Tulsa Checkers Player Offering Reward, If You Can Beat Him

Festive decorations, Santa Claus and more shoppers than normal are some things you’d expect to see at the mall this time of year.

But, at one end of the mall, there’s a sight that is a little out of the ordinary; it’s where Joe McDaniel is offering $25 if you beat him at a game of Checkers.

"I've played over 1,500 games in the last three years, lost five," he said.

McDaniel describes himself as a sponsor and promoter of the grand old game of checkers; he’s a pretty good player, too.

"I may be the best player in Tulsa," he said.

He learned to play, he said, in 1943. He plays and he studies something called Lee's Guide.

"It's published around the turn of the century," McDaniel said.

Not this century, however, about 1900.

If you’d like to take him on, Joe is at the mall about three days a week. In warmer weather, you can find him by the river or at Guthrie Green.