Celeste Polak

Celeste Polak was inducted into the THPA Hall of Fame in 1997 becoming the 22nd Member to be inducted.

Perhaps the best-ever Girl Horseshoe Pitcher in Texas history, Celeste Polak dominated the scene from 1987 to 1992. During that span, she won the Texas State Girls Championship six consecutive years. That remarkable feat is a THPA record, as no other girl has won more than two state titles. In those six state tournaments she had an impressive combined won-loss record of 32-2.

In her last four years as State Champion, she was unbeatable at State, going 21-0, with ringer percentages each year above 60%, reaching a career high of 70% in 1990. Polak was also a three-time NHPA Junior Girls World Champion, and pitched in six World Tournaments. Along the way, she broke the following world horseshoe-pitching world records (which records still stand unless otherwise indicated):

1991:

High Ringer % for complete tournament, 7 games – 74.1%

1992:

High Ringer % Game in preliminaries – 88% 

High Ringer % for complete tournament, 10 games – 79.1% 

High Ringer % for one day – 82.2% 

Double Ringers in a 40 point game – 11.7 

High ringer percent between both players for a single game - 73.75% (set by Celeste and Crystal Curtis during one night of the tournament, but that record was broken on first game the last night of the tournament broken by Annie Cote and Heidi Sternberg who shot a combined average of 74.1%)

Consecutive “Four Deads” by both players for a single game – 3 (set by Celeste and Crystal Curtis and Celeste and Annie Cote; that record was tied by Celeste and Heidi Sternberg in 1993)

Highest Losing Ringer % - 69.2

Most Consecutive Ringers over single game – 24

Most Consecutive Ringers over 2 games - 32

Although not categorized as a world record, Celeste pitched 54 ringers out of 56 shoes over two games.