The Washington herald., 1917-09-02
WHY and WHEREFORE
OF WESTY HOGANS
Here Are the Facts with Reference
to the Peculiar Name of Trap
shooting Organization.
BY PETER CARNEY


Trapshooters Of all parts Of this
broad land know Of the westy Ho-
gans.
They know, too, that the westy
Hogans is an organization of profess
sional trapshooters, and that each
year It conducts a trapshooting tour
nament that is second only in size
and importance to the Grand Amer
lean Handicap.
But what puzzles the great majority
of the trapgun artists is the oddity Oh
the name of the shooting organiZa-
, ton. Time after time you will hear
this question:
What does westy Hogan meanT'
So we made up our mind to find
out-and did-and will now try and
set the minds OF the trapshots at
ease.
On July H. 1906. a group OF profess
sionaI trapshooters were gathered IN
the office of hotel in the innermost
recesses OF Pennsylvania. As is quite
likely the case In a small tavern IN
the evening a goodly sprinkling of the
citizens from the hills were present,
augmented no doubt on this evening
by the presence Of out-of-town trap
shooters on hand for the shoot of
the morrow.
Unexpectedly one Of the profession
ais spoke up: why don't we profess
sionals give the amateurs a shoot?"
The suggestion was enthusiastically
received and an organization was per-
fected then and there. Neaf Apgar
was elected president and he has held
the office ever since.
The question at once arose as to
where and when the shoot should be
held. Happily the glorious month OF
September, which was just the right
distance in the future. was seized up
on and Atlantic City for the location.
For four or five years the shoot was
regularly staged on Young's Pier AT
Atlantic City, but a severe storm
finally wrecked the pier and thus en-
forced change of location to Venice
Park where II has since been shot.
A name for the organization came
as spontaneously as the suggestion Of
the shoot; many queer name hasSbe-
came affixed to the map OF North
! America with less provocation. Among
/ the visitors to the hotel Office on this
epoch-making evening was a man
| AA'iAA NAC 4AAOuAAdilS WHO was SOIT1b-
what OF a character and who some
| time before had enlisted his efforts
with others in holding up the hotel
| hitchinS post where it invited a moon
| lit anchorage in the offing. His name
was Westy Hogan. In a spirit of jest
/ the name was suggested, adopted. and.
-regretted. now that the tournament
has gone beyond the widest expects-
tions OF the group assembled at the
/ little Pennsylvania hotel.
| The shoot rivals the Grand Ameri-
| can Handicap in popularity: the name
has stuck through a decade. and yet.
/ II does add an individual touch to
! the now famous tournament given
\ by the professionals to the amateurs.
| For the eleventh time this tourna-
! ment will be shot at Atlantic City
! on September Il to Is. inclusive. The
/ flower of the trapshooting East will
I participate. II IS a shoot where good
I fellowship expands TO the nth power
| and where the trophies show un-
! r1istakable evidence of the cunning
hand Of the most skilled artists.
| Upwards Of 80 trspshooters invade
Atlantic City each fan for the Hogans
shoot and many notable performances
! have been recorded in the ten
| tournaments. It was here last year
/ that R. n. Morgan broke 2s3 tarGess
! straight. and it was at the Hogan's
! shoot the year before that Lester
| German broke 372 straight. 499 out of
4 so and s47 out of $50 targets.
| The Wcsty Hogans is a live wire
! organization and keeps abreast of the
I times. Its East and West event. the
state titular matches and It various
/ Hogans' championship trophies, with
several thousands of dollars in cash
causes the shooters of the country tc
give the tournament consideration and
also to spend a week at Americas
greatest sea- side resort.