Two men received the honor of being inducted into the Indiana Horseshoe Pitchers Association Hall of Fame on Saturday for their successes on and off the courts.
Crowds gathered before the association meeting on Saturday to honor two Hoosiers that excelled in the sport of horseshoe pitching, Sam Payne and Bob Logan. Payne will join Curt Day, 1969, Hal Brown, 1978, Nelson Pickering, 1979, Ed Sharp, 1982, Paul Day, 1983, Helen Gunyon, 1986, and Max Gunyon, 1999, as a Clinton County member of the Indiana State Hall of Fame.
Payne, Association President, received the honor of being inducted into the Hall of Fame on Saturday for his dedication to the sport, efforts to grow the association and successes in cultivating a family through pitching horseshoes. Payne began his career 20 years ago with the association and has served as the president for six years. Payne achieved a 40% game pitch in 1978, Class Champion, Two in 2001 and 2004 and Class Champion, Three in 2011.
Payne has acted as a driving force in maintaining the Curt Day Horseshoe Courts at Dorner Park and has pitched numerous ideas to integrate new generations of horseshoe pitchers throughout the past two decades. According to Hall of Fame Chairman Chuck Wothke, Payne was not notified of his upcoming induction into the Hall of Fame, causing emotions to rise as Payne was announced as the newest member from Clinton County.
“I am surprised and honored,” Payne said. “The plaques on the (Hall of Fame) wall are people that I pitched with as a young man. To go on that wall with them is unreal. It was a big surprise.”
Five-time Elder Division State Champion Bob Logan received the honor of being inducted into the Hall of Fame on Saturday posthumously, and the award was accepted by his sons, Doug and Dave Logan. Bob Logan was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois before relocating to Crown Point, Indiana with his wife, Carol Logan. Bob Logan was an avid pitcher who began his career in his 70’s after being asked to join a team for a county fair in Montana where he placed second in the event. Throughout his career, he began forming close-knit bonds with horseshoe pitchers across the state, including many notable members of the association in Clinton County.
Bob Logan’s participation in the Montana event reignited his love for pitching horseshoes and sparked his career where he traveled to tournaments throughout the United States and Canada, securing five Indiana State Championship titles in 1998, 1999, 2001, 2006 and 2007 with an average of over 70% ringers throughout his career. Bob Logan continued his dominant run in the sport by ranging between 74% and 82% ringers during his three victorious World Championships in 1998, 2000 and 2002. Doug Logan stated that one of the most standout accomplishments of Bob Logan was his victory against National Hall of Famer Alan Francis in a 150-shoe game with a score of 40 to 38.
“When I think about dad and horseshoe pitching, I just marvel at the fact that he picked horseshoe pitching up in his 70s,” Doug Logan said. “He always challenged himself to be the best that he could be. In that manner, he also challenged whoever his opponent was because they better be the best they can be when they were pitching against Bob Logan or they were going to get dusted off.”
Bob Logan passed away in 2021 and was honored posthumously.
“When you watch these horseshoe pitchers competing, you realize what a tight fraternity this is,” Doug Logan said. “Everybody is like family, and you can oftentimes be highly regarded from a distance, but when you’re honored by your own family, it makes it extra special, and I’m sure dad would feel incredibly humbled and very proud if he were here today.”
Wothke stated that the Hall of Fame recognizes accomplishments, membership and dedication, and he stated that Bob Logan and Payne surpassed the basic qualifications for the award.
“Bob was just a phenomenal guy, and he’d work with you,” Wothke said. “Same thing with Sam. Sam’s very humble as you could see. It is well deserved. He has done a fantastic job down here, and he’s running our presidency the best he can do.”
Payne’s Hall of Fame plaque will be displayed in the clubhouse at the Curt Day Horseshoe Courts at Dorner Park.