The concept of shooting clay targets thrown to duplicate the opportunities normally encountered by the upland hunter originated with William Harnden Foster, H.W. Davies, and C.D. Davies of Andover, Mass. about 1915. The first field was on the grounds of the Glen Rock Kennels; a full circle with a 25 yard radius, with one trap at 12:00, throwing targets toward 6:00. The shooters shot from 12 stations.
"Shooting around the clock" was conceived in 1923 by Foster, who was then editor of both 'National Sportsman' and 'Hunting and Fishing' magazines. Two traps (one elevated) were positioned at 12:00 and 6:00, and the shooters walked around a semi-circle with a 20 yard radius with 8 stations, shooting the last position from the center of the 'clock.' In the Feb. 1926 issue of 'National Sportsman', a $100 prize was offered for the best name for this new shooting game. The May 1926 issue announced the winner, Mrs. Gertrude Hurbutt of Dayton, Montana, and the new name "skeet" from an old Scandinavian word for shoot.
The National Skeet Shooting Association was formed March 20, 1928 with William Harnden Foster the first President, and the next year the Great Eastern Championship was conducted at the Remington Gun Club in Lordship, Conn. By 1933, there were more than 800 skeet clubs and twenty-six State Associations in the U. S. The First National Skeet Championship was held in Cleveland, Ohio in August, 1935. Foster became Outdoor Life's Skeet Editor with the February 1937 issue.
By William Harnden Foster, and possibly depicting his son. Foster Sr. shot a 27" barrel 20 gauge DHE Parker SN 225905
Also by Foster
