A pitcher catches on

Ron Deckard is a pitcher and a pitcher.

The 69-year-old Town 'N Country resident is a world champion at horseshoes - four years in a row. Deckard won the Senior Men Division World Horseshoe Pitching Championship and the Senior Men's Class A Championship on July 26 through Aug. 7 at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, adding to already impressive resume as an 11-time Florida State Men Horseshoe Pitching Champion.

These accomplishments, as well as the large trophy and $1,500 he earned, Deckard credits to his days as a fast-pitch softball hurler.

"My pitching helped my pitching later on," said Deckard, who is the 14th-ranked horseshoe pitcher in the nation and the second-ranked in Florida. "My windup and coming through (in softball) helped with horseshoes because I wasn't the fastest pitcher, but I could put it accurately over the plate.

"I never walked anybody, which means I could put it in any spot."

Deckard also points out many bowlers are also horseshoe pitchers, including the top horseshoer in the world. Called the greatest horseshoe pitcher ever, Alan Francis has a 90 percent pitching rate, meaning he hits a ringer, or a point, 9 out of 10 times.

Deckard's percentage rises and falls in the low to mid-70s. It was 71.07 percent during his championship run last month. That was 10 points higher than the runner-up, though it never used to be that way.

"I just couldn't get over that 50 percent mark," Deckard said. "It wasn't what it is now until about 2005, after many years of practice later."

Never a ringer

Deckard grew up in Elkinsville, Ind., a small town where residents did what most in the Midwest do during family gatherings: pitch horseshoes. Deckard learned the game from his dad but had no idea it was an organized sport until years later.

In 1964, while serving in the Air Force, he transferred to MacDill Air Force Base, where he met Gloria, his wife of 44 years and mother of his two children.

It wasn't until 1977 that Deckard read about the World Horseshoe Pitching Championship, won by Carl Steinfeldt. Deckard worked as a computer analyst for the Pinellas County government in Clearwater, and he joined Clearwater Horseshoe Club.

It wouldn't be until 1991 that horseshoes became an obsession. For three months, Deckard practiced daily, throwing more horseshoes than a blacksmith owns.

"He knew when he started that (40 percent to 50 percent) ringer level wasn't going to do any damage," said Chuck Johnston, president of the horseshoe club. "Back then, he was throwing 400 shoes a day to get better. It's why he's a very dedicated thrower and why he has 11 Florida state championships."

Deckard also became a sponge, soaking up every technique and tip. Turns out, pitching isn't much different from a golf swing, the motion and follow through being critical. Deckard throws the most commonly used 11/4 turn pitch, though there are a handful of others, a few of which he's mastered, as well.

"I've read every book in the world on horseshoes, and it comes down to the mental part of the game - it's the biggest part of the game," said Deckard, who doesn't golf. "But I keep my backswing slow and make my follow through smooth.

"There, it's like golf."

Serious competition

Horseshoe pitchers, when competing, walk up to the pit as friends.

They share jokes, slap backs, even compare photos of kids and grandkids. It's a camaraderie Deckard loves, but it ends as soon as the first horseshoe is tossed. The laughter and smiles fade, and the courts become eerily quiet.

Deckard may love to compete, but he knows it should be fun, too.

"I've learned a lot from Ron," said Jim Hayden, Deckard's longtime friend and doubles partner. They have won the Florida Men's Doubles State Championship 10 times, including this year. "He's willing to help anyone willing to throw a horseshoe. I'm not near the pitcher Ron is, but he wants everyone to become better."

"Every time we get a new member (at the horseshoe club), Ron goes out of his way to teach them everything he can," Johnston said. "That's the type of player he's always been."

Hayden and Johnston agree that Deckard's dedication and softball pitching, have led to his horseshoe success. They say it is Deckard's hand-eye coordination and release-point consistency that have earned him championships.

Two more consecutive championships and Deckard will break the record. He hopes they come before his ability deteriorates and requires a move to the 30-foot men's league.

"You really got to work your butt off to get to that top level," Deckard said. "I know everyone at (the top) level worked their butt off and practiced their heart out to get there. ... It's the challenge and competitiveness of it all, just like any other sport.

"I don't like to lose - and don't become a bad sport when I do lose - so that's why I'm always going to give it everything I've got. It's why, if I do break the record, why I broke the record."