Sport Specs

Thursday, April 26, 2007

The sport: Called a traditional American pastime by the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association of America, horseshoes makes for an easy summer backyard game.

The gear: Horseshoes, two stakes and an even number of people with strong arms are all you need to get a game of horseshoes going. Sporting goods stores such as Dick’s Sporting Goods, 15280 W. 119th St. in Olathe, carry horseshoe sets that include shoes and stakes starting at $19.99.

The rules: Set up stakes 40 feet apart. Designate a foul line (for women, the line is usually 27 feet from the stake; for men, the line is usually 37 feet from the stake). Then, split the players into two equal teams. Each team receives two horseshoes. Decide which team will throw first and have the first player from that team throw both shoes from the designated foul line. Tally points from the first player’s throw. If a shoe lands within six inches of the stake or touches the stake, the team receives one point. If the shoe encircles, or “rings” the stake, the team receives three points. After the first team’s player pitches the shoes, the first player from the opposing team throws from the same side. Alternate sides until every player has thrown. Play until one team reaches 40 points.

The Kansas connection: The first horseshoe throwing tournament open to anyone in the world took place in Bronson, Kan., in 1910, according to the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association of America. Frank Johnson, Blue Mound resident, won the tournament and received a world championship belt embellished with horseshoes. Jackson held onto the championship title until 1913, when Rosedale resident Robert Pierce claimed the championship. Jackson regained the title in 1914 and 1915 and no Kansas native has held the championship title since then. The current world champion is Alan Francis of Defiance, Ohio. Francis has held the title since 2003. The 2007 world tournament will take place in Ardmore, Okla., from July 23 to Aug. 4.

Source: National Horseshoe Pitchers Association of America

Tomorrow's news: World Cyber Games

/news/2008/sep/11/tomorrows_news_world_cyber_games/

Recognizing the players of the past

During Alumni weekend last Sunday, three NSCAA All-Americans had their jersey’s retired.

/news/2011/oct/04/recognizing-players-past/

Coach starts small to dream big

Coach Ritch Price reflects on his experiences throughout the years that led ...

/news/2008/apr/29/coach_starts_small_dream_big/

Top 10 important sporting events this semester

Here are the ups, the downs and the record-setting events that left ...

/news/2007/may/10/top_10/

Coach Francis breaks records, builds legacy

/news/2005/feb/02/sports_soccer_Francis/

Club baseball team advances to regional tournament

Regionals provide club baseball players a break from finals.

/news/2008/may/08/club_baseball/

Media hype creates lofty expectations

The Jayhawks are expected to win the Big 12 and keep playing ...

/news/2007/nov/13/media_hype_creates_lofty_expectations/

Fusco: March values the game, not a ...

Regardless of the teams selected, March Madness is awesome — and worth ...

/news/2008/feb/26/fusco_march/

Back to Basics

The benefits of barefoot running

/news/2011/apr/07/Notic-department-back-basics-barefoot-running/

Blog: Sporting's loss, Kansas City's gain

While Sporting KC has exited the playoffs, Kansas City has gained a ...

/news/2011/nov/06/blog-sportings-loss-kansas-citys-gain/

Exhausted teams battle in title game

/news/2005/mar/16/sports_intramurals_championships/

Dent: You won't regret watching tennis

The Big 12 Tennis Championships are being held at the Plaza Tennis ...

/news/2007/apr/26/dent/

Profiling the legends: Owens and Brown

A brief synopsis of Ted Owens and Larry Brown's tenures at Kansas.

/news/2011/sep/12/coaching-legends/

Where will all the Jayhawks go?

As three Jayhawks hope to become first round picks in Thursday night's ...

/news/2008/jun/25/players/

Fans crowd bars for Elite Eight game

Fans came out in droves to watch the match-up between KU and ...

/news/2007/mar/26/fans/

Vernon: Easy to forget the big picture ...

Recent tragedies remind us of what's really important.

/news/2011/oct/18/vernon-easy-forget-big-picture-sports/

Robinson and Taylor named to All-Big 12 ...

Sporting News also awarded Bill Self with Coach of the Year for ...

/news/2012/mar/06/Robinson-Taylor/

Resurrected club shoots to ‘kill’ - with ...

The paintball club’s members thrive on the thrill of the sport that ...

/news/2010/nov/11/resurrected-club-shoots-kill-paint/

Cressy wins third title with Eagles Soccer ...

The junior forward had an assist on the game-winning goal of the ...

/news/2010/aug/16/cressy-wins/

Soccer takes weekend invite title

Team wins the tournament despite struggle to make goals.

/news/2009/aug/31/soccer_weekend/

Free throws, rebounds key to victories

As Mach Madness approaches; Coach Self takes steps to fix problems that ...

/news/2007/mar/07/mbb/

Grad student aims for Olympics

Top-ranked Canadian javelin thrower studies at KU and continues working toward his ...

/news/2007/apr/24/track/

Track team gets All-Americans

Six Kansas Track and Field athletes became All-Americans at last weekend’s NCAA ...

/news/2006/jun/14/track_team_gets_allamericans/

Soccer advances to NCAA Tournament second round

The Jayhawks defeated Denver 2-1 in Palo Alto, Calif.

/news/2008/nov/14/kansas_soccer_advances_ncaa_tournament_second_roun/

Delaware's Delle Donne major threat to Jayhawks

Elena Delle Donne is bringing WNBA caliber play to the Delaware Blue ...

/news/2012/mar/19/delawares-delle-donne-be-major-threat-jayhawks/

Virtual game, real dollars

/news/2005/apr/20/news_campus_virtualgame/

Lawrence wins highest-ranked college sports town

Sporting News ranks Lawrence No. 15 in the country on its list ...

/news/2008/oct/13/sports/

Morning Brew: Mid-majors not as spoiled as ...

Small conference NCAA tournament births feel less expected and means a lot ...

/news/2009/mar/09/brew/

Slugger in the spotlight

Junior third baseman Tony Thompson leads by example.

/news/2010/feb/10/slugger-spotlight/

Morning Brew: Indian cricketer pride of nation

Sachin Tendulkar led his team to its second World Cup championship.

/news/2011/apr/07/indian-cricketeer-pride-nation/

Women’s soccer team gains new talent

/news/2005/feb/17/sports_wsoccer_talent/

Andy Dick's out to 'flip it around' ...

Actor and recovering alcoholic Andy Dick opened up about his past and ...

/news/2011/oct/19/andy-dicks-out-flip-it-around-he-stops-lawrence/

Shroyer: Watch ‘other’ football team

Fans aren’t paying enough attention to the “football” team that’s really worth ...

/news/2007/aug/27/shroyer/

College basketball referee at the top of ...

Welmer’s lenient refereeing style has some players and coaches thankful, and others ...

/news/2008/apr/23/college_basketball_referee_te_top_his_game/

Fatigue a factor during tournament

Players face a challenge unique to conference tournaments as they play three ...

/news/2007/mar/10/fatigue_factor_during_tournament/

Soccer team adds a few well-traveled recruits

Hanna Kallmaier played on the German national team and Cassie Dickerson was ...

/news/2012/apr/12/soccer-team-adds-few-well-traveled-recruits/

The Morning Brew: Excellent soccer recruiting allows ...

Each incoming freshman class adjusts to game on the fly.

/news/2008/sep/10/morning_brew_excellent_soccer_recruiting_allows_fr/

Brew: "Top Gun" relates to sports

Tom Cruise's strengths and weaknesses can be portrayed through sports.

/news/2011/apr/24/brew-top-gun-relates-sports/

Team hopes to improve at Invitational

Soccer team steps up game before playing San Diego for Jayhawk Invitational.

/news/2009/sep/18/invitational/

Where’s the beef?

There was more at stake than a championship title Monday night.

/news/2012/apr/03/wheres-beef/

Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.

Sign in to comment

Or login with:

OpenID