Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-04-05
w WingShots NJ ade
Not Born
By Tom Marshall

the top notcher in the shooting game
run for his money. Wingshots are
made; not born. To become a rec
ognized expert in the use of fire
arms, requires intensive and con-
tinuous training along the lines of
intelligent practice. Show me the
marksman who to-day ranks as an
expert, you will meet a man in
fatuated with the sport he has de-
voted his money, energy and requi-
site time to mastering. The Sport
Alluring is recognized as me most
seductive, patriotic and beneficial
outdoor sport in the American arena
Much has been said and written
about ,equalizing of ability through
the different systems of handicap
ping, also the fifty-fifty division of
monies between the expert and semi
novice in the shooting game. There
haint no such animal as equaliza-
tion,' reasoning from cause to ef-
feet and ultimate results. Naming
a few of the experts he have DON
nelley, Airy, Powers, Newcomb,
Heer, Troeh, Ford, Wright, SPOTS,
and many others, of the same cate
CORY. Men who are consistent shoot
tIS uHueE any anu all COnulllOHS,
ranking we'll up into the 80 per
cent. averages, acknowledged crack
er-jacks." l have personally known
the major portion of the men emu
merated since their advent in the
game and have watched their many
trials and vicissitudes in the shooting
arena, prior to the time they broke
into the spotlight and were brand
ed dangerous" Then the clamor
went up and a demand was imme-
diately made for penalization, based
on ability, to the extent they were
proposedly handicapped out of the
running.
A little biography of their shoot
ing careers. Ben Donnelly, of Chi
cago, was for years easy money"
yet he did not belong in the "quitter
|tGlass," he hung on like argssspup to
root" until he was able to care for
himself. Mark Arie, of Thomasville,
ILL.,, was a patient and consistent
! "donater" for years, he would strug-
gle through a tournament when it
was a "cinch" he would not break
even. Chan Power. of Decatur, ILL.,,
the best known amateur in the trap
shooting game, broke into this line
of sport. when three monies 60
30-2O) high guns, was the distribu-
ton, all tournaments were open to
the world and every person invited.
There was no division of purses and
all ties were shot to a finish. this
policy made game shooters and was
the eliminator of weaklingS. At
tournaments one met Andy Mead
ers Fred Erb, Jim Stice, Fred Kim
ball, Captain Bogardus. Charley
Budd, Rolla Heikes, Billy Crosby,
Jack Brewer, Frank Parmalee, Ed.
Fulford. They were all factors to be
safely in ones pocket. 1t was in
this school of old timers" that
Powers was educated, spending a
small fortune before he was q post
graduate. Charley Newcomb, OF
Philadelphia, was a money from
home" shooter for at least five years
after his advent. o. n. Ford, of
San Francisco, was blessed with an
ancestor. who wished upon him a
landed estate in Northern Iowa. he
was pried loose from the money
representing this farm before he be-
came an expect. Billy Heer. of Guth-
rie, Kansas. was a coal miner, work
ing steadily to acquire sufficient
long green" to purchase ammuni-
ton and pay entrance in the local
events with home boys" he was a
fish" or sucker for years. Frank
Troeh, of Vancouver, Wash, bounced
INTO the trapSnOOIlnS arena ike n
meteor, he was a sure enough shoot
ing star. a winner on his first ap-
pearance. He had stood the gaff
of adversely at his home club. Frank
Wright, of Buffalo, n. Y, was a
reported glutton for punishment, be-
fore he launched his boat into out
side shooting waters and was listed
for handicap penalizing. Ralph
SPOTS, of New York was a con-
sistent producer" The "harpoon
of justice" was shot into him at
every meet until he drifted into the
care for himself class" when he
was marked for n back in the
brush" handicap.
Every expert dates back to the
liberal expenditures of money and
time. He is blessed with those red
blood corpuscles, which rush
through the veins of game sports
men. He has stood the necessary
punishment and come up smiling
when the shooting gaff was insert
ed. has refused to lie down and roll
over when outclassed. They are the
brand of sportsmen who make win
ners. Give them a run for the
money. Make more liberal division
of purses umerically-letting
greater number of men in for divi-
sion. Don't force contestants who
have acquired ability, out of the
game by the handicap route.