Rob Leatham

On Leatham's twelfth birthday, he received his first gun. His family surprised him with a new Smith & Wesson Model 34 revolver on one of their trips to shoot in the desert.

He continued desert shooting throughout his teenage years and became involved in other sports such as basketball.

Leatham's first competition took place in the late 1970s at a night shoot at the Mesa Police Department range. He shot a Smith & Wesson Model 27 revolver with a 6-inch barrel loaded with 200-grain round-nose bullets that Leatham loaded himself, including a custom holster made by local leather worker, Jess Bird, who had built holsters for Leatham's father for years. Leatham finished third revolver behind Mike Henry and Charlie Mills and cites this competition for causing his addiction to competitive shooting.

He invented the Modern Isosceles shooting stance in the 1980s.{{cite book|last=Lessler|first=Peter|title=Gun Digest Shooter's Guide to Handgun Marksmanship|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DMNPLDQ_Qc4C&pg=PA43|date=5 August 2013|publisher=Krause Publications|location=Iola, Wisconsin|isbn=978-1-4402-3606-8|pages=43–44}} A few years later he began shooting the 9x25 dillon handgun round and brought that cartridge into the mainstream.{{cite book|last=Mann|first=Richard A.|title=Cartridges of the World: A Complete Illustrated Reference for More Than 1,500 Cartridges|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mZLGoagM_1gC&pg=PA215|date=7 September 2012|publisher=Gun Digest Books|isbn=978-1-4402-3063-9|page=215}}

Leatham first shot the Steel Challenge and The Bianchi Cup in 1982.{{cite book|last=Mann|first=Don|title=The Modern Day Gunslinger: The Ultimate Handgun Training Manual|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7Trw0rvOuZcC&pg=PA182|date=1 August 2010|publisher=Skyhorse Publishing|location=New York|isbn=978-1-60239-986-0|page=182}} In 1985, he won the Triple Crown of practical pistol shooting: the IPSC US Nationals, the Bianchi Cup and the Steel Challenge. He is the only competitor to ever win all three matches in the same year.{{cite web|url=http://www.recoilweb.com/preview-zeroed-in-rob-leatham-35699.html|title=Zeroed In – Rob Leatham|first=Mike|last= Landers|issue=10|volume=3|publisher = RECOIL|year=2014}}

In 1989, he was offered a major contract with Springfield Armory, Inc. that enabled him to become a full-time, professional shooter. Since that time, Leatham has been practicing, competing, and conducting live-fire demonstrations for sponsors around the world.{{cite book|last=Sweeney|first=Patrick|authorlink=Patrick Sweeney (gunsmith)|title=Gun Digest Big Fat Book of the .45 ACP|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=55Td91jZOa0C&pg=PA44|date=17 November 2009|publisher=Gun Digest Books|location=iola, Wisconsin|isbn=978-1-4402-0219-3|page=44}}

Leatham married fellow Team Springfield member Kippi Boykin, a three-time USPSA National Champion. They have one daughter together, Patience Leatham, and Leatham has 2 sons, Robert and Thomas, from a previous marriage.

• 24-Time USPSA National Champion: 1983–1986, 1988, 1989, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002 (Limited), 2002 (Limited-10), 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 (Single-Stack and Production), 2007 (Single-Stack and Limited), 2008 (Single-Stack), 2009 (Single-Stack), 2010 (Single-Stack)
• 6-Time IPSC World Champion as a member of 7-time winning "Team USA":
• 1983 - Virginia, US
• 1986 - Florida, US
• 1988 - Caracas, Venezuela,
• 2002 - Pietersburg, South Africa
• 2005 - Guayaquil, Ecuador
• 2014 - Florida, US (Classic Division)
• 16-Time Single Stack Classic Champion: 1995–2010
• 7-Time Steel Challenge Champion: 1985, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002 (Limited), 2002 (Open), 2009 (Production)
• 6-Time IDPA Custom Defensive Pistol (CDP) National Champion: 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004
• 7-Time NRA Bianchi Cup Champion: 1985, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
• 3-Time American Handgunner World Shootoff Champion: 1996, 2003, 2004
• Triple Crown Winner: 1985 (Bianchi Cup, Steel Challenge, and the IPSC/USPSA Nationals) - Leatham is the only person to ever achieve this
• Captain, Team Springfield: Since its inception in 1985

• Brian Enos
• Ron Avery

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.robleatham.com/ Rob Leatham's Official Website]
• {{YouTube|id=CqqhSSiU_j8|title=Rob Leatham Interview}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leatham, Rob}}

Category:1961 births

Category:Living people

Category:American male sport shooters

Category:IPSC shooters

Category:IPSC World Shoot Champions

Category:Sportspeople from Mesa, Arizona

Category:20th-century American sportsmen