The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-04-30
Frederic HaslIin's Letter
AHorseshoe Pitching President.

belly In front OF the flre and ~
~ hard ~ Abe Lincoln dN,
Such 10 the environmeaf \.
produced the game OF horsess..
and It still flourishes in wAat 4 ~
Of that environment. YoS Is -, -. i
see it played much in New Yoe.
Chicago. or any other big ctt,
does not fit in with the subway ~
and the roar Of lower Brosdv,.
Men and women who strusrla IN
straining nerves for life and ~
and money. who shimmy in ~
racked cabarets and pack IA. 4,
lies and the movies are NOT ho,.s
shoe pitchers. They would ~,
horseshoe pitching a deadly ~
Nor is it in tune with the mem,
life Of the new metropolitan AM,
lea, which is SO self-conscious ~
worried-the America that rs.s
Main Street and patronizes Briti.
high-brow lecturers. and triee M
to guess what is going on in Rps]
STA. Ante-bellum, horseshoe Mira
ing America had barely heard
Russia, regarded Main street - M
best place this side Of heaven I'M
gave to all foreigners . rich ~
condescendfng pity. Can Anaeis
be led back to the sweet and plae1
contentment, the beautiful faith ~
ignorance of the early horsesAc
pitching days?
But 1t must be added that hors,
shoe pitching has, to q certain n
tent, kept up with the times. n,
game Of quoits, properly so-calls
10 q sort OF urbanized hofseshs
pitching. in which iron rings, espsI
cially made for the purpose, N
used. This is an internatioe.|
game and has its tournaments al
champions.
Horseshoe pitching proper, n
far as we can learn, is a pufeI
American game. Should you desir
to take It up, in order to get YOU
lmind in tune with the adminiJr,l
ton, we here give a brief summud
of the rules as promulgated by nl
| less an authority than the Grand
League of American Horseshoe
pitchers. 1t is decreed by this Or,
ganizati0n that the pegs shall \
3SLa feet apart. Each of them mus
be 30 inches long and must projed
3 inches above the ground. and tn
pegs should incline toward cad
other to the extent Of one inch froI
the perpendicular. Yellow cid
dug up to the depth Of six inche)
and wet enough to prevent q shd
from slipping or bouncing, shout
surround the peg on all sides. Th
pitchers box includes all Of ID
territory for three feet on eiths
side Of the pegs and six feet b.
hind it. The shoes which ar
pitched must be not more than Y
inches long, 6A inches wide an
81 inches between the heel caulk
and each shoe must weigh not NOR
than two pounds five ounces. |
a first class game, unless the shO
lies within six inches of the peg
does not count anything. The clos
est shoe counts one point, and
| both shoes are closer than eithe
of the opponents shoes, it count
two points. A ringer counts Nv
points if your shoe lands right sid
up and three points if it turns owe
OF course, a ringer does not coul
lii your opponent knocks it Of Il
peg.
Ihe friends Of the game clai
1 that it is the friendliest conte
possible They say that men vi
play quoits together never have al
serious disputes. They also 81
that the exercise it affords is q
cellent, especially for elderly me-
The bending to pick up the shoes
especially salubrious. 1t can
played by all ages and both SEP
|, and anywhere that you can 70
fifty or sixty feet Of level groul
At the same time, a high degree
, skill is possible. II you can pitt
] q shoe weighing over two poun'
. and make it ring a stake near
: forty feet away, you have go
, nerves and q good eye The hors
, shoe pitcher in the White house
said to have both.