Ned Crossman- a "Parker man??""

[Francis Morin]

Last weeks "recon" yielded two copies of the National Sportsman magazine: June 1934 and January 1930- also the 1940 "Sportsman's Year Book"--Great articles by Wm. H. Foster on both grouse shooting and also skeet, pheasant hunting by Capt. Paul A. Curtis, and Ned Crossman's gun columns. I assume this is Ned, they are signed E.C.C.--

Page 26- He mentions a Harry Fleischmann- All American First Five in 1935 Skeet, also a Fox with a ventilated rib (grade and guage not specified however)

Page 27-'The other day I am patterning two guns. One of them is the finest 20-gauge I have seen barring a 20 bore Parker made some 20 years ago for my friend Ed Hedderly--"

!940- sort of a "watershed" year in hindsight- Ned Crossman passed, I believe Mr. Foster a few years later, Paul Curtis by his own hand in 1945- last good year to get a new Parker, albiet from Ilion and not Meriden, and FDR's promise not to send American boys to fight in Europe- Wendell Wilkie the "Barefoot Boy from Wall St.) and Charles Lindberg and the German-American Bund. Some history from that time and place indeed.

[Bill Murphy]

Fleishmann shot on a skeet squad with Robert Stack in 1935. Stack won the 20 gauge National Championship that year, probably the first time a Junior had won a National Open Championship. Stack used a Model 11 Remington.

[Dave Noreen]

Henry Joy of Detroit won the 20-gauge Championship in 1935, with a 98, edging out Bobby Stack of California by one bird. Stack won the 20-gauge Championship in 1936 with a 99, edging out Billy Clayton by one bird. The team race in 1936 was won by the Santa Monica Gun Club team of Bobby Stack, Bill Davis, Alex Kerr, Grant Ilseng and Harry Fleischmann with 1217 out of 1250.

[Bill Murphy]

Thanks, Dave. I was working from memory, not a reliable source. I should open the books before I post.