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Trapshooting Hall of Fame's move reflects decline of sport in area

The Trapshooting Hall of Fame, located on National Road since 1969, will soon be leaving Vandalia, and its contents will be mothballed until a new home can be found in Sparta, Ill., where the Amateur Trapshooting Association holds its Grand American. Contributed photo

Contributed by Amateur Trapshoot The Trapshooting Hall of Fame, located on National Road since 1969, will soon be leaving Vandalia, and its contents will be mothballed until a new home can be found in Sparta, Ill., where the Amateur Trapshooting Association holds its Grand American. Contributed photo

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By Jim Morris, Staff Writer 8:45 PM Saturday, September 26, 2009

VANDALIA — Slowly, the presence of the Amateur Trapshooting Association is fading away from its once longtime home.

First, it was the Grand American, the ATA’s annual championship tournament held between U.S. 40 and the Dayton International Airport from 1924 through 2005. It has been held at the World Shooting Complex in Sparta, Ill., annually since 2006.

When you drive along National Road, almost all traces of what was the greatest shooting event in the world are pretty much gone, save the long brick headquarters building and a few outbuildings.

Soon, the Trapshooting Hall of Fame will move out of its home at 601 West National Road, where it has been since it was established in 1969. There is no plan to move the ATA offices at this time.

The many artifacts — including the plaques of the enshrinees like Annie Oakley and John Philip Sousa — guns, equipment, clothing and countless other items are being put in mothballs to be preserved until a new building in Sparta can be established.

“Our board has voted to move the Hall of Fame to accompany the Grand,” said Jim Bradford of Nebraska, ATA Hall of Fame committee chairman. “We will first raise the money and then put up a really nice building just east of the main building at the World Shooting Complex.”

Bradford said the committee hopes to have the new Hall established by the 2012 Grand American.

Ohio made a pitch to the committee at the Grand last month, hoping to have the Hall of Fame move to the new Cardinal Center shooting grounds in Marengo, just outside of Columbus. In fact, Cardinal Center owner Jack Fishburn offered to donate the land, and the Ohio State Trapshooting Association offered $100,000 to get the project rolling.

“We were very appreciative of what the Ohio folks were offering,” Bradford said. “We considered their offer, but in the end we decided we wanted the Hall of Fame to stay with the Grand.”

Losing the Trapshooting Hall of Fame is not a great economic blow to the Miami Valley, certainly nothing like losing the Grand American, which had an annual economic impact estimated between $10 million and $20 million.

Bradford estimated only 50 or 60 people have stopped at the Hall each year since the Grand left.

“The only time people ever went through the Hall of Fame in significant numbers was during the Grand or the Ohio State Tournament,” Bradford said. “Now we have a few people stop every now and then, mostly to do some research.”

But losing the Trapshooting Hall of Fame isn’t just about economic impact. It’s one small link to a past that once provided the world’s largest shooting event and the only sporting championship ever held in the Dayton area each year.

Bradford said the reason the exhibits are being moved now, two years before the new Hall will be completed, is to preserve them. He said the committee doesn’t know what will become of the current building but fears it is not in good enough condition to withstand a fire or even a large storm that could destroy the irreplaceable artifacts.

It’s too bad to see another tiny piece of history be chipped away and shipped away from this area. Very few area residents have ever visited the Hall, and most people never knew or cared that it existed.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2409 or jmorris@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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