Maynard B. Henry

Maynard Henry was Amateur Trapshooting Association secretary and legal adviser from 1956 to 1967 following his presidency of the association in 1955, and he was the chief founder and organizer of the Western Midwinter Chain and the Golden West Grand American. After Henry’s death in 1967 — at the Reno, Nev. airport while on his way to the Golden West Grand — an ATA spokesman wrote: "His dedication is unparalleled in the history of the Amateur Trapshooting Association."

An attorney from Los Angeles, Henry served as California ATA delegate for 17 years and was also treasurer of the California Golden State Trapshooters Association for that same period. From 1946, when Henry entered trapshooting, to the time of his death 21 years later, California grew from one of the smallest states in ATA participation to the second-largest. Both the Golden West Grand and the Western Midwinter Chain flourished through his guidance and tireless efforts. Under his continuing leadership, the ATA grew in strength and stature as an organization encompassing North America. He was active in all organizational aspects of the ATA, at one point being instrumental in revising the rulebook. Henry also represented the ATA in meetings concerning International shooting and was a member of a national committee that furthered interest in and improved conditions for contestants in Olympic competition.

Maynard Henry’s shooting accomplishments include three major championships at the Grand American, three Western Zone championships, 13 ATA titles from California, and placement on 10 All-America teams in addition to being on the first 500x500 squad in history. He led doubles averages in 1957, and he was the fourth in the ATA to earn his way back to the new maximum of 27 yards in 1955.

Henry was All-Around Champion at the Grand American in 1953 and 1954, that latter year also capturing the Doubles Championship with a record-tieing 99. At the 1959 Grand, seven years after being a member of a squad that tied the existing squad singles record of 499, Henry was in the record-setting perfect squad.

His first Grand American trophy came in 1951, and it was for the first of three times he was to be on winning Western Zone teams. In 1953 he tied for the Clay Target and the Champion of Champions titles with perfect scores, ending with runnerup and third-place honors, respectively. The next year he successfully defended his All-Around crown plus earned the Doubles Championship with just the second 99 in that race’s history. In 1957 he placed second in All-Around standings, and in 1958 he was Class AA runnerup in the Clay Target following a 199. He broke 200 straight in the 1959 Introductory Singles for top Class AA honors. His final two Grand American trophies came for Western Zone Team championships in 1964 and 1965.

Maynard Henry placed on first-string All-America teams in 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958 and 1959; earned second-team honors in 1948, 1951, 1957 and 1960, and received honorable mention in 1967. He led doubles averages in 1957 with .9502 on 2,450 targets. It marked the first time in the history of the sport that the doubles leader had fired at more than 2,000 targets. (Until 1970, when Britt Robinson shot at 2,900 to lead, the only other to head those lists with more than 2,000 was Dan Orlich —Maynard’s close friend and a 1979 Hall of Fame enshrinee — who shot more than 2,000 in 1959 and 1961.)

Henry was Western Zone doubles and all-around champion in 1954 and regained the twin-bird crown in 1962. His initial state ATA title was in 1949 — the California singles championship. He won doubles and all-around titles both in 1950 and 1951 and captured the singles and all-around ones in 1953 and 1954. He earned the singles crown in 1958 with 200, the first straight to win in the state since 1932. He also won doubles championships in 1957, 1961 and 1963.

Maynard Henry’s singles average was above 95% every year he registered except for his initial one and 1949. He became the fourth person on the 27-yard line in 1955, during California State competition. He fired at 111,350 registered 16-yard targets in his lifetime.