Clank.
Ching... clack.
"Nice shoe Joe!"
Twackle clack.
"Ooh good one!"
Clank!
"Four- two"
The quiet sounds of the Franklin Horseshoe Club Monday night league take one back in time to summer family picnics with burgers and dogs on the grill and pitchin' shoes with dad, grandpa and old uncle Joe who didn't much care about sitting around the "bs-ing about nothing!"
This predecessor of the popular Cornhole is seemingly an older dude's fancy these days and is slowly going the way of the dinosaur. But the Franklin group is doing its best to keep the old time backyard game of accuracy and skill alive.
Ching... clack.
"Nice shoe Joe!"
Twackle clack.
"Ooh good one!"
Clank!
"Four- two"
The quiet sounds of the Franklin Horseshoe Club Monday night league take one back in time to summer family picnics with burgers and dogs on the grill and pitchin' shoes with dad, grandpa and old uncle Joe who didn't much care about sitting around the "bs-ing about nothing!"
This predecessor of the popular Cornhole is seemingly an older dude's fancy these days and is slowly going the way of the dinosaur. But the Franklin group is doing its best to keep the old time backyard game of accuracy and skill alive.
Helping change the face of horseshoe pitching are Bobbi Judy and her daughter Ally, of Polk. Bobbi said she remembers the bond she felt pitching horseshoes with her dad. She has now taking this to a third generation by partnering each Monday with her 14-year-old daughter.
"Ally has always enjoyed being around the older generation and has much respect for her elders. She enjoys the laughs that are shared and the competition of the sport," Judy said. "I am thrilled that Ally is pitching horseshoes as my partner!, I love that she enjoys it as much as I do."
Ally didn't get a chance to pitch with her grandfather, who passed away over a year ago, but she carries on the love of the sport. Bobbi said that she and Ally are happy to show that "hey girls pitch horseshoes too. And, in Ally's case, they pitch darn good."
She said she is proud her daughter wants to pitch with her and the two look forward to Monday nights.
"Ally has always enjoyed being around the older generation and has much respect for her elders. She enjoys the laughs that are shared and the competition of the sport," Judy said. "I am thrilled that Ally is pitching horseshoes as my partner!, I love that she enjoys it as much as I do."
Ally didn't get a chance to pitch with her grandfather, who passed away over a year ago, but she carries on the love of the sport. Bobbi said that she and Ally are happy to show that "hey girls pitch horseshoes too. And, in Ally's case, they pitch darn good."
She said she is proud her daughter wants to pitch with her and the two look forward to Monday nights.
,Most of the pitchers in the Franklin club are older for sure, but they welcome youth. One young man comes each week because he just loves it and "he feels at home with us," said Jimmy Johnson, the club president for the past 20 years. Johnson said it's a good group of people who just love to laugh and have fun pitching shoes.
And the club boasts some royalty. Eighty-five-year-old Homer Page has etched his name in a couple world championship trophies, said Dave Sopher, who is currently considered the best of the bunch by many of the Franklin pitchers. Page said his best days are behind him, but then stepped up seconds later and tossed a leaner. The Polk man said he's gotten a chance to travel a bit though horseshoe pitching. He recalled one championship in Red Deer, Ontario, Canada, where he took home the title.
The target game is pretty simple. The pitcher stands roughly 40 feet away and tosses a U-shaped hunk of steel at a metal post driven into a sand or clay pit. The object is to land the 'shoe' within the width of the shoe(roughly six and a half inches) to the post for a point. A leaner gets two and a ringer, where the shoe surrounds the post, gets three. These totals are added up and the most points win. In the Franklin league, they tally the points for the season with prizes awarded the top scorers. Top prize is a jacket.
Other versions of the game are played to certain number like 11 or 21 points.
It is generally considered a "gentleman's game" with opponents often complimenting each other and shaking hands (or fist bumping nowadays) at the beginning and end.
Other versions of the game are played to certain number like 11 or 21 points.
It is generally considered a "gentleman's game" with opponents often complimenting each other and shaking hands (or fist bumping nowadays) at the beginning and end.
The club membership had been down quite low but has seen a slight rebound. They welcome new members whenever someone shows up, no need to wait for a new season to start.
"I think it was Cornhole," Sopher said about the declining numbers. This year they have just under 30 members who play on the Miller-Sibley Park courts. Johnson and Sopher would like to see even more participation.
"I think it was Cornhole," Sopher said about the declining numbers. This year they have just under 30 members who play on the Miller-Sibley Park courts. Johnson and Sopher would like to see even more participation.
Johnson said the club maintains its section of Miller-Sibley for the city and he is hoping more people take interest in the game and help take care of the area. Johnson said the club mows and maintains the pits. Anyone interested in joining and pitching some shoes should just stop up around 6 p.m. any Monday between April and September and they will welcome you aboard.
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