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Two New National Trophies

By Gary Anderson, DCM


Thanks to generous donations from two long-time competitive shooters who are both Distinguished Badge holders and who have been regular National Matches participants, two new trophies were recently added to the CMP’s National Trophy Collection. Both trophies are to be awarded in the National Trophy Pistol Matches and will replace older trophies that the CMP Trophy Committee determined were not of National Trophy quality.

The new TMCSS G. P. “Perry” DeFino Trophy, donated by Ron Krelstein, Germantown, Tennessee, will be presented to the High Junior in the National Trophy Individual Pistol Match.

The TMCSS G. P. “Perry” DeFino Trophy was donated by Ron Krelstein of Germantown, Tennessee. The new Perry DeFino Trophy will be awarded to the High Junior in the National Trophy Individual Pistol Match. The trophy itself is a two-foot high bronze titled “Cougar Attack” that was created by artist Antoine Barye. It depicts an early 1800s mountain man and his horse engaged in a ferocious battle with a mountain lion.

Krelstein is a Double Distinguished shooter. He earned his Distinguished Pistol Shot Badge in 1964 and then took up service rifle shooting in the 1990s to earn his Distinguished Rifleman Badge in 1995. Krelstein donated the trophy to honor a long-time U. S. Navy pistol shooter whom he described as “my friend and mentor for 50 years.” DeFino was the very first Interservice Pistol Champion, Double Distinguished (1955 Pistol, 1959 Rifle) and a 2650 three-gun pistol shooter. He passed away in the summer of 2008.

Ron Krelstein, donor of the new Perry DeFino Trophy is shown here during the 2007 National Trophy Pistol Matches Award Ceremony where he presented the Rose Krelstein Trophy that was also donated by him.

Krelstein credited DeFino with “selflessly sharing his knowledge and experience with new shooters and older shooters alike.” He noted, “while this trophy bears his name, it also honors all of those who serve as mentors to those just beginning this sport.”

Krelstein, who is a practicing attorney, donated another important National Trophy Pistol Matches Trophy in 2007, the Rose Krelstein Trophy, which is awarded to the High Woman in an aggregate of President’s and National Trophy Individual Match scores.

The new General George Patton Trophy, donated by an anonymous donor, will be awarded to the High Army shooter in an aggregate of the National Trophy Individual and National Trophy Team Matches scores.

The second new trophy that was added to the National Trophy Collection will be known as the General George Patton Trophy. The General Patton Trophy was donated by a loyal CMP supporter who admires the men and women who defend our country and our freedom. The anonymous donor earned their Distinguished Pistol Shot Badge in 1992 and has been a competitor in every recent National Matches.

The Patton Trophy honors the well-known World War II General. General Patton commanded corps and armies in North Africa, Sicily and the European Theater of Operations. He commanded the U. S. Third Army through the hedgerows of Normandy and across France and successfully broke a siege of American Forces at the Battle of the Bulge.

General Patton has a fascinating connection with competitive pistol shooting. When he was a 2nd Lieutenant, having graduated from West Point in 1909, he competed in the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm in the first ever Modern Pentathlon event. He did well in the competition, placing fifth overall, and might have won an Olympic medal were it not for a shot in the pistol competition that was scored as a miss. In pistol shooting, Patton used a .38 caliber pistol, while most competitors used .22 caliber firearms. Patton claimed that the shot scored as a miss was a double that passed through a shot group formed by previous shots. Unfortunately, the judges did not honor his claim and he missed his chance at more lasting Olympic athlete fame.

The new General George Patton Trophy will be awarded to the High Army competitor in an aggregate of National Trophy Individual and National Trophy Team Matches scores. The Patton Trophy is a bronze bust of then Lt. General Patton that stands slightly over three feet high.

The CMP extends its sincere thanks to both Ron Krelstein and an anonymous donor for their much-appreciated donations that have provided important new trophies for the National Matches while helping the CMP upgrade the overall quality of the National Trophy Collection.

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