It’s a
Ringer
Dormont Horseshoe Club
continues to draw members
and looks toward the future.
By Paul Glasser
“I made a lot of friends there
with guys I normally wouldn’t
hang out with. It’s a great way for
people to get together for some
nice wholesome fun.”
N
ostalgia and an infusion of new members could help keep
the Dormont Horseshoe Club alive for decades.
“As long as the pits are there, there will be people who
throw shoes,” says David Hamilton, the club’s treasurer.
The club was founded in the 1950s and several members
have gone on to become state and world horseshoe champions,
including, most recently, Cindy Hoffman. The club meets at 6:30
p.m. every Thursday at the horseshoe pits on Banksville Road
from May to September. The weekly fees are $5 and every third
week the club offers free hot dogs. On September 11, the club will
host a single-elimination tournament for individual players.
Attendance has increased in recent years to about 25 or 30
players each week. Hamilton joined five years ago because he
was curious after driving by the pits for years. As a child, he also
remembered his father playing horseshoes and wanted to carry
on the tradition. At first he was intimidated because he thought
the club was full of experienced players, but found out that the
members had many different skill levels. Players are part of a team
at the Thursday night meetings and switch partners frequently.
“It’s a great way to meet people,” Hamilton notes. “I made a lot
of friends there with guys I normally wouldn’t hang out with. It’s
a great way for people to get together for some nice wholesome
fun.”
The club is very welcoming and its motto is, “Our shoes fit
everyone.” Hamilton says players of any skill level are encouraged
to participate. The standard throwing distance is 60 feet, but
younger or older players can throw from 40 feet.
“Anyone can do it,” he adds. “We had a guy last year who would
go up and back with his walker.”
The club recently recruited a teenager, and Hamilton
hopes nostalgia will fuel revived interest in the
game.
“It’s cool to play again, just like Pabst
Blue Ribbon is popular to drink
again,” he laughs.
The club provides shoes and
maintains the pits, although
members can buy their own
shoes to use in tournaments.
There are a number of
different pitching styles—
some players flip the shoes
end-over-end while others
prefer to throw sidearm or
at an angle.
“It just depends on
what’s comfortable for
you,” Hamilton explains.
Members travel
throughout the state and
across the country to play in
tournaments, including as far
away as Utah. The best players,
who hit the peg 80 percent of the time
or better, are known as “ringers” and they
can win trophies and cash prizes.
More experienced players serve as mentors to
less experienced members. “The only skill required is
being able to throw a shoe,” Hamilton says. n
For more information, visit http://www.wphpa.com/dormont.html.
Keystone Oaks | Fall 2017 | icmags.com 11