`SHOOTING
1889-1892: American Shooting Association
1892-1919: Interstate Trapshooting Association
1916-1919: American Amateur Trapshooting Association
1919-1923: American Trapshooting Association
1923-present: Amateur Trapshooting Association
1831: Evidence shows that trapshooting was first contested in this county at the
Sportsmen's Club of Cincinnati, OH. They probably used Passenger Pigeons or
Sparrows for targets.
1840: New York Sportsman's Club held its first trapshooting competition.
1866: Charles Portlock of Boston, MA introduced the glass target ball from England.
Glass ball matches were held during the remainder of the 19th century. Great glass ball
shooters such as Capt. Bogardus, Doc Carver, Ira Paine, and Annie Oakley continued to
set glass ball records in exhibitions and matches.
1868 Fred Kimble of Knoxville, IL invented the choke bore shotgun. Perhaps the most
important shotgun invention of all time.
1880 Invention of the clay target by George Ligowsky of Cincinnati, Ohio. He would
introduce the target at the conclusion of the New York State Shoot at Coney Island to a
group of shooters. It became an instant success. He contracted Capt. Adam Bogardus
and Doc Carver to tour the country in a series of matches using Ligowsky targets.
Carver had made a name for himself as a rifle shooter but remarkably, Carver won 22 of
the 25 matches over the great Bogardus. This had to humiliate Bogardus. Ligowsky
was also instrumental in the staging of the first national trapshoot in New Orleans in
1885. All the great shots attended including Rolla Heikes, Bogardus, Carver and J. A. R.
Elliott. Doc Carver won the event.
1884: About 1884, Fred Kimble invented the composition clay target. He was very
unhappy with the hardness of the Ligowsky target made from baked clay. Kimble and a
partner, Charlie Stock developed the first composition type target which was not all clay.
Unlike the Ligowsky target, It broke when hit. It was called the Peoria Black Bird. It was
made of coal-tar, pitch and other ingredients and was shiny black in color. They also
made a trap to throw this target.
1889 The first trapshooting association, organized in 1889, was the American Shooting
Association. They produced the first rule book. The first governing body was composed
of those employed by companies who produced trapshooting-related products. Among
them was L. C. Smith, founder of the famous gun company; Charles Tatham, owner of
the largest lead shot processing plant in the country; and Capt. A. W. DuBray of the
Parker Gun Co. In 1892 with more gun and powder related companies joining the fold,
the association produced a name change to the Interstate Manufacturer's and Dealers’
Association. In plain language, the American Shooting Association went out of
business.
1892: The Interstate Manufacturer's and Dealers’ Association was organized. In 1895,
the name was shortened to The Interstate Association. This organization was made up
of the gun and powder company manufacturers (professionals) for the "encouragement
of trapshooting". Their headquarters was Pittsburgh, PA. Elmer Shaner was the
manager of this association every year until they became the American Trapshooting
Association in 1919. The new headquarters was moved from Pittsburgh to New York.
Shaner did not want to relocate so he retired. However, he did become president of the
new association in 1921. He gave the opening address for the new ATA at the Grand
American from 1923 to 1937. He missed his first Grand in 1938 and died the following
year.
1893: First Grand American at live birds (lasted 10 years to 1902). It was held in Dexter
Park in Long Island, NY on April 5, 1893. The shoot attracted 24 shooters with R. A.
Welch winning with a 23x25.. All ten of these tournaments were managed by Elmer
Shaner of Pennsylvania.
1900: First Grand American at clay targets held at Interstate Park in New York City from
June 12-15. Again, managed by Elmer Shaner of Pennsylvania. Shaner would manage
the first 19 Grand American tournaments until the formation of the American
Trapshooting Association in 1919. The first GAH was won by Rolla "Pop" Heikes of
Dayton, Ohio. There were 74 entries.
1901: Second Grand American held at Interstate Park, NY.
1902 Third Grand American held at Interstate Park, NY.
1903: Fourth Grand American held at Elliott's Blue River Shooting Park in Kansas City,
MO
1904: Fifth Grand American held in Indianapolis, IN.
1905 First New York Athletic Club (NYAC) tournament.
1905: Sixth Grand American held in Indianapolis, IN.
1906: Seventh Grand American held in Indianapolis, IN.
1907: First Westy Hogans Tournament held at Young's Pier in Atlantic City, NJ
1907: Eighth Grand American held at the Chicago Gun Club in Chicago, IL.
1908: Ninth Grand American held at Columbus, Ohio.
1909: Tenth Grand American held at the Chicago Gun Club in Chicago, IL.
1910: Eleventh Grand American again held at the Chicago Gun Club in Chicago, IL.
1911: Doubles targets were introduced for the first time. Allen Heil of Allentown, PA led
the nation in doubles averages in 1911 & 1912. Mark Arie won the first Doubles
Championship at the Grand American in 1912, breaking 89x100.
1911: Twelfth Grand American held at Columbus, OH.
1912: Thirteenth Grand American held at Springfield, IL.
1913: Fourteenth Grand American held at Dayton, OH.
1914: The first official average book published.
1914: Fifteenth Grand American held at Dayton, OH held at the National Cash Register
Club.
1915: Sixteenth Grand American held at the downtown Grand Park, in Chicago, IL.
1916: Seventeenth Grand American held at St. Louis, MO.
1915: The American Amateur Trapshooting Association (AATA, 1916-1919) formed on
December 23, 1915 with John Philip Sousa as president. This was the first attempt to
have a national organization organized and run by amateurs. Sousa would serve as
president again in 1918. This new association was the first attempt at amateur control
and did not replace any other organization. It co-existed at the time with the Interstate
Trapshooting Association.
1917: Eighteenth Grand American held at the South Shore Country Club in Chicago, IL.
1918: Nineteenth Grand American held at the South Shore Country Club in Chicago, IL.
1919: The American Trapshooting Association (ATA, 1919-1923) was formed and
replaced the Interstate Trapshooting Association. The offices were moved to New York
from Pittsburgh. It was this association that designed the ATA logo much as it appears
today.
1919: The AATA was disbanded and absorbed by the newly formed American
Trapshooting Association.
1919: Twentieth Grand American held at the South Shore Country Club in Chicago, IL.
1920: Twenty-first Grand American held at the Edgewater Park in Cleveland, OH.
1921: Twenty-second Grand American held at the South Shore Country Club in
Chicago, IL.
1922: Twenty-third Grand American held at Atlantic City, NJ
1923: The Amateur Trapshooting Association (ATA, 1923-present) was organized to
replace the American Trapshooting Association. For the first time, trapshooting was run
and organized by amateurs. The first Grand American under this new association was
in Chicago, the final year it would moved yearly.
1923: Twenty-fourth Grand American held at the South Shore Country Club in Chicago,
IL.
1924: The new home grounds of the ATA was established at Vandalia, Ohio. The
twenty-fifth Grand American was held at the new home grounds. There were 16
trapfields. They continue there to this day. George McCarty, living in New Jersey at the
time, was the driving force for the development of the new home grounds. He became
the second president of the new ATA.
1924: First T. C. Marshall Marathon at Yorklyn, DE. Eventually replaced the ATA Eastern
Zone shoots until 1948.
1925: Steve Crothers breaks the first 200 straight in singles at any Grand American.
Annie Oakley pays a visit to the Grand American and, according to Jimmy Robinson,
breaks a 97. However, the ATA has no record that she ever shot at the Grand that year.
She would die the following year. It was this year that the ATA had the option to
purchase the old Annie Oakley homestead and move it to the ATA home grounds for an
Annie Oakley museum. Somehow, shrouded by time, they never acted. The home was
razed years later, never to be seen again.
1932: John Philip Sousa dies at age 77, after conducting a rehearsal of the famous
Ringgold Band in Reading, Pennsylvania. As fate would have it, the last piece he
conducted was "The Stars and Stripes Forever".
1968: ATA Hall of Fame established.
1969: Fifteen inducted in the Hall of Fame on August 19, 1969.
1978: Reggie Jachimowski of Antioch, IL was the first shooter to win the Grand
American from 27 yards, winning with a 100x100.
1999: The 100th Grand American held at the ATA homegrounds in Vandalia, Ohio. Five
thousand (5,000) shot the Grand American Handicap.
2004: ATA announces move to Sparta, Illinois for the 2006 Grand American. The 2005
Grand American will be the last at Vandalia.