Tony West: A life cut short

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Local News

October 16, 2019 - 10:09 AM

Tony Joe West after a 1975 victory at a Lake Charles, Louisiana, shoot, with trophies.

As an unemployed skeet shooter, Tony West, then 18 and a college dropout after only one week, became restless. For reasons unknown he left his parents’ home and moved to Tulsa where there were plenty of employment opportunities as well as many shooting venues. While there, he lived with friend and fellow shooter, Fred Peters, until he could get his feet on the ground. According to former skeet shooting friends, Tony bounced from one job to another, never quite finding the right situation. He then tried a stint of living on his own, but after about six months decided that he’d had enough, and returned home to Richmond to live with Joe and Mary. 

Being at home again and convinced he was not college material, Tony found employment with Commodore Home Systems in nearby Ottawa. At Commodore, Tony was on a team that built mobile homes. 

The full-time meant there was less time for skeet shooting, but he kept at it. 

In 1980, Tony was once again named to the 1980 Field and Stream All American Skeet Team. This time, however, he was named to the Open Second Team, not the Open First Team, most likely because of his good but not outstanding performance at the 1979 World Champion Shoot and other competitions. It was probably a disappointment for Tony, but a big win was soon to come his way. 

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