medicine missed two. Experts and
old-time pigeon shots who stood around
watching the work of the men said 1t was
all over-that Ford. would to a certainty
be returned the winner. But there was a
long, stiff road to the finish in the re-
naming fifty targets, especially as the
day was advancing and the light was
weakening. In the very next round Ford
missed three, to the CONSERVATION Of the
wiseacres, and DR.. Gleason missed only
one, and they were a dead heat, both
having broken 70 out of 70.
H0 AiSN WdS CAOHCLy CdhilE ny
the gallery" but the keen blue eyes Of
the Bostonian stood him in good stead, for
he missed only two. Ford going down again
for three, the total tally leaving Gleason
the victor by one. Three others were
right on top OF tho pair with totals OF 90,
and they were w. M. Foord of Whining
ton. Del, ]. B. Sanders of Albany, N. Y,
ard e. r. Reed, mayor of Manchester,
N. II. .
There was a preliminary match the day
previous to the big one, In which @. H..
Percy of the Montclair Gun club showed
fine form. He shattered la out of $50, so
that next day he went to the traps a ia
vorite for the championship. but early in
the fray he upset the calculation of the
critics. for in the very first round he
missed four, his total altogether being only
the poor score of so.
This year the work of the local shooters
showed a vast improvement over their
best form of last year, particularly the
members OF the New York Athletic club
and Crescent Athletic club. and among the
former organization are several who are
expected to do big things. These are w.
J. Elias, Fred Hodg1nan, G.. Fred Pelham,
o. C. Grinnell, Gus z. Greiff and G. L.
Lyon. The latter is the southern champion
and has only recently been attached to
the Winged Foot, but from what has been
seen of his form he is entitled to rank
with the front brigade. AT the opening
of the season he gave a fine display at
the TTavers Island shooting box by break
ing 1888 out of a possible 200.
OF the lot Pelham made the best show
ing in last years championship. as he fin
tshed sixteenth in the list, with a/total of
81. and from what has been seen of him
40 for ha io rnVrb hatfar fhla xyoar rIaA-
man won all the cups offered at Travers
Island last year. though he Jared poorly
in the championship. his total being 70. on
several occasions this winter he has dis
played first-rate craftsmanship. Elias be-
gan the season in right good style by win
ming out the November cup and the third
Saturday in November was high gun with
some very fine scoring. Out of 1T5 targets,
which was the total trapped for the day,
he broke 165. q bit of shooting worthy of
the foremost men in America. GrInnell