The Washington herald., 1917-08-19
GRAND HANDICAP is
Big SPORTING EVENT
More Than 800 Trapshooters Will
Compete in Chicago Carnival.

The Grand American Handicap
Trapshooting Tournament-the blue
ribbon event of trapdom, and the
greatest of all sporting events-will
take place over the traps OF the South
Shore Country Club in Chicago, Ill,
beginning on Monday. August 20, and
concluding on Friday. August "a.
The Grand American Handicap, as
t more commonly called. is to trap
shooters what the worlds series ia TO
baseball; the Davis Cup to tennis
the International matches to golf and
cricket, and is an even bigger event
than any Of these. 1t has often been
referred to as the trapshooters' yorld's
series. Those who have never attend
ed the Grand American Handicap
would marvel at its magnitude.
The assertion that 1t is a greater
event than the classic baseball worlds
series, the international golf and
cricket matches. or the Davis Gun
series. is a broad one, but ii can be
proven the third week in August II
/ anyone cares to do any probing.
Here is a sporting event that at
tracts more than 800 men and women
business men and athletic women
from every part of the United states
They are all active contestants. They
defray their own expenses, pay en-
trance fees in all events. and have
numerous other bills to meet and en-
JOY the sport. The entrance money
OF course, comes back to the shoot
ers' but they all do not share in the
return.
There isn't another sporting event
In the world that will attract sOC
pardcipants-nor 100 II they have to
defray their own expenses. Trap
shooting is a great sport, and one OF
these days it will come into its own
through the medium. Of publicity. Al
the present writing thousands Of per.
sons attend the annual tournaments,
and in Chicago they expect S,O0C
persons each Of the 1ive days. The
fact that no admission is charged in
duces many to visit the carnival and
watch the greatest OF American shoot.
ers display their prowess with the
shotgun.
And every trapshooter of ability
will be there. They come from Maine
and Oregon, from Minnesota and
Florida. Every State in the Union
was represented in the tournament
last year in st. Louis, and there will
be more entries in Chicago than there
were in the Mound City.
For a dozen years or so the Grand
American Handicap was at live
birds. Agitation in many States
against live-bird shooting caused the
change to clay targets, and the
change has never been regretted.
There were two dozen or so entries
in the live-bird classics When the
switch was made to clay targets the
first tournament brought in seventy
eight entries. In 1914 the entries for
the first time totaled over 500, and
in 1915 Chicago raised the total to
SS4. st. Louis had 199 entries less
than Chicago because st. Louis only
had five traps. Chicago used ten.
Ten traps will be used by the
South Shore Club in staging the
tOurnament-ten for the regular
scheduled events, two joker traps,
one trap for professionals, and an
other for women. The targets will
be thrown over Lake Michigan,
giving the shooters a perfect back
ground. There was a time when two
traps was a great number for the
Grand American Handicap-but that
was in the long ago. 1t is doubtful
II the tournament viii ever be staged
again by an organization that can