National Mid-Winter Pistol Championships
Tampa, Florida

Mid-Winter Pistol Matches Open Today

The annual National Mid-Winter Pistol Championships get underway this moring at the Tampa Police Pistol Range with more than 500 shooters expected to take part in the four-day program.

Top teams from all the armed services are expected to be here. Among the top stars are Sgt. 1.C. William Blankenship of Ft. Benning, Ga., the national champion; Lucy Chambliss, Winter Haven, national women's champion, Sgt. 1.C. Sam Hunter of Ft. Benning, U.S. slow fire champion; Marine Capt. Bill McMillan, a former Olympic shooter, and Air Force Capt. Ed Smith, a surprise winner in the Dixie matches at Jacksonville last week.

Competitors will shoot three weapons, .22 cal., .45 cal. and center fire, of any caliber of .38 or larger including .45. There is a 900-point aggregate for each weapon in four separate matches. Team matches will also be held.

In addition to the Army pistol team from Ft. Benning, the Air Force team from Lackland and the Marines from Quantico will also be here.

Most of today's shooting will be in the nature of practice though trophies will be awarded. However, scores will not count toward the meet championship.

The schedule for the rest of the week finds .22 cal. shooting tomorrow, center fire Thursday, .45 cal. Friday and team matches Saturday.

The range is located at 1801 W. Diana, north of Hillsborough and west of Rome.

The Tampa Tribune, Tampa Florida, Tuesday, March 13, 1962, Page 1C

Retford, Smith And Stentel Post Prelim Wins in Pistol Shoot

By LEE LA COME

Tribune Sports Correspondent

After three preliminary events yesterday, firing begins in earnest at the Tampa Police Pistol Range this morning in the race for individual honors in the 31st edition of the National Mid-Winter Pistol Championships.

Bill Blankenship, national pistol champion and member of the United States Army marksmanship training unit, with home station at Fort Benning, Ga., is back in an attempt to win the individual crown for the third consecutive year and continue the Army domination of this title. Only the fabulous Joe Benner, now an instructor at the U.S. Military Academy and Harry Reeves of the Detroit Police Department have ever won three consecutive Mid-Winter championships.

Five-hundred of the nation's best service, civilian and police shooters have entered the 1962 matches. They will shoot .22 caliber today, Center-Fire weapons (.38 caliber or larger) tomorrow and .45 caliber pistols Friday which ends the individual portion of the matches.

Yesterday there were three individual events in preparation for today's opening.

Everett R. Retford, U.S.M.C., won the first one - fired with the .22 caliber over the National Match Course - with a 297-9x out of a possible 300. His 9x was one better that runnerup Lowell T. Cassidy, U.S.M.C., who also had a 297. The x-ring is a smaller circle within the bulls-eye used to break ties.

Norman Doherty of St. Petersburg, was High Civilian Expert with 283-9x and B. J. Barnett of Tallahassee won the Expert Police category with 287-4x.

Match 2 was fired over the same course with Center Fire weapons.

Thomas D. Smith, who won the Dixie Championships at Jacksonville last week, won handily with a 297-13x. His nearest competitor was Arthur Ogden, USAMTU, who had a 295-15x.

William U. Jones, USAF, of Tampa was second in the Expert Class service division with 280-8x. Llewellyn Bennett, Ocala, was first in Police category of the Expert Class with 283-4x, and Wade A. Dix garnered in the Civilian category in the same class with 281-8x.

Richard F. Stentel, Army, Ft. Sam Houston, won the third event with a 296-12x score.

The Tampa Tribune, Tampa, Florida, Wednesday, March 14, 1962, Page 1C

Army and Air Force Pistol Shooters Split In .22 Caliber Matches

By LEE LA COMBE

Tribune Sports Correspondent

Army and Air Force shooters divided honors in the first pair of matches at the National Mid-Winter Pistol Championships yesterday, as the 31st annual event got underway with 500 of the country's best pistol shots on the firing line.

All firing was done with the .22 caliber pistol.

The first match, 20 shots, slow fire, at 50 yards, was won by William H. Mellon, Lackland, Air Force Base, Tex., with a 196-6x. Gasper Defino, U.S. Navy from Mullington, Tenn., was runnerup with 195-6x.

James W. Kurtz, U.S. Army Marksmanship Training Unit, Fort Benning, Ba., wrapped up the second event - the National Match Course, a 30-shot affair - with a sterling 298-17x effort. It was barely enough to win however as Leonard Ross of the 3rd Army Marksmanship Unit, Fort Benning, Ga., banged out an identical score, but was placed second on the basis of a lower effort in his final rapid fire string.

Gusty winds and dull, over-cast skies did not seem to hamper shooters as winning scores were on par with past performances.

Defending mid-winter champion Sgt. 1.C. William Blankenship, USAMTU, Fort Benning, was sixth in the first match with a 194-6x score and did not place in the top 13 in the second match.

Third spot in the Slow Fire match went to William Armstrong, U.S. Army, from Fort Sam Houston, Tex., and Thomas D. Smith, USAF, won the show spot in the National Match Course.

Norman Doherty, St. Petersburg, won first place in the Civilian category, Expert Class, in both matches. He took the first with 192-4x and the latter with 290-13x.

Wayne S. Rogers, a policeman from Winter Haven, won first place in the National Match Course in that category in the Sharpshooter Class with 276-10x.

The Tampa Tribune, Tampa, Florida, Thursday, March 15, 1962, Page 1D

Blankenship Holds Slim Lead in Pistol Matches

By LEE LA COMBE

Tribune Sports Correspondent

Sgt. 1.C. Bill Blankenship took a giant stride towards hi third consecutive Mid-Winter Pistol championship here yesterday when he won the center fire aggregate with a core of 882-48x out of a possible 900 points.

The total combined with his .22 caliber score from Wednesday gave him 1769-88x points and a nine-point lead over second-place Sgt. Floyd Thomson, a teammate from the U.S. Army Marksmanship Training Unit at Ft. Benning, Ga.

Thomson was also second in the center fire aggregate with a four-match total of 877-37x.

In the four fired matches yesterday Sgt 1.C. Sam Hunter, USAMTU, Ft. Benning, Ga., captured the slow fire event with 196 out of 200. Frank Kwas from MacDill AFB, Tampa, took the National Match Course with 297x300. Thomas Smith, USAF, Lackland AFB, Tex., won to honors in the timed fire match with 200-14x and Blankenship copped the final shooting event - rapid fire - with 199-13x.

All matches yesterday were fired with 38 caliber of larger pistols.

The 31st Mid Winter matches windup today with firing of 45 caliber pistols and team matches are slated for tomorrow.

Wesley R. Newell, also of MacDill AFB grabbed first place in the expert class, service division, in the Slow Fire Match with 181 and eighth spot in the National Match Course with 277x300.

Norman Doherty, St. Petersburg, continued to dominate the civilian category of teh expert class as he took two first places with a 186 in slow fire and 278 over the course.

A 17-year old youngster from Zephyrhills, Fla., Harry L. Thain also pocketed two first place awards. He won both matches in the marksman class, civilian category with scores of 163 and 258. Thian, a senior at Zephyrills High School has been firing in competition for only four months and became interested through his father William who at one time shot on the 71st Infantry rifle team in the National Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio.

The Tampa Tribune, Tampa, Florida, Friday, March 16, 1962, Page 1C

Blankenship Nears Third Pistol Title

By LEE LACOMBE

Tribune Sports Correspondent

Although results are unofficial, it appears Sgt/1-C William Blankenship has captured his third straight national mid-winter pistol title at the Tampa police pistol range.

He posted an 874 out of a possible 900 in the .45 caliber matches yesterday for a three-gun aggregate score of 2,643 out of a possible 2,700 points.

Army hand gun experts won the first pair of fired events. John Lingle, Third Army AMU of Ft. Benning, Ga., took the national match course with 294-15x and Capt. Cecil Wallis, U.S. Army Marksman Training Unit of Ft. Benning, a teammate of Blankenship, snapped up the slow fire match with 191-7x.

Rexford Baker, an Army man from Ft. Bragg, N.C., was runnerup to Wallis with 191-6x.

Herbert Roberts, USAMTU, Ft. Benning, placed second behind Lingle with 294-14x.

Van Burnette, Winter Haven, placed first in the civilian category in the expert class in the national match course with 267-4x. Jack Cole, Sanibel, won top prize in the same category of the NMC in the marksman class with 258-2x.

The shoot ends with the team event today.

Blankenship will become only the third man ever to win three straight mid-winter titles. The other two were Sgt. Maj. Joe Benner, now a weapons instructor at the Military Academy, and Detroit Police Lieut. Harry Reeves.

The Tampa Tribune, Tampa, Florida, Saturday, March 17, 1962, Page 1C

Army, Air Force Divide Pistol Match Victories

By LEE LACOMBE

Tribune Sports Correspondent

Two strong service squads, the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force, divided honors in the pistol team matches yesterday at the 31st National Mid-Winter Pistol Championship closed.

The "Men in Blue," from Lackland Air Force Base, started the day off as if they were going to shoot everyone else off the range as they grabbed the first two matches fired.

Led by Dixie champion Thomas Smith, the four-man team slammed out an 1169 out of 1200 points to take the 22 caliber championship and 1156 out of 1200 to win the center fire match.

But, the U.S. Army Blue squad buckled down and grabbed the final pair of events. It hung up the 45 caliber match with a four-man total of 1156x1200 and added the 45 caliber "hard ball" event with 1142. The last event was fired with service ammunition.

With Smith on the winning USAF squad were Franklin Gree, Bill Mellon and E. L. Teague.

Army Shooters

Members of the winning squad in the 45 caliber match were Sfc. Bill Blankenship, who Friday garnered the 1962 individual Mid-Winter title, Sgt. Fred Thomson, Sgt. George Snavely and Sfc. Sam Hunter.

Snavely and Hunter also were on the winning hard ball quartet. Firing with them were Sgt. Arthur Ogen and Capt. Clyde Metts.

Two of yesterday's matches were decided by x-ring shots, or one point, as shooters strained to bring in the championships.

In the center fire event, the U.S. Army Red Squad was second with 1155 - a single point behind the winning USAF score.

In the regular 45 caliber match, Fourth Army Caissons tied U.S. Army Blue with 1142 points but lost the match by two x-ring shots. The Blue quartet had 39 in the smaller, tie breaking ring while the Caissons posted 37.

The Tampa Police did well for themselves, taking first place in their category in the Master Class in the Hard Ball match. Firing members were H. W. Barney, Henry Huerta, Bruck Curnick and J. R. Miller. They posted a team score of 1019. They also snagged a pair of second place awards in their category in the master class in the 22 caliber and center fire matches. They fired an 1116 in the former and 1102 in the latter.

There were a total of 78 teams entered the first three team maches and 66 entered the Hard Ball event.

The Tampa Tribune, Tampa, Florida, Sunday, March 18, 1962, Page 3C