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09/06/2017 12:00 AMChip Goodrich has become a mainstay in the Deep River Horseshoe League (DRHL) throughout the past four years. In the recent season, Chip competed in the league’s top tier, the A Division, as a member of the Marlins, who claimed the playoff championship after winning a best-of-seven series against the Giants. Last year, Chip played for the Dodgers, who won the regular season title.
Like many players in the league, Chip got his start in the game by playing horseshoes with his family at picnics and barbecues. After starting his own family, Chip found that he had less time for throwing shoes, but as his kids grew up, he got back into the game through league play.
“I threw shoes when I was in my 20s. I started at various picnics, and it always interested me,” Chip says. “I did that until my late-20s, and then family came along, so I didn’t play for a long time. Then about seven, eight years ago, I played up in the East Hartford facility in a winter league, and that’s when I started to get back into it.”
Chip liked the East Hartford League, but he wanted to play outdoors. After trying out leagues in Middletown and Higganum, Chip wound up in the DRHL.
“My interest came back, and it’s just a lot nicer to throw outside. I dabbled in leagues here and there when I got back into it,” says Chip, an East Hampton resident. “At various times, I would sub in the Higganum league if someone got a hold of me. I had played a year or two at the Polish Falcons in Middletown. They had a little league there, and I joined the club and competed in their league. I migrated down to Deep River from there.”
At the beginning of each season, DRHL officials determine the makeup of its 20 teams by comparing player statistics. There are A, B, and C divisions, and every player is assigned to one of these divisions based on how well he or she throws. The players who score the most points consistently end up in the A division, and then B and C divisions are determined. The teams are formulated with an emphasis on balancing out the talent pool across the league. Chip likes that the teams get shaken up every year, so he can meet new people.
“They try to pick the teams so that they are all within a couple of points with each other. They do all that behind the scenes,” Chip says. “I prefer that you get different people each year. The whole thing about horseshoes is about meeting people and being social, and the format allows for that.”
Chip gives a lot of the credit for his team’s playoff title to his teammates, Don Wilson and Rob Stack. Chip says that the Marlins would not even had made the playoffs—let alone win the championship—if it wasn’t for them.
“Donny and Rob were great guys to play with, and I had a lot of fun with them,” Chip says. “They’re the ones that came through in the end, especially Rob. That’s really what got us there. I hit a lull for three or four weeks that wasn’t good.”
DRHL president Frank Jolly appreciates what Chip and his brother, Gary “Pudge” Goodrich, bring to the league. As important as it is to play well, Jolly knows that it’s just as important to be a welcoming person who’s fun to be around as a member of the league.
“He’s interested in the betterment of the league. He’s friendly and gets along well with all the other members of the league,” says Jolly of Chip. “He and his brother both had very good upbringings, if you will—soft spoken, but still a lot of fun to be around. They’re both a credit to the league.”
Chip thanks everyone affiliated with the DRHL, including league officials, as well as the restaurant Chris’s Doghouse, for working so hard to make it the organization it is today.
“I want to thank all the officers of the league for donating their time and efforts to make this a wonderful event each week. It’s the longest continually running league in the state,” says Chip. “I’d also like to thank Chris for making great sausage and pepper grinders for me every week and for being down there and ready to go all the time.”