Gary Lee Blair

Our eleventh Enshrinee was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky and was taught the basics of rifles and shotguns by his Father at the early age of seven. When he was about eight years old his Father took him along when he went hunting. However, it wasn't until Gary was 22 when he joined the ATA and started to shoot competitively. He won his first trophy at the Ohio State Shoot when he was 24. 

Gary moved to Georgia in 1985 and resumed his trapshooting career in 1989. His excellence and natural talent with a shotgun didn't go unnoticed and he quickly became a force to be reckoned with in the trapshooting arena. As of his induction into the Hall of Fame, Gary has claimed 15 major Georgia State ATA titles and numerous Class trophies. Since 1990 he has been the winner of the State Singles Championship five times and has been Runner-up twice. In 1998 he registered one of his many 200's to win that event. He was the State Handicap Champion in 1989 and 1998, both times with scores of 95 from the 27-yard line and in 1991 was the ATA Handicap Runner-up Champ. Gary claimed the State Doubles Championship in 1993, 1994 and 1998 and he has been crowned the State All Around Champion five times. During the 1998 State Shoot, Gary swept all of the Championship events with scores of 200 in the Singles, 97 in the Doubles and 95 in Handicap for an All Around Score of 392, just one shy of the State All Around record of 393. In addition, he established a Georgia record by breaking all of the singles targets (400) during the tournament. 

At the 1995 Grand American, Gary represented Georgia in the Champion of Champions Race. His 100 in the Event put him into a tie with 14 others and Gary shot 100-24-24 in overtime to secure Runner-up honors. 

During the 1991 Southern Zone, Gary won the Open Singles Championship with a 200 and in 1995 was the Open All Around Champion with 394. In 1994 he broke a pair of 99's to win the Preliminary AA Doubles and the Zone AA Doubles. 

Gary has won many Open State Championships in Tennessee, South Carolina and Alabama and in 1995 won the Kentucky Open Doubles Championship with 100, the only entrant in the tournament to post a perfect score. 

As a six-time member of the Georgia State Trap Team, Gary has consistently maintained a Singles average of .9800 plus and a Doubles average of .9600 or better. In 1995 his singles average was .9905 over 5,350 targets and in 1996 it was .9907. That same year he ended the season with an All Around average of .9562. He reached the pinnacle of achievement when he attained AA-27-AA status and has maintained that level for many years. 

Gary's shooting merit in the sport of trapshooting is truly exemplary and worthy of the highest admiration. During the last three decades Gary credits his shooting success to his Father who was instrumental with support, help and coaching during the many competitions. Gary misses his Father's presence at shoots and the Georgia shooters that knew him, will remember him walking behind the line, jangling the change in his pockets and muttering, "damn, boy", when Gary missed a target. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, on behalf of the Board of Trustees of the Georgia Trapshooting Hall of Fame, I present to you Gary Blair. 

Enshrined September 23, 2000