Flying Horseshoes Newsletter
Official publication of the Clinton County Horseshoe Club in Frankfort, Indiana
President Sam Payne * Vice President Frank Adams * Secretary-Treasurer Kenny Wolf
edited by Kenny Wolf
www.kennywolf.com/curtday.htm
Issue #4, June 2005 Special
Keeping Score on League Night with “Count All Points”
and keeping Score in a “Cancellation” Game
and keeping Score in a “Cancellation” Game
Going into the 3rd week of the Curt Day Horseshoe Courts season, on the
night of May 19th, I had a game average of 38.17 points after two weeks
or 6 games of pitching. With my inconsistency, anything can
happen when I’m out on the courts. In pitching 3 games on this
night, I had scores of 32, 56 and 25 points.
Listed below in this newsletter are the box scores of all three games, which happened to average out at 37.6 or a half point below my average. I will use these games for illustration to show how we keep a score sheet at the courts during league nights.
In the first inning I scored one point with one of the shoes for a total of one point in the frame. I missed everything but a worm with both shoes in the 2nd, so I still showed a 1 in the 2nd for Pts. In the 3rd, I had one shoe within 6” for one point and a total of 2 thru 3 frames. I was open in the 4th, one shoe scored in the 5th for 3 total points. I hit my first ringer in the 6th inning and the other shoe was close for one more point, giving me a total of 7 in the 6th. Open in the 7th with no points scored, one point in the 8th for 8 points and in the 9th, I hit a ringer and had a close shoe for 4 points, bringing my total up to 12 pts. One shoe went on in each of the innings of the 10th and 11th to get me to 18 points thru 11 innings.
I got one close shoe in the 12th and hit a ringer with one shoe in the 13th to bring me up to 22 points. In the 14th inning, I hit double ringers for 6 points and finished in the 15th inning with a ringer and a close shoe for a total final score of 32 points.
After 8 innings and 16 shoes pitched in the 1st game, I had 8 points, with one ringer and 5 close scoring shoes, In the last 7 innings or 14 shoes pitched, I got 24 points with 7 ringers and 3 close shoes.
In the 2nd game of the night, I hit my all time high game (in this my 2nd season of pitching in league) with 30 shoes and a score of 56 points, hitting 14 ringers for a percentage of 46%. In the first 8 innings or 16 shoes pitched, I scored 30 points on 10 ringers and 6 points on the other 6 shoes thrown. I scored on every shoe in the first 8 innings of the 2nd game. In the 9th and 10th innings, I scored one point with each shoe in each inning. In the 11th frame, I hit a ringer with one shoe and missed everything with the other shoe. In the 12th, I had a ringer 4 points, or a ringer and a close shoe. Each of my shoes scored a point each in the 13th and only one shoe scored in the 14th with 50 points total after this inning. I doubled in the 15th for a record high for me of 56 points.
In the 3rd game, I did everything I could to make up for the 2nd game. I threw a 25 points game. My average in league last year was around 31 points, at about 22% ringers.
Listed below in this newsletter are the box scores of all three games, which happened to average out at 37.6 or a half point below my average. I will use these games for illustration to show how we keep a score sheet at the courts during league nights.
In the first inning I scored one point with one of the shoes for a total of one point in the frame. I missed everything but a worm with both shoes in the 2nd, so I still showed a 1 in the 2nd for Pts. In the 3rd, I had one shoe within 6” for one point and a total of 2 thru 3 frames. I was open in the 4th, one shoe scored in the 5th for 3 total points. I hit my first ringer in the 6th inning and the other shoe was close for one more point, giving me a total of 7 in the 6th. Open in the 7th with no points scored, one point in the 8th for 8 points and in the 9th, I hit a ringer and had a close shoe for 4 points, bringing my total up to 12 pts. One shoe went on in each of the innings of the 10th and 11th to get me to 18 points thru 11 innings.
I got one close shoe in the 12th and hit a ringer with one shoe in the 13th to bring me up to 22 points. In the 14th inning, I hit double ringers for 6 points and finished in the 15th inning with a ringer and a close shoe for a total final score of 32 points.
After 8 innings and 16 shoes pitched in the 1st game, I had 8 points, with one ringer and 5 close scoring shoes, In the last 7 innings or 14 shoes pitched, I got 24 points with 7 ringers and 3 close shoes.
In the 2nd game of the night, I hit my all time high game (in this my 2nd season of pitching in league) with 30 shoes and a score of 56 points, hitting 14 ringers for a percentage of 46%. In the first 8 innings or 16 shoes pitched, I scored 30 points on 10 ringers and 6 points on the other 6 shoes thrown. I scored on every shoe in the first 8 innings of the 2nd game. In the 9th and 10th innings, I scored one point with each shoe in each inning. In the 11th frame, I hit a ringer with one shoe and missed everything with the other shoe. In the 12th, I had a ringer 4 points, or a ringer and a close shoe. Each of my shoes scored a point each in the 13th and only one shoe scored in the 14th with 50 points total after this inning. I doubled in the 15th for a record high for me of 56 points.
In the 3rd game, I did everything I could to make up for the 2nd game. I threw a 25 points game. My average in league last year was around 31 points, at about 22% ringers.
To quickly verify the final score in the box scores of a game, just add up all the 0’s (ringers) and multiply by 3 and then add to that number all the 1’s or single points. If it does not add up to the score put down in the last inning, then go through inning by inning adding again to see where the error was made. In my 3rd game below, there is one ringer each in the 3rd, 6th, 10th and 14th. 3 X 4 = 12; plus 13 single points for a total of 25 points.
Also, points can be added when the game is over, rather than during.
Cancellation Scoring Game: Curt Day vs. Ted Allen
On July 20, 1957, Curt Day was about 40 years old and still nine years away from winning his first World Championship in 1966. But on this day, he pitched against one of the all-time greats of horseshoe pitching when he faced Ted Allen of Boulder, Colorado. Ted Allen was at that time an eight times World Champion (he went on to win in 1957 and 1959). In 1955, he set a record that holds to this day; 72 consecutive ringers in a single World Championship Tournament game. He also had 72 in a row in 1948 at the end of one game and the beginning of another.
In a cancellation game, ringers cancel each other and it can be seen on the official scorecard to the right of that famous long game that whenever both pitchers had double ringers or “four dead” it was marked as XX on each pitchers column on the particular set of even numbered shoes. For example, Curt Day pitched two ringers on his first 2 shoes and Allen also hit two ringers. There was no score recorded after 2 shoes thrown. The columns read “Ringers”, “Points”, “Score”, “Shoes”, “Ringers”, “Points”, “Score”. These cards recorded 100 shoes thrown and it took two cards to record this classic game.
On the 4 Shoes line, an X is placed in Curt’s column meaning he had a ringer, but it didn’t count any points, because Ted Allen had two ringers indicated by an X canceling Curt’s only ringer and a O meaning his other ringer counted for 3 points. Note the points column on Ted’s side shows the 3 points and the Score column also shows 3 points for his total score at this time.
Curt Day scored his first 3 points on Allen on Curt’s 19th and 20th shoes by hitting two ringers to Ted’s one ringer. Up to this point Ted Allen had hit 18 ringers on his first 18 shoes thrown. Beginning with his 33rd shoe thrown (see line 34 in the “Shoes” column), Curt Day hit 17 consecutive double ringers or 34 ringers in a row. He only scored 12 points in this stretch, because Allen threw 30 ringers out of his 34 shoes. The game ended with Ted Allen beating Curt Day by a score of 50 to 49 after both men pitched 174 horseshoes and at that time set a record for the longest game ever pitched in a championship tournament game. They each had 155 ringers and 69 double ringers (138 of the ringers of each man was a part of a double ringer). Both men pitched an incredible 89% ringer percentage. Ted Allen won the game on close shoe points; two close shoes after 102 and 128 to Curt‘s one close shoe after 98 shoes pitched. Curt scored on 16 ringers that Ted did not cancel (double ringers after 106 when Ted pitched an open set) and Ted scored on 16 ringers that Curt did not cancel (double ringers after 168 shoes pitched when Curt pitched a pair of shoes that failed to score.) Cancellation scorecards have not changed much over time.
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