Walters Inducted Into NHPA Hall Of Fame
August 24, 2017 at 4:43 p.m.
Walters Inducted Into NHPA Hall Of Fame
By Mark [email protected]
The Bourbon man was inducted July 23 in a ceremony at the NHPA World Tournament in St. George, Utah.
Walters, 79, is a two-time Elder Division world champion, going back-to-back in 2008-09 and finishing third in 2010. He’s also a four-time Indiana state champion in the division, winning in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012. He was inducted into the Indiana hall of hame in 2011.
His start was kind of out of the blue, nearly 30 years ago.
“We were at the Blueberry Festival and they were pitching horseshoes there and I thought ‘heck, I can do that.’ So I bought me a pair of horseshoes and a couple of stakes, put ‘em outside and started throwing,” Walters said.
“That was a couple of years before I joined the (NHPA).”
Walter said things just kind of took off once he joined the national organization.
“Once you join, they send you a schedule of tournaments, and every weekend here in Indiana there’s a tournament somewhere in the summer, and sometimes there’s two; one down south and the other up north here. And in the winter they throw indoors, at Columbia City, Stroh, Kokomo, Shelby, so in the wintertime you can pitch, too. And they have leagues in the winter, too, just like in the summer.
“The people who run the tournament keep your ringer percentage, and send all that information to California, where they put it on the internet. To pitch in the state tournament, in September every year, you have to pitch in three tournaments, and you pitch against people with similar ringer percentages as you.
“To pitch in the world tournament, you have to pitch in four tournaments.”
Walters so enjoys the game, he has an indoor pit in a pole barn behind his house. He said in the winter he has to heat the shoes every 20 throws or so.
He said a side benefit of the game is the exercise. Each shoe weights about 2-1/2 pounds, and in a tournament a contestant will throw about 200 times, not counting warmups and practice.
Walters said he’s tried his hand at other lifetime sports, but he simply likes pitching more.
“I tried golf, and you know I just could not do it,” he said. “I got so aggravated I had to quit, probably like a lot of other people do.
“For years I bowled, but it got that I had bowled for so many years that I just went to horseshoes. This is what I like the most.”
Walters and his wife, Rose, have gone to tournaments more often than they can remember, and have lost count of the number of places they’ve visited.
“Every year when you go to the world tournament, you see people you met the year before,” he said. “Sometimes I’ve pitched against another guy from Indiana, only hundreds of miles away from home.”
The couple estimates they’ve been in tournaments in well over half the states, and one memorable tournament in Canada where it snowed in July.
“That was a great trip to Red Deer, Alberta. The snowflakes must have been at least that big,” Rose said while holding her hands in a circle about the size of a canning jar lid.
“We’ve met so many wonderful people, and we look forward to going every year. Three years ago, I went to the tournament in Topeka, Kan., against my doctor’s advice. I was never so glad to see a horseshoe pit in my life,” she said.
While conceding he’s throwing a shorter distance these days, down from 40 to 30 feet, Walters has no plans to retire from the sport anytime soon.
“It’s something I like, and I want to keep doing as long as I can.”
The NHPA Hall of Fame is in Wentzville, Mo., near St. Louis. For more information visit horseshoepitching.com
The Bourbon man was inducted July 23 in a ceremony at the NHPA World Tournament in St. George, Utah.
Walters, 79, is a two-time Elder Division world champion, going back-to-back in 2008-09 and finishing third in 2010. He’s also a four-time Indiana state champion in the division, winning in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012. He was inducted into the Indiana hall of hame in 2011.
His start was kind of out of the blue, nearly 30 years ago.
“We were at the Blueberry Festival and they were pitching horseshoes there and I thought ‘heck, I can do that.’ So I bought me a pair of horseshoes and a couple of stakes, put ‘em outside and started throwing,” Walters said.
“That was a couple of years before I joined the (NHPA).”
Walter said things just kind of took off once he joined the national organization.
“Once you join, they send you a schedule of tournaments, and every weekend here in Indiana there’s a tournament somewhere in the summer, and sometimes there’s two; one down south and the other up north here. And in the winter they throw indoors, at Columbia City, Stroh, Kokomo, Shelby, so in the wintertime you can pitch, too. And they have leagues in the winter, too, just like in the summer.
“The people who run the tournament keep your ringer percentage, and send all that information to California, where they put it on the internet. To pitch in the state tournament, in September every year, you have to pitch in three tournaments, and you pitch against people with similar ringer percentages as you.
“To pitch in the world tournament, you have to pitch in four tournaments.”
Walters so enjoys the game, he has an indoor pit in a pole barn behind his house. He said in the winter he has to heat the shoes every 20 throws or so.
He said a side benefit of the game is the exercise. Each shoe weights about 2-1/2 pounds, and in a tournament a contestant will throw about 200 times, not counting warmups and practice.
Walters said he’s tried his hand at other lifetime sports, but he simply likes pitching more.
“I tried golf, and you know I just could not do it,” he said. “I got so aggravated I had to quit, probably like a lot of other people do.
“For years I bowled, but it got that I had bowled for so many years that I just went to horseshoes. This is what I like the most.”
Walters and his wife, Rose, have gone to tournaments more often than they can remember, and have lost count of the number of places they’ve visited.
“Every year when you go to the world tournament, you see people you met the year before,” he said. “Sometimes I’ve pitched against another guy from Indiana, only hundreds of miles away from home.”
The couple estimates they’ve been in tournaments in well over half the states, and one memorable tournament in Canada where it snowed in July.
“That was a great trip to Red Deer, Alberta. The snowflakes must have been at least that big,” Rose said while holding her hands in a circle about the size of a canning jar lid.
“We’ve met so many wonderful people, and we look forward to going every year. Three years ago, I went to the tournament in Topeka, Kan., against my doctor’s advice. I was never so glad to see a horseshoe pit in my life,” she said.
While conceding he’s throwing a shorter distance these days, down from 40 to 30 feet, Walters has no plans to retire from the sport anytime soon.
“It’s something I like, and I want to keep doing as long as I can.”
The NHPA Hall of Fame is in Wentzville, Mo., near St. Louis. For more information visit horseshoepitching.com
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