Alan Francis Signature Shoe, Stock #23-023

"Perfection in the Horseshoe Pit"

NY Times front page story by John Branch (photo by Doug Benz for the NY Times)
(Click on above picture to read the corresponding story)

Click Here for the NY Times follow-up sports brief by John Branch, covering Francis' 8th straight World Title win in Cedar Rapids, IA
 

 "How to Pitch a Ringer" story in ESPN the Magazine

Alan Francis Demonstrates how to pitch various turns and the flip for ESPN the Magazine. 
(Click on above picture to watch video and read corresponding ESPN Mag story)
 

Live appearance on ESPN HD's "First Take" 9/1/10

Alan Francis takes on the ESPN "First Take" broadcasters in horseshoes and other games at ESPN HD in Bristol, CT
(Click on above picture to watch ESPN video)

Men's championship horseshoe pitching moved into its modern era in 1940, breaking the 80% ringer average barrier for the first time that year.  Since then, it has taken an average of over 83.5% ringers to win the world title.  Alan Francis has won 15 of them!  In nearly a hundred tries, it's a short list of six players who've pitched better than 85% ringers to win the title... the greatest of the greats... Fernando Isais, Ted Allen, Curt Day, Elmer Hohl, Walter Ray Williams Jr. and Alan Francis...  Alan has done this six times!  As of 2009, he's made 22 appearances in the Men's Championship Division at the World Championships and including all the bad days (there haven't been very many), he still has an overall lifetime average over 81% in the championship... In 2009, in Springfield, IL he set the all-time record for highest ringer average in the Men's World Championship Division bettering last year's world record of 89.4% with an astonishing 90.26% ringer average, putting Alan in a class of his own being the first world champion to ever average over 90%!  He's arguably one of the greatest to ever compete in this sport and he pitches this shoe that bares his signature!

NEW!     Click Here to watch a 17 minute video of Alan Francis talking about, demonstrating and instructing horseshoes... this was filmed in July of 2008.  The video feed starts right away, without snags and it's absolutely worth taking a bit of your day to see him talk horseshoes and pitch a few ringers!

Note: Actual shoes  will vary in color from the photos below (Shoes are one solid color-- current colors are blue & red)

         
One Year Warranty
Dead Soft Rating
Unique Iron Alloy.. resists burring
Now with hardened tips!
Choice of colors, white or blue

View prices and options

Other Alan Francis horseshoes: All-On, Legacy & Bullseye

For the most astounding 15th time, Alan Francis of Defiance, OH  won the 2009 Men's World Championship in Springlfield, IL... He was undefeated all the way through the finals at 19-0 with a world record performance of 90.26% ringers!  That's 917 ringers out of 1,016 shoes pitched! With that performance, Alan now tops an elite club of just three men who have pitched over 88% in the world championships, the other two being horseshoe legends Elmer Hohl and Walter Ray Williams Jr... what an accomplishment!  And yes, he pitches his "signature shoe"    ...maybe you should too!

Click Here to watch a nice full-size video of the unprecedented 12-time world champion Alan Francis pitching in the 2005 Greenville Ringer Classic on July 3, 2005, warming up for his record breaking 11th World Title (approximately 1 1/2 minutes)... There's another video link at the bottom of this page for another look at Alan pitching.

This shoe is designed and pitched by the current men’s world champion, Alan Francis.  Alan is building up a legendary career in this sport and we felt it was time he had a shoe of his own... Well, this is it. It even bares his signature to prove it! After a lot of trial and error on this design, we think we’ve come up with something that matches up with Alan’s incredible ability to make ringers. It meets his approval and that's saying a lot!  Who knows, perhaps you might have the same luck as Alan throwing the Alan Francis Horseshoe!  When you see this shoe, you'll surely agree that it’s a championship caliber pitching shoe.   

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.

Here's a nice photo of Alan displaying his championship form, pitching his way to winning his 10th men's world title in Pocatello, ID on August 8th, 2004.  This shot really captures his perfectly straight forward pitching style and shows him deeply concentrating on the target, obviously all the way through his delivery.  Notice how his eyes are trained on the stake, not the shoe he just let go of?  This tenth victory tied the all time record holder, the great Ted Allen, who's record had stood since 1959.  Alan has now broken that record, winning two more titles since then... the only question now is how many titles will he win by the time he's finished???

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Alan Francis Signature Horseshoe Pricing & Product Options Price: $65.00 plus S & H     Click Add to continue and enter quantities on next page Above price is for one pair (2 shoes) Buy multi-pairs and save! 2 pair for $114.00 ($57.00 each) 6 pair for $330.00 ($55.00 each) (plus S & H) (Please take a minute to read the options below) When you proceed to the next page to enter this item into your shopping cart, you will be prompted to choose quantity, color and weight options. The color option is pretty basic, but the weight option requires a bit of explanation... In the weight selection box, you will be asked to choose from three selections: official weight, medium and heavy.  The official weight of a horseshoe is 2 lbs. 8 oz. and the NHPA allows for a variance of two ounces, making the maximum weight 2 lbs. 10 oz.  If you select "Official Weight" you will get horseshoes within that range and that generally satisfies most everyone. Occasionally, some advanced  pitchers want to specify shoes on the lighter side or heavier side of that range and that's why we have the other two selections. If "Medium" is requested you'll get shoes at the bottom of the weight range and if "Heavy" is selected you'll get shoes near the maximum weight. Obviously, it's only a two ounce range, so the difference is nearly imperceptible to most people.  But for those who have a preference, those options are there.  It seems those who've been at it a while seem to prefer the slightly heavier shoe. If you have an even more specific weight request than this you will have to call in and ask us about it at 1-800-841-4685, Mon thru Fri, 9 am to 5 pm Eastern Time. Note: If you want to order multiple pairs of the same item with different colors and weights on each you may have to enter the items individually into the cart. But don't worry, the appropriate quantity discount will still be applied.  If you understand all the options and are ready to proceed, click this button to add this item to your cart:

Don't you need a carrying bag or case for your shoes too?  Check these out before you check out:

Our all new Hard Shell Horseshoe Cases... best case for horseshoes ever!  It holds two pair and many accessories

Also, there's our all new Horseshoe Saddle Bags... designed to fit two pair!