Horseshoe Canada
PHOTO OF THE MONTH

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1949: Dean McLaughlin and Fred Harburn

Sixty years ago marked the "revival" of the Canadian horseshoe pitching association (activities had been interrupted by World War II). Seeing that "horseshoes was not taking any steps to re-organize", Ed Steadman and Harold Blackman started the move that lead to the election of officers on May 4th, 1949. Then on July 2, 1949, the Ontario provincial championships were revived. Held at Dieppe Park, home of the East York horseshoe club, Dean McLaughlin continued his domination averaging 73.8% and winning his 5th provincial title. But a newcomer to tournament play, Walter Woodward of Dixie, pulled a surprise when he nosed out current Dominion champion Fred Harburn.
Our picture shown above was taken at Dieppe Park and features Dean McLaughlin and Fred Harburn. They were the two main stars of the late 1930s. Harburn was Canadian Champion in 1936 and 1940, while Dean was crowned in 1938.
On Labour Day weekend the 1949 Canadian Championships were held at the CNE in Toronto with the same result: Dean McLaughlin as champion and "rookie" Walter Woodward as runner-up.