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Timeline of the Grand American

  • 1900 - First Grand American held in Queens, NY. Only 74 competitors.
  • 1910 - Riley Thompson became the first shooter to break all 100 targets in the Grand American Handicap
  • 1916 - John Philip Sousa serves as president of the American Trapshooting Association, a forerunner of the Amateur Trapshooting Association
  • 1916 - Women were allowed to compete in the Grand American for the first time.
  • 1924 - The Grand American makes its permanent home in Vandalia, Ohio
  • 1925 - Annie Oakley shot in her first and last Grand American. She broke 97 out of 100 just one year before her death in 1926
  • 1927 - The Grand American Handicap reaches 1,000 competitors. First All-American team selected
  • 1949 - The "Golden Grand" - the 50th anniversary of the Grand American
  • 1950 - First year electric traps were used
  • 1954 - The Grand American Handicap boasts 2,000 competitors.
  • 1965 - The Grand American Handicap reaches 3,000 competitors.
  • 1966 - Lights were installed for shoot-offs
  • 1969 - ATA Hall of Fame is dedicated
  • 1970 - The Grand American becomes a 10-day event
  • 1976 - ATA Hall of Fame undertakes a Youth Trapshooting Program
  • 1978 - The Grand American Handicap reaches 4,000 compeitors
  • 1980 - First "National Trapshooting Day"
  • 1990 - Leo Harrison III breaks 991 out of 1000 targets to win the High-Over-All. The highest 1000 target score in the Grand history
  • 1999 - The Grand celebrates its 100th Anniversary
  • 2005 - The Grand comes to an end of an era, celebrating its last shoot in Vandalia, OH
  • 2006- The Grand debuts at the World Shooting & Recreational Complex in Sparta, IL



Amateur Trapshooting Association
1105 East Broadway
P.O. Box 519 Sparta, IL 62286
Phone: 618-449-2224
Fax: 866-454-5198
[email protected]


Youth Trapshooting Program
Phone: 618-449-2224
Fax: 866-454-5198
[email protected]


Trapshooting Hall of Fame
PO Box 519 Sparta, IL 62286
Phone: 937-660-5663
Fax: 937-660-5664


Recreational Complex
1 Main Event Lane, Suite 510
Sparta, IL 62286
Phone: 618-295-2700