Maquoketa Man World Champion

HENTON

Posted By: Anne Hermann (email)
Date: 4/17/2009 at 10:06:46

Maquoketa Sentinel-Press
August 6, 1986

Henton repeats as world champion

“I taught a few more people how to pronounce Maquoketa, Glen “Red” Henton said Sunday evening after returning from the World Horseshoe Tournament at Ainsworth, Nebraska with his second straight championship trophy in the intermediate division.

Henton was competing in his 25th World Tournament, the first 23 being in the class A section. Last year he entered the intermediate division and won the world championship, a crown he successfully defended last week.

“It was a very successful mission. All the practice in the hot sun this summer really paid off,” Henton said.

“I didn’t win the world championship. All of Maquoketa won it,” Henton graciously added.

There were 48 entered in the intermediate division. The competition was divided into six groups of eight for the preliminary round. Henton went 7-0 in the preliminary round and advanced to the finals. The finals consisted of 13 players with the top ringer percentage in the preliminary round.

A thrower from California beat Henton in the second game of Thursday night’s competition. Henton went into the Friday showdown, tied for first place with two others at 5-1.

Friday night he rose to the occasion and won all five matches to claim the big trophy.

He defeated a pitcher from Ohio (last name Carnahan) in the final match by the score of 40-27. During the match he threw 13 straight double ringers, then missed one and followed with eight more double ringers in a row!

“The pressure was really on and I had about as much as I could take. I was sitting at 34 when Carnahan missed on both of his shoes. I saw the opening and threw two ringers to win the match,” Henton recalls.

Henton was not entirely satisfied with his ringer percentage. He had hoped to shoot a little better than the 72 per cent of last year which was an intermediate division record for the 11 games in the finals. His percentage this year was almost identical.

“The wind blows pretty hard in the western states and it caused me some trouble.” Henton pointed out.

That was the only compliant about Ainsworth, Nebraska, a town of 2800 which undertook hosting a world tournament.

“The people there were just fantastic,” Henton explained.

He will not defend his intermediate division championship next year as he will move into the seniors division for the tournament in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

The class A section of the World Tournament was won by Mark Siebold of Indiana but the runner-up was 24 year old Kevin Cone of Alta, Iowa.

Cone is also “part of Maquoketa” as he married Maquoketan Cindy Coons. He appeared in a horseshoe exhibition in Maquoketa in May, 1985.

Cone shared an honor at the world tournament with Siebold for having a ringer percentage of 97.6 in the finals.

Walter “Deadeye” Williams of California was third; Alvin Perry of Virginia placed fourth; and fifth place went to Jim Knisley of Ohio.

Cone and Henton will meet head to head very soon.

Henton is entered in the Legends of Horseshoe at the Dubuque Country Fair on Sunday, August 10, where Cone may also appear. If they don’t meet at Dubuque, an exhibition is scheduled between the two standouts prior to the state competition at Iowa State Fair in Des Moines on Saturday, August 23. Both will battle for the Iowa state championship a day later at the same site.

Henton announced a “Tournament of Champions” slated for the Maquoketa courts at the Jackson County Fairgrounds on Sunday, September 14. Championship pitchers from all over the country will be in the competition.