Imperial Viper, Stock #39-123
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(Actual color may vary from above photo)

Sanctioned    
One year warranty
Dead soft rating
Unique, "V" shape design

Most everyone in the White Family thought I was nuts to want to make this shoe!  But, I wanted to apply a design concept that I came up with some time ago and so here it is, the Imperial Viper!  I had two purposes in mind when designing this shoe-- to make one that will stay on better than any other shoe (That's always our top priority in designing a new shoe.) and to make one that turned really well with little effort.

So, I decided to try the V-Shape.  I've had this idea for over five years but have just been too chicken to see if it would work.  I finally got my nerve up and just did it! I chose the "V" because the three point weight distribution was right for it to be a great turn shoe and the V-shape also seemed to have the right qualities to stay on the stake better than most other shoes.  Of course, you never know until you make it and throw it and see what happens for real.

After some minor tweaking of the design, we made up some of these shoes and of course, I ran home with them to be the first to pitch them!  Guess what?  The weight distribution is so different on these shoes that I couldn't pitch them right off.  I thought I had made a huge blunder in the design, but after about twenty shoes, I finally got the hang of them.  The shoe wants to slide around in your hand a bit as you're swinging it and it wants to pull out of your hand a little earlier than the conventional U-shape that we are mostly used to throwing.  Once you get used to that, and learn how to hang on to them, they fly nice, real nice!  But, no doubt, it takes a few pitches to get them going.  With some shoes, you know you've got a good one the first time you throw it.  Well, like most of the finer things in life, you have to "acquire a taste" for this shoe.  It doesn't come just natural.  But once you get the hang of it, there's no stopping you!

 Now I can throw a perfectly open shoe with the Vipers!  They feel great!  Even though I don't throw a 1-3/4 turn anymore, I decided to work with them a bit holding for that turn.  The V-shape turns out to have the opposite effect for that turn.  Where it turns relatively slowly for the 1 1/4, it turns very fast when holding for a 1-3/4 turn.  I've seen numerous 1-3/4 turn pitchers throw this shoe and they all say that it turns completely by itself-- no extra effort needed to make it open, like with other shoes.

Many people look at the Viper and think it would be a great flip shoe.  I must admit, I didn't have that in mind when designing it.  We already have so many flip shoes in our line between the Thoroughbreds and Imperials, that I figured it was time to focus on a shoe that really turns well.  I've seen a number of people throw a flip with the Viper with good success.  So I must say that it appears to flip well.  It's so new that we're still in the learning process with this one.  But so far so good!  I can't say I've pitched a better shoe than the Viper.  It's definitely one of the best!

Once that shoe goes on the stake, it's very unlikely to come off.  As my son Tony (who averages about 70% ringers and has tested this shoe extensively) put it, "the V-shape in the toe end of the shoe acts like a third hook.  It hits in there and just spins around instead of jumping off.  It's great!"  So, yes, mission accomplished!  Finally we have a shoe that stays on when you throw it on!  You still get that occasional "reject".  There is an open end for gosh sakes, so you'll have that-- nothing you can do about it.  But the rejects are much less frequent than with most other shoes.  I'd say it's as close as you're going to get to perfection in a horseshoe. 

Of course, I'm the guy that designed it, so maybe I'm a bit biased!  Judge for yourself-- Buy a pair of these and see what you can do with them.  If not good for anything else, they sure are a great conversation piece-- definitely an attention getter at the courts!  I hardly get to throw mine when I take them to a league night-- everyone wants to try them!  The first thing they ask is, "hey, is this shoe legal?"  I always say, "well, yes, it's NHPA sanctioned.  Is that good enough?"  It always is, but people who haven't seen it before are always skeptical.  But take a guess who's always one of the first one's to want to try it?  You'll see what I mean when you show up with your new Vipers!  This is a really cool shoe-- you'll love it!  Good luck.

                                                            --Bobby White

Some of this might be a bit redundant, but it's all worth saying again...This shoe is always in stock, year round, and it is manufactured from the highest quality, most durable alloy on the market and carries our famous one-year no hassle factory warranty... If they break under warranty, like all the shoes we make, you'll have a new pair immediately... we take care of business.  Just ask anyone... we take care of all our customers, before and after the sale.