On this day in 1910, the first horseshoe pitching tournament was held in Bronson, Kansas. Things were a little different in those days of horseshoes, the stakes were only 2 inches high, ringers counted as five points, leaners three and close shoes were one. The stakes were 38 feet apart.

The winner of the first, open to the world, horseshoe pitching contest was Frank Jackson who was able to throw a ringer almost every time he threw a shoe. He was so good he could lay one ringer right on top of the other, considering the stakes were only 2 inches high, he was quite good.

Players played by numbers from 1 until every man was picked and played until there was a winner. Games were 21 points, as they are today, but the horseshoes were not regulated. Jackson had his specially made with two bends on the shoes to make the slide better in the sand and help him slide ringers on. The bend is like the one seen today at the tip of horseshoes.

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