BOB GRAHAM

Bob Graham was inducted into the THPA Hall of Fame in 1975 becoming the 5th Member to be inducted. No other individual has influenced Texas Horseshoe Pitching more so than Bob Graham. A true horseshoe pitching legend, he left his indelible mark on the sport both on and off the courts.

A star athlete in college, Graham was awarded a baseball scholarship at Texas A&M University. He later went on to play professional baseball, being signed as the first-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He played in the same league as Mickey Mantle, and actually hit more home runs in his rookie season than Mantle did the year before. Forsaking a professional baseball career, Graham joined the Navy, where he was All-Navy three years.

Baseball's loss turned out to be Horseshoe Pitching's gain. A keen student and an artful master of the game, Graham's pitching prowess firmly clinched him a spot on the short list as one of the best ever. 

A three-time Texas State Champion, Graham won his first title way back in 1971. The championship was his again in 1976, and then, incredibly, he recaptured the crown 19 years later, in 1995. Additionally, he won eight (8) second-place State Championships. He also holds the record for the all-time highest ringer percentage for a Texas State Championship Tournament at 81.5%. Another amazing feat is that he pitched in well over 2,000 Class A Games in his career, winning more than 1,500 of them. Graham pitched in seventeen (17) World Championships, including nine finals. Further adding to his pitching accolades, Graham was a two-time National Senior Olympics Champion, with a combined record of 27-1, including a perfect game. 

In the "Front Office," Graham was a real mover and shaker of the Texas Horseshoe Pitchers Association, and helped mold the THPA to what it is today. Graham, a member of the THPA for more than forty-four (44) years, was a major figure in its organizational history. A talented and inspirational leader, he served as THPA President for eight years. He also served as Vice President, Editor, and NHPA Officer. A gifted visionary, he was the founder of the Ringer Newsletter and the THPA Hall of Fame. It was Graham who, realizing the NHPA had no Chaplain at the time, successfully sought to have Reverend Marvin Burgess installed as our organization's first official Chaplain. 

Throughout his long, illustrative career, Graham was featured in numerous newspaper and magazine articles, such as the Houston Chronicle, and "Texas," as well as in the book, "All You Have To Do Is Come Close," by R. O. Brotherton.