As a pup Buck was sold by Pat Patrick to a physician. He proved to be an unsatisfactory pet and was sold to the late Alan Waldman who matched and won two with Buck in the low 50's. One over Aldo's Zeke, who later became a Champion, and the other over Winchester's Conan. STP purchased Buck from Alan Waldman when Buck just turned 2 years old and campaigned him at his correct weight, 46 lbs. As soon as STP started to work Buck they saw he had incredible stamina. In STP's hands, Buck demolished all of his competition, which included some highly regarded match dogs. Buck did not dazzle fanciers with ten-minute wins, but he had virtually no weakness as a match dog and always dominated his opponent, no matter what style.
Buck's first match, with STP, was into Tito's Tonka, which was no match for Buck as Tonka stopped in less than :30 minutes.
His next was against Captain America's Jumbo Jim. Jumbo Jim was a double bred Gr. Ch. Hank dog, and was hand picked to defeat Buck. Jumbo made an incredible scratch at 1:30, but by 1:57 he collapsed in his corner unable to go.
In Buck's 5th he went into Rodney's two time winner JR, littermate to Gr. Ch. Yellow ROM. JR was handled at :52 minutes and could not go any further. Jr. later went on to win three more.
For Buck's 6th match was against P. & H.'s Rocky, a rough son of Ch. Jeep and Gr. Ch. Miss Rage. Rocky was picked up in a little over an hour. Rocky went on to win his championship after another loss to Super Gnat's Gr. Ch. Ace.
At this point Buck was retired as a 6 time winner and not yet 4 years old. I was conditioning Super Gnat's Gr.Ch. Ace for his 4th match, into P. & H.'s Rocky, when I received a call from STP. He explained that after 2 years of retirement, his Gr.Ch. Buck was contracted into Ricky Jones and Gr.Ch. Sandman, at 48 lbs. Both dogs were exceptionally seasoned match dogs with similar styles and STP predicted that the match would be a long one. This was the first time in history that two registered Grand Champions were to meet.
Rebel Kennels Gr.Ch. Sandman was bred and raised by Ricky Jones from a Rascal / Jeep and Boomerang cross. Word had it that Ricky was able to take some of the unwanted dogs from some very good dogmen, and by sheer determination and good sense Ricky had bred bulldogs that could compete and win over the best in the country. Some of the best match dogs, at any weight, were either owned by Rebel Kennels, or were matched into Rebel Kennels.
There were about 25 fanciers waiting for the match to start. My friend Peter from Holland was betting on Sandman, while I was betting on Buck. This was the first time we were not on the same side of the betting. The dogs were released and Sandman shot over like a rocket and got a good hold. When Sandman got to the stifle, Buck slowly and deliberately got him out. Ricky got all excited and said that Bucks stifle was broken. For the first 20 minutes Sandman was all over Buck, but then Buck started to dominate the action. Buck was a little stronger and had a little heavier mouth. He was taking the match to Sandman, but neither could get much of a lead over the other. Both dogs could hardly be held in their corner as they rocketed across on their scratches. About an hour and a half into the match Sandman got a good hold on Buck's neck. As Buck tried to twist out of this hold, Sandman held on and a stalemate ensued. Sandman would not release his hold and Buck could not get free, so the two Grand Champions were locked motionless and time dragged on. It seemed that both dogs were asleep. Buck started to vocalize his frustration at being unable to move. Ricky became even more excited, interpreting the noise as a sign of Buck wanting to quit. Nothing could be further from the truth as Buck finally extricated from the hold and resumed his dominance over Sandman. Ricky not only began to denigrate Buck but also STP. At one point he said that he was going to kick Buck's ribs in because he was such a cur. I encouraged him to go ahead and do it since the foul would leave Buck the winner. I think that Ricky began to realize that Buck was going to beat his Sandman dog and this was his way of dealing with that possibility. No matter how many times and how many ways Ricky verbally abused Buck and STP he never let it bother him. STP stayed with his dog and ignored all the outside shenanigans. STP gave fanciers a good demonstration of coolness and decisiveness in a tough situation. This was an even match until at the end when Sandman began to falter and it was clear that Buck was going to win. At three hours and 17 minutes, after 3 more scratches Sandman took the count. Buck's courtesy scratch, was a running one and he slammed into Sandman.
We hustled Buck into a nearby shed and I started an intravenous line. Buck received 10 cc's of Azium in about 800 mls of Ringers before he ripped the line out of his leg. In an adjacent shed, Ricky worked in an effort to save Sandman. I was told that he gave Sandman an injection of Epinephrine, which is often used by human rescue personnel. The shot of "Epi" as it is known to the members of the rescue squad, killed Sandman immediately. Buck would not be still so I stopped the IV, which had leaked into the surrounding tissue. Buck stayed at my house for two weeks after the match, recovering from his ordeal. At 5:00 AM every morning, Buck would start his scream / howl, which echoed throughout the house. When I walked him outside, Buck would try to lunge at the other dogs in my yard, even though he could hardly stand up. It was obvious that his spirit had not been broken in spite of the lengthy battle with Sandman. Once recovered Buck went back to STP's and the old warrior lived the good life, breeding bitches and eating good food until he died.
Barney Fife purchased a female pup from a Davis' Midnight Cowboy X Hand's Gr. Ch. Candy breeding and named her Sea Train, after the famous rock band. While still a puppy, Sea Train was sold to STP who raised her to maturity.
At the time Barney Fife was breeding Zebo dogs, as Zebo was showing exceptional pit dogs, when STP phone to ask who he should breed Sea Train to. It was no surprise that Zebo was recommended as a stud. Tar Heel Matt purchased a pup named Margie, who whelped Panther.
During her younger years, Margie whelped two litters sired by Tar Hill Matt's Monzon, who had won two matches. Panther was whelped in the 2nd litter. Monzon was sired by Lonzo's Mike, who too was a 2X winner. His dam was also a 2X winner named Rick's Thistle, who was Big Boy and Bullyson breeding.
Tar Hill Matt had some good dogs from the first breeding of Monzon and Margie, so he repeated the breeding and produced several more pit wilnners. Some of these were Willie, Billy (1XW), Bonnie (1XW), Jimmy (who stopped Ch. Spike), Carlos (1XW, 1XL) and Monzon, Jr. Tar Heel Matt contacted Barney Fife to condition Panther and put his weight out at 55lbs., when Boss Hog picked it up. Boss Hog came with a large boned, Red Boy bred dog, and weighed in exactly at 55lbs., Panther weighed in 2lbs. light. Panther came out fast trying for the shoulders, but the white dog was adept at holding out Panther. The patern continued with Panther trying, but unable to get any good holds. At the twenty minute mark, Panther hit the front end and the white dog was in trouble. By the 40 minute mark, Panther was putting the finishing touches on the white dog, who took the 10 count in his corner making Panther the winner in 40 minutes. For reasons unknown, Panther's weight was never picked up again for almost two years.
In the mean time, Panther demolished several roll opponents with such speed, that his formidable reputation grew even more. At the age of six, Matt retired Panther and bred him to several of his bitches. After several years Panther was sold to Rich Cupo, where he died shortly after.
Panther sired 1 Grand Champion, 1 registered Champion, and many other winners. The best of Panther's offspring retained the signature trade mark of this strain. They would start fast and if a dog could not avoid their charge, the Panther dogs would win in short order.
Virgil was born in a litter of four and he was the last one to turn on. He was rolled at eighteen months, but he was not interested. Virgil finally turned on when he was at the age of two.
In his first roll he fought against a hard biting "Eli" dog, who hit two bleeders within four minutes. Virgil retaliated by destroying this dog within the next six minutes. In his next roll, Virgil came off the chain to fight against a big strong opponent of "Boomerang" breeding, who was conditioned, and thirty minutes later picked his dog up. Virgil had done considerable damage and was about to put him away. Big Brad contacted Ozzie and set up a match with a friend of his at forty-nine pounds. Ted and Frank used a dog named Harley, who was barnstormed from the start, and was picked up in :28 minutes.
Virgil's second came F. Rocca called to inform Ozzie that Mike So. had a two time winner called Cain that nobody would match. Virgil came in heavy and Mike requested the forfeit, but was later convinced by B. Bryan that if the match was still going on a :45 minutes, Ozzie would concede. Cain was counted out at :38 minutes in a fast paced match, which gained Virgil his second victory.
Next was Grace's Ch. Elmo, who was a litter mate to Gr. Ch. Mickey and Gr. Ch. Trouble. After a debate over the scale, the match started. Elmo hit a bleeder in Virgil's muzzle and another one in his shoulder. By :08 minutes Elmo had Virgil down. Virgil came off the bottom with Elmo's chest in his mouth and pressed Elmo over his head. After a flurry by Virgil, Elmo wouldn't fight back any longer and was picked up in :30 minutes, thus making Virgil a Champion.
His fourth was into Swango and Sears' Ch. Chisohm. By :40 minutes Ch. Chisohm was in bad shape and Swango conceded at :52 minutes.
For his Grand Championship, Virgil went into Phil's Little George who was a two time winner and a deep game dog. Phil conceded this match at :43 minutes, Little George later went on to win his Championship and also become a ROM producer.
In between Ozzie had contacted Brabham and Singleton, who at the time owned another dog that had made a name for himself , Grand Champion Snake, in hopes of hooking these two destroyers into each other. Unfortunately, this match never came to.
Virgil was six years old, when he was sold to Solo, formerly with STP, where he lived until he died at the age of 11. Before his death, Virgil sired Champions Beast, Becky, Bonnie, Brenda, and Jitney.
Some dogs can be recognized by titles they earn such as champion, grand champion and register of merit, Angus is recognized by the title of "Champion of Champions".
Angus' sire was a dog named Willie Brown's Nigger, who was a two time winner, sired by Clayton's Eli, Jr. bred to his mother, Boudreaux' Spook. Angus' dam, O. Stevens' Heidi, was bred by A. Steinberg from Sly Fox to Red Pepper (Ed Ritcheson blood) and was a litter mate to Ch. Prince. She was originally owned by O. Stevens' and matched once at twenty nine and a half pounds. She demonstrated the fustrating style of hanging on the bottom jaw and discouraging her opponent until Ziggy M. and Tony M. conceided the match in an hour. Ozzie then traded her to Big Brad and Keummerling, because he didn't have any use for her, as far as breeding. The bitch she was traded for was a cold gyp, at the time, named Geraldine.
Big Brad tested Angus and because of the fact that Big Brad had numerous winners already on his yard, he sold Angus to Billy Stepp as a game dog. Angus then went on to shake up the dog world by defeating Rixey's Coal Cat, Jay's Buster, Crenshaw's Ch. Otis, Keummerling's Ch. Freddie (brother to O. Stevens' Ch. Homer), Garza's Heman and Love's Tiger, all of which were great dogs. Angus was then hooked into, the then 3X winner, Ch. Jeep as a rematch for the victory over Stinson and Stepp's Ch. Black Glover. During the keep, Angus was involved in an accidental kennel fight with Ch. Ruby and was wrecked in the chest area, thus forcing Stepp to pay the forfeit to J. Crenshaw. After Angus healed from this incident, they hooked up with Crenshaw to try the Angus / Jeep match again. Unfortunately, Angus got loose once again and ran straight into Ruby. By the time Stepp got there, the damage was aleady done, because so much money was riding on this match, Stepp and Co. asked O. Stevens if they could borrow, the 4X winner, Ch. Homer as a replacement so as not to lose another forfeit. Which is how one of the greatest matches of all time came about, Crenshaw's Ch. Jeep VS Stevens' Ch. Homer.
Angus wasn't bred many times, but in his few breedings he sired good dogs such as Diaz' Ch. Mac, out of Torres' George. When bred to Stepp's Ch. Ruby, he produced Broadway Jack's Gee Whiz, Super Gnat's Guess (2X winner), Super Gnat's Ch. Butch, Suzy, and the 7X winner Racehorse. Also, there was Solo's Cobra, Big Brad's Loco, Patience, and Tara, Texas Ron's Major, Frankie, Sassy, Evil (who lost to O. Stevens' Ch. Zero), and Ralph's Prince (who was picked up at 1:57).
He was the sort of dog that would overcome, and adapt to any style that was put before him as his record shows. In competitions, he defeated many whom went on to become foundation stock for other breeding programs. From all accounts told he possessed smarts, mouth, ability, gameness (reason he was sold by Big Brad), structure, his only downfall was he was a man-biter, such as many of the best-to-be were ie; Gr Ch Art (ROM), Gr Ch Zebo (ROM), Dbl Gr Ch Tornado, Ch Honeybunch (ROM), and Ch Yellow John (ROM) just to name a few with very similar qualities.
Red Boy was the result of a father/daughter breeding of Teal's Jeff and Mc Leod's Susie Q Gal. Teal's Jeff was off of Teal's Sarge bred to Teal's Lou. Teal's Sarge was a pure Colby dog out of Colby's Dime bred to Colby's Margie. This combination of Red Boy/Cleo had produced top quality proven brood females, who in turn were bred back to Red Boy or other inbred Red Boy studs to strengthen and improve the line. The gameness of this line is legendary, and is what has made the Red Boy strain so highly desirable. These are fast starting fiery dogs with tremendous wind. Some would say that the only draw back to the Red Boy line is the lack of mouth, this is not the case with all Red Boy dogs, but has pretty well been accepted as the truth by most. It really comes down to a list of priorities, gameness versus mouth.
His classic match against Cables Fang exemplifies that: 1st match: - Mr. Bass vs. William Cable - males @ 52 lbs. J. Adams - referee. J.C. Vincent is handling a red-red nosed dog that he been conditioned for this match by Howard T. He's called Red Boy. William Cable conditioned and handled his two-time winner Fang, a red dog black mask. Fang in Red Boy's chest and has a good hold and stays there. Red Boy trying to get him out with ear holds. At 9 minutes a turn is called on Fang, but he's in hold with Red Boy's leg in his mouth. Handled at 17 minutes Fang scratches good. Red Boy scratches at 21 minutes and comes to the top fighting the head. Fang evens things up fighting the back end at 28 minutes. Red Boy on the nose. 30 minutes Fang scratches. The dogs are handled again at 33 minutes and the referee makes an error and Fang scratches again. Three more scratches by Red Boy and two by Fang and at 1 hour 2 minutes Fang is to scratch. He wanders off to a neutral corner and is counted out. Bass' Tramp Red Boy wins.
The Red Boy dogs gained their fame in the Carolina's, but their main introduction into the fast lane came with the cross of Ch. Jocko. Jocko, a Carolina dog himself, was a pit intelligent dog with good biting ability, something the Red Boy dogs did not have. Red Boy dogs were extremely game soft mouth dogs, with the exception of Chavis Ch Yellow John. Yellow John was the first of the Red Boy breeding to earn the title of champion. He was a 43lb. buckskin dog that won three in th South in 1980-1981. Yellow John went on to produce some of the most honest bulldogs of modern times Tant's Gr.Ch. Yellow. STP's Gr. Ch. John Boy, STP's Ch. Sassy, Super Gnat's' Boots (who holds the record for the longest recorded match in history, going 4:52 for the win), Melvin's 5X winner JR. and others.
The Red Boy/Jocko cross continue to live on today and are exceptional fast lane dogs. Some of the most successful crosses with the Red Boy strain have been with: Red Boy/Jocko, Jeep/Red Boy, Jeep/Red Boy/Rascal, and more recently Red Boy/Patrick. These are all proven crosses that have taken the sporting game to a new level in performance. Some additional Red Boy dogs of note are Marlowe's Ch. Britches, Miller's Red Man a great producer in his day and the sire of Hoffman's Booger ROM, Marlowe's Rattler the sire of Ch. Britches, Marlowe's Mr. Bulldog the sire of both Peaches, Tabby Girl and Miret's Bud, who sired Ch. Gambler, and O. Stevens' Red Ape, who has produced Ch. Bear, Ch. Irish Rebel and many other winners.
In the early 1970's, in North Carolina, was a young fancier named Lonzo Pratt who was just starting in th dog game and was purchasing and breeding some well bred dogs from known dog men. He had purchased a young tested gyp from J. Loposay by the name of Fay, who was sold because she turned cold and wouldn't start for Jack Kelly and was left on Loposay's yard by Pete Sparks. After numerous breedings Lonzo struck fame from one breeding that conatined three males and two females. The two females were Lena and Rosie, the males were Crush, Vindicator, and Zero. Of the three males Zero and Vindicator would distinguish themselves as great match dogs. The better of the two was Zero, as Zebo was originally named, who gained his fame as a match dog and producer. In all, this black 40-44 lb. dog won a total of seven contract matches, thus becoming a registered Grand Champion, a Register Of Merit sire, and a member of the Bulldog Hall Of Fame, the only dog to be recognized by these three honors.
Zebo's career began on the yard of Lester Hughes, "The Mountain Man", where he won four times, all quick kills. After his fourth he was shipped to the yard of Grady Cummings and while there, Cummings' Red Fox made the mistake of getting off his leash and ran into Zebo and was killed. Grady then made Lester get Zebo off of his yard. Zebo was then sold to Dave Adams' of Ohio, of whom Zebo is best associated with. At first Mr. Hughes hadn't intended on selling Zebo, but Mr. Adams came up with enough money to change his mind.
His most noted match was against Ch. Greaser and how both sides thought they had trapped the other side by running in an "ace" on their opponent’s "average" dog. How wrong they both were. Champion Zebo was the black dog and Champion Greaser was the brindle. How they came to meet on a cool night in a barn in Ohio, is a complicated but interesting story. Champion Greaser was being campaigned at 44 pounds in and around Oklahoma and Champion Zebo was being matched around North Carolina at 40 pounds. "Greaser" was an extremely smart defensive type of dog that could really bite. He’d gained his deserved reputation by proving this in his first four matches against dogs that were not pushovers. Likewise, so had Zebo. The difference being Zebo’s matches were short ones, lasting only 22,26,17 and 33 minutes, all kills. After his fourth win, a man named Adams bought Zebo and took him back up north to Ohio. Adams had a friend named Hudson who had matched a dog at 44 pounds into a father and son team from St. Louis. Hudson’s dog was from Maurice Carver, and was a two time winner at 44 pounds named Tex. Hudson was a nice fellow but, could really get on your nerves bragging so much on his dog, because it was Tex this and Tex that, for as long as you would listen. I guess the team from St. Louis got tired of listening and just figured they would whip old Tex and shut Hudson up. Now, when you matched into this father and son team, you had better do three things, get a good dog, have the dog in good shape, and say your favorite prayer. As luck, or fate, or whatever you desire to call it goes, Tex got hurt in a chain fight and Hudson was going to have to pay the forfeit. Rather than give away money, he called Adams and offered Adams a deal. If Adams would take over the match with Zebo and win, Hudson would split the winnings with him and, if he lost Hudson would pay the whole bet. Adams had been walking Zebo and cutting his weight, for at that time there was a big convention in Mexico being matched up and Adams had turned Zebo’s weight in. The Mexican Convention was supposed to be the biggest and best ever put on but, the law intervened and it never did come about. Adams didn’t know the convention would fall apart, but he thought that as he had almost three months until the Mexican convention and Tex’s match was only three weeks away, that he could take over Tex’s match and win without getting hurt too much and still be healthy and set Zebo down in the Mexican convention. So, he agreed to take over the match, but told his backer that if Zebo wasn’t way ahead at 30 minutes he was going to pick him up, because he wanted to match him in the "Big Convention." Hudson agreed to this as with Zebo’s kill record…he would rather gamble and give up a few pounds to make it number 5 than give up the forfeit.
Meanwhile, out in St. Louis, the "team" had a dog that was considered to be the best 44 pounder of his time. This Greaser had started out being called Yuebanks’ Greaser. If my information is correct, Yuebanks’ campaigned Greaser in his first four matches. All wins over some highly regarded opponents. Greaser had given his fans real reason to call him the best 44 pounder alive, as his opponents were good caliber dogs like Moloney’s Alligator and Mayfield’s Go Devils. The "Team" purchased Greaser especially for the Tex match since old Tex was a good dog in his own rights and the "team" knew they had to have an above average dog in order to beat Tex (how and why the "team" got Greaser is only hearsay on my part, the point is Greaser was the best 44 pounder alive. And he was the dog they had to use on Tex.) So we have the stage set. The Ohio boys have an "Ace" named Zebo, which the "team" doesn’t know about. And the "team" has an "ace" named Greaser tuning up that the Ohio boys don’t know about.
Then it became time to put up or shut up for old Zebo, for Adams announced he was taking over Hudson’s match. The night of the battle of Champions arrived, with only Greaser’s side knowing now that they were going into Zebo. When they arrived, they wanted to see this "killer dog" they were matched into and laughingly said, "He don’t look like no killer to us." Adams, nor any of his backers, knew Zebo was going into a 4 x winner. They should have suspected something for fanciers from out west had driven all the way to Ohio to see Greaser knock off this killer dog. Jimmy Jobe, the editor of Pit Dog Report, a Mayfield magazine for bulldogs, drove all the way and didn’t even mention the match in his magazine. This match was one of the best kept secrets in the dog world and when the story of it taking place did start to circulate, the match was down played. The first report of it anywhere (that I am or was aware of) was in Richard Stratton’s book. When you read the account, it tends to make you believe Zebo "got lucky" and hurt Greaser bad at the beginning of the match. This is false as, Greaser was on all fours late in the fight.
When the dogs were weighed, Zebo weighed just over 40 pounds. Greaser hit the scales at exactly 44 pounds. As Adams circulated among his backers before the match, he reminded everyone that he was giving up 4 pounds and was going to pick Zebo up at 30 minutes because he’d only worked him for three weeks and 4 pounds was too much to spot. As they released the two champions, you could bet all you wanted on Zebo and get odds of 3 to 1 or three hundred against your one hundred. As bets were laid and odds were taken, the name Greaser started to finally slip out. Zebo’s backers were aware finally that this was not going to be a walk over. People started to worry about their bet because Adams had warned that he was gone at 30 if Zebo wasn’t way ahead. Adams said later, "When Dogman and Johnson called me to the side of the pit at about the five minute mark, and told me they recognized the brindle dog as CH. Greaser, any thought of picking Zebo up at thirty minutes was gone. I knew I would let him battle as long as he had any chance to win. I realized that I didn’t have to go to Mexico to prove that Zebo was a great dog, the chance had come to me." As the match progressed, it could be basically reported in two sentences…."Greaser is extremely smart on defense and punishes Zebo bad about the head. Zebo is extremely smart on getting to the brisket and punishes Greaser bad in the chest." That is how close the match was. You would think that the four pounds would tip the scales in Greaser’s favor, but Zebo was ever so gradually getting a little bit deeper in the chest and even though Greaser was as smart as ever relying on defense, he was forced to allow Zebo in more often as the match grew older. The following is an accurate account of the match as can be made but, remember as you read this excerpt from Mr. Stratton’s book, that in this writer’s opinion ( and I was there), Zebo took Greaser down a notch at a time over the entire match, where here it tends to make you think that Greaser was destroyed early.
Unfortunately, Zebo attacked Mr. Adams' son and nearly took his son's ear off. After the request of Mr. Adams' wife, Zebo was sold again, this time to Mr. Johnson who fought him twice more. The last time to a son of his litter mate brother, Vindicator. Mr. Johnson hoped to get another match in, but was unable to find any takers, despite the fact that Zebo was past seven at this point. Thus, Zebo was retired to stud, and lived to the age of 13, siring his last litter days before his death. He had lost sight at the end, due to the extensive damage he sustained, for no dog was ever able to get to his rear.
During the time of Zebo's career as a match dog, there were two other dogs in his weight class that too was making names for themselves: Stinson & Glover's Gr. Ch. Art and Giroux' Ch. Gunner, 4X winner. It was planned to have a "round robbin" for the title of the greatest match dog.lj yjy[jl]yt]jjljld, were as each dog would go into each other to prove who was the greatest match dog. Each of these great dogs where relatively close to each other in regard to location. But, for whatever reasons, and hearsay has provided many, the matches never materialized.
Vindicator, was a red/red nosed dog that many, who had witnessed him matched contend he was a better dog than Zebo. He was a two time winner, winning each in identical times of 1:30. One of those victories was over Finley's Ch. Bo. He lost his third to Cutchin's Ace. Vindicator died at a young age of heart worms.
Rosie, like Vindicator, was also red/red nosed, but was never formally matched, though she was tested for 1:10. She simply was considered to ge too valuable as a brood bitch. She lived to the age of 10, dying also of heart worms a month after her last litter.
Zebo produced Stepp's Ch. Willie and Adams' Ch. Katy when bred to Tomsic's Spider ROM. Ch. Willie was, as said by some, to have the same destructive force of his sire, by killing each of his opponents in times of :27, :54, and :29 minutes. Others produced by Zebo were Ch. Ruby, Ch. Abuelita, Ch. Zipper, Ch. Diamond Jim, Clemmon's 2XW Z-Boy, Nigger Tobe, Super Gnat's 2XW Blackie and Hughes' Gator just to name a few of the good dogs he sired. He is the grand sire to some great ones like Doc's Ch. Moe who was a Grand Champion until he ran into Red B's Ch. Charlie. Many said that Moe went to the well one time too many in his loss against Charlie. After his victories over Ch. Fargo and his brother Basket, too much was taken out of him to go into a much younger dog like Charlie.
The breeding that produced Zebo and his litter mates was one of those outstanding litters that come only once in a while. Basically this breeding was a Dibo/ Old Family Red Nose/ Colby cross, which explains why all of Zebo's litter mates were red or red/ red nosed. But where did this one black dog come from? Many speculate Zebo wasn't bred as represented, for one Mr. Hughes purchased Zebo from Lonzo without any papers. Some claimed Mr. Hughes sold many different Zebo's. And a lot claim Zebo to be a half brother to another famous pair, Eli, Jr. and Bullyson. Although, Lonzo's Andy was a black dog himself and Zebo through nothing but black dogs, even when bred to various, different colored females, it still remains a question in a lot of people's minds.
In 1990 The texas Iron Man Coy D. and a friend purchased some dogs from the yard of Joe Hoskins and Tony McCool. They left with some very good prospects and a 10 month old male, who was whelped in April of 1989, out of McCool's Sack and Hoskin's Betty Joe. Since the litter was out of Sack, who had quit in 1:42 against a good dog of Bo Well's, for this reason the litter was not high on Mr. McCool's list and wasn't worth much to him. As a matter of fact, the whole litter of six was offered to L.G. for $300. The 10 month old male was sold for $100 and was called Banjo.
After a quick roll, at the age of 12 months, Banjo was then purchased by Coy from his friend for $150. At this time, The Texas Iron Man also returned to Hoskins and McCool's yard to purchase three more litter mates of Banjo $100 each. Two of these yearlings were culled and one female was kept, her name was BB Red.
Still young, Banjo was matched into Wilson's Wolfy at 45 lbs. Wolfy couldn't scratch back. for number two, Banjo was matched into Anderson's Slick and it was over in :29 minutes. For his championship, The Oklahoma Boys brought their 2X winner named Grunt, it took Banjo :33 minutes to diperse of the 35 lb. black dog, who couldn't stand at that time and was believed to be dead. His fourth was into W. River's Ch. Vito, who was picked up at :43 and made adead game courtesy scratch. For his fifth and grand championship, Banjo went into Raul's 2X winner named Sonny Boy. It ended with Sonny Boy being picked up to save his life at :25. In an attempt to get Gr. Ch. Banjo matched once more, The Texas Iron Man and M.A.D. futilely petitioned R. Hall to use his Gr. Ch. Andy Capp in a battle of grand champions, unfortunately Mr. Hall declined these advances.
Banjo and his litter mate sister, BB Red, both made grand champions at the young age of three and a half years old, and became the first brother and sister, registered grand champions. Banjo went on to become a Register Of Merit before his death, while his sister died in the summer of 1996.
Tombstone was bred by the great breeder Don Maloney. Maloney sold to R. Petronelli as a young dog, who then sold or traded him to Don Mayfield, where he was raised. His sire was Maloney's Toot, who was a son of Tudor's Spike out of Carver's Black Widow. Toot was a devastatingly hard biter who had produced dogs that passed that trait to their progeny. another son of Toot who was a great producer of hard mouth dogs was Maloney's Davis, who sired Ch. Our Gal Sunday, Ch. Cobra, and Ch. Black Sabbath. Tombstone's dam Speedy Alan Jena, was a scatter bred bitch containing dogs from P. Sparks, H. Heinzl, J. Corvino, and E. Tudor breedings.
Tombstone was matched one time and after that one victory he was retired to stud, after being available for a second match with no takers. This match was against Bobby Hall and a 2X winning son of Bullyson, named fittingly Bullyson, Jr. Ed Weaver was putting on a show and notified Bobby Hall that Don Mayfield had a 55 lb. male open, so Bobby Hall accepted the challenge. Ironically, Mr. Hall conditioned Bullyson, Jr. at Mayfield's house, at the same time, Don was conditioning Tombstone for this match. The match was one sided for the first hour with Tombstone on defense and Bullyson, Jr. on offense with stifle holds. At the hour mark it appears about even, at 1:09 both dogs are down and at 1:14 an out of hold is called with Tombstone making a hard scratch. Bobby Hall concedes the match at 1:25 making Tombstone a winner in a game, come from behind effort.
Shortly after that match Pat Patrick paid a visit to Mayfield's in hopes of purchasing some good dogs, he was offered Tombstone. Pat purchased Tombstone, but left him there until, he was matched again, which never happened. After the 14 months that he remained at Mayfield's in hopes of another match, Mr. Patrick requested Mayfield to send him his dog. Upon arrival to Pat's yard, Tombstone was then bred to about 15 bitches. Due to the fact that he was a long legged, rangy looking and scatter bred dog, he wasn't in high demand as a stud. Of his few breedings, one to a daughter of Indian Bolio named Red Baby, he produced champions Tonka, Crash, and Uptown's Snubby. He also produced Ch. Reno, Dozer, and Gr. Ch. Hope just to name a few of his progeny.
Tombstone died a few years later from heart worms, as back then the cure was sometimes worse than the malady.
Champion Rascal was born in 1972 on the yard of Maurice Carver and was later owned by James Crenshaw. Rascal won 5 contracted matches, 6 off the chain and suffered just 1 lost, and that was his first. His first match was at 52lbs. against C. Sykes' Sampson, and took the count a 1:52. At this same match Ch. Honeybunch won her second match in :28. In 1974 Rascal met Wood's Snooty, again at 52lbs. and this close match ended in 1:57. For his third match and second win, he defeated Irish Jerry's Soldier in 1:30. For his championship, he won over Baxter's Booger in 1:16 at 48lbs., which turned out to be his ideal weight. He then had wins over Hughes' & Hick's Big Boy in 1:45 and Langston's Satan in 1:19.
Champion Rascal wasn't noted for possessing a devastating mouth, as some would have had many believe, but he was a very game dog as all of his matches went over the hour mark. he fought any style, but preferred to work the head. Not many dogs could put Rascal behind. Even in his loss to Sampson, Sampson died within an half an hour after the match.
His ability to produce is evident in the likes of Gr. Ch. Pedro, Ch. Rascal, Jr., Demon, Sugar, Bandit, Polly, and Krypto just to name a few of his offspring.
Rascal died at the age of 11 in 1983, but will be remembered as one of the best.
WILLIAMS' CH. PALADIN
The late Barney Fife and his brother, Matt, went traveling through North Carolina to visit Mrs. Loposay and then go to the Fork Farm, to see Mr. Grady Cummings. Upon arrival to Mrs. Loposay's, they were able to see the great producer Buster, who made an attempt to bite both of them.
From there they drove to Red Springs, to the home of G. Cummings, who had a yard of Eli bred dogs. Grady was a talkative and personable individual, who would recite the pedigrees of each dog on his yard as he passed them. Grady never officially matched a dog. He would purchase match dogs and breed them to his stock. His claim for not matching his dogs was that if they came from a line of match dogs, then they should be able to produce match dogs themselves. But, to his credit, he did put some of his dogs in capable hands to be matched. While Barney Fife and Matt was there, they had the fortune of seeing a short roll involving a red male named Eli, III.
Some notable dogs from Cummings yard were Ch. Tom (who produced the great Saloon dog, who in turn produced the double Gr. Ch. Tornado), Annie Oakley (out of Mosely's Smeller), Dear Abbey (out of Eli, Jr. and Clemmon's Sandy), Red Fox, Dutch Boy and Young Dutch Boy to name a few.
The three then traveled to Jim Williams' home to see the two new acquisitions just purchased from Maurice Carver. They were two yearlings, one red and the other black. The black was named Paladin.
Paladin was rolled, during his schooling, in a field of tall grass and was separated from his opponent. He was then walked 50 yards away to see if he would scratch. When released he mowed the grass down, streaking towards his opponent, proving his desire to continue.
Paladin was sired by Hyde's Satchmo Bully out of Rorex' Black Lady. This is blood closely related to Gr. Ch. Art and Crenshaw's Ch. Hurt, who were both out of Java, a daughter of Black Lady. Black Lady went back to the blood of Ed. Crenshaw's Reno, which accounted for his black color and finishing instinct.
Paladin who his first match in close to two hours. The length of time was mainly due to Paladin staying in hold on a down dog, making a handle impossible. Paladin's second match was into Big Boy, who gave a good account for himself in a losing effort against Ch. Rascal. Big Boy was an uncle to Gr. Ch. Zebo, from a line of dogs noted for their ability. The dogs were released on a freezing morning with Paladin doing the driving, while Big Boy rode the head in defense. However, Paladin was applying too much pressure and was soon overwhelming Big Boy. Handles became difficult, since Paladin very rarely came out of hold. By :48 a handle was made and Big Boy declined to scratch. Paladin went on to win his championship with a win over his nephew, also from the yard of Carver. After a tough 30 minutes, Paladin was in control and Maurice told the handler to pick up the other dog and concede the match.
Paladin's ability to produce can be found in dogs like Quincy, Ch. Wild Thing, Hanna, Monster Man, Ch. Tyrone, Ch. Trackdown, Ch. Stephano, Gr. Ch. Cheif, and many other winners.
Chinaman was born on the yard of R. Abernathy on November 29, 1977. He was one of three pups born to Abernathy's Molly and sired by Wood's Trouble. Molly always seemed to have 3 pups. This time there was Chinaman, Boy and a female who would be named Onyx Lady (who went to the owner of Trouble, Dr. Wood). Boy would end up in the hands of G. Wright, where he would win three matches. Chinaman was raised by R. Abernathy and when he came of age he was placed with Dr. Wood to find out what he was made of.
In 1981, V & B bought a dog from Kimsey Woods called Double Trouble, they had bought this dog to run in the fast lane with on the west coast and after rolling him out they found out they were pleased with his gameness, but disappointed with his ability and bite. They contacted Kimsey and he told them he had a good rough dog that had just rolled with Wood's Sundance and had crippled Sundance, it was Chinaman. So V & B decided to trade Double Trouble for Chinaman. Double Trouble went on to win two and lost one game in 2 hours and twenty minutes. He arrived full of hookworms and roundworms and weighed only 42 lbs., 4 lbs. below his eventual best match weight of 46 lbs. Rob kept him on a long cable run and tried to help him overcome his emaciated state. Chinaman thanked him by biting him, so Rob shipped him to Vince. It was love at first sight. Vince wormed Chinaman and scheduled a roll for him. After a 3-hour drive Chinaman was nauseated and dehydrated. He was pitted 10 lbs. uphill against a powerful red dog named Ch. Ceasar who proceeded to mop the floor with him. When the big dog tired, Chinaman went to the stifles and punched very hard. Even though he was still nauseated and underweight he came up from the bottom to bite down and stop Ceasar at: 28. Chinaman's next roll was into Doc, a highly respected wrecker. If he could hang with Doc for even 10 minutes, Chinaman would be worth a bet. Doc came out hard and slammed Chinaman into the corner and tried to trade with Chinaman. Big mistake! Chinaman hit the gut and killed the Doctor in his own living room in 17 minutes! It was clear Chinaman was something special.
For his first two matches, Chinaman was hooked into respected head dogs that some expected to weather the storm and challenge the killing stifle and gut dog. Like their predecessors, neither lasted to the half-hour mark with Chinaman. For his third, a match was made with the highly renowned Gray's Hubcap who had dispatched the famous Red Danger dog in a classic 2-hour encounter. Vince and Rob traveled 7 hours with their dog and when they arrived, odds of 5-1 were being offered against Chinaman. The betting line changed dramatically after the dogs were released. Chinaman drove Hubcap into the corner on his back and this is where the match ended 18 minutes later. Hubcap was a memory and Chinaman was proclaimed a champion and best in show.
Suddenly no one had a 45-46 lb. male. Respectable dog men avoided him like the plague. Finally, when he was 7 years old, some determined fellows bought an expert head dog from R. Jackson, just to take out the aging Ch Chinaman. The dog from Jackson showed a lot of ability, but it wasn't enough to keep out an athlete of Chinaman's caliber. Chinaman worked past his defenses and curred him out in 38 minutes. This had been Chinaman's longest match, but the outcome was the same as always: he destroyed everything in his path.
For all who witnessed his matches, Chinaman became known as one of the roughest ever and a true finisher. According to scientific tests, he had the air of a greyhound. According to all who saw him, he had the mouth of an alligator. He was very clever. He would outsmart slick ear and nose dogs and cur them out. He would finish straight-ahead dogs even faster. Swapping-out was his game. Like all the truly great ones, Chinaman's build was like a sleek, muscular thoroughbred.
The Chinaman name appears in many of today's pedigrees. His contribution as a producer equals, or exceeds his dominance as a performer. Among his better known offspring were Ch. Eightball, Ch. Cotton, Ch. Chinabuck, Ch. Chinagirl, Ch. Stormy, Ch. Missy, Ch. Chinarose, Ch. Ninja and Ch. Crock. He had three sons (Brodt's Boar, Cottingham's Cotton, and Shockley's Header) go over the 3-hour mark on the same weekend! Perhaps his greatest contribution is as a producer of producers, as his son Frisco ROM has produced champions and grand champions.
Cholly Boy was a product of the Geist's Easy / O. Stevens' Old Charlie breeding. Cholly Boy was a well put together dog that seemed to favor Ozzie's old Homer stock.
Campained by Ozzie Stevens into some of the very best from the North. None of his matches were walk-overs as all of them went over the hour and a half mark. In his first match, he went into Captain America and his dog Herman. This match lasted 1:33, and Herman proved to be a dead game dog. For Cholly Boy's second, he went into Buffalo Soldier's Mister, who was from Rebel Kennels' breeding. Mister won a few before this match and was highly regarded. Cholly Boy won this match in 1:32. Ozzie was a little worried before the match as Cholly Boy had gotten a serious kidney infection towards the end of the keep, but went through with the show and even at 60% healthy, Cholly Boy came out with the victory.
The third match was into STP's Revenge. It was set in a private location, outside on a cool autumn night. Both dogs weighed in at 46 and at "release your dogs" they met in the middle with Cholly Boy coming up with an ear hold and Revenge getting in and driving for the front end. This was the pace for a while with Revenge only getting the chest every now and then and would throw Cholly Boy and get in the throat. But, whatever Revenge would do to Cholly, Cholly would come up and do it back, but harder and longer. Then he would land back on the head with Revenge driving and Cholly steering. Both dogs were real pit smart, Revenge was trying at every chance to run Cholly into the walls to get a hold of something, but just before he would get there Cholly would steer him around to the middle of the pit. The pace of the match was real fast for two 46 pound dogs, both were moving fast and were on their feet for the first 1:20. When it seemed they took their first moment of breath, one dog was always in hold and it usually was Cholly Boy with Revenge constantly trying to get in and go to work. At the point of the fight, it seemed that Cholly knew it was time to go in and finish Revenge, so he started working the throat more and more and Revenge was becoming less effective in keeping him out. It was at this point that Cholly started to bite harder and popped a bleeder in the shoulder of Revenge at 1:27. Revenge turns at 1:30, a handle was made and Revenge goes over straight and true. Now Cholly Boy is in trying to finish Revenge in the throat and it was obvious that Revenge had no chance and Cholly Boy wasn't going anywhere. At 1:39 STP asks if Ozzie will scratch to win, it is agreed and Cholly Boy goes open right back into the throat of Revenge. Then Revenge gives on hell of a game courtesy and was picked up by STP to go another day.
This was Cholly Boy's third, but I'd say his most famous match was into Jesse Rod's Whitefoot, down from J. Rod's Gr. Ch. Midnight blood. This was one of those classic matches that sort of mirrored the Ch. Homer vs Jeep match as it went three hours, with Cholly Boy the victor. Unfortunately, Cholly Boy passed shortly after the match.
Ch. Cholly Boy would not expend any more energy then he had to, to wear his opponent down and when he felt it was time to finish one, he did.
When Ozzie was asked who he ranked as the best dog he has owned, he replied Ch. Cholly Boy. This coming from a man who has owned the likes of Gr. Ch. Snake, Jr., Gr. Ch. Virgil, Ch. Homer, Ch. Tammy, Ch. Zero, Ch. Suzy, Ch. Rastus and many others.
Here is a little bit about a fine bulldog named "Destroyer". His registered name was "Yellow Buck" and was bred and raised by Jesse of Stone City Kennels. Yellow Buck was sired by Gr. Ch. Buck ROM out of Stone City Kennels' Awesome Baby ROM. Yellow Buck was dark brindle, with a red nose and he weighed about 53lbs. conditioned.
His first match was at the age of two and a half against Tension Turf Kennels from ST. Croix. and their dog David Koresh (a half brother to the famous Gr. Ch. IBM) battled with Yellow Buck for 1:05 and was picked up game. For his second match he went into Dennis and Hector's Brick at 52lbs. Yellow Buck finished Brick right in the pit with only one hold, deep in the stifle. That match only lasted seven minutes, Dennis and Hector picked Brick up, but it was too late.
From there on he never looked back. For his championship Jessie had to look off Puerto Rico for another opponent, because noone wanted any parts of Destroyer. Death Row Kennels answered the call with their 2X winner Predator, so Stone City and Co. traveled to South Jersey for this match. This proved to be Yellow Buck's toughest match and he wasn't supposed to come home alive. The dogs swapped it out for about :45 until Death Row decided to pick up Predator, thus making Yellow Buck a champion.
After about a year off with no takers, some dogmen from Florida stepped up with Bulldog P.'s Tere, a 1X winner out of Havana Boys' Sandal and Rebel Kennels' Gr. Ch. Shady Lady. They Flew down to Puerto Rico, but Yellow But was on the warpath and he made Tere stand the line at :27.
For his fifth, they hooked up with Work Kennels and their dog Buster, also a 4X winner. Work Kennels also flew down to Puerto Rico and after 1:30, they picked up Buster making Yellow Buck an official Grand Champion.
He was the second Gr. Ch. to come from the yard of Stone City Kennels out of Awesome Baby.
Bolio was bred by Maurice Carver and Eddie Klaus in 1969. His sire was the famous pit ace Klaus' Zeke and his dam was Klaus' Goldie. Bolio's pedigree is very heavy in the blood of a bitch named Carver's Judy and her sister the great Carver's Black Widow. In fact he carried fifty percent of this blood in his breeding.
Bennett Clayton of Texas bought Bolio from Carver and sent him to Floyd Boudreaux to be matched, he was hooked into a dog that had killed both of his previous opponents. This dog's name was Rowdy. Bolio was contracted into Rowdy twice. The first time Floyd was not content with Bolio's conditioning for the fight, he knew that Bolio must be perfect to fight a dog of this caliber. After Floyd paid the forfeit he set up a new match with Rowdy for the big night of a southern convention. This time Bolio was in great shape and when they hit, it was a real war. Bolio killed Rowdy in about two hours and was voted best in show! At this same convention, there were many champions being shown and among them was Davis' Grand Champion Boomerang. I was not at this fight and I got my information from other dog men and the sporting dog magazines.
Sometime after the fight Bolio was sold to a fancier in southern California. The new owner of Bolio was not interested in matching him again, even though I felt he was the best 43 lb. dog alive at the time. He decided to use him as a stud dog and that was the best use for him. Bolio was so talented he never got hurt in rolls. I was lucky enough to see him roll many times against all kinds of dogs including dogs that were up to 15 pounds larger than he. He handled ALL his opponents with ease.
I have not seen a large number of the famous foundation dogs fight and maybe some of them were better dogs than Bolio. I have seen many fast lane dogs in action since these foundation dogs faded into the past and I can say that Bolio is the best dog I have ever seen pound for pound. He was not an extremely hard biter, but he could shut his mouth. He was very skilled at keeping his holds and sometimes it would appear that he was glued to his rivals head, he liked to fight the head. He was very strong and fast wrestler and would quickly get his hold and then use his body weight and muscle power to wear the opponent down while punishing him the whole time. He would move in such a way that the other dog would be carrying most of Bolio's weight with him. When the other dog would slow down from the head holds, Bolio would go into the throat. If a dog did happen to get Bolio off his head, Bolio would go toe to toe with him, but not for long. Bolio would work his way back to the head and again be in total control. He was the fastest, smartest, and most effective head dog that I have ever seen. He had natural air and I never saw him slow down. He was a very intense dog and he loved to fight. When in the corner he would scream with rage until he was released into the other dog. Occasionally, he would bite you if not released quick enough.
Bolio as a producer was the best stud dog that I know of that ever lived. He was bred to some poor cur bitches and produced excellent pit dogs from them. When he was bred to good bitches, those results were amazing.
Some friends of mine had a dispute with Bolio's owner and ended up taking the dog while he was at church. I had no part in the taking of Bolio from his owner's yard and do not know the details of the dispute between him and my friends. I don't use his name because the purpose of this article is to praise Bolio, not to put down his former owner. Bolio's former owner had stolen dogs from me and so I feel that I owed him nothing. When the people who took Bolio offered me breeding rights to the dog, I accepted immediately. Bolio remained on my yard until he died at the age of thirteen. He would sire litter after litter of good dogs and I would rate him as a better stud dog than my Tombstone dog, who was also a great stud in his own right. Bolio produced fine dogs from all his breedings, no matter what the bloodline was. His pups carried the same traits that made him such a great dog.
When I bred a daughter of Bolio's, Red Baby, to Tombstone, the result was thirteen very good dogs. Eight of these dogs won 20 matches. The other five was used as brood bitches. Champion Tonka, Champion Snubby, Champion Crash, and Creamator were some of the better known dogs I sold from this breeding.
One of the first bitches I bred to Bolio was Faith, a Clouse bitch. This breeding produced eight game and talented dogs, including Chen Leng and Champion Princess. Red Baby's mother was a sister to Offer's Crazy Babe, a pure Clouse bitch. Red Baby's litter was a bunch of great dogs.
I had a bitch named Tuffy that was heavy in Clouse blood. She was by Tater and Faith, and when I bred her to Bolio, I got some very good dogs including Bull Boy Bob ROM and Champion Dugan. Bolio worked well with good Tombstone and Clouse bitches. He also sired good ones to great dogs out of bitches from the bloodlines of Eli Jr. and Ironhead. This reminds me of a statement made by Ricky Jones. He said, "My favorite bloodlines are the Eli / Ironhead cross dogs that came from Maurice during the early and mid seventies. Percentage wise these dogs will get you to the pit more times than any other bloodline out there. There are a lot of good dogs from other bloodlines, but over all you will get more dog for your money and time from the Eli/Ironhead line." Ricky Jones can run any bloodline he wants and he has a right to his own opinion. I don't think any bloodline is so superior to the other top bloodlines that it wins every time. However, Ricky stated very clearly that his dogs will win more that any other, now how in the hell would he know this to be a fact, he never used anything except the Eli blood and did 99.9% of his winning in his own back yard! I say his opinion is weak and wrong! I owned and saw dogs of Bullyson, Eli Jr., and Ironhead when Ricky still had his hound dogs. I say the Bolio blood is superior and I sold my Bullyson-Eli Jr., dogs to make room for the Bolio blood that I breed. I talked with Carver on many occasions and he told me more than twice that the Bolio dogs are his best without a doubt. In the whole article he never spoke about two of the best dogs he owned, Chome and Chocolate Soldier. These two dogs won 4 matches for him and they were bred by Diamond Jim out of a Bolio bitch bred to the great Luther dog. The mother of Chome and Soldier was Patrick's Rose. I understand that Jones had a lot of wins to his credit, but the fact is that a puppy I sold as a pet beat Grand Champion Sandman even though Sandman outweighed him by 3 lbs. I am talking about Grand Champion Buck, a Bolio dog. If Ricky can make a statement that his dogs are the best, I can tell you that the people with Bolio dogs aren't losing any sleep over his "Honest Dogs." I would not trade one good Bolio dog for any of his dogs. I quess most serious dog men run the line of dogs they like the best.
Bolio's blood is by far the biggest part of my yard. Almost all my dogs have some Bolio blood in them and many are 60-70% Bolio blood. I don't think you get the best results by just inbreeding on one good dog. You need other good bloodlines to cross them with and to keep them strong. I am without a doubt the biggest Bolio fan in the world and i have been bragging about him for twenty years. Maurice Carver told me that "all the Bolio dogs will do for you is win. Lots of people don't like them after they win, but they get the job done!" Eddie Klaus and Maurice Carver deserve the credit for breeding Bolio and his great litter mates Mendicino, Andy Capp, Daisy, and Leggs Diamond. All I did was realize his potential as a stud dog. I am sure I would still have bulldogs if I had never heard of Bolio, but I know my yard is a better yard because of him.
If I could have any dog that lived in the past, today, as a two year old dog, I would take Bolio!
In the late 1970's and early 1980's, Mr. Fletcher Chavis bred some dogs that any dogman would be proud to own. Much of his original stock was from that grand old dog, Champion Yellow John ROM and for years Mr. Chavis campaigned with that inbred Red Boy dogs that he had gotten from RT Bass. He was rated one of the best.
During the mid 1970's an outstanding discovery was made. Vernon Jackson had a dog that he had gotten from Don Mayfield that he called Hank, inbred from Mayfield's Lightning II blood. Hank never started until he was three years old, but when he did, he not only turned out to be a phenominal performer but an excellent producer as well. He was bred to a bitch of Bob Rast's called Queenie and from that litter came Jocko, Argo, Pearl, Apple, and a few other good ones. Mr. Chavis ended up with Jocko and that was the beginning of the famous Red Boy/ Jocko bloodline.
Mr. Chavis campaigned with Jocko and he looker to be unbeatable due to the inherited trait of Hank's backend style. Jocko became a champion and was retired to stud. Jocko was bred to his sister Apple and several inbred bitches that he sired. These bitches were bred to Yellow John, a triple inbred son of Tramp Red Boy, and that was the beginning of Jocko's fame as a producer. Out of these breedings came Tant's Gr. Ch. Yellow ROM, Gainey's JR., Chavis' Roho, STP's Gr. Ch. John Boy and his littermate brother Ch. Toro, alnog with Super Gnat's dead game Boots and a host of others. However, there is another side of this story that few people knew about.
Mr. Chavis had a bitch by the name of Lady Sassy Mead. She was half Red Boy and half Lonzo's breeding. He bred Lady Sassy Mead to Champion Jocko and created a whole new strain of dogs. In that litter came Dangerous Dan, Thor, Margarett and Rose. Rose was the grand dam of Gr. Ch. Yellow and Jr. However, these dogs were black in color and were thought not to be up to the standards of the original stock and were sold as pets.
Carolina Kennels purchased a son out of Dangerous Dan and a friend purchased a male and a female. The male Carolina Kennels purchased was called Termite. Termite's first show was in 1983 with Hargroves. Termite came in over the weight and had to pay a forfeit. Later on in that year, Termite got hooked into Tant. Tant he a reputation of being one of the best dogmen in the south and many of Carolina's friends thought they was being too cocky going into him. Termite was declared the winner in :38. Next, Termite won over Jacky S. in :20 minutes and was ready for his Championship match. Crenshaw and Tugboat had won several matches and both had outstanding reputations. Carolina Kennels couldn't resist the oppurtunity of gonig into the best. Tugboat lived up to his rep for the first :30, then those Jocko traits started kicking in and Termite was the winner at :58.
Well, by this time Carolina Kennels was satisfied with Termite's performance and was concidering his retirement, but again couldn't resist another challenge. This time it was the grand old man himself, Fletcher Chavis. Terms of the contract couldn't be agreed upon, so Mr. Chavis sold the dog to Rastaman and said that Big Joe had the perfect style to beat Termite. Rastaman's Big Joe put on a great show, but at 1:17 Termite won his fourth. Termite was retired after this and was put out to stud. He has produced some very good dogs among the best is Gr. Ch. Cirus. Cirus won 5, including a victory over Solo's Champion Thunder.
Throughout the history of the sporting American Pit Bull Terriers, no single dog has made quite the impact as Garrett's CH. Jeep, and that being the combination of not only his worthiness as a supreme pit dog, but the ultimate supremacy of his reproduction. Jeep was bred by James Crenshaw and sold to James Garrett as a young dog and was campaigned and brought to notoriety by James Garrett asssisted by James Crenshaw. Jeep achieved his fourth win over Ozzie Stevens' Ch. Homer. This fight making history, for the caliber of these two dogs meeting in the pit is unusual in itself. Although, Jeep the victor, Homer, in his own rights, had proved to be just as good a combat dog and both dogs were truly entitled to the legacy that they have earned through this match.
Now that the formidable worth of Jeep has been established, we will go on to the greatest asset this dog ever possessed and that was his ability to reproduce a staggering figure of Champions, one Grand Champion and numerous one and two time winners. The conversation at many conventions always leads to great dogs and a dispute of which bloodlines are the best to utilize to get the highest percentage of game and winning dogs. I have often heard this one statement being passed when Jeep's name is brought up as to his high figure on the R.O.M. (Register Of Merit) list and that is, well look how many bitches JEEP was bred to to create the amount of Champions he has sired. My answer to those dogmen is this. Take three major pit dogs that are from outstanding bloodlines such as STP's Grand Champion Buck, six time winner, STP's Champion Toro and Burton's Grand Champion Hank, as these three were considered exceptional pit dogs and many utilized these three different bloods for the sole purpose of producing or establishing new lines from them. All three lived approximately to the same age which was ten years. Two were campained approximately the same time and died not to far apart, that being, Ch. Toro and Gr. Ch. Hank. Hank made his pit history prior to theirs, but was bred as many times as Jeep, if not more. Gr. Ch. Buck, probably second to Hank in the amount of his breedings and Toro, who was bred to 23 different bitches during this period. The fact is all three of these great dogs combined together, produced about half the number of Champions as Jeep has. So common, sense will tell you how many champions doesn't hold water. In retrospect, dogs like Ch. Homer, Gr. Ch. Art, and Tombstone who was bred limited amounts of times and was still able to produce high quality dogs should also be considered. Certain dogs should be on the ROM list considering the number of times they have been bred, like: Jeep, Buck, Yellow, Frisco and Mayday to name a few.
Some of the crosses which are well known where Jeep created some great dogs and the blood seems to click the best with are Jeep / Red Boy and Jeep / Rascal.
Ch. Jeep was born in August 1976 on the yard of James Crenshaw, in the famous litter of Finley's Ch. Bo ROM to Crenshaw's Ch. Honeybunch ROM. That produced four champions. The most famous of the four was Ch. Jeep ROM. But there was also Crenshaw's (Super Gnat's) Ch. Charlie, who has been said to have been a better pit dog than Jeep. Ch. Missy who is seen in alot of pedigrees today, and Swetman's Ch. Holly, who was said to be a terrible biter with lots of ability. This was a great litter that was made once, for reasons that I don't know.
CH. Jeep is believed by many to be one of the best match dogs of his time.
Defeated Pylant's Ch. Kato at 43 pounds in :28 minutes. Cooper's Weenie also at 43 pounds in :58 minutes. Stinson & Stepp's Black Dog, who was said to be a three time winner at 42 pounds in two hours and five minutes. And, for his fourth and final match we went into Ozzie Stevens' Ch. Homer, at 43 pounds and won in 3:45. This was one of those classic matches, that history is made from. Two great game dogs met, and only one could win. One created a legacy and the other a dynasty.
In March of 1995 a young black male dog called "Tex" was brought to MAD's yard. The dog was owned by Smokey of Texas and was obtained from Chicago Mike by buying a pregnant bitch that had been bred to Well's Ch. Oscar.
Tex was your typical Eli, Jr./ Bullyson bred looking dog. His body was long, muscular and big headed. He had big cutters to match.
When Tex turned 14 months old, Smokey was concerned if the dog would even start. So, MAD agreed to help school the young dog. At the time Dead Serious was looking for match dogs and MAD had a proven one-time winner the size of Tex for sale. After only :15 mins, he had killed his first opponent at an early age. The first :08 minutes Tex buried deep in the shoulders, teeth sunk to the gums. For the remaining :07 minutes, he laid deep inside the kidney area until the one-time winner layed dead. Dead Serious was convinced and bought Tex from Smokey and changed his name to better suit him. "El Diablo Negro", which translates to "The Black Devil".
Diablo was later rolled about 6 or 7 times in their yard with none of his rolls going over 8 minutes without being stopped.
After witnessing Diablo roll, their friend Mr. Woods told them something that molded their philosophy. He said, "Son, put that black dog into shape and I'll find you a roll to see how game he is. You bring the dog and I'll bet the money! If you still don't know what to do after that, let him heal up and put him back into shape again. I'll find you a roll, bet the money and you bring Diablo!!" Well, needless to say, they found the roll and they bet the money.
For Diablo's first match, we were hooked up into Aries Kennels at 47 lbs. At this time, Diablo was twenty months old and was headed south of the border to their backyard, Mexico.
On the morning of the show, Diablo weighed in at 51 lbs, some 4 lbs overweight. But, by 9:00 PM that night, after being walked, rubbed and emptied, Diablo made weight which was somewhat hard on him. The show was definitely still on!!
Upon arriving on location we discovered that Aries Kennels had gone out and borrowed another kennel's dog. The dog was Espy's Joker, a two-time winner and a two-time best of show. Diablo dominated the Joker dog from start to finish and by the :33 minute mark Joker sat the line.
For Diablo's second match some 5 months after his first win, they was hooked into Norman K.'s Drexal, him also being a two-time winner and a truly deep-game bulldog. Only this time they traveled east to "Cajun Country" Louisianna with Diablo now being 25 months old.
this match was being used as a measurement of where they stood with Diablo. Being matched into Mr. K., a legend and one of, if not the most well respected and honored people in the game, truly made it an honor.
Drexal was to be Diablo's toughest and longest match to becoming a champion. Had Drexal not met up with Diablo, he would have had a long and more promising career in the game. The box was 16' by 16', but it could have been 10' by 10' and neither dog would have touched the walls. It was truly a classic match "Southern Style" with Diablo's speed and extremely hard mouth rapidly becoming the deciding factors. Finally, at the :38 minute mark, Drexal was picked up and brought to his corner for courtesy scratch. Upon Drexal's release he had fallen a total of three times catching himslef with his muzzle until finally lunging and taking hold of Diablo to complete a scratch that proved him to be dead game. After an hout of work on Drexal, he couldn't be saved, but will always be remebered as a truly dead game bulldog.
Soon after that match, Diablo was hooked into Pete the Greek & Moe's Ch. Brazra, a four-time winner at 47 lbs. A forfeit was paid to Ch. Brazra because Diablo could no longer make that weight and the fight would never go off.
Diablo was matched for his championship about 8 months later and at 33 months of age. It was agreed that this match needed to be an against all odds type of match for the two-time winner. So to confirm everything, DSK felt he was capable of doing and more, so they headed north. This time, traveling to their opponent's back yard once more, over 1500 miles from home to the "Big Apple", New York City, "where all lanes are fast".
The match was set at 48 lbs, into the Gator Boyz and their dog Dunga. After tow hours of waiting past the scheduled time of the show, Dunga arrives. He weighed in at a conditioned 49 1/2 lbs. and with Diablo being on weight. Diablo being 1500 miles from his home in Texas now had to push an additional pound and a half. Just one more odd to go against. Once the dogs were released, Diablo took control, but at the :03 minute mark Dunga had the tip of Diablo's muzzle and had suddenly torn Diablo's nose from the bone which had him breathing through the mouth. The odds were again stacked higher, but after :21 minutes of being dominated, Dunga shut it down with this turning out to be Diablo's easiest victory of his career.
Butcher Boy was bred by Frank Fitwater. He was born in Irving, TX on June 4, 1967. Norman Hooten obtained Butcher Boy at 6 weeks of age by trading $50.00 worth of horseshoeing to a man who knew Frank and had a litter of pups, but said that Frank would not sell a dog to a stranger or to anyone who did not come with references.
The man introduced Norman to Frank, the deal was made and he picked up his pup, or rather he picked him since he was the only one that came up to him and grabbed him by the pants legs and started shaking like a true bulldog. Frank and Norman became close friends and remained the same until Frank's death.
Butcher developed rapidly and later proved to be an outstanding dog. He was first rolled at 12 monthsof age against his littermate brother, Weaver's Mike. It was at this time that Norman knew that he had a special dog as he went deep into the shoulder and left holes like a 12-gauge shotgun. When scratched, he went low, hard and very fast with power like a fullback. Mike, who was owned and campaigned by Ed Weaver, went on to become a champion in his own right at a lighter weight than Butcher Boy, winning three and losing one. The one loss was because he went blind during the match adn couldn't find his opponent in time to beat the count.
At 16 months of age Butcher Boy was rolled into Carver's Rastus. This roll was better than many contracted matches witnessed by Norman. Maurice picked Rastus up at the :20 minute mark, stating that Butcher Boy was just too big for him, which he was. Norman believed that it was at that roll that Maurice start to take a real interest in Butcher Boy, though he was still doubtful about his gameness. Rastus went on to prove his greatness in his loss to the Tater dog i California in a match that went over 2 hours. Rastus proved beyond a doubt that he was indeed "dead game".
After a three dog test, Norman and Maurice started looking for a match and Maurice finally called and asked if he wanted to match into the 2X winner, Kennedy's Booger Red. He agreed and the match was made, set for the Oklahoma Convention.
Danny Burton conditioned and handled Booger Red for this match. For the first :20 minutes both dogs had been fighting even, when Butcher Boy threw Booger Red and took a killing chest hold, cutting a artery, causing blood to spurt. After working this hold a few times, it was visible that Booger Red was in trouble. Red got to his feet, but could no longer fight even with Butcher Boy. A turn was called on Red at about the :30 minute mark. Red made agood, hard scratch, but was put down by Butcher Boy. A pickup and Butcher Boy went fast, knocking Red down and shaking hard. At about the :45 minute mark Red had about all he was capable of taking, when he was released he was unable to stand...he fell on the floor too weak to move. Butcher Boy the winner in :46. Booger Red took his death without a whimper.
It was in Butcher Boy's 2nd match, in 1969 in Mississippi, against Edward's Luke, a 2X winner, that Butcher Boy scratched into Luke so hard that he actually knocked Luke's handler completely OUT of the pit at least 5 times. At :15 minutes, a turn was called on Butcher Boy. Edwards was having a hard time holding his dog in the corner. :18 Luke scratches good with Butcher Boy meeting him in the center, hard. :21 Butcher scratches like a jet. The next 7 scratches came almost once every minute until Luke goes down in his corner and takes the count at :33 minutes, making Butcher Boy a 2X winner.
Butcher Boy's dam, Womack's Big Liz was also on the card for this convention winnig in :28 minutes.
The "Day of the Upsets" was in 1972 and that was day that Butcher Boy won his championship match over Corn's Smokey, a son of Bullyson. He was the only favorite to win his match, which went :18 minutes as Smokey just could not take what Butcher Boy had for him and quit cold. On this same card Bullyson was defeated by his son Benny Bob.
Shortly after his win over Smokey, it ws determined that he had heartworms adn was subsequently treated twice for the deadly parasite and retired from combat.
His true test came in 1973 at six years of age when he was brought out of retirement, after being treated for heart worms twice, to go into the 2X winner, Stinson, Glover & Co's Sampson. Sampson, Carver bred dog had beat a dog of M. Carver's at 56 lbs and was in his prime at 30 months of age. Because of Butcher Boy's age and the fact that it was known that he had been treated for heart worms twice, he was a 3 to 1 underdog going in. But, he beat Sampson by biting him down in 1:45 minutes in a classical match. Both, Sampson and Butcher Boy died after this great match. Butcher Boy was awarded Best of Show for his dead game , hard biting efforts.
Of the four contract opponents that faced Butcher Boy in the pit, only one survived- Corn's Smokey and he curred out in :15 minutes.
Champion Butcher Boy was a great dog and has been touted by many longtime, top dogmen who witnessed all his matches as perhaps the greatest 57lb. dog of the century, and most certainly the best 57lb. dog of his time. He was, truly, a once in a lifetime dog.
Because of the importance of both Dibo and Rascal in todays bloodlines, I've chosen to tell their story collectively.
The two famous dogs, Tudor's Dibo (pronounced DIE-BO) and Trahan's Rascal shared the same sire, Hubbard's Bounce, also called Corvino's Bouncer. Bounce, as he is more frequently recognized, was out of Hubbard's Lena and sired by Hubbard's Gimp. Bounce's grand-parents were comprised of three Corvino dogs: Gimp, Goldie, and Shorty.
DIBO The Dibo line descended from the inbred Lloyd's Pilot ( Pilot was bred at the "Red Lion Inn" in Birmingham, England and imported by Charles "Cockney Charlie" Lloyd, of Manhattan, New York City ) strain of Con Feeley of Chicago which was then selectively bred by Joe Corvino, also of Chicago and resulted in 2 key dogs, Corvino's Gimp ( Dibo's Great-Grandsire) and his litter brother Corvino's Shorty. Dibo also had some influence from the powerful strain of Frank Henry of Marietta, Ohio whose blood centered around his "Richmond" dog which was imported from Wolverhampton, England. This Richmond blood was blended with Lloyd's Pilot blood of W.T. Delihant and great aces such as Swineford's Ch King Paddy, Henry's Ch Black Brandy, Tudor's Gr Ch Black Jack and his much-feared son Peterson's Gr Ch Black Jack, Jr. resulted. Gr Ch Black Jack, Jr. was out of Cunningham's Nellie, a pure Henry bitch descended from Richmond. A daughter of Gr Ch Black Jack, Jr. was then bred to the imported Irish "Old Family" gamedog Bill Shipley's Red Jerry owned by Shipley of Texas who maintained a breeding partnership with Irishman Jim Corcoran. This breeding yielded the bitch Tudor's Goldie, a devastating pit dog which Joe Corvino bought from Earl Tudor and incorporated into his breeding program, which ultimately resulted in Dibo.
Dibo's dam was Ed Ritcheson's Bambi. Bambi, also known as Heinzl's Bambi, was sired by Ritcheson's Spike and she was out of Ritcheson's Spotty. A novice by the name of W. D. Smith acquired Bambi and made the breeding to Wiz Hubbard's Bounce. Smith eventually sold Dibo, as a pup, to a man named Jensen who only wanted a pet for his son. The young boy named his pet Dumbo, but tired of him and wished for a collie, as Lassie was popular at that time. Jensen then contacted Mr. Heinzl in regard to trading Dumbo for a collie pup. Howard Heinzl knew Bounce and Bambi were good individuals, but still had his doubts as one of Bounce's sisters were questionable, and Bambi was cold. The trade was made and Dumbo went home with Howard Heinzl and stayed, where he would follow Mr. Heinzl and stayed out of the reach of the other chained dogs on the yard for about two years.
Earl Tudor visited Heinzl's yard and took a liking to Dumbo. Mr. Heinzl offered Mr. Tudor any dog on his yard, trying to convince him to purchase a good dog. In spite of everything, Tudor took Dumbo home and changed his name to Dibo. Dibo was stolen shortyl after and was sold to a black restaurant owner, who named him Runt, Frank Ferris later changed all the incorrect papers. The pup wouldn't hit a lick until it was 2 1/2 years old, but when it did, it was an cae dog from that day forward! Floyd Boudreaux and William Burley owned a good brindle dog named Buzz on halves. They had to pull this pup off Buzz in :18 minutes as he wrecked Buzz in short order. Floyd matched him at 39 lbs. into a 40 lb. dog and won the contest in style and short order. He used his dad's Man dog 6 weeks later and matched into Gaboon Trahan and his highly regarded Country Boy dog, gave him a pound and beat him in :33 minutes. Tudor got Dibo back from the gentleman and by the age of four, Dibo had finally turned on and eventually became a three time winner at 44 lbs. His performance record is minute in comparison to his ability to produce.
He's sired: Tudor's White Rock 4X winner Tudor's Spike 4X winner Tudor's Jeff 3X winner Trahan's Blackie 3X winner McCraw's Snowball Harrel's Topper 5X winner Heinzl's Polly Ed Crenshaw's Buck Edward's Sam Carver's Cracker Start (Haye's) Cry Baby 4X winner Boudreaux' Blind Billy
and the list goes on.
Dibo had two litter mates that also made names for themselves: Heinzl's Arizona Pete and Langham's Lil.
RASCAL
Rascal was sent to Hanson by Corvino and later Rascal went to Pete Lormond, then to Clavelle and finally Rascal was traded to Floyd Boudreaux, where he and Gaboon Trahan collaborated on many of the breedings with Rascal. Boudreaux said Trahan never owned the dog and it should appear as Boudreaux' Rascal, like he is registered. Anyway, Floyd owned the dog and crossed him with Blind Billy.
Like Dibo, Rascal wouldn't start as a young dog and as a matter of fact, he was also stolen, but because of the fact that he hadn't turned on, they turned him loose into the streets.
Boudreaux saw him in 1957 when he got out of the service and he fought against a big black dog that was out of Cannon's Black Shine and those dogs. At that, time they was all arrested, but in those days it was just a misdemeanor, there was really nothing against bulldogs. Rascal was owned by SP and Floyd traded one of Rascal's sons for him, a young dog called Rascal, Jr. This pup had only one testicle, but SP took him and later sold him.
It is believed that Rascal won approximately 6 matches at a weight of 57lbs. He was considered a game dog, who was a very rough ear dog.
He's sired:
Trahan's Peter (Country Boy) 3X winner Trahan's Little Rascal
Trahan's Marciano Trahan's Lou
Trahan's Boy, a game loser in 2:30 Elias' Pistol
Carver's Sherly Boudreaux' Rascal, Jr.
Trahan's Ruby, who produced Cotton's Bullet.
Cajen 2X winner, who lost in 2:12 to Komosinski's Rocky II
and many more.
To reinforce the importance of these two dogs in the history of today's American Pit Bull Terrier, it is very unlikely that you can trace the pedigree of any pit bull bred in the USA, and not find at least one of these two dogs in the pedigree. I believe the only strain of pit bulls that does not trace back to Dibo or Rascal would be the Colby bred dogs. But, they are being crossed with these strains to produce winners, I.E. Jeep / Red Boy, Red Boy / Jocko, and Red Boy / Bolio.
Mayday and his siblings were all impressive and well built but Mayday always stood out. He was BIG, CONFIRMED, and fearless, He walked out of the van as a puppy after the long drive, barked, and marked my kennel as HIS territory right when he hit the ground. He had a huge head, long ears and barked at the other dogs from the start. His head was always up high. He really thought he was the MAN. He was a happy and energetic pup. The first time we put him in the box, we did it with Ch. Leroy (heavy Paladin). Leroy was a HARD biter. He got a hold of Mayday's chest and bit hard. Finally, Mayday got a hold of the head and got him out. After that, Mayday was PISSED. For the next 5 minutes, he mopped the floor with Ch. Leroy. We had to stop it cause he was killing him. Of Course, Leroy was pushing 9 pounds, and it was not fair. BUT from that Moment on Mayday SCREAMED in the corner. He really was impressive.
We go into, SLK & Dennis Ls HI VOLTAGE (2X), at Catch Weight. This match was special to me because of the adverse circumstances.
A. - Mayday, (First time out) B. - Choice, (First time out) C. - Leroy (1X)
We arrived late Monday night in PR and we went with Choice and Leroy. Both of them won. Ch. Choice won in an impressive match against a HARD biting daughter of Garner's Frisco ROM. We arrived at 2 AM to the kennel and I knew something was wrong. Whenever Mayday heard my voice, he would SCREAM and bark, and go crazy cause he knew it was time to work. The problem was that it was SILENT. We took a flashlight into the kennel and to our surprise we find Mayday inside his cell but with another DEAD bulldog. The dog was a brother to Southern Kennels Xuxa. He had gotten loose and they fought fence to fence, but I think Mayday grabbed the fence and pulled it enough for the other dog to come through. It was no big deal that he killed a smaller dog but the match was that Saturday and he looked exhausted. We cleaned him up; we locked him in a totally dark room with all the food and water he could handle and on the next day's walk. He looked better; we did the same thing the next day. I was really worried that the accident might have tired his mouth. One b/c of making the hole in the fence, the other in killing the dog. At the time of the show, Mayday only had some scratches and swollen lips. hehe HI VOLTAGE; weighed 67Lbs, and was a monster, Mayday weighed 59 pounds. He looked Tiny next to High Voltage. But catch weight is catch weight. Finally, Mayday won in 35 minutes, He never showed tired, and after the 25-minute mark, he took control and finished.
Soulman & Plumb Dave BIG RED (2X), Southern Kennels had taken 5 dogs to PR and won 4. We lost one game to Stone City Kennels Ch. NICO (4x)(ROM) with a son of Ch. Rattler at 1:13. The time before, we took 3 dogs to PR and won ALL 3. People in Southern Florida said that Southern Kennels was only winning in Puerto Rico and they weren't quality wins. Especially Soul man he was really being vocal. He said Ch. White heads toughest match was against a pure Red Boy-Jocko dog. Southern Kennels had lost to BIG RED before with a different son of Ch. Rattler who stood the line at 1:05. After that, BIG RED had won his second match in 1:25, and now he was ready for his championship. I had lost to BIG RED before and wanted a piece of him with Mayday so after many calls, it was hooked. Mayday's pit weight at that time was 60 but we conceded to bring him at 58 to make it happen. I was crazy about beating BIG red to prove that the previous wins in PR were the real deals and that the dogs in PR were also the real deal. As much as we tried, Mayday only came in at 58.5. We paid the forfeit and they gave me an hour to lose .5 pounds. We did and the party started. It was Mayday's easiest fight. He used big red like a punching bag. He mopped the floor with him. People watching wanted to change his name to PAYDAY. Others were calling him KILLING MACHINE. Havana Tito was screaming. "It's Gr.Ch. Rodney. Gr.Ch. Rodney, Gr.Ch. Rodney reincarnated. Big Red stood the line at 37 minutes and it ended with Mayday SCREAMING in the corner. He was just getting started. He wanted another hour. It was an impressive victory. Later Soulman called me and said that his dogs were still better than the ones in Puerto Rico but only 2 minutes better.
After this 2nd win it was extremely difficult getting him hooked again. We had to change his name and so forth. He had won impressively and no one wanted any of Mayday. My GREAT friend Angel hooked him with the Gator Boys in NYC area against a supposed 4x winner. They ended up bringing Pete Jr. who was in my opinion half CROCODILE. This dog could BITE. He was more to the ground and thicker than Mayday. He looked like a typical Bullyson/Cowboy, but 60 pounds. hehe. That dog was a true killing machine. It was Mayday's toughest fight at that time. It was the shortest but the most SAVAGE. Mayday somehow knew that he had to kill this Croc before he got killed. He finished in 29 minutes BUT with TERRIBLE chest injuries. At about 2AM at the Vet's Mayday was cold and dying. The wound was only an inch from his lung. It was a miracle he lived. We worked on him long and hard and my friend Angel kept him for a few months. After that He was Southern Kennels Ch. Mayday.
For #4 we didn't have to look for anyone, they came looking for us. We didn't have to change names or nothing like that. We hooked into Big Dust's Ch.Budda, (6X); he had won 6 but only had reported the last three to the SDJ. This time it was 65 pounds. In the first 5 minutes, Budda BROKE Mayday's Leg. Budda was a rough dog, after that Mayday stay there with three legs, and still coming and coming, it was a classic match. After 30 minutes even, they both slow down and pace themselves. At the 45-minute mark, Mayday started to take control and I urged him to finish. I would yell, and Mayday shook violently. at 1:05. Buddah stood the line.!! Mayday once again SCREAMED in the corner. After this match I retired him for a year. This is when I first bred Xuxa to produce Gr. Ch. Lukane. I never thought to match him again because he only walked on 3 legs after that. Then I met Cuban Missing Link who probably knows more than Vets do. He told me that Mayday walked on three legs only because he THOUGHT his leg was still hurt. I had seen the x rays and told him he was crazy. He replied that that break in the leg only made it stronger and that a pre-keep would fix the problem. I tried it and to my surprise, Missing Link was right. He not only fixed the leg, but Mayday looked 2 years younger again.
The best match was Gr.Ch.Mayday against Tant's Cody, not only because of how good Cody was, who later on showed to be DEAD GAME, but also because of all the circumstances surrounding the contest. It was almost impossible for Mayday to win this match. The odds were stacked 99% against us. Mr. Tant didn't know that he was going into Mayday. My good friend Angel hooked Mayday into Mr. Tant for us. We respect Mr. Tant like as a good breeder and dogman, but we had to show that Mayday could handle any Red Boy/Jocko dog as well. So, we went into the main source of Gr.Ch.Yellow blood, Mr. Tant.
We conditioned Mayday in Fla, and flew into SC a few days before the contest. That match was hooked at 65 Lbs. We made a mistake on his last feed, and we were at 65.5 Lbs, just half pound over weight, so we had to pay the forfeit. Mr. Tant was OK with that and he still wanted to do it. At 65 Lbs, a half-pound would not make that big a difference. We paid it and started to wash Mayday. Toward the end of the wash, Mr. Tant started to look at Mayday, and he started saying "That is a nice looking dog, "He looks just like my Yellow dogs, "Is he who I´m thinking he is?????? ". At this point we were getting edgy. Then asked us directly, " Is this dog Ch.Mayday???? " Well, what could we say? We had to admit it. He was very UPSET. I couldn't blame him. He said, he didn't want to go into his dogs. I told him that "YES, Mayday is off of Gr. Ch. Yellow, BUT you weren't the breeder. The breeder was Mr. Hollingsworth who paid the stud fee. All you did was collect the money.
He is only 50% your bloodline. The other 50% is Hollingsworth's careful blend of Bolio-Tombstone. "Any ways, after he collected our forfeit, he ran out of the place with his dog, and left us there with Mayday all wet. We didn't even have a chance to finish washing him. We were very frustrated. I told myself that was the last time, I will condition Mayday!! It was extremely difficult finding any dog able to go into him. A few friends like Cuban Missing Link were there in car, and I ask him to just take him (Mayday) back to Miami in his car that same night. Of course we didn't feed Mayday that night, he was in the car all night long, until they arrived home in the morning. At that time, they just gave Mayday a cup of dog food. Everything was gone. We already lost the chance to make the match. That Sunday's morning on March 1996, when I wake up, I was very hyper and disappointed. I decided to call Mr. Tant and have a meeting with him. I wanted to renegotiate the situation and make that match possible, after a 2-hour conversation, we agreed to the following terms…. A. We will do it Thursday night B. Not 65Lbs but catch weight. C. We will play only 1K, against Ch.Dragon Lady (Champion Dragon lady was well known as the best 47lber in the world and Mr. Tant wanted to snatch her from us.) D. I had to take it or leave it, like that, so I took his offer.
Immediately I called my friends in Fla, and told them what I had decided to do. ALL OF THEM SCREAMED over the phone that I was crazy!! All of them told me that Mayday looked TERRIBLE. He was completely stressed, skinny, and under Pit Weight. ON TOP OF THAT I had to put him back on the airplane. My friends refused to send me my dog but I told them that he was MY DOG, and that I would take responsibility for him. I spoke to them firmly and they finally sent the dog. Dr. PEPE from the lab was the one who sent Mayday. After he shipped him he called and said Mayday was in terrible shape. He said he was very stressed, tired, and unrested, not to mention, way under pit weight. All my friends said I was crazy, and that all I was going to do was lose a great dog. They said it was impossible for me to win, especially against a seasoned dogman like Mr. Tant. When he arrived in SC for the second time HE WAS JUST BONES. I started to think that maybe my friends were right. The circumstances were too much for even the greatest dog of all time. He looked completely destroyed. I have a picture of him that day; He was a completely different Mayday. A package of Bones. My great friend Angel was the only friend I had left that was willing to help me in my task. He helped me try to recover Mayday in only 4 days. He stayed with me and worked alongside me. We had him on IV. Forget conditioning, forget the keep, all we were trying to do was recover Mayday from all the long hours of travel and malnutrition. Well, we arrived there Thursday night, and Mr. Tant brought Cody, at 72 Lbs, he was a horse.
That was a smart move He gave Cody all rest he needed and very good food. On top of that he let him gain 7 pounds. Now, we had to go into a bigger, stronger and completely rested dog, Things were looking bad. Mayday looked a lot of smaller than Cody, and was all stressed out from the travel back and forth. RELEASE YOUR DOGS and the party started. As was expected, Cody led the contest early pushing and punching very hard into Mayday for the first 35 minutes.
Mayday was just trying to keep that big strong dog out with defence. He held on to the nose, face and throat. A few times Mayday tried to go into the back-end but Cody was too strong and kept him out. Finally, Mayday understood that he was in front of a lot of stronger dog than he. So, he never tried to go into the back-end again. He just kept working up front...... nose, face and throat. After 35 - 45 minutes, Mayday started to show the lead a little bit!!! Mayday had got a good throat hold on Cody. He held that spot for a few minutes. At the 51-minute mark Mayday was on top of Cody and was really working his throat hold. Mr. Tant asked us to scratch to continue, Cody. Cody wasn't moving, wasn't breathing, or anything. He was like a dead dog. So we said OK. We didn't think there was any way possible Cody could scratch. Boy were we surprised when that CODY dog started to scream in the corner like a maniac. !!!!! We were in front of a DEAD GAME DOG!
Cody worked Mayday over really hard for a few more minutes. Then, Mayday caught him in the same throat hold again at the 1:03 mark!!!!! Tant asked us again to scratch Cody to continue, and we said NO!! " YOU EITHER PICK THAT DEAD GAME DOG UP OR MAYDAY WILL FINISH HIM RIGHT THERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BOX!!" Mr. Tant made the right decision and both boys made good hard courtesy scratches. Mayday was on fire!! He was screaming and pulling in the corner and looked like he was ready to party for another hour!! We were finally able to calm him down after about 15 minutes. This was his 5th match, and is also the greatest fight I have ever witnessed.
Spike came into this world through the co-operation of Atlas B. & Cecil M. & represented payment for the breeding of Snooty to M's Black Betty. By showing gameness & ability in his schooling days, he avoided ending up in the sand pile where A.B. sends dogs that don't make the grade.
At the age of 25 months, Spike met Spruill's Pete in his 1st contract match. Petie, of Boomerang & Cowboy breeding, took severe damage to the chest from the beginning. Even though he fought w/ tremendous heart, Petie was physically unable to make his 2nd scratch at 40 minutes.
Spike's 2nd match was against a buckskin 1/2 brother to CH. Jeep, owned by Harry H. This proved to be Spike's toughest fight, as the buckskin possessed an extremely fast mouth & lots of bite. After 45 minutes, the buckskin dog had the slight edge & Spike was missing a sizable portion of his upper lip. The gruelling pace of the fight began to tell on the buckskin, & Spike found his way to the chest. For the next 15 minutes, Spike put on a display of biting that left many-seasoned dogmen shaking their heads. At the hour mark, Harry's dog was unable to scratch & Spike became a two time winner.
Watson & Peeler brought their Spence dog from Tennessee for Spike's 3rd match. Spence, sired by Reddick's GR.CH. Pedro had earlier won in 2 hours, impressing everyone w/ his gameness. From the beginning, Spike outperformed Spence in every sense of the word. Spike was able to go to the chest & it was "Katy bar the door." Spence stood the line after 26 minutes. Incidentally, Spence later won another fight over Hargrove in almost 2 hours.
Fight number 4 pitted Spike against the boys from New Jersey & Pig, sired by CH. Head. Pig was a two-time winner from Jarrett. Spike's ability forced Pig to fight defensively from the beginning & Pig proved to be an excellent defensive dog for one hour & 10 minutes. Then, for the next 19 minutes, Spike literally took Pig apart w/ devastating bite & overpowering wresting ability. Though game to the end, Pig was picked up at 1:29.
For his final fight, Spike was placed in the hands of a top-flight dogman from Louisiana, -- T.C. A match was made w/ an Art bred dog from Texas that has reportedly won 2 impressive fights. The setting was Little Rock, Arkansas on a hot July day. Spike found the chest early & the conclusion was never in doubt. After 30 minutes of severe punishment, the Texas dog could take no more & took the count on his 3rd scratch.
Spike's fighting career allowed him to face dogs of various styles, in the hands of numerous respected dogmen from differing parts of the country. All challengers were faced & the final result is that GR. CH. Spike proved himself to be an extremely gifted physical specimen who would stay until the job was finished. He has earned the right to be recognized as the most successful son of the prepotent Wood's Snooty, ROM sire & a worthy descendant of his namesake, Tudor's Spike.
PRODUCTION: HONEYBUNCH was blessed with the amazing ability to bestow upon her offsprings her own ability to preform as well as produce. HONEYBUNCH was easy to breed, produce large litters of puppies ad raised most of them. This trait coupled with the uncanny ability to reproduce her likeness, has proclaimed her the greatest producer of all times. Her mating career was started after the poor showing verses the brindle female previously mentioned. The choices of studs to be bred to her would also play a large roll in her rapid advance to stardom. The excellent selection of CHAMPION BO, CHAMPION RASCAL and CHAMPION OTIS by James Crenshaw coupled with some older brothers and sisters off of TRIM MOODY and OSO NEGRO from my place caused a pyramid effect and spread the HONEYBUNCH fame around the world. I bred HONEYBUNCH to TRIM MOODY when she came into heat the second time. TRIM had a very impressive win in 56 minutes before the mating. During the match TRIM suffered damage to his private parts, but came from the bottom to win. I had tested TRIM MOODY before this match ad determined that he was dead game. This mating produced only three surviving males ad all three males became match dogs they were GRAND CHAMPION WEEHUNT, JOKER and BULLY BOB. After HONEYBUNCH weaned this litter I tried her again and really liked what I saw. She was as rough as any female I had ever witness. Her test was her first match and she proved her worth by taking out a very good opponent and scratched so hard that if her foe did not meet her half way, they would be knocked back to the corner wall. I contacted Dr. Kimsey Wood in an effort to try breed my suped-up little match bitch to OSO NEGRO, I asked if he would agree to a pick. It suited the Doc "OK" and I was just as pleased as OSO NEGRO was building a reputation by kicking bull dog asses around the circuit, at the time. We stuck these two together and produced a litter of nine pups, but only two males. When the picking time came, the doctor said, "Jerry, I sure would hate to take one of those pretty males, I would just as soon take two females". I sent Doc home with two bitches that produced several match dogs as well as reputable producers.
FACT: HONEYBUNCH returned to the four squares to win two more impressive battles. The second of these was the Pig Pickin match famous for the big bust. The opponent in this match was conditioned and handled by Scotty Todd, he was using a good little black female at a weight of 38 1/2 lbs. This was a little heavy for our heroine, but I felt that I would spot a pound or so. I was right, she cut this one down in twenty-eight minutes. One of the pleasures of owning CHAMPION HONEYBUNCH was the superior feeling obtained from watching her work. She was always the same in all her matches, rolling, controlling and always dominating her victim. By the mid-seventies I decided to sell off some of my stock, but didn't want to put HONEYBUNCH on the open market. James Crenshaw had a deep interest in the Carver family as I did, he was very dedicated and a known eye for a good one. HONEYBUNCH'S fighting days were over, but she was in the prime of her producing life. James and I reached an agreement of sale and both of us reaped the harvest of the fruits of his great vine even up to today.
TRUTH: The world of THE AMERICAN GAMEDOG was upgraded by the life of CHAMPION HONEYBUNCH. The dog fraterity will continue to improve as a result of her exsistence. The augments in regard to her offspring will continue for years to come.
QUESTIONS: The question has been asked many times which of HONEYBUNCH'S litters was the best? Which of her offspring was the best? These questions will still be asked after all of us are long gone. Crenshaw and I agree on the complexing of this question, even after seeing the results of each litter. My view is, how do you or where do you find a litter that can compare to the records of champions JEEP, CHARLIE and HOLLY? Eleven wins and no losses were recorded by the trio. HONEYBUNCH'S first litter however in which all three males were matched, won ten and lost only two. The accomplishments of GRAND CHAMPION SNAKE can not be ignored either in the search for the best, OTIS also produced others of recogition, in this litter. When it comes down to the big question of which offspring was best? It really puts you in a bind. Crenshaw and I agree CHAMPION CHARLIE was a better athlete than JEEP, but that the JEEP dynasty is now in a full bloom with the prime status and the unprecedented 15 point ROM ranking and is sure to go higher. GRAND CHAMPION WEEHUNT can not be overlooked either. Although he was ot an impressive, barn storming type of dog. he always gave me his best and won six consecative matches verses the competition of the time. His first win was at Crenshaw's place when matched into a five time winner called TIGER. TIGER was a veteran of six matches at the time. The Florida boys told me that TIGER had been matched when he was 18 months old and was picked up after making a good showing against the older and possibly better dog. TIGER returned to win five and met WEEHUNT for his seventh time out. WEEHUNT took a pretty good beating and came from the bottom to win in one hour and twenty eight minutes. I was once accused of picking a soft spot for WEEHUNT when I agreed to match into a one time winner in the Volunteer state, instead of a two time winner in the Low Lands. Well as fate would have it, WEEHUNT defeated the one time winner, the two time winner from the Low Lands lost to another two time winner. WEEHUNT then went on to beat the winner of that match when he went for his fourth triumph. I once won two matches in three weeks when I substituted WEEHUNT for another male I had matched at 38 1/2 lbs. I matched WEEHUNT at 37 lbs just three weeks earlier. He got lucky and ran DD from Florida's entrant out of the square in 5 minutes. WEEHUNT record was six and zero, but to say he was the best in the company of CHAMPION HOLLY, CHAMPION JEEP or GRAND CHAMPION SNAKE is a dilemna that defies a simple solution. CHAMPION HOLLY ranks among the best bitches I have ever seen and in my mind may be HONEYBUNCH'S best offspring. HONEYBUNCH also produced litters from OSO NEGRO, RASCAL and TRIM MOODY. Yielding brood stock that in turn produced the famous MOUNTAIN MAN'S CHAMPION HOMER strain, SNAKEMAN'S GRAND CHAMPION PEDRO, FLIM FLAM, CHAMPION BUBBA, CHAMPION SANDMAN (SANDMAN was also a grandson of JEEP as well as RASCAL JR.) and many more. Everytime you open your Sporting Dog Journal there is a new champion with our star HONEYBUNCH in the third, fourth or now fifth generation and another notch or two added to JEEP'S ROM status.
CONTROVERSY: Yes, even the greatest of the great must also be subjected to the possibility of someone who may enter a bogus name onto a pedigree. the last question I will try to answer in this story and the bottom line of the is: "OK Maurice, If HONEYBUNCH really was sired by a Spanish Pointer, could you please send me one more just like her!" After one of HONEYBUNCH'S impressive wins I called Maurice to brag of her win. I told Maurice, "She sure can bite" he replied, "Well God Dam sonnnn, she's got a license too."
ACKNOWLEDGMENT: The fame of HONEYBUNCH would not be as vivid had it not been for the many contributions of severl breeders including Crenshaw and myself. The others that were key breeders of this family have been James Garrett, Gene Smith, George Wilcox, M. Stover, E. Reece along with a host of others who believed in this line and has helped in the advance of this famous strain of dogs. Last but most, The San Antonio Rose as Don Mayfield called him, The Immortal Maurice Carver.
FUTURE: It has been said that HONEYBUNCH could produce match dogs from a German Shepard and I can't deny or confirm that. I will say, "I quess there will never be another one like her". We will continue to breed and somewhere in the back of our minds we will hope to find one who will fill her collar.
In closing, I want to relate to you something that happened the other day as I was recently visiting a local Wal-Mart. I overheard a conversation between two young men, one of them was a apparently a Pitbull owner and the other youngster a friend of an owner. The conversation went something like this: "Your friend got good dogs man?" Reply: "Yeah man, he has got some real rollin stones". Owner: "He got any Dibo blood, Blood?" Reply: "Yeah man, I don't know if I heard of that one or not." Owner: "How about HONEYBUNCH?" Reply: "Yeah man, I've heard of that one." I nodded to them as I pushed my shopping cart loaded with Ole Roy by them as my mind went to remembering the great CHAMPION HONEYBUNCH R.O.M.
This article was written by Irish Jerry in the American Gamedog Times.
Dibo's dam was Ed Ritcheson's Bambi. Bambi, also known as Heinzl's Bambi, was sired by Ritcheson's Spike and she was out of Ritcheson's Spotty. A novice by the name of W. D. Smith acquired Bambi and made the breeding to Wiz Hubbard's Bounce. Smith eventually sold Dibo, as a pup, to a man named Jensen who only wanted a pet for his son. The young boy named his pet Dumbo, but tired of him and wished for a collie, as Lassie was popular at that time. Jensen then contacted Mr. Heinzl in regard to trading Dumbo for a collie pup. Howard Heinzl knew Bounce and Bambi were good individuals, but still had his doubts as one of Bounce's sisters were questionable, and Bambi was cold. The trade was made and Dumbo went home with Howard Heinzl and stayed, where he would follow Mr. Heinzl and stayed out of the reach of the other chained dogs on the yard for about two years.
Earl Tudor visited Heinzl's yard and took a liking to Dumbo. Mr. Heinzl offered Mr. Tudor any dog on his yard, trying to convince him to purchase a good dog. In spite of everything, Tudor took Dumbo home and changed his name to Dibo. Dibo was stolen shortly after and was sold to a restaurant owner, who named him Runt. Tudor got Dibo back from the gentleman and by the age of four, Dibo had finally turned on and eventually became a three-time winner at 44 lbs. His performance record is minute in comparison to his ability to produce.
He's sired:
Tudor's White Rock 4X winner
Tudor's Spike 4X winner
Tudor's Jeff 3X winner
Trahan's Blackie 3X winner
McCraw's Snowball
Harrel's Topper 5X winner
Heinzl's Polly
Ed Crenshaw's Buck
Edward's Sam
Carver's Cracker
Start (Haye's) Cry Baby 4X winner
Boudreaux'Blind Billy
and the list goes on.............
Dibo had two littermates that also made names for themselves: Heinzl's Arizona Pete and Langham's Lil.
Earl Tudor always named Black Jack as the finest dog he had ever seen. Apparently, the dog was no slouch, as he was many times matched with dogs much heavier than he was, and he always won. As a matter of fact, he was open to whatever was available at any weight. Unfortunately, not much is known about the breeding on this dog, but the word I have is that he was Delihant on the top side and Swineford on his dam's side. That is only hearsay, but his matches are well substantiated, and everyone whom I ever knew who saw him proclaimed him the best!
Colby's Pinscher: 72 pounds; 1910 Pinscher's pit record is vague, and for that reason he has been a subject of some controversy. However, Colby always referred to him as one of his all-time great dogs, and others who were in the area during Pinscher's heyday confirm his greatness. He apparently was game and a killing punisher. Most of our dogs have him in their pedigrees if we trace them back far enough. For those who wonder about the name, there were no Dobermans back in those days, and pinscher was the German word for "terrier". Unfortunately, that leaves us with another mystery: why would an Irishman give the German name for terrier to a box-headed dog like Pinscher?
On December 8th, 1991, GR CH Tornado made bulldog history. She became the first ten time winner and DOUBLE grand champion in history.
With all great bulldogs there are people that detract from the achievements of these animals. Who Dbl GR CH Tornado could have beat or couldn't is a matter of one's own opinion. Who she did beat and who she didn't is a matter of record. The facts are that the list of notable dog people she beat is among the top the game has to offer today.
Her first match was into STP's Miss Piggy. STP was quoted saying, by a close source, that if he could get the bet covered, he would mortgage his house that Ken's 13 month old pup could not possibly beat Miss Piggy. Luckily for this proud fellow, the bet was not called as Miss Piggy was victim number one.
The pattern continued as Dbl GR CH Tornado beat D. Farve & JJ Hayward, Bobby Hall, Tant & Co., and Chicago Combine.
A while later, GR CH Tornado came to Florida to claim her sixth win. She beat "Emma" in 1 hour, 17 mins. Tito of the Local Boys was next in line and his bitch did not last the half hour mark and T. Garner and Raheem's bitch went out game in half that time. Rastaman brought opponent number nine in the form of Boone's Sadie, she was wisely picked up at 45 mins. Her tenth and final match was against the Canadian Francois Shobinoe, a man that brought a very game and talented bitch. It officially went 2hours, 34 mins. A wager was made on Tornado's gameness and ability to finish a dog. At 3 hours and 18 mins in 25 degree weather, she was broken off her expired foe and then scratched back to it without hesitation. (most dogs will not do this)
All of the above dogs failed to live under Dbl GR CH Tornado except for one. All of them scratched dead game. She won her first at 13 months, and her last at the age of seven years old. Tornado's total fight time was 10 hours, 20 mins. She killed three of the dogs without getting one puncture in her skin. Her 8th and 9th matches were only 3 weeks apart from each other.
Many people say that Tornado did not produce. But what people don't say is that she was only bred twice and many only took those and bred them back to her father whom was a ROM. Though, she did produce two known 2x's including Ken Allen's Movin On.
SOUTH J. E. ALEXANDER VS. B. FINLEY-MALES @43 LBS-CAJUN RULES-G. CURTHCINS REFEREE. JE USING A RED AND WHITE RED NOSE HE CALLS SPIKE, WHICH IS A ONE TIME WINNER. SPIKE WAS SAID TO HAVE SCRATCHED 35 TIMES IN THAT WIN. FINLEY USING HIS 2 TIME WINNER BO, A BUCKSKIN OUT OF LOPOSAY'S DUBBS AND LOPOSAY'S DOT. A TURN CALLED ON SPIKE AT 5 MINUTES AND FIRST SCRATCH COMES AT 18. DOGS FIGHT DEAD EVEN THROUGHOUT THE FIRST 1 1/2 HOURS. WHEN SPIKE BEGINS TO SCRATCH SLOW WITH BUTT FIRST. AT THE 2 HOUR 1 MIN, SPIKE TO SCRATCH BUT TAKES THE COUNT. FINLEY AND BO WINNERS IN 2 HOURS AND 2 MIN. MAKING BO A THREE TIME WINNER AND WELL DESERVED CHAMPION.
Carver's Stompanato sired many Champions and Producers. Including Jackson's Ch Bocefuss, Kearn's Bup ROM, Pitre's Gr Ch Jim Bob (Carver's), Pitre's Ch Stabber, Solis' Ch Brynner, and Hood & Grieves Ch Ty.
It was found that he was bred often with Art's Missy ROM. The reason why is Carver's Stompanato was 3/4 Eli with a 1/4 Dibo cross which matched Missy. Therefore, he was bred to Missy to bring it back upfront.
Corvino's Teddy was a buckskin and white 46-47lb. dog, sired by Corvino's Copper Boy, out of Corvino's Babbs. Both Copper Boy and Babbs going back to Tudor's Goldie. To the best of knowledge, the only contest Teddy ever had won was against Offers Silver--they met in Chicago on Feb. 12, 1964. Sonny Boy handled Teddy, and Offer handled Silver, a dog from Burleson Brothers, Mike Ferris was referee. These dogs fought chest to chest for over 2 hours. After the first 15 minutes Sonny Boy and Offer had hoped they were talking to the right dog, as they both were buckskin and white and it was almost impossible to tell them apart. They fought like monkeys, locked together on the floor of the pit, biting very hard. They were under UKC rules and only scratching on the turns. After 6 or 7 scratches Silver took the count at 2:15 minutes. Both dogs died within hours after the fight. Teddy didn't have as much pure ability, but it would have taken a ace to whip him. He was one of the gamest, most determined dogs that ever crossed a pit. Andre Giroux and Bert Sorrels are just a couple of men who bred or are breeding dog's going back to Teddy.
this is probably one of the best breedings i think .oakie was a good dog and producer and had good brothers and sisters , that produced.they are behind some of the best of the best . this is the foundation behind lonzos stuff and a lot of the ozzie blood . but what a lot of people dont know ,is that if this breeding never took place they wouldnt have there gr.ch.yellow blood or most of the tant dogs . just lil info for all the redboy rules and zebos dogs are cures wannabees.lmao
oakie produced ch.freddie and ch.homer .was double grandsire to ch.spitfire.and grand sire to ch.rosey , ch.suzy , gr.ch.virgil and his brother ch.zero.
his sister gregs lady produced ch.bullwinkle and big boy . and is grandmother to gr.ch.zebo, vindicator, & rosie
now for those that didnt know tants miss jocko is off chavis lady rose who was off ch.jocko to chavis ch.lady sassy mead . chavis lady sassy mead was half zebo type blood through the (andy x fay breeding)this is her ped.
********************bass tramp red boy **********bass tramp red boy jr ********************bass cleo
*chavisch.lady sassy mead
********************lonzos junior (andy X fay) **********chavis black betty ********************lonzos rosie (andy X angie)
now junior was a brother to oakie and lady, and rosie is sister to zebo and vindicator. also rosie mom angie is off lady oakies sister .
well i beter shut up lol i could go on forever lol. hope this gives little insight to those who care about this blood.
Although I have often been referenced as the authority on Going Light Barney, I must confess that I never even saw Barney in holds. I found it quite fascinating, however that he was one of the most controversial dogs of which I ever knew. I think part of the reason for that fact was Barney's flamboyant owner, who is still alive as I write this. Although not a bad fellow, he had a way of stirring up the dander of other dog men. Consequently, all of Barney's accomplishments were always scrutinized with a jaundiced eye. Since I had my picture taken with Barney, a lot of people seem to think that Barney once belonged to me, but such was not the case, although I did own a daughter of his which I bred back to him. That breeding produced George, one of my finest all-time dogs from a pitdog perspective.
Its hard to believe now, but Barney was welped way back in the 60's, so he is definitely an old timer. He was a product of breeding a daughter of Johnson's fabulous Goofy dog to a Rascal bitch. That produced Barney's mother, Penny, and she was nothing to write home about-possibly a cold bitch and a trifle shy. She was bred to Rootberg's Booger, strictly on the basis of his being a pure Corvino dog. So it is not surprising that not much was expected of the litter, but it produced Barney and several females which were renowned for their gameness, one of them, Going light Babe, winning best in show down south in a losing effort!
Barney had a storied career. He had been farmed out to some guy in the inner city to raise and was rolled from the time he was six months old, something no educated dog man would do. After he killed two dollar George, a highly valued pit dog in a pick up match when he was only a little over a year old, he was reclaimed by his owner, who called himself Larry Light in the pit circuit. He was matched into fast company down in Mississippi against a Carver dog and won handily in about 20 minutes. This was the convention which also featured Boomerang and the immortal Bolio. Bolio won best in show because he won over the dog with the highest reputation, a dog which was thought to be unbeatable.
The controversy comes from the fact that Barney was counted out in his third match in Dallas. Larry swore up and down that he was doped, as the dog didn't know where he was, and had lost his equilibrium for several hours. Whatever happened, Barney came back to win six in a row against the best the other side could come up with. One match was raided and the dog confiscated. This was before the felony laws, and the dogs were broken out of the pound in which they were held. The match was held, and Barney won in an hour and five minutes. Barney was dyed black and shipped to a preacher in New Mexico. Part of the reason for all of this chicanery was that Larry was suing the animal control people for losing possession of his dog!
Barney's toughest match was against another ear dog, extremely well thought of, and the match went nearly two hours before Barney prevailed. That was back in the oil crisis days, in which you couldn't plan a long trip, as you might run out of fuel. Larry and his cohorts loaded up the station wagon with several gallons of gasoline so that they could make the trip there and back without having to worry about fuel. I was in vited to go along, but I was not of mind to travel in that rolling time bomb! Hence, I missed my chance to see a great match. Barney usually had an easy time with his opponents, controlling them with ear holds until the dog was worn down, and then Barney went in for the kill. I think it was the quit in Dallas that made it possible for Larry to go on finding matches for Barney.
After the above mentioned match, a fellow named Jobe, who put out a pit dog magazine, did a cover story on Barney. He had been there at the match, and he dubbed Barney a Grand Champion. That was the first time I had ever seen the term used. Now, he would not be eligible for the title because of the loss in his second match. Mitigating circumstances don't count, and besides, Larry was never able to prove anything.
Barney was known more for ability than gameness, but he was game enough to win, and the loss came under suspicious circumstances. Barney was an unusual Bulldog in that he had an aloof personality, in direct contradistinction to most bulldogs. He won Larry's wife over because he would sit up and do tricks on the chain or in the kennel run, but once he was taken out, his demeanor changed completely. He had achieved his goal, so the claim was gone, and he simply was off to do what he wanted. Larry, who was a real-estate speculator who owned half the land in San Diego county, loved the deviousness of the dog. He was also delighted that his wife, who abhorred the pit dog game, was Barney's stoutest ally-although she certainly never went to a match.
Barney was never open to stud, and he was never bred much, as Larry seemed to concentrate his breeding program on breeding dogs that were down from Penny and in breeding Barney's sisters, in particular Babe. Larry was one of those guys who kept track of litters by naming all the pups with the same letter, but somehow one in this litter got named Scarlet. Although a fine pit dog, she escaped Larry's ownership. Another game sister of Barney was Belle, who won several matches.
As for the blue dogs most of them are sought out today by those who want them for appearance. I have even heard it said that all blue dogs stem from staff blood. Being of the skeptical nature, I tend to doubt that fact. One of the best dogs I ever saw was a blue dog and his brother in a Las Vegas convention. They were both talented and game, but I was never able to ascertain their breeding-but they certainly seemed to have no staff blood in them. Besides, the staff standard calls for black nose, so I doubt that would be the source of blue dogs. In truth, there are probably a multitude of sources as it seems to be a simple mendelien trait.
Readers may be assured to learn that Heinzl once informed me that the last Stratton he knew was African-American gentleman who had a strain of blue dogs. Again, he didn't know the breeding on them, but Howard said they were as game a line as he had ever seen. And Howard was tough to please!
People with little experience are quick to denounce Barney and the blue dogs. I would suggest a little caution in that respect. Barney may have not been the greatest dog of his time, but he beat some really good dogs. And not all blue dogs are alike.
The story of CHAMPION HONEYBUNCH is written as all fighting dog stories, and that is by the dog themselves. What can be added to the accomplishments HONEYBUNCH has made as a winner, a champion and a producer. HONEYBUNCH today is regarded as the most influential factor in the history of dog fighting, her amazing ability to produce has proclaimed her the very top producer of all times. It is with great pleasure that I recall some of the events of her life in this exclusive story for the American Gamedog Times.
I purchased HONEYBUNCH from Maurice Carver in 1972 as a five month old pup. She was very active as Maurice had told me, I placed her on the chain and watched as she developed into one of the best looking bitches I have ever owned. HONEYBUNCH was a looker, super active on the chain and when rarely caught standing, stood like a great show horse with her legs spread wide apart. HONEYBUNCH was a great looking bitch, but was every bit as good as she looked. Over the years I have had many people and many fanciers to ask questions in regard to HONEYBUNCH'S record, ability, style and general behavior. I will try to answer some of those questions in this story.
THE PIG PICKIN: Some matches were held in the Carolinas in the mid seventies. There was a pig pickin (this is a cliche for BBG) before the matches were to take place. This show was significant because both the great CHAMPION RASCAL and CHAMPION HONEYBUNCH were cofiscated as a result of a bust after the fights were held. The complete story of the rescue of these two great a not be told at this time, but both HONEYBUNCH ad RASCAL were saved from the wrath of the authorities and were returned to the friendly pitbull dog environment. The complete story of the rescue has been told ad will be documented later.
RECORD: CHAMPION HONEYBUNCH was matched three times, winning all three! She was conditioned and handled by me in all three of her fights. I have read some advertisements saying she was a five time winner in some old magazines, these ads are sometimes confused with a dogs actual record.
ABILITY: Many great dogs have been criticized for their ability for one reason or another. No dogman that ever saw CHAMPION HONEYBUNCH in action can say that she cut any slack to any of her opponents. In all her matches she took charge from the word PIT and dominated her opponents. No dog could or would scratch back into her after fourty minutes. HONEYBUNCH was what we call in the game a main player. Like Tyson in the boxing world, you may not win them all, but the opponent had better come to play. One person who can testify to HONEYBUNCH'S biting power is Rex B. Rex was the judge for HONEYBUNCH'S second match and was accidently bitten by her while unfanging her. Rex was working with a breaking stick when HONEYBUNCH clamped onto his thumb. When it appeared to me that the dogs were free I quickly turned HONEYBUNCH from her opponent when Rex said, "Jerry, she still got my thumb". It had been quite a struggle to seperate these two fast mouth bitches and I didn't realize HONEYBUNCH was still clamped tight to Rex's thumb. The Old Man on the Mountain replaced Rex as a referee and the match resumed. Rex who is the kind of man who would not yell out in protest or make a big scene, but for the next few days he realized why the Hispanics call the thumb, "Fat Finger".
A LESSON LEARNED: A vauable lesson was taught to me by HONEYBUNCH when she was still a young gyp. A well renowned dog man of the area came to my place to roll a female when HONEYBUNCH was 18 months of age. I was eager to show off my latest Carver aquisition so I took HONEYBUNCH off the chain and faced her up with the experienced brindle bitch. The brindle crossed, took hold of HONEYBUNCH and started to shake, HONEYBUNCH just rolled her big dark brown eyes at me to say, what's going on. The brindle's handler yelled, "I'd shoot that bitch, she won't even fight". I was to proud of my bitch to resort to anything like that, after all she came from the "Old Master" and I placed her back on her chain and decided to wait until another day to show her off.
PRODUCTION: HONEYBUNCH was blessed with the amazing ability to bestow upon her offsprings her own ability to preform as well as produce. HONEYBUNCH was easy to breed, produce large litters of puppies ad raised most of them. This trait coupled with the uncanny ability to reproduce her likeness, has proclaimed her the greatest producer of all times. Her mating career was started after the poor showing verses the brindle female previously mentioned. The choices of studs to be bred to her would also play a large roll in her rapid advance to stardom. The excellent selection of CHAMPION BO, CHAMPION RASCAL and CHAMPION OTIS by James Crenshaw coupled with some older brothers and sisters off of TRIM MOODY and OSO NEGRO from my place caused a pyramid effect and spread the HONEYBUNCH fame around the world. I bred HONEYBUNCH to TRIM MOODY when she came into heat the second time. TRIM had a very impressive win in 56 minutes before the mating. During the match TRIM suffered damage to his private parts, but came from the bottom to win. I had tested TRIM MOODY before this match ad determined that he was dead game. This mating produced only three surviving males ad all three males became match dogs they were GRAND CHAMPION WEEHUNT, JOKER and BULLY BOB. After HONEYBUNCH weaned this litter I tried her again and really liked what I saw. She was as rough as any female I had ever witness. Her test was her first match and she proved her worth by taking out a very good opponent and scratched so hard that if her foe did not meet her half way, they would be knocked back to the corner wall. I contacted Dr. Kimsey Wood in an effort to try breed my suped-up little match bitch to OSO NEGRO, I asked if he would agree to a pick. It suited the Doc "OK" and I was just as pleased as OSO NEGRO was building a reputation by kicking bull dog asses around the circuit, at the time. We stuck these two together and produced a litter of nine pups, but only two males. When the picking time came, the doctor said, "Jerry, I sure would hate to take one of those pretty males, I would just as soon take two females". I sent do home with two bitches that produced several match dogs as well as reputable producers.
FACT: HONEYBUNCH returned to the four squares to win two more impressive battles. The second of these was the Pig Pickin match famous for the big bust. The opponent in this match was conditioned and handled by Scotty Todd, he was using a good little black female at a weight of 38 1/2 lbs. This was a little heavy for our heroine, but I felt that I would spot a pound or so. I was right, she cut this one down in twenty-eight minutes. One of the pleasures of owning CHAMPION HONEYBUNCH was the superior feeling obtained from watching her work. She was always the same in all her matches, rolling, controlling and always dominating her victim. By the mid-seventies I decided to sell off some of my stock, but didn't want to put HONEYBUNCH on the open market. James Crenshaw had a deep interest in the Carver family as I did, he was very dedicated and a known eye for a good one. HONEYBUNCH'S fighting days were over, but she was in the prime of her producing life. James and I reached an agreement of sale and both of us reaped the harvest of the fruits of his great vine even up to today.
TRUTH: The world of THE AMERICAN GAMEDOG was upgraded by the life of CHAMPION HONEYBUNCH. The dog fraterity will continue to improve as a result of her exsistence. The augments in regard to her offspring will continue for years to come.
QUESTIONS: The question has been asked many times which of HONEYBUNCH'S litters was the best? Which of her offspring was the best? These questions will still be asked after all of us are long gone. Crenshaw and I agree on the complexing of this question, even after seeing the results of each litter. My view is, how do you or where do you find a litter that can compare to the records of champions JEEP, CHARLIE and HOLLY? Eleven wins and no losses were recorded by the trio. HONEYBUNCH'S first litter however in which all three males were matched, won ten and lost only two. The accomplishments of GRAND CHAMPION SNAKE can not be ignored either in the search for the best, OTIS also produced others of recogition, in this litter. When it comes down to the big question of which offspring was best? It really puts you in a bind. Crenshaw and I agree CHAMPION CHARLIE was a better athlete than JEEP, but that the JEEP dynasty is now in a full bloom with the prime status and the unprecedented 15 point ROM ranking and is sure to go higher. GRAND CHAMPION WEEHUNT can not be overlooked either. Although he was ot an impressive, barn storming type of dog. he always gave me his best and won six consecative matches verses the competition of the time. His first win was at Crenshaw's place when matched into a five time winner called TIGER. TIGER was a veteran of six matches at the time. The Florida boys told me that TIGER had been matched when he was 18 months old and was picked up after making a good showing against the older and possibly better dog. TIGER returned to win five and met WEEHUNT for his seventh time out. WEEHUNT took a pretty good beating and came from the bottom to win in one hour and twenty eight minutes. I was once accused of picking a soft spot for WEEHUNT when I agreed to match into a one time winner in the Volunteer state, instead of a two time winner in the Low Lands. Well as fate would have it, WEEHUNT defeated the one time winner, the two time winner from the Low Lands lost to another two time winner. WEEHUNT then went on to beat the winner of that match when he went for his fourth triumph. I once won two matches in three weeks when I substituted WEEHUNT for another male I had matched at 38 1/2 lbs. I matched WEEHUNT at 37 lbs just three weeks earlier. He got lucky and ran DD from Florida's entrant out of the square in 5 minutes. WEEHUNT record was six and zero, but to say he was the best in the company of CHAMPION HOLLY, CHAMPION JEEP or GRAND CHAMPION SNAKE is a dilemna that defies a simple solution. CHAMPION HOLLY ranks among the best bitches i have ever seen and in my mind may be HONEYBUNCH'S best offspring. HONEYBUNCH also produced litters from OSO NEGRO, RASCAL and TRIM MOODY. Yielding brood stock that in turn produced the famous MOUNTAIN MAN'S CHAMPION HOMER strain, SNAKEMAN'S GRAND CHAMPION PEDRO, FLIM FLAM, CHAMPION BUBBA, CHAMPION SANDMAN (SANDMAN was also a grandson of JEEP as well as RASCAL JR.) and many more. Everytime you open your Sporting Dog Journal there is a new champion with our star HONEYBUNCH in the third, fourth or now fifth generation and another notch or two added to JEEP'S ROM status.
CONTROVERSY: Yes, even the greatest of the great must also be subjected to the possibility of someone who may enter a bogus name onto a pedigree. the last question I will try to answer in this story and the bottom line of the is: "OK Maurice, If HONEYBUNCH really was sired by a Spanish Pointer, could you please send me one more just like her!" After one of HONEYBUNCH'S impressive wins I called Maurice to brag of her win. I told Maurice, "She sure can bite" he replied, "Well God Dam sonnnn, she's got a license too."
ACKNOWLEDGMENT: The fame of HONEYBUNCH would not be as vivid had it not been for the many contributions of severl breeders including Crenshaw and myself. The others that were key breeders of this family have been James Garrett, Gene Smith, George Wilcox, M. Stover, E. Reece along with a host of others who believed in this line and has helped in the advance of this famous strain of dogs. Last but most, The San Antonio Rose as Don Mayfield called him, The Immortal Maurice Carver.
FUTURE: It has been said that HONEYBUNCH could produce match dogs from a German Shepard and I can't deny or confirm that. I will say, "I quess there will never be another one like her". We will continue to breed and somewhere in the back of our minds we will hope to find one who will fill her collar.
In closing, I want to relate to you something that happened the other day as I was recently visiting a local Wal-Mart. I overheard a conversation between two young men, one of them was a apparently a Pitbull owner and the other youngster a friend of an owner. The conversation went something like this: "Your friend got good dogs man?" Reply: "Yeah man, he has got some real rollin stones". Owner: "He got any Dibo blood, Blood?" Reply: "Yeah man, I don't know if I heard of that one or not." Owner: "How about HONEYBUNCH?" Reply: "Yeah man, I've heard of that one." I nodded to them as I pushed my shopping cart loaded with Ole Roy by them as my mind went to remembering the great CHAMPION HONEYBUNCH R.O.M.
This article was written by Irish Jerry in the American Gamedog Times.
Another Story on Honeybunch:
My Honeybunch Story
(by Rene Crenshaw)
I was young when Honey came to our home. You know, it seems strange today that a dog I fed and watered for years is famous enough to write about. That was just our life then and Honey was just one of our dogs (to me). I never did know Honey that well. I didn’t play with her. Actually, I was kind of afraid of her. I don’t know why. She never did anything to me. I would just walk straight into her run (never looking at her), scrub her water bowl, put fresh water, give her food, and back out of her run. That’s it. I played with her pups and helped to name them. Jeep was named after our Aqua Jeep Comanche Daddy owned. But as far as remembering any specific things about Honey—I don’t really. I remember seeing her in our barn with a litter of pups she just had. I remember Daddy having her in our house taking pictures (one pic is in Richard Stratton’s book “The Book of The American Pit Bull Terrier”). And I remember we used to get a kick out of seeing how many of her pups had the dark spot at the top of their tails. Most all of them did. Oh, and I remember when Daddy decided to sell her. She was either pregnant or had pups and he sold them all together. I think she was pregnant. Well, that’s all I remember about Honeybunch.
Hobb's Tuffy is most definitely a tuffy when her first time out she won over Bill Lee's Jap 5x winner in 4hrs and 24 min. She was known to be a game, intense, and intelligent female off of the Indian Bolio line. She is also the granddam of Frisco.
When requesting information on this female, we unfortunately uncovered a misunderstanding between breeders involving a stud fee... From what I gather, Patrick's Commander White Head was being held on D. Ruth's yard. D. Ruth was Patrick's partner at this point in time and Patrick also lived with him. Patrick owed Ruth for some other things concerning Commander White Head when Hobbs had a female to come into heat. Hobbs did pay D. Ruth 2 pups for stud fee on Commander White Head. It was noted for Patrick to talk to D. Ruth about receiving this stud fee that was paid to D. Ruth as well as get other things straighten between the two of them. Obviously, there are some hard feelings about the entire situation to this day.
Grand champion Pedro was bred by James Crenshaw, who owned Ch Rascal at the time of the breeding to Dow's Sandy. Sandy was a product of Wood's Oso Negro(Ch Rascal's brother) being bred to Ch Honeybunch. She was a very good producer as she appears in the pedigree of some very good dogs: holcomb's Zeus and Meade's Gr Ch Crazy Turf Man just to name a couple.
Pedro was game tested for :45 at a young age and showed that he was a dead game dog, but didn't show the bite and flash that Crenshaw was looking for. Pedro then went to Emmitt A. and was advertised in the journal, at stud by Bobby Cox under the name of Wee Willie. He won many matches under the name of Wee Willie and Lil Joe. A. Davis Sr. (A.K.A. the snakeman) then purchased Pedro from Emmitt for $600. Immediately after purchasing Pedro, Snakeman took him to the pit.
His first amtch was into the Alabama Boys at 35 pounds.It took :37 to total this dog as Pedro showed a devestating bite in this match. Number two was into Texas' Cupid at 35 and a half pounds,this turned out to be Pedro's longest and hardest match, as it lasted 2:47 with both dogs scratching until Cupid expires trying to make his last. With two impressive victories, Snakeman is now ready to take a shot at a championship with his dog he feels you will have to kill in order to beat. Pedro's third comes two months later, Tar Heel's Buck. Snakeman saw Buck go previously and knew Pedro could beat him even though it was a short time after his last match. Perdo finished Buck in :47, but many claimed it was over in :10. After winning his championship, Snakeman was approached by A. Nance, who claimed his Big Ben dog could whip Pedro. Subsequently a match was set for the following month, with Pedro going into a 2X winner Big Ben at 35 pounds. By the :10 mark it looked as if Ben was going to do just that, but Pedro took a skin hold on the lip for :30. By the :50 mark, Pedro comes to the top and has Big Ben looking for a way out. AT :52 Ben is singing and Nance picks him up. After collecting forfeits from Super Gnat (Ch Chino), Turlington's (Dipstick),R. Sorrells, and W. Spencer, Pedro was retired. Until Nance comes back, to get his money back that he lost, with his six year old 8X winning dog named Sarge. Sarge was of Ed Crenshaw's breeding and was purchased specifically to beat Pedro. In the match, Sarge was very effective with his mouth and paced himself very well. The first hour was a wrestling match, by the second it was a war, as Pedro got his second wind and buried himself into Sarge's chest. With this win Pedro became a registered 5X winner, thus making him GRAND CHAMPION PEDRO. In all Gr Ch Pedro won a total of 11 matches, 9 contracted.
His breeding career has outshined his match career as he has produced champions Rush, Mert, Pedro jr., Beak, and Gr CH Madge, thus giving him 6 ROM points.
Later Gr Ch Pedro was sold to M. Harris, and stayed there for a short while, and then was sold to T. Garner who made numerous breedings with Pedro and then he sold him to a fancier in Canada, where he died.
GRAND CHAMPION PEDRO R.O.M., TRULY A DEAD GAME DOG THAT LIVED TO TELL ABOUT IT.
Many fanciers are not familiar with this brother to ZEBO, who was also an excellent match dog. Surprisingly, it was VINDICATOR who was better known among active dog men around the South. Few of the Southern fanciers knew a lot about zebo, but they were familiar with VINDICATOR'S wins over top-notch bulldogs. An example of this is when Irish Jerry wrote a letter to the editor of one of the magazines, questioning if VINDICATOR'S wins were used to build up zebo's long match record. Quite a few dog men saw VINDICATOR'S decisive wins over Finley's CH. BO, R(J.1. (Sire of JEEP) and Baker Davis' JASPER. In both matches VINDICATOR came in under the weight but won in dramatic fashion. VINDICATOR and his sister ROSIE were quite different in appearence than their brother,zebo. While zebo was black and squarely built. VINDICATOR was a red, red nose with a wedge shaped head. VINDICATOR was longer and built lower to the ground. The difference in appearences was striking enough to cause speculation that they were sired by Lonzo's ANDY, but out of different bitches. In spite of this difference both dogs were matched at around the same weight and had similar styles.ZEBO and VINDICATOR were powerful bulldogs, they put tremendous pressure on their opponents, had good mouths and liked the front end.
Lonzo Pratt bred these dogs and matched VINDICATOR into Finley's BO. Lonzo had bet Bob Finley that Bo would not scratoh over an hour into the match, but Bo did scratch showing good gameness. Bo was picked up at 1:30 and refused a courtesy scratch. Few fanciers present blamed BO for not scratching, he had taken a lot from VINDICATOR. Of course, Bo went on to win a championship and proved to be a great producer of match dogs.
Atlas Brewer purchased VINDICATOR and his sister ROSIE after the win over BO. Rumor at the time had it that several "VINDICATORS" were sold but Brewer was confident that he purchased the real VINDICATOR and matched him into JASPER. a son of GR.CH. BOOMERANG out of Davis' PIGGY.
JASPER proved to be a tough opponent. He and VINDICATOR had the same style. The long trip caused VINDICATOR to dry out and he came in two pounds light. which made him a significant underdog. For an Hour and a half these two brutes were locked together like two monkeys. There were no turns. no out of hold counts. VINDICATOR was voted BEST IN SHOW over SNOOTY and RASCAL who also won that night.
Fortunately, VINDICATOR'S sister ROSIE was! loaned to my brother in exchange for a BEST IN SHOW winner HURRICANE CARTER. While on loan ROSIE whelped a litter by Devine's 3x winner BRUCE;(BOOMERANG x PATTI), which produced St. B.'s CHERUB (SARAH) who in turn whelped St. B.'s DYLAN.
Ben Van H. bred many winners from DYLAN including a dog he called TAPS who recently won over Duhon's T-BONE in 2:20, ROSIE died from heartworms shortly after the BRUCE breeding. VINDICATOR'S impact as a stud dog was negligible, but the blood was carried on by his sister ROSIE and ZEBO.
Texas' first match was against Villarreal, which he won easily. His second match was into Mayo's 4-time winner Plug. It went 1:15 and Plug didn't make it in the end.
Third match was into Black Faul's Diamond. For this fight I raised Texas' weight up to 40 lbs. and this hurt him bad, because in the first 15 minutes Diamond never got off of his back but Texas steamed up and allowed the other dog some leeway. After being completely heat tested Texas keeps scratching after collapsing in his corner. Then Diamond doesn't scratch after about a 35 count from referee Carroll.
For his 4th match we were against Carroll's and C.P.'s Freight Train which was out of Night Train blood. My nephew had seen Freight Train in action and bet me a $100 bill that it would take Texas over an hour to win. Texas and I took that bet in 28 minutes. The weight was 39 lbs. this time.
Texas' next challenge would be the toughest of all. He would be facing a killer. A friend of mine had went to a show in Mississippi and got a report that if he wanted to see Texas fight again to come see this one because this would be his last.
It was his last till about 4 months and then he was hooked up again against Mr. Boyd and his red dog. By the way, the killer from Mississippi was picked up in 2 hours and 3 minutes. Texas is a dog that can be whipped but he's 5 ½ years old and his toughest challenge is yet to come! Texas is a GRAND ole dog and will be used as long as he keeps calling me from his chain.
Texas was bred and owned by R.K. His sire was Champion Copper and his dam was the proven producer Jaw Breaker. Champion Copper was out of Kirkland and Creel's 5 time winner Gator. Gator won his last match against the famous Burton and Fischer's Buckwheat in almost 3 hours, but unfortunately didn't make it after the fight. Jaw Breaker beat G. Smith's bad dog and was out of Kirkland's Scrapper who was also a winner of a match against Kemmer's Rock. Texas won 6 matches and was later beat by Roadblock's GR CH Joey, in what some called the "North vs. South" show. This was a big show as both dogs were Grand Champions.
The Norris line is often confused as the "Coaltrain line" The dog "Coaltrain" was
Norris'"Coaltrain"
......................Dowds"Southwestern Samson" ............."Streak of Lightning" ......................"Golden Prinsess" ......Curry's"Slim" ......................Curry's"Buster" ..............Gunn's"Dusty" ......................Mill's"Red Star" Norris"Coaltrain" ......................Streak of Lightning" .............."Savacool Concrete Frisco" ......................Bell of Garfield" .......Shonda's"Loni Prim" ......................Smiths Tar Heel's"Boss" .............."Midnight Lady" ......................Tar Heel's"Rose"
"The "Coaltrain" dog was a hard mouth, strong willed, hard hitting, unstoppable, rough bulldog, with a steel heart." Said by Mr.Sparks before he past away in a conversation with my father.(Spark's produced Norris"Maggie") Norris was very selective and kept his dogs to himself, did not bred out much and rarely sold to the public. The "Coaltrain" dog produced the following dogs, some may be familiar with, these lines are old and are rarely seen bred properly, or hardly even seen anymore for that matter:
It is VERY RARE to find a heavy or tight bred "NORRIS COALTRAIN" dog. I was LUCKY, I have stumbled upon him, when he was two, when I view his pedigree, I remember clearly what my father and Sparks had said about the line. And I took em'!
Mr.Luis Colby is NOT even familar with it! And some of dogs he is very familiar with produced a NORRIS dog!!
.........Hetrick's"Colby Pedro Spark's"Bob" .........Hetrick's"TNT Blondie"
Spark's"Bob" was bred to Spark's"Amy" and produced Norris"Maggie"
From what I've heard the line is over 100 years old. Each time I come across a dog man whom has been around and is a truly experienced dog man of his time, has the SAME opinion Sparks had about the line, so far I found five people who know of the real Norris line and you know whats strange?........they all work with the Colby line. (NONE know one another)
I don't know "Coaltrain's" show record, I do remember Sparks going over a shown he watched, and said only GREAT things.
I don't go by what others say, I was raised with some great legends in the sporting world of game dogs, and I pretty much know what advice I want to take in and Im glad I listened to Sparks and my father! And bought this dog. Growing up with the these people, I saw and read many books, shows, journals, ect. And this dog I bought with the heavy "Coaltrain" is just what Sparks described
I would highly reccomend the line to ANYONE (IF you find it bred right. I have found a few!!) If you find any heavy Coaltrain please inform me.
I hope I have shed a little light on the line. Iam still studying the rare line today and will continue to do so.
White's Tab ROM is a well known dog for his producing off of the Jeep line. Yet, he also had some great siblings including... Garrett's Little Redboy ROM, Palm's Ernie ROM, Ramrod's Ch Tramp, and other winners.
Tab's offspring seem to be some of the most known in the line. For example, Crenshaw's Ch Brutus, Crenshaw's Ch Gator ROM, Checkmate's Screamer 1x, Crenshaw's Ch Smoothie (K&S's), Koller's Twister 2x, Mr Z's Ch Tuffy, Scratchliner's Ch Peanut, Team USA's Ch Tabby Boy, Bailey's Gr Ch Rambo, White's Ch Brute, White's Crazy 1x, White's Hammerhead, and many other winners.
Champion Ace Blackie's career took off with a big bang. He was hooked up for the first time to go at 29 pounds into Mitchel's Crowbar a reputed 2x winning dog. Blackie weighed in at 27 1/2 pounds. Crowbar was 1/2 pound over weight. Blackie outclassed his older and more experienced opponent by working the head and holding him out.
Blake won this one in 50 minutes. This win made Blake a 1x-contract winner. The second one was at 30 pounds into Littlefield's Sparky. Blackie weighed in slightly under 28 pounds. Sparky weighed dead on weight at 30 pounds. Blackie rode the head for a quick victory. Blackie won this one in 29 minutes. This win made Blackie a 2x-contract winner.
Blackie's Third outing was into Montas' Blue Balls at 30 pounds. Blackie weighed in at 28 pounds. Blue Balls weighed in at 30 pounds. This show was pretty good. Both seemed to be extremely intelligent. Blackie was the winner in 42 minutes. This made Blackie a 3x-contract winner and a Champion.
Now Champion Blackie got hooked up for number 4 into Bilinki's Banjo at 32 pounds. Blackie arrived the day of the show looking extremely poor and sickly and weighed in at 27 pounds. Banjo was purchased specifically to beat Champion Blackie. Banjo weighed in slightly over 32 pounds but nothing was done about it. Well, Champion Blackie showed his stuff and won quite easily in 22 minutes. This made Champion Blackie a 4x contract winner at 22 months of age. It also got several fanciers who didn't campaign this bloodline to get some dogs of this and related bloodlines to try for themselves.
Well most dog's stories would end there, but this is no ordinary dog. Therefore this is no ordinary story.
When Champion Blackie was 28 month's old he got taken off the chain and went to a competition weight pull at the Down East Pit Bull Club in North Carolina on March 31, 1991. Blackie weighed in at 28 pounds and competed in the 35 pounds and under Male class. He placed in his class.
Then he got awarded a trophy for the most weight pulled per pound body weight. In other words of all the dogs who competed Champion Blackie was the strongest on that day pound for pound. To explain this a 28 pound dog who pulls 1,400 pounds that is 50 pounds per pound body weight is pound for pound stronger than a 80-pound dog who pulls 3,920 pounds that is 49 pounds per pound body weight.
A week later he was then entered in the competition weight pull in Jacksonville Florida on April 7, 1989. He was also entered in the conformation show. He again weighed in at 28 pounds. Champion Blackie got first place in his conformation class of 9 dogs. He also placed again in the weight pull. A week later Champion Blackie went of the chain into Francis' Bear a 34 pound dog. Champion Blackie who again weighed in at 28 pounds won in 53 minutes.
Two weeks after that Champion Blackie was contracted into another 4x contract winner Snakeman's Champion Pedro Jr. at 28 pounds. For the first time in Champion Blackie's rough life he was going to compete with a competitor of equal little size both going for their Grand Championship. Well, everything was set to go. Then Snakeman up and backed out. He said he forfeited since he didn't want to take the chance on getting Junior killed or injured where he couldn't be breed being he was getting a $1000 for a stud fee of Junior back then.
July 4th Champion Blackie again went of the chain and won in 38 minutes. His opponent Martinez' Lou was another 34 pound dog who went into Champion Blackie's 28 pound little self. Champion Blackie continued to compete and place in weight pulls all over the county. Blackie is in a league by himself.
Then Champion Blackie got bit by a rattlesnake in August. The word went out to two or three friends and the challenges poured in about 3 hours later. Everyone seemed to have 38 pounders to go into 28 pound Champion Blackie.
The smallest challenger was J. & Dee's Man a 1x winner at 34 pounds against The Professor's Tuffy or Scruffy, Anyway something like that. It was felt that if Champion Blackie wasn't hooked up this time even though he was sick so he could go for his Grand Championship, there would probably never be a next time being Champion Blackie was such a hard biting, destroying, killing type of competitor. So it was set up to go late September. Champion Blackie again weighed in at 28 pounds.
Man weighed in slightly over 34 pounds but nothing was said. To put this into perspective a 28 pound dog competing against a 34 pound dog is the same as a 56 pound dog competing against a 68 pound dog an obvious unfair advantage. Being Champion Blackie was such a hard biting; destroying, killing type of competitor none ever wanted to dare compete at even weight. This one went 1 hour and 22 minutes with Champion Blackie going 6 pounds uphill till he could not could not go.
It is interesting that 2 weeks after this show J. & Dee Kennels bred a bitch to Champion Blackie. Then another one 3 weeks after the show was also bred to Champion Blackie. The plan was to cross the Champion Blackie blood with the Man dog's blood. Obviously they knew when they saw something they liked.
Champion Blackie was weight pulled till he got his Ace title. For the grand finale on his weight-pulling career he was entered in 6 different classes. Champion Blackie weighed in at 28 pounds. He was entered in Males 35 pounds and under, Males 35-45 pounds, Males 45-55 pounds, Males 55-65 pounds, Males 65-75 pounds, and Males 75 pounds and over. Now you had to enter your natural body weight class first. So Champion Blackie was entered in 35 pounds and under. To enter a higher class there must be 3 dogs in the higher class. There were 3 dogs in higher class.
Well, when the weight-pulling judge decides there are only a few dogs entered they usually combine classes. In this case there were allot of dogs and the judge decided to be lazy and combine all classes. So Champion Blackie pulled 500 pounds with Males 35 pounds and under then pulled 500 pounds for 35-45 pounds, then 500 pounds for 45-55 pounds and so on. For each dogs' 1 pull Champion Blackie had to make 6 pulls of the same weight, once for each class. Champion Blackie the spectacular individual amazed everyone that day. It's had enough to place in your own natural body weight class, but to compete in a bigger dog class with the bigger dogs and beat them is stupendous. Champion Blackie placed in all 6 classes. What other dog has ever done this since the rule of three dogs in a higher-class prior? This completed his requirement for the award of the title Ace.
Champion Ace Blackie has produced dozens of contract winners bred to a couple of different bitches. Some of these are Carlos' Champion Aaron 3xW, DeBow & Jones' Champion Secretariat 3xW, Wee Willie's Champion Boots, DeBow's Champion AARDVARK 3xW, DeBow's Amy 2xW, Roughside's Dutch 2xW, Roughside's Bermuda 2xW, Clam Bar Boy's Dawg 2xW, Beast Master's Betta 2xW, Nelson's Petunia 2xW, DeBow's Prissy 1xW, DeBow's Delete 1xW and Wildman Wooten's Trouble 1xW.
Champion Ace Blackie is a true freak of nature having produced winners no matter what kind of bitch he was breed to be it cold bitch, a cur, a game bitch, a contract winner, or even a champion. He has never failed to produce a dog that can and does win. Champion Ace Blackie has also produced dozens of winning conformation dogs and winning weight-pulling dogs. This story has not ended yet. This is no ordinary dog. This article was written to highlight some of the major events in Champion Ace Blackie's life as a winner, Champion, Ace, and producer of the same. Champion Ace Blackie is still alive and at public stud. Therefore again this is no ordinary story. There are several pages yet to be lived and recorded for history.
All right lets change the pace a bit. Does anybody have any of this blood? If you don't you might want to consider it. Oh yeah, for you PETA people this is only a story . he he he he!!!
I saw Banjo's damn, who was a super game little bitch (Coy finally got her killed going #3lbs up hill, into a good one). But then, every dog she beat was bigger than she was.
Saw Banjo 2 times. The first was against a Okie dog named Grunt that had won 2 impressively, there was a little jockeying at first then Banjo got onto the head, then took out Grunts shoulder, it went strait down hill for Grunt at that point as he laid down. You DONT fight a dog like Banjo (or any other good dog) from the floor!!!!
The second was for Banjo's #4 (if I remember correctly). He went into Raul & Sonny's super game little dog (cant remember his name, but it is in the mags. He was a Pedro bred dog. Well Banjo basically wacked his butt but he kept coming, running those eye popping scratches that impress everyone. His courtesy scratch took about 30 seconds as he made the "gamest" scratch I have seen.
Those of you that have seen the video of Banjo x Grunt may want to know that Banjo was far more impressive in his last outings. Saw B.B. Red in a couple schooling rolls, and then when she beat Carroll's "Gizmo" bitch. It was 45+/- minutes of rough swapping out. With BB coming out on top obviously. In my opinion the styles of Banjo and BB red were almost completely different. Banjo was a slick, smart, offensive head dog. BB Red was a "screw you all" I am going to kill you, kinda dog!! She would take a punch to give one, and Banjo was more into just giving the punch. I wish I would have seen when BB red beat Ken Allen in what was it 4 minutes? Coy told me she dove into Ken's bitchs' genital area, Kens dog turned and a turn was granted, when BB let go to with holds Coy made a handle and Kens bitch stood. All in about the same time than you have been reading this message!!!!!!! Another of the seemingly forgotten of this blood is Ch Leroy Brown. Saw him whip the Kemmers in about 40 minutes or so, Impressive bulldog. More of a traditional "brawler".
I also saw, first hand, Coys Ch "Nemo". I lost to "Nemo" with a 2 x winner that had previously beaten the LA Dream Team and Border City from Mexico. Coy and I were friends at the time and he let his wife (at that time) handle Ch Nemo. Well, my dog quite on all fours in about 30 minutes, after winning for the first 20 or so. That was Nemo's first, he went on to win 3 more and died in a win against the Bellon Club. He was a dead game dog that could fight. His brother Chip was better. Clarks Ch Cowboy, BB Reds and Banjos Uncle, was another great dog, that produced well after Randy Clark sold him to C. Mayfield out west.
I've seen alot more of the dogs of this bloodline, and I like it. I have chosen another bloodline to go with for a few reasons. In my opinion these dogs are very tricky to breed, be careful inbreeding them!!!!!!!! I've seen some inferior freaks caused by inbreeding this blood too much, but I guess that can happen with any blood.
When Mike Thibedoux was originally obtaining the base stock of this present bloodline, Maurice Carver told him to wait until they were 3 because they matured slower than some of the other blood. Waiting until they are 3 is probably a good idea for any blood!!!!!!! Dead Serious Kennels is proving that they are here to stay and as good as any!!!!!!
Chinaman was born on the yard of R. Abernathy on November 29,1977. He was one of three pups born to Abernathy's Molly and sired by Wood's Trouble. Molly always seemed to have three pups. This time there was Chinaman,Boy, and a female who would be anmed Onyx Lady (who went to the owner of Trouble, Dr. Wood). Boy would end up in the hands of G. Wright, where he would win three matches. Chinaman was raised by R. Abernathy and when he came of age he was placed with Dr. Wood to find out what he was made of.
After a short stay, Dr. Wood shipped Chinaman to Vince and Bob in California to make up for an earlier prospect he had sold them that failed to live up to expectations. He arrived full of hookworms and roundworms and weighed only 42 pounds,4 pounds below his eventual best match weight of 46 pounds. Bob kept him on a long cable run and tried to help him overcome his emaciated state. Chinaman thanked him by biting him, so Bob shipped him to Vince. It was love at first sight. Vince wormed Chinaman and scheduled a roll for him.
After a 3 hour drive Chinaman was nauseated and dehydrated. He was pitted 10 pounds uphill against a powerful red dog named Ch. Ceasar who proceeded to mop the floor with him. When the big dog tired, Chinaman went to the stifles and punched very hard. Even though he was still nauseated an underweight he came up from the bottom to bite down and stop Ceasar at :28. Chinaman's next roll was into Doc, a highly respected wrecker. If he could hang with Doc for even ten minutes, Chinaman would be worth a bet. Doc came out hard and slammed Chinaman in the corner and tried to trade with Chinaman. Big mistake! It was clear that Chinaman was something special.
For his first two matches, Chinaman was hooked into respected head dogs that some expected to weather the storm and challenge the killing stifle and gut dog. Like their predecessors, neither lasted to the half hour mark with Chinaman. For his third, a match was made with the highly renowned Gray's Hubcap who had dispatched the famous Red Danger dog in a classic 2-hour encounter. Vince and Bob traveled 7 hours with their dog and when they arrived,odds of 5-1 were being offered against Chinaman.The betting line changed dramatically after the dogs were released. Chinaman drove Hubcap into the corner on his back and this is where the match ended 18 minutes later. Hubcap was a memory and Chinaman was proclaimed a champion and best in show.
Suddenly no one had a 45-46 pound male. Respectable dogmen avoided him like the plague. Finally when he was seven years old, some determined fellows bought an expert head dog from R. Jackson, just to take out the aging Ch Chinaman. The dog from Jackson showed alot of ability, but it wasn't enough to keep out an athlete of Chinaman's caliber. Chinaman worked past his defenses and curred him out in :38. This had been Chinaman's longest match, but the outcome was the same as always: he destroyed everything in his path.
For all who witnessed his matches, Chinaman became known as one of the roughest ever and a true finisher. According to scientific tests, he had the air of a greyhound. According to all who saw him, he had the mouth of an alligator. He was very clever. He would outsmart slick ear and nose dogs and cur them out. He would finish straight-ahead dogs even faster. Swapping out was his game. Like all the truly great ones, Chinaman's build was like a sleek, muscular thoroughbread.
The Chinaman name appears in many of today's pedigrees. His contribution as a producer equals, or exceeds his dominance as a performer. Among his better known offspring were Ch Eightball,Ch. Cotton,Ch Chinagirl,Ch missy,Ch Chinarose,Ch Ninja, and Ch Crock. he had three sons (Brodt's Boar, Cottingham's Cotton,and Shockley's Header go over the three hour mark on the same weekend! Perhaps his greatest contribution is as a producer of producers, as his son Frisco ROM has produced more champions and grand champions than any other stud ever.
Another story written on Ch Chinaman:
A few weeks ago I was at my home in Mcleansville when the phone rang and it was my neighbor and friend Tom Garner on the line. Tom told me that Vinny and his good friend Lenny were in town visiting from the west coast. Tom asked if I would like to come over and visit and talk "dogs", I quickly accepted and then asked Tom a favor. I said, "Tom I have been after you for a long time to write a story about CHINAMAN with no avail could I possibly talk to Vinny about this and so I was on my way to Hillsborough for a visit.
When I arrived it was raining and quite miserable outside Tom, Vinny, Buddy Harris and Lenny were out in the whelping house talking about some prospects off of Frisco. These dogs were looking good and the few that have been rolled are looking very promising. After sitting in this building for a while we headed into the Living room of Tom's house and Vinny and I sat down to have a long discussion about this great match and stud dog we all know as CHAMPION CHINAMAN. Vinny first off wanted to make one thing very clear and that is all the decisions that were made on CHINAMAN were jointly made between himself and B who is one of Vinny's closest friends and partner.
In 1981, V & B bought a dog from Kimsey Woods called DOUBLE TROUBLE, they had bought this dog to run in the fast lane with on the west coast and after rolling him out they found out they were pleased with his gameness, but disappointed with his ability and bite. They contacted Kimsey and he told them he had a good rough dog that had just rolled with WOOD'S SUNDANCE and had crippled SUNDANCE, it was CHINAMAN. So V & B decided to trade DOUBLE TROUBLE for CHINAMAN. DOUBLE TROUBLE went on to win two and lost one game in 2 hours and twenty minutes.
V & B started to school CHINAMAN shortly after they got him to California, his first roll was a massacre as CHINAMAN killed the dog in 12 minutes, V & B wanted to see more so Vinny took him that day one hour by car and rolled him into a 48 pound Champion named CEASER. CHINAMAN did not take to the ride well and got sick; when the roll started CHINAMAN was on the bottom for twenty-four minutes, from this position he went to CEASER'S belly and hip. Four minutes later at 28-minute mark CEASER'S owner picked him up and his whole loin was blue, CHAMPION CEASER was never heard of again. V & B decided CHINAMAN was ready to match so they hooked him up and he blew through his opponent in 17 minutes. This first match CHINAMAN fought at 45 lbs.
After this match Vinny went to Australia for a month and a half for vacation and upon return he wanted to see some action, you know what they say about absence and the heart. Vinny told me as soon as he got back he took CHINAMAN to the next local confirmation show sponsored by ADBA. At this show there was a guy who owned a Champion named DOCTOR, he had won three at 46 pounds. After talking dogs with him a while Vinny agreed to go back to his place after the show and they were to roll their two dogs. The owner of DOCTOR cleared his living room and we rolled him and CHINAMAN right there in his house! There were at least 15 people that had tagged along from the show to see these two dogs go at it, they met hard in the middle of the room. Then CHINAMAN drove DOCTOR into his corner where he never came out and he killed DOCTOR in 15 minutes, CHINAMAN literally opened DOCTOR's belly open.
Just a few days later Rockin Robin called V & B and challenged CHINAMAN at 44 pounds. The match was set to go off in 2 1/2 months and when the time came CHINAMAN made short of Rockin Robin's dog by going straight to the gut. Robin called a turn on his dog immediately and made a nice handle. Vinny has not got CHINAMAN in his corner and even though CHINAMAN and Vinny had a strong bound between them, Vinny told me he was scared to hold CHINAMAN in the corner because he would go nuts when removed from his victim and do ANYTHING TO GET BACK. Rockin Robin's dog was a snapping turning dog that would grab CHINAMAN by the nose and run with it. This was style CHINAMAN had not been exposed to when being schooled ad it took CHINAMAN 30 minutes to catch Robin's dog in the belly again, this time Robin's dog began to howl. The punishment that CHINAMAN was doing to this poor dog actually had Vinny feeling sorry for the other dog. As he told me hates to see any dog suffer under any circumstance, he also said he could not understand why Rockin Robin would not pick up as all was lost for his dog. Finally at thirty-eight minutes Robin picks up and his dog is in no shape to walk, not to mention scratch.
CHINAMAN took a lot of punishment on the head and it took him six months to heal from that thirty-minute bite and run he had to take in his last match, he had one hole that was punched all the way through the muzzle. After he was fully recovered V & B opened CHINAMAN to the world at 45 pounds! This offer stood for three months when V & B finally accepted a challenge at 43 pounds. They traveled 500 miles to fight HUGH GRAY'S HUBCAP, the dog that beat CHAMPION ASTRO. This was to be a classic as many people thought that HUBCAP was just the dog to beat V & B and their dog CHINAMAN. The judge for the contest was Bill Lee.
Well Lenny went on to tell me how HUBCAP'S style proved to be fatal for him as he tried to fight CHINAMAN straight up and swap it out with him, this gave CHINAMAN the early opportunity to kill him and win in 22 minutes. This was CHINAMAN'S only convention showing and he won best in show. CHINAMAN fought as the 3rd fight on a seven math card, the fourth fight was CHAMPION ASTRO going out again after he had healed from his loss to HUBCAP, HUB had beat him previously at 1:30. After ASTRO was matched that night Vince made the comment to his owner that CHINAMAN could beat his dog, ASTRO and was tempted to match him twice in one night. The man that owned ASTRO really had nothing to say about the statement that Vinny had made, but he did ask Vinny if he could breed to CHINAMAN. Vinny said no, but he could get a dog and match into CHINAMAN and see what CHINAMAN was best at, for now he was CHAMPION CHINAMAN. V & B were on there way home from winning and CHINAMAN was restless in his sky kennel so they were going to let him out and before they could get the collar on him to walk and empty him he was gone! He darted out of the kennel and went running off into the woods in the middle of the night after a deer. It took three of us over an hour to catch him.
After beating HUBCAP, CHINAMAN was again opened to the world and again it seemed forever to get a match for him, eight months later after opening him Cutter & Brice bought a dog specifically to beat CHINAMAN. There was a lot of prefight talk, so much of it that V & B took it personally. Cutter and Brice had paid a lot of money for this dog and he never made a single scratch to CHINAMAN. Their dog was ahead for the first few minutes until Vinny sent CHINAMAN in to the gut of their dog at 38 minutes, they picked up their dog and he died later. After the fight, Cutter was a gentleman, but I cannot say that for Brice, as he made the stupid statement that he had one at home that could beat CHINAMAN.
Vinny also wants it to be known that CHAMPION CHINAMAN R.O.M. was the type of dog that was a great individual and could have achieved what he did in the hands of ANY RESPONSIBLE dogfighters hands against any competition. I asked Vinny why he did not go for the magic fifth match and his reply was that after the fourth fight he got married and went to Europe for a six month long Honeymoon. When he got back and finally got back to business of the dogs he saw many signs of age on CHINAMAN who was now seven years old. He had grey hairs all over his face and his teeth were worn badly, so V & B made the choice to retire him and start breeding him. They were offered in excess of five thousand dollars for CHINAMAN from several well-known fanciers, but they made a much wiser choice than selling CHINAMAN. V & B are very close to Tom Garner and so the decision was made to GIVE CHINAMAN as a gift to Tom and in return Tom would send them dogs out of CHINAMAN. This proved to be very insightful and was good for the WHOLE GAME.
Vinny closed our conversation saying that over the years that many people have wanted information on this great dog and he hopes he has covered all the bases, while trying to make this a insightful as possible. One closing note was that Vinny born on January 8th and this is the same day in 1989 that this great 43-45 Champion passed away that we know as CHAMPION CHINAMAN.
THE STORY OF THE OLD FAMILY REDS. It has always seemed to me that the good old Pit Bull is a breed that is at once primitive and futuristic. He looks no more out of place in the ancient landscapes of 16th century paintings than he does in the ultra-modern setting. It is beyond my capabilities to imagine an end to him, for every generation seems to supply a nucleus of hard core devotees completely committed to the breed. In any case, you can look into the murky past, and you will find it difficult to discern a beginning place for the breed, and, fortunately, the future seems to threaten no demise either.
Ours is a breed that has a definite mystique. Part of it, no doubt, stems from the fact that it is an old breed and deeply steeped in tradition. Old strains are a particularly fascinating part of this tradition, and the Old Family Red Nose is one of the better-known old strains.
The appearance of the red-nosed dogs always attracts attention, but it takes a little getting used to for some people to consider them truly beautiful. However, no one denies that they radiate "class." Characteristically, a dog of the red-nosed strain has a copper-red nose, red lips, red toe nails, and red or amber eyes. Some think the strain was bred for looks. Others consider any dog that just happens to have a red nose to be pure Old Family Red Nose. It is hoped that the following will dispel such notions.
About the middle of the last century there was a family of pit dogs in Ireland bred and fought chiefly in the counties of Cork and Kerry that were known as the "Old Family." In those days, pedigrees were privately kept and jealously guarded. Purity of the strains was emphasized to the extent that breeders hardly recognized another strain as being the same breed. For that reason all the strains were closely inbred. And whenever you have a closed genetic pool of that type, you are likely to have a slide toward the recessive traits, because the dominants, once discarded, are never recaptured. Since red is recessive to all colors but white, the "Old Family" eventually became the "Old Family Reds." When the dogs began coming to America, many were already beginning to show the red nose.
The "Old Family" dogs found their way to America mainly via immigrants. For example, Jim Corcoran came to this country to fight the world heavyweight champion John L. Sullivan, and stayed to become a Boston policeman. He sent for dogs from his parents back in Ireland, and his importations and expertise as a great breeder have earned him a prominent place in American (Pit) Bull Terrier history. Many other Irish immigrants also sent back to their families to request for dogs, and the "Old Family" and related strains became firmly established in the United States.
At this point, there are several factors that are somewhat confusing to a student of the breed. For one thing, the term "family dogs" was used in two ways: It could mean a strain of dogs that was a family unto itself that was kept by a number of unrelated people in Ireland, or it could refer to a strain of dogs that was kept and preserved through the years by a family group. However, the old Family Reds seem to be of the first category. Another point that arises is that with all these importations from Ireland (and there were importations from other countries, including Spain), where do we get off calling our breed the American Bull Terrier! Well. ..that's a point! The breed does not really belong to anyone country or even anyone era! However, I don't believe many people are in favor of changing the name of the breed even though it is not strictly an American breed. For that matter, it is not really a Bull Terrier, either! But the name American (Pit) Bull Terrier has become part of that tradition we were talking about, and I think most of us prefer to keep it as a formal name for the breed.
Back to the Old Family Reds. The first big splash made by the red noses was back around 1900 when the great breeder William J. Lightner, utilizing Old Family Red bloodlines, came up with some red-nosed dogs that really made a name for themsel ves. Now Lightner once told me that he did not breed for that red-nosed coloration. In fact, he did not even like it and he only put up with it because the individual dogs were of such high quality. Eventually Lightner gave up the red-nosed strain when he moved from Louisiana to Colorado, where he came up with a new strain that consisted of small dark-colored dogs with black noses. He had given up on the other strain because they were running too big for his taste and because he didn't like the red noses.
At this point in our story we come upon a comical, but highly-respected, figure in the personage of Dan McCoy. I have heard old-time dog men from all over the country talk about this man. Apparently, he was an itinerant fry cook and not much of a success in life judged by normal standards, but he didn't care about that. What he did care about were Pit Bulldogs, and he had a wealth of knowledge about the breed. His uncanny ability to make breedings that "clicked" made him a respected breeding consultant and a most welcome guest at any dog man's house-even if he had just dropped off a freight train!
Always with his ear to the ground regarding anything that involved APBT's, McCoy got wind of the fact that an old Frenchman in Louisiana by the name of Bourgeous had preserved the old Lightner red-nosed strain. So he and Bob Hemphill went to that area, and with the aid of Gaboon Trahan of Lafayette, they secured what was left of the dogs. McCoy took his share to the Panhandle of Texas and placed them with his associates L. C. Owens, Arthur Harvey and Buck Moon. He then played a principal role in directing the breedings that were made by these fanciers. And from this enclave came such celebrated dogs as Harvey's Red Devil and Owens (Fergusons) Centipede. Hemphill eventually kept only dogs of the red-nosed strain. According to Hemphill, it was McCoy who first started using the term "Old Family Red Nose" for the strain.
Another breeder who was almost synonymous with the red-nosed strain was Bob Wallace. However, Bob's basic bloodline was not pure Old Family Red Nose. But in the late 40's he was looking for the red-nosed strain in order to make an "outcross." (Bob was a scrupulously careful breeder who planned his breedings years in advance.) Unfortunately, he found that the strain was nearly gone, most of it having been ruined by careless breedings. He managed to obtain seven pure red-noses of high quality whose pedigrees he could authenticate. The strain was subsequently saved for posterity and in the 1950's became the fashionable strain in Pit Bull circles. In fact, it was Bob Wallace himself who wrote an article in 1953 called "There Is No Magic in Red Noses" in which he tried to put a damper on the overly enthusiastic claims being made by some of the admirers of the strain. No more fervent admirer of the Old Family Reds ever lived than Wallace, but he obviously felt that the strain could stand on its own merits.
Many stains have been crossed with the Old Family Reds at some time in their existence. Consequently, nearly any strain will occasionally throw a red-nosed pup. To many fanciers, these red-nosed individuals are Old Family Red Noses even though the great preponderance of their blood is that of other strains. Sometimes such individuals will fail to measure up and thereby reflect undeserved discredit on the rcd-nosed strain. However, as Wallace said, the red noses should not be considered invincible either. They produce their share of bad ones as well as good ones-just as all strains do.
As a strain, the Old Family Red Nose has several things going for it. First, it is renowned for its gameness. Second, some of the most reputable breeders in all Pit Bull history have contributed to the preservation and development of the strain. People like Lightner, McClintock. Menefee and Wallace, to mention just a few. Finally, as McNolty said in his 30-30 Journal (1967) "Regardless of one's historical perspective, these old amber-eyed, red-nosed, red-toe-nailed, red-coated dogs represent some of the most significant pit bull history and tradition that stands on four legs today."
____________________________________________________________ About the Red, Red Nosed Written by Richard F. Stratton * Appeared in the January-February, 1975 issue of Bloodlines Journal
No one really knows when these dogs first came to this country, but the great breeder William J. Lightner once told me that his grandfather raised them before the Civil War. It is quite possible that they were even here during the Revolutionary War. In any case, it is clear that dogs of this breed came from various parts of Europe, specifically Spain and Sicily. But little is known about these earliest importations, because nothing was written about them. (Books and periodicals containing information about dogs were rare in those days.) Their existence can be inferred from artwork, however. The most famous importations were from Ireland, and were generally made by the Irish themselves after they emigrated to this country.(The bulk of the Irish pit dog importations coincides or closely follows the great Irish migration that resulted from the famous potato famine.) Most of the Irish dogs were small and very closely inbred, but their gameness was proverbial-especially that of the group of strains that was known as the Old Family. The following article Ion the Old Family Reds (just one segment of the Old Family bloodlines) is reprinted from Bloodlines Journal.
The Story of the Old Family Reds Written by Richard F. Stratton
This is the American Pitbull Terrier First, an overview. No one really knows when these dogs first came to this country, but the great breeder William J. Lightner once told me that his grandfather raised them before the Civil War. It is quite possible that they were even here during the Revolutionary War. In any case, it is clear that dogs of this breed came from various parts of Europe, specifically Spain and Sicily. But little is known about these earliest importation's, because nothing was written about them. (Books and periodicals containing information about dogs were rare in those days.) Their existence can be inferred from artwork, however. The most famous importation's were from Ireland, and were generally made by the Irish themselves after they emigrated to this country. (The bulk of the Irish pit dog importation's coincides or closely follows the great Irish migration that resulted from the famous potato famine.) Most of the Irish dogs were small and very closely inbred, but their gameness was proverbial especially that of the group of strains that was the "Old Family Reds" (just one segment of the Old Family bloodlines) is reprinted from Bloodlines Journal. It has always seemed to me that the good old Pit Bull is a breed that is at once primitive and futuristic. He looks no more out of place in the ancient landscapes of 16th century paintings than he does in the ultra-modern setting. It is beyond my capabilities to imagine an end to him, for every generation seems to supply a nucleus of hard core devotees completely committed to the breed. In any case, you can look into the murky past, and you will find it difficult to discern a beginning place for the breed, and, fortunately, the future seems to threaten no demise either. Ours is a breed that has a definite mystique. Part of it, no doubt, stems from the fact that it is an old breed and deeply steeped in tradition. Old strains are a particularly fascinating part of this tradition, and the Old Family Red Nose is one of the better known old strains. The appearance of the red-nosed dogs always attracts attention, but it takes a little getting used to for some people to consider them truly beautiful. However, no one denies that they radiate "class." Characteristically, a dog of the red-nosed strain has a copper-red nose, red lips, red toe nails, and red or amber eyes. Some think the strain was bred for looks. Others consider any dog that just happens to have a red nose to be pure Old Family Red Nose. It is hoped that the following will dispel such notions. About the middle of the last century there was a family of pit dogs in Ireland bred and fought chiefly in the counties of Cork and Kerry that were known as the "Old Family." In those days, pedigrees were privately kept and jealously guarded. Purity of the strains was emphasized to the extent that breeders hardly recognized another strain as being the same breed. For that reason all the strains were closely inbred. And whenever you have a closed genetic pool of that type, you are likely to have a slide toward the recessive traits, because the dominants, once discarded, are never recaptured. Since red is recessive to all colors but white, the "Old Family" eventually became the "Old Family Reds." When the dogs began coming to America, many were already beginning to show the red nose. The "Old Family" dogs found their way to America mainly via immigrants. For example, Jim Corcoran came to this country to fight the world heavyweight champion John L. Sullivan, and stayed to become a Boston policeman. He sent for dogs from his parents back in Ireland, and his importation's and expertise as a great breeder have earned him a prominent place in American (Pit) Bull Terrier history. Many other Irish immigrants also sent back to their families to request for dogs, and the "Old Family" and related strains became firmly established in the United States. At this point, there are several factors that are somewhat confusing to a student of the breed. For one thing, the term "family dogs" was used in two ways: It could mean a strain of dogs that was a family unto itself that was kept by a number of unrelated people in Ireland, or it could refer to a strain of dogs that was kept and preserved through the years by a family group. However, the old Family Reds seem to be of the first category. Another point that arises is that with all these importation's from Ireland (and there were importation's from other countries, too including Spain), where do we get off calling our breed the American Bull Terrier! Well...that's a point! The breed does not really belong to any one country or even any one era! However, I don't believe many people are in favor of changing the name of the breed even though it is not strictly an American breed. For that matter, it is not really a Bull Terrier, either! But the name American (Pit) Bull Terrier has become part of that tradition we were talking about, and I think most of us prefer to keep it as a formal name for the breed. Back to the Old Family Reds. The first big splash made by the red noses was back around 1900 when the great breeder William J. Lightner, utilizing Old Family Red bloodlines, came up with some red-nosed dogs that really made a name for themselves. Now Llightner once told me that he did not breed for that red-nosed coloration. In fact, he did not even like it and he only put up with it because the individual dogs were of such high quality. Eventually Lightner gave up the red-nosed strain when he moved from Louisiana to Colorado, where he came up with a new strain that consisted of small dark-colored dogs with black noses. He had given up on the other strain because they were running too big for his taste and because he didn't like the red noses. At this point in our story we come upon a comical, but highly respected, figure in the personage of Dan McCoy. I have heard old-time dog men from all over the country talk about this man. Apparently, he was an itinerant fry cook and not much of a success in life judged by normal standards, but he didn't care about that. What he did care about were Pit Bulldogs, and he had a wealth of knowledge about the breed. His uncanny ability to make breedings that "clicked" made him a respected breeding consultant and a most welcome guest at any dog man's house even if he had just dropped off a freight train! Always with his ear to the ground regarding anything that involved APBT's, McCoy got wind of the fact that an old Frenchman in Louisiana by the name of Bourgeous had preserved the old Lightner red-nosed strain. So he and Bob Hemphill went to that area, and with the aid of Gaboon Trahan of Lafayette, they secured what was left of the dogs. McCoy took his share to the Panhandle of Texas and placed them with his associates L.C. Owens, Arthur Harvey and Buck Moon. He then played a principal role in directing the breedings that were made by these fanciers. And from this enclave came such celebrated dogs as Harvey's Red Devil and Owens (Fergusons) Centipede. Hemphill eventually kept only dogs of the re-nosed strain. According to Hemphill, it was McCoy who first started using the term "Old Family Red Nose" for the strain. Another breeder who was almost synonymous with the red-nosed strain was Bob Wallace. However, Bob's basic bloodline was not pure Old Family Red Nose. But in the late 40's he was looking for the red-nosed strain in order to make an "out cross." (Bob was a scrupulously careful breeder who planned his breedings years in advance.) Unfortunately, he found that the strain was nearly gone, most of it having been ruined by careless breedings. He managed to obtain seven pure red-noses of high quality whose pedigrees he could authenticate. The strain subsequently saved for posterity and in the 1950's became the fashionable strain in Pit Bull circles. In fact, it was Bob Wallace himself who wrote an article in 1953 called "There Is No Magic in Red Noses" in which he tried to put a damper on the overly enthusiastic claims being made by some of the admirers of the strain. No more fervent admirer of the Old Family Reds ever lived than Wallace, but he obviously felt that the strain could stand on its own merits. Many strains have been crossed with the Old Family Reds at some time in their existence. Consequently, nearly any strain will occasionally throw a red-nosed pup. To many fanciers, these red-nosed individuals are Old Family Red Noses even though the great preponderance of their blood is that of other strains. Sometimes such individuals will fail to measure up and thereby reflect undeserved discredit on the red-nosed strain. However, as Wallace said, the red noses should not be considered invincible either. They produce their share of bad ones as well as good ones just as all strains do. As a strain, the Old Family Red Nose has several things going for it. First, it is renowned for its gameness. Second, some of the most reputable breeders in all Pit Bull history have contributed to the preservation and development of the strain. People like Lightner, McClintock, Menefee and Wallace, to mention just a few. "Regardless of one's historical perspective, these old amber eyed, rednosed, red-toe-nailed, red coated dogs represent some of the most significant pit bull history and tradition that stands on four legs today." Richard F Stratton __________________________________________________________ THE "OLD FAMILY RED NOSE" DOGS By E.L. Mullins.
First of all, this is not a review. I cannot possibly say anything concerning the "Old Family Red Nose" dogs that has not already been repeated a hundred times before. This, therefore, is simply another record of what history has already given us and a re-introduction to the very significant part of the history of the American Pit Bull Terrier.
When we discuss the origin of the "Old Family Red Nose" dogs, we are really discussing the original dogs bred by such men as William J. Lightner and Con Feeley. It was around 1914-1916 that Red Howell, Al Dickson and Joe Peace had dogs from the first litters off of Lightner's "Vick" and Lightner's "Pansy". When the first World War came along, Joe Peace and Al Dickson were drafted and Red Howell was left with the dogs. Red Howell sold some of the dogs, however, most of the dogs he placed in capable and reliable hands of those he knew he could trust. During this time they were known as just food pit dogs. The name "Red Nose", at the time, had never been used to describe a particular line of dogs. It would be Dan McCoy who would later be credited as the first man to coin the phrase, "Old Family Red Nose" dogs to describe and distinguish these dogs as an individual line or strain of the American Pit Bull Terrier. History later gave us the litter of Ferguson's "Centipede", Hemphill's "Golddust", Morris' "Pinkie", and Howell's "Banjo", as well as their close relative, William's "Cyclone".
Robert H.(Bob) Hemphill, along with Red Howell, went to the kennel of Harvey and Owens in Amarillo, Texas and together they purchased "Golddust". "Golddust", of course, later went to Harry Clark and then to D.A. McClintock, where he died. Earl Tudor obtained "Centipede". "Centipede" was then loaned to Red Howell. Later, Earl Tudor sold "Centipede" to Dave Ferguson. Earl Tudor was also the man who owned the dog called "Cyclone" and eventually sold him to Jim Williams's. It is felt that if Earl Tudor and Red Howell had not won such great battles with these dogs mentioned above, as well as other, that made this particular line so popular. This was the first time you really began to hear about "Red Nose" dogs as a strain.
Now, not all of the offspring were whelped "Red Nose" from this stock. Some people still feel that the blood in the Con Feeley dogs was much more "Red Nose" then that of the Lightner dogs. It is said W.C.(Bill) Roper bred some of the best "Red Nose" dogs, sent to him by Jim Williams and Bob Wallace. I.D. Cole of Arizona also bred some extremely high caliber dogs, bred down from Slattery's "Mike" and William's "Blade". I.D. Cole also owned Cole's (Fulkerson's) "Spook", a direct grandson of the old Lightner's "Spook". However, the "Red Nose" dogs were never controlled by any one individual or select group of individuals. Many of the "Red Nose" dogs were produced through different crosses. In fact, there were many breeders and fanciers of the "Old Family Red Nose" dogs. There were men such as W.J. Lightner, Con Feeley, J.P. Colby, D.A. McClintock, Dan McCoy, Harvey and Owens, Ferguson, Ferrel, Conklin, Anderson, Bourgeous, Plemmons, Dickenson, Hanson, Williams, Roberts, Cole, Leo Kinard, Ed Crenshaw, Joe Beal, Jake Wilder, just to name a few. However, two of the leading breeders into the late 1960's and the man more often associated with the "Old Family Red Nose" doÿ
2nd part:
However, two of the leading breeders into the late 1960's and the man more often associated with the "Old Family Red Nose" dogs were Robert H.(Bob) Hemphill Jr. and Robert Forster (Bob) Wallace.
Robert Hemphill had been friends with Earl Tudor as early as 1914. Hemphill became personally interested in the Lightner dogs and in the 1920's began an extensive search to locate and obtain high caliber dogs from this line.
It was Dan McCoy who received word of the frenchman who lived in Louisiana by the name of Bourgeous. Bourgeous had received several dogs directly from Mr. William Lightner and for many years had bred and raised these dogs strictly for his own personal satisfaction. Bourgeous was extremely successful in preserving the "Red Nose" strain. Robert Hemphill went with Dan McCoy to Louisiana and aided by Gaboon Trahan, they purchased several dogs from Bougeous. Hemphill's kept only the highest caliber of these "Red Nose" dogs and began to form his foundation stock from them. Hemphill's early advertisements refelect that he had been raising "Old Family Red Nose" dogs since 1927. Thoughout his life, Robert Hemphill remained dedicated to the breed and faithful to the "Old Family Red Nose" line. Old advertisements throughout his life reflected his great devotion to keeping the line pure. Until 1966 he advertised strictly "Old Family Red Nose" dogs. After that time, his ads began to reflect the adage of 1/8th to 1/16th "Dibo" breeding.
Concerning the Lightner dogs, some fanciers and under the false assumption that W.J. Lightner bred only "Red Nose" dogs because of his overwhelming association with them. Those who have really done their homework know that this is not the case at all. He also raised great blacks and dark colored dogs as well. The pinnacle of Lightner's success as a breeder is demonstrated through two dogs; Hall's "Searcy Jeff", owned through time by Jim Searcy, Bob Hemphill and Dr. Hall and then Bob Wallace, was reputed as being the best of the "Red Nose" blood that could ever be bred. The second dog was "Colorado Imp", owned by Jeff Runyon and said to be the best of the black and/or dark blood that could ever be bred. Both of these dogs being bred from the same basic foundation dogs of the same man, William J. Lightner. When these two dogs met each other at Medicine Park, Oklahoma in 1937, they proved William J. Lightner to be one of the greatest breeders of all time. After this meeting, Bob Wallace told Hemphill that he was going to buy this dog, "Searcy Jeff", even if it costs him a thousand dollars! Later, in 1937, when Hemphill left that part of the country, he divided up up the dogs with Red Howell and Dr. Hall. Dr. Hall received "Searcy Jeff" and Bob Wallace did eventually buy "Jeff" from him. Also in 1937, Robert Hemphill sent a young dog back to William Lightner, that dog now appears in many of the "Old Family Red Nose" line of today, that dog is known as Lightner's Pumpkin.
Bob Wallace is also remembered in history for his association and great success with "Old Family Red Nose" dogs. However, there are two main misconceptions concerning Mr. Wallace that should be cleared up at this point. One is that Hemphill and Wallace were partners. They were not. They both shared a deep respect of the "Red Nose" dogs and were both dedicated to keeping the line pure. They were both successful breeders in keeping the line pure, strong and beautiful. They even shared common breedings and interbred their dogs within each others line, but they were not partners.
At the age of thirteen, Bob Wallace met and became friends with the "Old Timer", Ben Flannery. Throughout his teens, Bob Wallace owned many outstanding Bulldogs. He later obtained dogs from bloodlines of Dugan's "Pat". The second misconception concerning Bob Wallace was that he bred primarily "Red Nose" dogs. His original was quiet variable in color and were extremely talented dogs. Though these dogs did not show it, they carried a large amount of the "Red Nose" blood. One of the first foundation females of Bob Wallace was the famous Shipley's "Penny". Shipley's "Penny" was a direct descendant of the old Corcoran dogs. Wallace had always considered Corcoran to be one of the great breeders of all time. Other great dogs that are considered part of the foundation of the Wallace dogs were ones such as, Ferguson's "Centipede", Hall's "Searcy Jeff" and the famous Wallace's "Tony". "Tony" was said to be Wallaces' pride and joy. Wallace bred Shipley's "Penny" to "Centipede" and produced these three great dogs, "Stinger" "Scorpion" and "Spider". He later bred "Searcy Jeff" to "Spider" and produced Wallace's "Madam Queen". When he bred "Madam Queen" to "Tony" he produced the ever famous Wallace's "King Cotton". Other famous dogs appear in many of the popular "Old Family Red Nose" dogs of modern times are Wallace's "Red Rustler", "Red Rock" and "Red Rube", as well as the famous producing female Wallace's "Red Raven".
The old advertisements of Bob Wallace during the 1940's clearly reflect the breeding and maintenance of the old Corcoran and Lightner Line of dogs. Most of the advertisements were stated in bold print. During the 1940's Bob Wallace began to look "Red Nose" dogs to out cross his own with. At this time he felt that his own dogs were getting as tight as could be productively bred. When he began his search he found that the pure "Old Family Red Nose" dogs were almost extinct. Most of the lines were ruined or contaminated through careless breeding. However, he was finally able to locate and obtain seven pure "Red Nose" dogs of high caliber, whose pedigree he could authenticate.
Bob Wallace was a man of character and honesty and often stated that there is no "magic" to the "Old Family Red Nose" dogs, that they are just one good line of many. The "red Nose" dogs have the intelligence, talent and personality to stand on their own merit. Bob Wallace has gone down in history as one of the greatest breeders of his ear. Over the years as a breeder, Bob Wallace was known to sell less than a dozen dogs. He stated that he never sold dogs as a matter of personal principle. The results of his dedication to the breed is still apparent and appreciated in the modern day American Pit Bull Terrier.
This has been a short narrative introduction to the "Old Family Red Nose" dogs and few of the men dedicated to their preservation. It is by far complete or conclusive. Their significance cannot be finalized in a few short paragraphs. Entire volumes could be written on the "Old Family Red Nose" dogs and their place in the history of the American pit Bull Terrier.
**Take Note this part concerns RD dogs**
"Now, not all of the offspring were whelped "Red Nose" from this stock. Some people still feel that the blood in the Con Feeley dogs was much more "Red Nose" then that of the Lightner dogs."
W.C.C.'s Assassinator ROM
"Assassinator" was born on June 12,1986. Her father was the 4x winner, Jacobs and Hicks' "Assassin 1". "Assassin 1" won his four matches in dominating fashion. He didn't have an overly hard mouth, but he had the speed and ability to beat his opponent to almost every hold and to out wrestle them once he got there. He could make his opponents look so bad that their handlers would end up thinking their dog was sick or not "Right" that particular day. His brother the 8x winner "Assassin 2" shared these traits. In "Assassin 1's" fifth match he competed against a dog that was considered an Ace by all who had seen him. Goodtimes' "Spike" had won over two good dogs in the mid-west in very impressive fashion. His father was the famous Ch."Jeep" R.O.M. and his mother was Goodtimes' Ch."Sheena". This turned out to be one of the best matches of all time, for the first hour "Spike" took more than very few dogs could withstand, and then turned it around and at the two and a half hour mark, "Assassin 1's" handler asked for a scratch to continue. "Assassin" ran a falling crawling scratch that most there considered one of the GAMEST they had ever witnessed! At about the three-hour mark, "Assassin 1" was nearly finished and "Spike" was asked to scratch to win. He completed his scratch but before he did his handler stepped out of his corner. The foul was granted by the referee and the match was called a draw.
Now you may be wondering, isn't this a story on "Assassinator"?? Yes it is, but to appreciate what she is I believe it's important to understand what her father was. Before this last match, "Assassin 1" was bred to a game bitch from Ch."Boze" and Ch."Hog Dog". Ch."Boze" was a very good littermate to the very well-known Gr.Ch."Miss Rage". Ch."Hog Dog" was a very well bred bitch down from "Tramp Red Boy", so this was line breeding on "Tramp Red Boy". F.Jacobs kept "Assassinator" as his pick of the litter; she looked impressive in her schooling and was matched three times "off the chain". She inherited much of the speed and ability of her father along with a considerable mouth. This may have been the result of a hybrid effect or come from her grandfather Ch."Boze" as his line was noted for strong mouth.
It was shortly after this that we first became involved with the "Assassin" dogs. We had worked fairly close with Goodtimes in the past, he was one who always had an eye for a good line of dogs and always wanted to try some new blood. He talked me into taking a trip with him out to F.Jacobs' place with the intention of picking up a couple of dogs from this line. We went out to South Carolina and came back with several dogs. A few showed promise so we talked to Jacobs about getting some more, Jacobs was looking to get out of the dogs at this time and offered to sell us "Assassinator". We had seen her when we first went to his place but he would not discuss selling her at that time. Now he was willing to sell her bred to "Assassin 2", I've no doubt that part of the reason he was willing to sell her was because he knew we would take good care of her. At the same time that we went to get "Assassinator" we went to the Carolina Kittens place and bought "Devil Deacon", now an R.O.M. producer. While we liked "Assassin" blood we thought we needed some tight "Red Boy" blood to breed back to it to get the type of dog we wanted. The first time "Assassinator" came into heat we bred her to Goodtimes' "Josh", a 2x winner and brother to Ch."Sheena", the bitch that produced the "Spike" dog. He basically bred down from some old Corvino blood mixed with Ch."Rascal" and "Buster" blood. "Josh" was an excellent dog and while this was pretty much a complete outcross, these turned out to be some very good dogs. The next time we bred "Assassinator" it was to "Deacon". "Deacon" was checked out in an "off the chain" roll in such impressive fashion we turned down $5000.00 for him after the roll. "Assassinator" or "Nator" as we called her, gave us a litter of eleven pups and raised them all. It's interesting that we had trouble selling them, probably because potential buyers didn't really know about the "Assassin" dogs at that time. As a result we ended up keeping a large portion of the litter. This probably led to better management of the dogs from this litter than many other litters in that we were fairly careful to put them in the hands of good dogmen.
From this litter came Ch."Betty" a 3x winner and 2x Best In Show winner, (one of her wins was a one match show); Ch."Becky" a 3x winner, all over top competition; Ch. "Doris", DEADGAME in her third; Ch."Ben Aid" a 3x winner, all his teeth were gone by the time he was shown for his first match. He was also DEADGAME in his last match.
Besides these champions there was several other good dogs in this litter, Bart's "Bea Bea" won and lost her third to DSK's "Choo Choo"; "Crybaby" a very game 1x winner; "Keri" was very impressive in her schooling but was held back for brood; another bitch lost all her teeth at a young age and was kept for brood; another male got off his chain at his owners; there was also two other males in this litter that quit. In all that litter eight of eleven showed GAME.
Shortly after having this litter "Nator" developed a spinal problem that eventually led us to having to put her to sleep. A ruptured disc led to her rear legs being partially paralyzed. We had to put her to sleep in 1994, we had bred before her condition got really bad and had a litter of three that all died. Right to the end she was a very affectionate bitch that we were all very found of.
Crenshaw's Ch Brutus is one of the many produced off the well known, White's Tab ROM male and White's Irene ROM. He has proven himself worthy in many ways, only time will tell if he too will produce like his parents.
Bull Boy Bob was retired at a young age after winning his first, which allowed him to continiue producing till he was 13 years old. He was a well known stud dog coming directly off of Indian Bolio, he sired many game dogs and winners in every litter. He sired the famous Boyle's CH Bobby Jr., Gonzalez's Gr Ch Midnight, Mason's Ch Hammer, among other winners.
Giroux' Ch. Booger was born Nov. 27, 1978. Booger was bred by Dennis McNeil and Stan Duke. At a young age of six weeks, he moved into the home of Geatan Dinelle. There he became a house dog and at the tender age of six months he started, and never stopped.
Booger was very strong and had a very hard bite. He was well behaved and made a good watch dog. When you walked him he was always looking for trouble, and never try to take a bone away from him.
Booger was then purchased by Alan Waldman in 1982, until then he had been rolled but never matched. He was game tested, and this almost cost him his life. But it did prove him to be as great as Dinelle said he was. In May, 1982, his first match was with Timothy Ian, that lasted :38 minutes. His next match was with Lefty in November, 1982, it lasted :20 minutes. His third match was into Angelo & Ashton's Barron. At 10 minutes, his front end was down, but he went on to win in :48 minutes, this was his hardest match.
His ability as a match dog was over shadowed by his ability to produce. He was bred about twelve times and of those twelve breedings about half produced litters. Of those few breedings he sired many winning dogs like Gr. Ch. Booker out of Scarlet. Ch.'s Coco Stanley, Crush and Stryker out of Losco's Coleen ROM. B & W's Ch. Spice and Joker and numerous 1 and 2 time winners.
Many people believe Bolero did not produce since she is not stated as a ROM. Yet, that is wrong. She produced several good dogs as well as known producers.
For example, Fat Bill & TVK's Ripper POR, was an accomplishment of the breeding of Bolero to Frisco. Ripper herself produced Ch Arangadange (mother of Ch Huckleberry), Wicked 3x 2l (dead game), Gr Ch Bo, Ch Sooevil, Ch Tweater, Moon 2x, Nikey 1x, and many other winners.
Another example is when she was bred to Mountain Man's Bandit POR, she produced Fat Bill's Two Eyes ROM. Whom went on to produce Ch Huckleberry, Ch Mr. Rabbit, Ch Pay Day, and other various winners.
This is only a touch of the dog lines Bolero changed.
Patrick's Commander White Head is not only one of the sons of famous Indian Bolio, but, a triple bred daughter/father son of Indian Bolio. Commander White Head is also the father of Hobb's Tuffy 1x; whom can be found in Garner's Frisco.
Mr.Mark bred an old Loposay bitch named Red Lady to a double bred Ch.Jocko male named Chris Groucho. Out of this breeding came a gyp named Mark's Newland who was bred to a producing double bred Bass Tramp Red Boy named Miller's Red man. Out of this breeding came a bitch named Collin's Red Alert. Red Alert was bred to the above S.T.P.'s Ch.Toro to get Onello's Sherman the Tank and Onello's Twisted Sister. These two dogs were then bred together to get Goodson's Little Man, Onello's Spook, and Ratliff's Daisy Mae(ROM)
Ratliff's Daisy Mae was bred to Gr.Ch.Buck(ROM) to get Ratliff's Ch.Butkus(4XW)(1XLGame), and Undertaker Kennel's Miss Leaky(ROM). This was a phenomenal cross.. Ch.Butkus was used off the chain as a substitute dog in his loss. . He was bred to Miss Leaky(ROM) to Get Super Kennel's Ch.357. Daisy Mae was also bred to a Scatterbred Jeep/Patrick/Zebo dog named Bobby Jack to get Ch.Thunder and Ch.Terry.
Dirty Mary is one of the most popular dogs in the Boyles line today. This female has produced Champions and other known producers. A few are Ch Bolt Action ROM, Ch Mr. Rogers, Ch Reno ROM, Lugnut 1x, Clyde the Undertaker 2x, and many other fine dogs. Direct daughter of Gr Ch Hank and out of Red Baby, she was made to produce.
Art's Missy is a well known name and can be found in many pedigrees today. She is a full sister to Gr Ch Boomerang, Brown's Ch Nel, and Petronelli's Ch Fox.
Though Missy was not a Champion like her littermates, she produced many Champions and Grand Champions in her time along with various other well known dogs. For example Wood's Snooty, Carver's Ch Diamond, Holt's Jeremiah 2x, Hood & Grieves Ch Ty, Jackson's Amos Moses 2x, Jackson's Ch Bocephus, and Loposay's Buster ROM.
Art's Missy ROM had a great impact on the sporting dogs of then and today with their decendants.
Elmo was sent to a person as a gift. He arrived up here as a 15 month old never touched dog. He won into very good comp up this way said partners hands in 37 minutes. He never got BIS either, should have yes, but it was given to the person that hosted the shows that night, even though the dog he showed Skinner had gone into a dog named Disco that was a piece of crap. Elmo had stopped the Disco dog in 17 minutes off the chain pushing over 5 pounds before Disco ever met Skinner. Skinner beat the Disco dog at their actual true weights but it took him just over 20. Skinner was a foul fighter, nothing more. He later went on to go into the Blackjack dog that Shaw had, and it was an easy spot for Shaw to pick. The Skinner dog only got BIS the night Elmo was shown because the show was put on by Skinners owner, and because most knew that he was looking to go into Blackjack next. Many said to the handler of Elmo that he deserved BIS, so did many others, but that's life. Elmo could have easily have been championed out, but some personal issues at that time between myself and a partner got in the way of that happening. It was unfortunate, but those things happen. We both look back at that time now with some regrets, but the partnership and friendship has been able to be salvaged as a result. Elmo was eventually sent back to Tom as a proven stud dog, and Tom replaced him with his belly brother who lived with me for about 3 years and was bred 3 times during that time. He's now down on my partners yard where he will see more breeding in the years to come. He appears at this time to throw more mouth into his offspring then Elmo did. Although we believe that Elmo's brother appears to throw more mouth into his offspring, we are also aware that Elmo was the far more talented dog of the two. Elmo didn't win that night as a result of mouth. He won by pure talent. He never had the opportunity to show his mouth, as his opponenet never stuck there long enough. There was only one scratch by the other dog before he packed it in, and had a handle not been able to be had on the other dog, he would have quit much sooner. Many said it would take one hell of a dog just to stick with Elmo. What Tom has back on his yard is a 1 in 100 dog. He throws talent into his offspring plain and simple. He's proven to produce with cold dogs, and dogs that are less than average, so I'm quite sure for those who want exceptional dogs, they will have no problems finding many winners in the years to come that are off of Elmo bred to bitches off of Tom's yard. Elmo has also thrown the longest Frisco bred show dog to date. The Minnie Mo dog that recently went 3:08, but due to a handling choice that we agree now was in error it could have gone longer (closer to 3 1/2 to 4 hrs.). Both Mo and his opponent where tremendous specimens in exceptional dogmens hands.
Giroux' Ch Gunner ROM is one amoung many found in pedigrees today. He sired Crenshaw's Ch Otis ROM, Giroux' Ch Trip, Giroux' Ch Ben, and many other winners.
Gunner also has a brother named Cooper's Ch Black Jack.
Ch Gunner ROM's Online Pedigree
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Kamakazee Kennels' Hunter Red ROM
Kamakazee Kennels' Hunter Red ROM
Hunter Red was originally owned by James C., I spoke to him about Hunter Red about a year back, and he said that he sold Hunter Red to Thomas S. because he was a poor quality match dog.
Thomas subsequently owned the dog for quite a while and the stud fee was fairly low, around .US if my memory is correct. He was bred a lot, some say over 200 times. He has produced well thought with many 1 and 2 time winners to his credit plus a couple of champions. Thomas later sold him to the Tennessean along with some excellent dogs that Thomas had Championed and Grand Championed from Robert H.'s stock. Robert H. got rid of most of his yard when he went over to Iraq during the Gulf War. Who knew such an exceptional litter would have been produced out of Robert's old ROM Booger bitch. Anyways this is a little off topic, but somewhat related. The Tennessean consequently raised the stud fee price for Hunter Red to .US. This is good and bad, first the good. Higher stud fee will get rid of a lot of people who are just looking to peddle paper and will bring in the more serious dogman with good proven bitches. The bad is that some will think that a high stud fee means a great producer. I personally think Hunter Red is a very good producer, who will show better offspring now, because he is being bred to better bitches.
Hunter Red also had two excellent brothers. One is the ROM Deacon dog and the dead game Ch. Radar Man. Deacon unlike Hunter Red was a match quality dog, and has produced exceptionally well considering the number of breedings that were made with him. Some say ROM is not an indication of producing ability, that it could be just a lucky litter. That's true, but Deacon has also produced the multi winning Don King dog, and a number of 1 and 2 time winners. Deacon is also only the second Red Boy male to reach ROM status. the first was Yellow John. Hunter Reds main breeding areas were the southern states, while Deacon was bred in the more northern states. It is true that some would say the Red Boy dogs are soft mouth dogs, but there is no doubt about their gameness. Mouth can always be added. Gameness should still be the primary concern. A lot more could be said about these dogs, so I hope someone will jump in and continue this.
Mr. Jeep
Note: Since I wrote this article Hunter Red has reached ROM status.
***Notes/Adjustments:
There are a few discrepencies in the story, as I have pointed out to the author.
1) HUNTER RED was owned by Mr Duprel before JC got him and Mr Duprel is responsible for breeding the first CH off of HUNTER RED, CH TOPPER(who, by the way, is the littermate to PAW PAW's mother).
2) RADAR MAN was not dead game, he quit his last time up and was put down even though people at pit side were begging to be allowed to take him home.
3) All of the other dogs that made CH off of HUNTER RED were produced by TS, before the Tennessean got him. I attribute this to the fact that the Tennessean was very hard on dogs, even starting them very young and treating them as if they had been schooled out. At times looking at them for :45 TO 1:00 the first time they were touched.
4) The Tennessean originally set the stud fee at , which is what I payed to breed to HUNTER RED in '94. Shortly after I bred to him the fee went up to .
Now here is some info not contained in the story:
1) HUNTER RED produced at least one more CH that JK will not recognize due to personal animosity to her owner. This little b###h, LADY, is a legitimate 3XW all reported but she quit her 4th time up. She was taking a killing when she stood the line. Her owner submitted a request for her CH certificate and when JK didn't put it in the next SDJ, he called JK up and gave him a piece of his mind. JK still has not issued her certificate.
2) HUNTER RED has a number of 1XW's and 2XW's out there although due to the level of competition they went into, a number of them didn't survive to go on to make CH.
3) In the litter that I raised out of HUNTER RED(a 10 pup litter), 2 were sold at an early age to get my stud fee back, 1 froze to death when I was sick and my brother was taking care of my dogs, 1 proved dead game in a kennel accident, 1 busted out all her teeth at a young age(but passed her game test even without teeth, and I still own her), 2 died in accidents before they were old enough to be looked at, 2 were culled(even though one went 1:24 in his test), and 1 after passing her test, was bred once then a nephew got loose and killed her in an accident(there is only 1 pup that lived out of her 1 litter). I often wonder "what if" I had had a little more experience under my belt before trying to raise such a high caliber litter like this one proved to be...
Bred by Rushin Kennels, Mongoose or "Goose" as he is commonly called won his first three for the Havana Boys. Havana Chico ran into some problems and had to sell him, which is when we acquired him and finished him off for his Grand Championship.
It is hard to describe Goose’s "Pit Manor". You would put him in the box and he seemed to know that he was going to win. While the other dog looked angry and anxious, Goose always seemed calm and determined. Once the ref. announced "Release", he would trot at a medium pace and meet the dog in the center. It was once they met Goose showed his true splendor. Goose was the kind of a dog that fought from his heart straight to his mouth, not the other way around like a lot of hardmouthed dogs do. He would walk into ten hits just to get his one, and when he did the other dog would look up at you, his eyes seeming to say, "Why couldn’t I have been born a Poodle?" He never shook real hard or bit sporadically. He would just grab a leg and sink his teeth into it until it broke, then he’d move to another leg. After that, if the other dog was willing or able to scratch, he would hit the chest. This would accomplish putting the dog out of his misery most times, except for the case when the other dog had enough juice left in him to jump the wall.
Goose was not only tremendous in the box, but he was good around people too. He always seemed to be relaxed, not barking much either. He’d sit and let birds bathe in his water bowl, and roll on his back to let puppies nip at his chest and his feet. And as soon as you showed him the mill, he would jump right on and practically condition himself, hardly stopping to take a deep breath. You couldn’t ask for a better dog, he was an "Ace", and anyone who has seen him go will agree, I’m sure.
Goose is currently under the watchful eye of a close friend, Mr. Bill. Bill’s medical knowledge has made it possible for Goose to still be with us. I am glad to say, Goose is alive and well because of it. Grand Champion Goose now waits to be bred, and have his offspring make him a Register of Merit. Of the dogs he has already put on the ground there are several winners. Hemlock’s Badger 1xw in 1 hr. 14 min., Havana Chico’s Goose Jr. 1xw in 3hrs!!!, and Mr. Bill’s Ms. Goose 2xw.
Harry Hargroves made a breeding on his yard with Otter's Ch. Tonka Bear ROM bred to his gyp Tramp, who was a daughter of the 6X winner Rufus. She whelped the litter in August 15, 1993. This litter was sold to Benny, of Hard Core Kennels, due to personal problems of Harry's
Mickey was sold and rolled twice at the age of 16 months and was considered to be too shy, by Virginia O. and was offered to Tony from NYC. But, Tony never went to pick Mickey up. The Gator Boyz saw Mickey rolled and liked what the shy dog showed them and took him home with them to NY. Mickey quickly overcame his shyness and by December of 1995 he was hooked into the Havana Boys at 41 lbs. The Havana Boys brought in their killer of two, in rolls, named Antone. Mickey proved to be too much for Antone and had Antone picked up at :22. For number two, Mickey was hooked into Demon Knights Kennels at 40 lbs. and their reputed hard mouth dog Ninja. Once again Mickey proved to be too much, and had Ninja picked up in :57. Now a two time winner, the Gator Boyz started looking to hook Mickey into some of the big named champions of that weight class: Millbuster's Ch. Homie and Second To None's Hugo. Both owners declined as they said their dogs were available only to champions.
Finally, America's Most Wanted had a 2X winning 40 lb. available. Lloyd came out barnstorming Mickey, but by :30 floyd had turned and at :50 and wouldn't go, thus making Mickey, the once too shy dog, a champion.
Now a champion, Millbuster's was called again in regard to Ch. Homie, but he was retired. Later it was said that Homie was involved in an accidental kennel fight and curred out, so Millbusters became nervous about matching him again. Dr. Doolittle and T. Garner was called in regard to then Ch. Simba, but a travel agreement could not be reached. Then another call was made to Second To None to see if Ch. Hugo was open, after some negotiations, a date and weight was set. Ch. Hugo shoots across into Mickey, by :30 Hugo is trying to hold Mickey out and at 1:21 Hugo calls it quits.
Mickey died in a kennel accident on March 1, 1997, he was bred a few times on the Gator Boyz yard.
Many experienced dogmen but few newcomers know about this great match bitch "Molly Bee". The article is intended to inform those fanciers who are not farmiliar and those who are in question of this great bitch. Molly Bee was a well known bitch in the southeastern united states. Anyone who had a 44, 45, 46 pound bitch who was willing to wage a bet on her was at least aware that they may have to look across at Molly Bee. This bitch could end a match with one hold and most of her matches went only a few minutes. In fact her cumulative time of her eight matches doesn't total two hours!!
Molly Bee was bred by James Edwards and sold as a yearling to H. Hargrove. She won three times with Hargroves when he sold her to Larry Bass. R.E. Meansville conditioned and handled her for Bass and won five more with her. She retired after her eighth win but was stolen from Bass' yard and was never recovered.
Molly Bee was an Eli/Big Boy cross. The Big Boy seem to dominate her genetic make up and was also the make up in her offspring. Big Boy was a three time winner and a brother to Lonzo's Angie, who produced grand champion Zebo. And this connection to Zebo explains where the Big Boy dogs get their power and mouth from. It may also provide a clue on how to breed both these strains. Molly Bee's sire was Felton Stephenson's Big Ben, an Eli/Colby cross. Her dam was Edward's Nellie, who was a cold bitch from the Big Boy breeding. Molly Bee had three litters prior to her theft, Edwards bred her to Wood's Snooty ROM and produced Groves' 4x winner Red Danger, Brewer's Ch Red Lady, Edward's Junk, and grover's Co-Co, all were matched and shown well with the exception of Co-Co. Co-Co was a game bitch, who when bred to Lewis' Satan (Eli bred) produced Grove's 3X winner Boss Hog and Norman's Leroy.
Mr. Hargroves bred her to Finley's Ch Bo ROM who he owned at the time, I have no recognition of the pups off that breeding. There are a few descendants off of Molly Bee alive. Brewer's Red Lady owned by Tom Garner in '87, a bitch from the Bo breeding and Jackson's Warp were the only living dogs off of Molly Bee in "87".
It was 1997 when I was invited by Hidden Hollow Kennels to attend their five dog show in North Carolina. I was interested in buying a good dog, so I felt this was the perfect opportunity to hopefully come across one. I decided to drive down and spend a few days in the Carolina Hills and thought this would be a perfect time to meet T. Garner and E. Faron, who I had become acquainted with over the last couple of years over the phone. It was after meeting E. Faron that I was introduced to a man who would later become one of my best friends, Billye Roberts. I met a few new people and even bought a couple of dogs, however I still wasn't satisfied. A few days later I decided to hook up with Billye to see his yard. I asked Billye if he knew where I could find a good small male between 35-40 pounds. Billye thought for a minute and said, "Oh yes, there's a dog down the street that's killing everything in the neighborhood." I said, "Lets go", and off we were to see this dog. As we were driving up to the house, one black dog came into focus tied up on a chain in the back yard. Getting out of the car I said to Billye, "That is one Big Dog." I asked the owner why he wanted to sell him, he stated that he was going to college and wouldn't be able to care for him. Word travels quick in his neighborhood and before I knew it, several of his friends had come over trying to convince him not to sell this dog. I knew then I wanted to buy him. I was a little low on cash since buying two other dogs so I turned to my brother-in-law, who made the trip with me, and asked him if he was willing to invest in this dogs with me. The guy was only asking $600 for the dog and I couldn't pass this opportunity up. We had met a couple of guys earlier that day and they were willing to loan us the cash. It turned out to be the best $600 dollars I've ever spent.
The day had come to see the show we had been invited to. The first match was Greasy Corner Kid's Ch. Spanky and Garner's Ch. Simba, winner Greasy Corner's Ch. Spanky. After all the matches were over, we decided to see a couple of minutes out of this dog we had just purchased. Hidden Hollow Kennels had lost with their male and allowed us to bump into him for a few minutes. As I watch him go to work, I wasn't extremely impressed as I shrugged him off as an average dog. My brother-in-law, however, saw something different, he said, "Eljaye, this dog is special." After about 15 minutes we picked him up and headed back to Oklahoma. This black dog, whose name by the way is Nino, got a chain spot and sat on the yard untouched for a couple of months. One afternoon, a couple of friends of mine came by the yard and wanted to roll some dogs, I figured it was about time to see more of him. To make a short story even shorter, he stopped their dog in 15 minutes. I put him back on the chain for a couple more months. I later realized that Nino was turning 4 years old, I decided to see one more roll out of him as I was wanted to bring him out. I called up a very good friend of mine, who unfortunately passed away this year, and asked if he had anything for Nino. Again, to make it short, he killed his dog in 22 min, pushing 10 lbs. up hill. Nino was ready. I called out his weight at 46 1/2, a couple days later, Grinderman & Co. replied with a 2XW named Hall Boy. We set the date and joined a show hosted by SAGASA Kennels. We traveled to Arkansas and had two dogs going in that show, a bitch on Friday, and Nino on Saturday. It was show time, Saturday night, both dogs weighed in at 461/2, we washed them got in the box and released with Hall Boy on the head. It was even until Nino finds the chest. At the 27 minute mark, Hall Boy is picked up.
In the months to follow we healed Nino up and bred him to a couple of our bitches. We didn't have any immediate intentions on bringing him out until Red Man Kennels called us wanting to hook into him with a dog named Bolo. We accepted the challenge and agreed on a weight of 45 pounds this time. My brother/partner worked Nino for me, while I was on the road. I have to admit, I was nervous since I hadn't worked him myself. The match was only a few days away and I returned home for the match. Nino looked great and his weight was on the money. Once again, we weighed, washed and dropped in the pit. Both dogs hit hard in the middle with Nino again finding the chest and Bolo began to cur. Redman Kennels picked him up making Nino the winner in 6 min.
Nino was feeling good and we were looking for a Champion to go into. A month or so passed when we got word that we were allegedly dodging a dog called APK & Elliott's Ch. Red Devil. A couple of phone calls and the match with Red Devil was set at 45 lbs. We traveled to Kansas joining the Rocky Ridge Convention. Nino again was conditioned by my brother and his team. Nino was right on 45 while the other dog came in a pound light. Once in the box, we released with Red Devil on the nose and Nino again finding the chest. Nino was on a down dog when Ch Red Devil is picked up declaring Nino the Champion in 18 minutes. Nino also won Best of Show.
After some time we were unable to get Ch Nino hooked up so I had decided to retire him. A few more months had passed when I received a call from Brickhouse Kennels. They had a 46 male called Ch Benny Blanco. We immediately jumped on the challenge and agreed to travel to their backyard and also let them choose the judge. I called Vietnam Kennels and asked them to send me their War Keep, they told me if I want to win, I'll use it. I took their advice and Nino's conditioning began. I worked Nino the first 4 weeks, when my job took me on the road again. I turned to my brother again for the remaining 4 weeks of Nino's keep. I never doubted his ability to condition him nor his ability to follow the keep to very last detail. I knew Nino had to be ready and my brother was never available for my phone calls, instead his constant focus was on Nino.
I was completely at east until 12 days out from the match I got a phone call that Nino got 12 stitches in his leg from doing roadwork. The days began winding down and as the match date got closer, Nino was strongest at 45. We decided to give up a pound rather than bring him in sluggish. The match would take place in NY. I was already there when my brother, the team and Nino arrived a week prior to the show. It was a 23-hour trip and we wanted Nino to rest after travelling so far. As the show got closer, Nino began to Peak out. We were relaxing in the hotel room allowing Nino to roam freely out of his kennel one day before the show. Suddenly there was knock at the door, some friends from Wichita, Kansas had arrived, meanwhile Hidden Hollow Kennels staying in a room down the hall was walking his bitch who was matching on the same night as Nino. Nino shot out the open door and hit the 2XW in the hallway. After about a minute we got them apart. Neither dog was seriously injured instead, they were hungry for more. The day came and Nino was feeling good, another 45 minute drive to the location and we entered the spot where both dogs were weighed and washed. Blanco was dead on 46 and Nino as expected at 45. We released both dogs and before Nino really got out of the corner, Blanco caught him by the front leg, shook and popped a serious bleeder. Within the first 30 seconds Blanco snapped Nino's ankle. I must admit, I began to worry a little and Nino began to peal him off by the nose. Nino and I both knew that he had to keep Blanco off of him or he could be seriously hurt. It was even for the first 40 minutes, however Nino showing to be the stronger dog. At 45 a turn is called on Nino, with Nino making a hard 3-legged scratch. By the hour mark, we made a handle and Blanco makes a hard scratch. Nino starts to take control of the match as he was biting hard on the head. At the 1:30 mark Nino began to make Blanco sing. I really began to cheer Nino on after 4 scratches each. At 1:48 Ch Blanco is picked up and makes a slow courtesy scratch. Champion Nino is declared the winner. Ch. Nino has proven to us his ability to finish a dog quickly, his intelligence to adapt to his opponent and his gameness in staying in it for the long haul without the use of Steroids. Nino's road to victory has not been an easy journey. He's had all odds against him, travelling, weight, environment and still came out the victor when no one but us believed he could. Nino is being retired due to complications with his leg injury. I would like to thank my team, my brother/partner Teddy, my brother-in-law E-Love. Vietnam Kennels, Black and Blue Kennels, Eric (my yard man) and most of all my wife and the Lord for making this possible.
by Krazyside Kennels
THE ELI/OUTLAW BLOODLINE. WE CHOSE THIS BLOODLINE BECAUSE WE LIKE TO BREED FINISHERS. THIS BLOODLINE HAS SHOWN TO PRODUCE GREAT MOUTH, EXTREME INTENSITY AND GAMENESS. WE OUTCROSS WITH OTHER BLOODLINES TO ADD EVEN MORE GAMENESS AND ABILITY SUCH AS DEACON ROM, BOLIO, CARVER AND FRISCO.
Otis is a well known dog of his day and the impact given to the American Pit Bull Terrier Lines. He was the father of GR CH Snake, Jones' Ch Bubba, Mead's Gr Ch Turfman, and many other winners.
In April of '92, PR Joe had a gyp named Gunny, off of Ch. Coco and a bitch named Sarah, who was a very promising prospect. He was looking to get a male to breed to her in the future and heard about a litter of pups out of Ch. Coco and a double daughter of Cates' Nigerino, named Bathsheeba. Since PR Joe was pleased with Gunny and kept hearing good things about the Nigerino dogs, he decided he had to have a pup from this breeding.
He and his son drove out to the breeder's house and spent several hours observing the pups before he finally decided which pup to bring home. Opie caught his eye, because he was very sure of himself and just sat and watched the rest of the pups like a male lion watching over his pride. They then drove home and let Opie out in the yard to play. He had such a good feeling about him, that he called the owner of Ch. Coco and told him he felt Opie was something special and knew Opie would be a steamroller.
The first time Opie was looked at was when he was 11 months old. In 2 minutes, Opie broke the other dog's foot, at the ankle, and the roll was stopped after 5 minutes. Opie screamed and carried on in the corner like no other dog owned by PR Joe. PR Joe left very happy, Opie was started and he liked what he saw.
When Opie was 16 months old, PR Joe was looking for another roll for him and found out Props Up Kennel was looking to test a match dog they were considering purchasing. He agreed to leave Opie down for 15 minutes and they arranged to have a second dog ready to finish the test. However, a second dog wasn't necessary, because Opie took the dog apart and stopped him in 15 minutes.
Four months later PR Joe decided it was time to find out if Opie was match quality, so he arranged to put him down with a dog that ws 19lbs. bigger than him. This dog went right to Opies's head, near his left ear, and stayed there for 15 minutes, throwing Opie all over the place. The dog then took Opie right off his feet and slammed him on his back. At this point Opie reached up and bit the big dog hard in the throat. Shortly after, we handled the dogs and the other owner told me he thought his dog's heart was no longer into the roll. He felt the bite to the throat had taken the fight out of him and he was right, the dog quit 2 minutes later.
The time had come to match Opie, so his partner Machiavelli hooked him into the Jersey Combine and their dog Charlie. Charlie was off of St. Benedict's Raleigh and was reputed to be a very game dog. Machiavelli conditioned Opie and Mr. Bill did the handling. The match started and immediately Opie was back-peddling. He'd never done this before and he just didn't seem to be himself. At about 15 minute mark, Charlie had a hold on the side of Opie's head and was pushing him in a circle. Steve B. called a turn on Opie and Clamdigger, who was the referee, agreed. Opie wasn't really turning, but regardless, the scratching was started and so was the beginning of the end for Charlie. A handle was made and in the corner Opie finally came to life. He scratched hard into Charlie, who reared up leaving his chest wide open and Opie took full advantage punishing Charlie severely. When he came out of there, Charlie looked as though he'd been blasted with a shotgun. It was pretty much all Opie after that, although at one point, Charlie did get into Opie's stifle. Opie took him out by the muzzle and popped two cutters out of Charlie's mouth in the process. Charlie was picked up game in :28 minutes.
Next, with some help from POW, Opie was hooked into the Duke Boys and their dog Flatliner. Machiavelli conditioned Opie and PR Joe handled him. This was the first time PR Joe handled in a match, so he was pretty much hyped-up. The dogs were released and Flatliner began working Opie's front legs near the ankles. Opie didn't appear to know what to do and the bets were flying from the Duke Boys' side. Finally, Opie took him out by the face and the dogs stayed there for awhile. Opie then began to punish Flatliner's chest and shoulders and the other side quieted considerably. The first handle was made at :20 and Flatliner came across fast. But now Opie was really cranked up and soon Flatliner was fading. At :43, after two hard scratches by Opie and a game stumbling scratch by Flatliner a handle was made. It was Flatliner's turn to scratch and he took two steps out of his corner and fell forward onto his head. Flatliner never took his eyes off Opie and he continued to try to get up, but he couldn't and he was counted out in :44. Opie was then tail scratched for his courtesy and he was obviously eager for more.
Opie's third was into Rocketman and his dog Magic, who was out of Captain America's Gr. Ch. King Arthur and Rocketman's Go Go Girl. Magic had won one in over an hour and PR Joe and Machiavelli felt he would be a real challenge for Opie. Opie was sent to Machiavelli's friend 1C to be conditioned and waited there 'til showtime. 10 weeks later, Joe headed north to meet Machiavelli and 1C. When the dogs were released, they met mouth to mouth and Joe was delighted because he knew what Opie could do to another dog's mouth. They switched to swapping shoulder and shest holds, but it was obvious Opie was stronger and a harder biter. At :19 both dogs took a breather and a after a ten second out of hold count a handle was made. Magic made a good scratch, but Opie was really cranking now and Magic was taking a beating. Joe was standing over the dogs and heard Magic let out a whimper, so he started sending Opie in and he responded. Magic began singing, so everybody could hear and at :27 he took the count. Opie made a hard courtesy scratch. After the match Rocketman gave Opie a very good compliment saying "Opie beat a dog I thought was really good and made him look stupid in the process."
In closing, Ch. Opie did whatever was asked of him and looked damn impressive doing it. His litter mate brother was Yankee Greg's Deadend, who won one and lost his second time out in 3:01 to Captain America's OO Buck.
Hollingsworth's Ch. Pinky was born July 7th. 1989 the result of a second generation breeding by Mike & Dot Kelly. They had a deep game bitch named Ruby out of Jone's Ch. Smoker and Frank Rocca's Red Gal that they bred to Patrick's little Tater and they bred a bitch out of that breeding to Laminack's Trouble a son of Ch. Tonka that produced Ch. Tara and Ch. Flint to produce Pinky's litter. Pinky was sold or given to the late E. Hollingsworth as a pup. Ed Farron in turn purchased the pup (Pinky) from Mr. Hollingsworth along with several other dogs. Pinky's first roll came at about 18 months of age, a real rough hard biting bitch by the name of sugar Mae was used and Pinky was the down dog from start to finish @ :25 Pinky never made any bad moves and made a stumbling scratch. A couple months later a young Jeep/Nigerino bitch was put on her, and Pinky was used to start this bitch. When the bitch got onto Pinky's nose Pinky made a lot of bad signs, she even went as far as turning away from the young bitch. At this point most felt that Pinky was a cur. R. Davis really wanted Pinky and asked Ed repeatedly for her. Ed agreed to let Davis have the dog with the stipulation that if she did indeed turn out to be a game dog that they would get pups back from her in future litters.
About 3 months later Pinky had been sold again and at this point it was still thought Pinky was a cur. Looking back Ed felt that Pinky had never turned on @ 18 months, and Pinky was not ruined permanently in her second roll and got another chance that most dogs never get. After all Pinky's littermate Manson had lost his first match in over an hour and won his second dead game.
Far too many dogmen feel that at 18 months a dog should be ready to be tested and rolled hard, while it is not feasible to hold a dog beyond 18 months for most large dog yards. There have been many a great dog that did not turn on till later in life, and have gone on to become Champions and grand champions.
Pinky was sold again to Hilltop Mike and it was Mike who set Pinky down for her game test on a very hard biting bitch and tried to stop her. With all he had heard about her in her second roll he was very concerned she was a cur she went :45 min. with this bitch and never made a bad sign. Mike then decided to match her @ 42 lbs. Pinky came in at 41 and won in :38 after an all out war, with both dogs dishing out lots of punishment. Pinky had won best in show over 4 matches that same day; some of the dogs of mention were the untouchables Ch. Butkus, McDaniel's Feisty & Gaston's Pea. One report in the American Warrior wrote Hilltop Mikes Pinky vs. Newjacks "Leather" females @ 42, Pinky plows a field through leather and leather takes the count @ :38 another match reported was against the Untouchables Vixon vs. Hilltop Mikes Pinky females @41 Pinky a 1x winner Pinky does the barnstorming and Vixon takes the count @ :06 I believe Vixon was lost after that show. And Pinky was on her way to becoming a Champion. Pinky goes on to win another in :17 with a pit kill, she was sold again this time to T.R. he kept Pinky for a while and she was sold again to Killer Bee. At 5 years of age Killer Bee matched Pinky again and she wins in :31 with yet another pit kill. At 6 years of age she is matched again this one went 2:36 with no turn or out of holds and Pinky is picked up game and makes a stumbling scratch, this was by far Pinky's greatest test and with all odds against her she finishes with a game loss.
We had heard that Killer Bee was in the market for some younger dogs and asked if we were interested in Pinky, needless to say we wanted her at any rate we worked out a deal for a 1x winning son of Stratton's Mozart (Bill) out of CBK's Olive Oyle Popeye has gone on to make his GR CH and to date has won 7 shows and made over 30,000.00 in his carrier. Pinky was in rough shape when we got her and we did all we could to get her back to health and bred her to Popeye's littermate Beekman (dead game); from that litter came Whitehead, a good brood bitch we have here and Jake, a winner himself. The second breeding we made was to Stark's Jasper (CBK'S), a double-bred son of Patrick's Macho Jr. dog. While these pups are still young they are showing a lot of promise: one that comes to mind is CBK's "Jinx" and two others that have been rolled and have shown excellent results. We expect to see dogs matched off that breeding this year.
After Pinky's breeding with Jasper her health began to decline rapidly. While she had a lot of problems with old injures, her greatest hurdle was yet to come: heart failure. At this point knowing Pinky could never be bred again we decided she would be just an old dog we would keep around through her later years, and a great conversation piece. Pinky was one of a kind, as I knew her, she was one of those once in a life time dogs that every dog man dreams of owning. Her temperament was un- surpassable and of the kind we would like to see in all pit dogs, her heart was as big as they come, her mouth was as hard as they get and her ability to get the job done was beyond what most of the so called fast lane dogs of today are. At the age of nine her health had declined to the point she was no longer enjoying life the way she always had and I felt it was in her best interest for me to make her final scratch, one of the hardest I have ever made. As she slumped in my arms the tears ran down my face although I had never campaigned her or saw her many victories, her life had flashed before my eyes. In the spring of 98 she was laid to rest in Chapel Hill, NC. Her sons and daughters live on at Cedarbrook kennels to follow their dam's footsteps.
Ch. Pinky was centerfold for the American Dog Breeders Ass. Summer of 98 vol. 22 issue 4. A poem was written beside her picture that reads:
"As we pay tribute to mothers day, its only fitting we do. Select a bitch that lights the way, she's Hollingsworth's Ch. Pinky, tried and true. The path she travelled far, "she's much to young" an old man said, surprise them all, become a star. The bloom of youth did never fade. A look, a sigh, she twirled around, A flirt a bark, "please see me". She even climbed a peach tree. A residential change took place, "perhaps they'll be much kinder. And put a smile back on my face, like my video rewinder. Soon the lustre of the show, remained, just a memory. The bloom was gone indeed, although, she felt was temporary. When born the date was eighty-nine, "she's damn near pink, that red nosed bitch. She's full of spunk, and body fine, She'll be a Champ, without a hitch." She settled down, but still was young; her thoughts were on the future. On show time day she'd come unstrung, as empty crates passed by her. "What's up! ol' gal, you've had your fame, A mother soon you'll be, Reminds me of your mother game, You're like your grandma Ruby.
She wasn't wrong, for dog men say; It's seeing is believing time. There'll always be that one more day, And Pinky she did shine, She's gone on now, a life well lived, Her sons did make her proud. She had it all that life could give, She always played the crowd."
SCK's Ch. Piggy is a testimony that with these bulldogs....you have to wait on them. Ch.Piggy just would not start. At 4 years old...SCK Tony took her of the chain and told her..."Look, You're out of Gr.Ch.Buck and AwesomeBaby(ROM)...TODAY...either you crank, or you're GONE." Well, Tony said she must have understood cause that day she cranked and scratched 23 times. She was ready.
Her first show was into a legend ..Razorback Kennel's J.C. He had a bad bad bitch of old Carver blood and this turned out to be Ch.Piggy's longest and toughest match. J.C. could really shape a dog. He was the only one on record to beat Rebel Kennels (Gr.Ch.Sandman's owner) twice with the same dog. Piggy stayed on the face and showed tremendous ability. At the 1:45 Mark, J.C. decided to pick up. The losing bitch was gaaaaame. She scratched at the end. SCK now had a one time winner. Number two was against the Beach Boys ..a short affair of 45 minutes. The third was against Cambo Kennels. They had a bitch that was supposed to stop Piggy. At 50 minutes it was over, Piggy stayed on the face and showed great ability again. She was now Ch. Piggy. Piggy was bred to Her littermate brother Gr.Ch.Yellowbuck. Five were born and one died at birth. SCK's Rat killed a female in a kennel accident, the other femalr Tiburona died in an accident as well.
The male died of Parvo, and Evolution Kennel's bought YellowPiggy(Ugly) from SCK at the age of 7 years old. YellowPiggy was bred to Super Kennel's Ch.357 .Five were born but YellowPiggy(Ugly) was a horrible mother and only Evolution Kennel's Miss Superbuck survived. They repeated the breeding again to get Evolution Kennel's Superbuck, Southern Kennel's Lady of Buck, and Tom's Buck Bitch. The breeding will not be repeated. YellowPiggy(Ugly) was given to Southern Kennels. She will be bred to Southern Kennel's Black Face(double bred Gr.Ch.Mayday with SCK's Blondie on bottom) Blondie was a littermate to Ch.Piggy and Gr.Ch.Yellowbuck, and the dam of Evolution Kennel's Macho.
An article written about PANTHER, by the late BARNEY FIFE who conditioned and witnessed him in action.
In my last article titled Greenwood's DELTA, I wrote about the strategy my brother and I used in obtaining good bulldogs. Part of that strategy involved purchasing puppies from repeat breedings that had already produced pit winners. Baker Davis' MIDNIGHT COWBOY (BULLYSON x Long's BABY) had produced winners when bred to his niece Hand's CANDY who was sired by CHIVO out of PIGGY. MIDNIGHT COWBOY was the first bulldog to be judged "Best in Show" in all of his matches. His brother CHIVO won Best in Show in 2 of his 3 wins. We purchased a bitch puppy from the MIDNIGHT COWBOY x CANDY breeding and named her SEA TRAIN after a popular rock band. While still a puppy SEATRAIN was sold to S.T.P. Kennels who raised her to maturity.
At that time I was breeding ZEBO and VINDICATOR dogs and this line was producing pit winners. ZEBO had already sired Stinson's RUBY, Stepp's WILLIE and Nelson's ZIPPER, who were big league match dogs. Those three completed their championships and were joined by Fitch's DIAMOND JIM who was the 4th champion sired by ZEBO. There were many more, on and two time winners, sired by ZEBO who were exceptional pit dogs. I was convinced that ZEBO was the next BULLYSON and encouraged everyone to breed this line.
My brother had obtained ZEBO's sister, ROSIE and had a litter of pups off her bred to Devine's BRUCE. Around this time STP phoned wanting some ideas about how to breed SEATRAIN. I was flattered that STP, ho was heck of a dogman would solicit my opinion. It was no suprise when I recommended ZEBO as a stud dog. STP bred SEATRAIN to ZEBO and sold a bitch puppy to Tar Heel Matt who named her MARGIE. It was MARGIE who whelped Tar Heel Matt's PANTHER, ONE OF THE HARDEST MOUTH BULLDOGS FROM THIS STRAIN.
Tarheel Matt and I were not aware of each other, but we attended a get together, out in the Appalachian Mountains. Super Gnat and Tyree were matching bitches at 39lbs., and they put on an action packed show. Both bitches were said to be sired by ZEBO, which reinforced my view that ZEBO dogs were the best match dogs. Tar Hell Matt was similarly impressed and had also decided to breed ZEBO dogs. Super Gnat's bitch won and to this day, SUPER GNAT'S BULLDOGS CONTINUE TO EXCEL. (EVEN IN 99) They are bred down from that bitch, Stinson's RUBY, Stepp's WILLIE, Stepp's ANGUS and Stepp's CHARLIE (JEEP's bro) so ZEBO's influence is still prominent Tar Hell Matt's MARGIE was a calm, exceptionally intelligent, bitch who ended up as the pet of Matt's father. MARGIE lived the good life often riding in the back of the family sedan with Matt's dad at the wheel. It appeared as if MARGIE had her own chauffeur.
MARGIE had no interest in combat and would be considered "cold". It was like fighting was not dignified, so MARGIE left that activity for her sons who excelled in this area. The bond between Matt's dad and MARGIE was such, that when Matt's dad required hospitalization, his first concern was about MARGIE'S care. MARGIE never fully recovered from his last hospitalization. She refused to eat and continued to grieve over her master's absence. This combined with advancing years finally claimed MARGIES life.
During her younger years, MARGIE whelped two litters sired by Tar Heel Matt's MONZON, who had won TWO MATCHES. PANTHER was whelped in the 2nd litter. MONZON, named after the great middle weight boxing champion, was a good individual and a close cousin to ZEBO. Lonzo's MIKE was MONZON's sire and a winner of TWO contract matches, one of which was against the combined effort's of MAURICE CARVER, LEO KINARD AND DON MAYFIELD. MONZON'S dam was also a two time pit winner named Rick's THISLE who was BIGBOY and BULLYSON breeding. BIG BOY was a 3x winning uncle to ZEBO and a devastating bulldog. Both MIKE and THISTLE were well known for their biting ability.
After a number of years of breeding and matching ZEBO dogs, my enthusiasm for this strain was considerably diminished. While the majority had exceptional ability, they were short winded and lacked deep gameness. I attempted to add other strains like BULLYSON and BOOMERANG to the ZEBO stock in an effort to correct the deficiencies inherent in the line.
Several top bulldogs like StBenedict's DYLAN, Stiltner's LAVERNE and Gregory's BUZZ represented the best of my breeding efforts during this time. However the vast majority of my ZEBO dogs were not up to the level of DYLAN. It was heartbreaking and expensive to raise 30 pups to maturity and not produce one good match dog. So I moved away from the ZEBO line and worked with other strains.
Tar Heel Matt had some good bulldogs from the first MONZON x MARGIE breeding, so he repeated the breeding and produced several more pit winners. Some of these were WILLIE, BILLY 1xW, BONNIE, 1xW, JIMMY (stopped Ch SPIKE), CARLOS 1xW, 1xL, and MONZON JR.
When I received a phone call from Matt about PANTEHR, I was excited and skeptical. PANTHER had been sold as a puppy and did not develop a dislike for dogs until he was over three years old. PANTHER got in a fight with a German Shepherd and was returned to Matt. Matt had a good eye for the bulldogs and recognized that PANTHER was no "run of the mill" bulldog after a couple of rolls. I had developed a reputation as a conditioner and handler and Matt wanted to know if I'd be interested in matching PANTHER. Matt had complete confidence in panther and said I could roll the dog and match him at his best weight. Since I had been disappointed by ZEBO dogs a number of times, I rolled PANTHER and he showed me the Matt's assessment was accurate. The dog could bite like a vise and would scratch when he was so heated, he could barely stand. In addition to being a top match dog, PANTHER was very gentle and quite intelligent. He loved nothing more than to lay upside down in my lap on the living room couch as I watched RV Of all the bulldogs I had conditioned, the only one my girlfriend liked was PANTHER.
I put PANTHER'S weight out at 55lbs. and after a wait, BOSS HOG picked it up. PANTHER was not a true 55lb dog, but I wanted to leave an extra lb. or two in him due to his phenomenal mouth. We were set to go at 5 am, with both of us traveling to the match site. It is critical for a hard biter to be on their feet and moving forward to be effective, just as a boxer deliver his hardest punches in a similar situation.
PANTHER's "keep" focused on strength training which is different than the standard endurance training utilized in most keeps. My plan was to start PANTHER with low intensity, long duration work, and gradually build up to high intensity, short duration work. Since PANTHER's style was the explosive "win in ten minutes" type, he would be ready to come out "smoking" as soon as the ref said "release" PANTHER was basically an easy going bulldog and he became bored with the long walks. To spark PANTHER'S interest, I took a year old bitch named JERSY GIRL, who would run loose, while PANTHER went through his work outs, and PANTHER enjoyed her company. At the latter stages of the keep, PANTHER went through a high intensity drill called the chicken race. During this drill, PANTHER would drag heavy chains in an effort to catch my pet rooster named Fred. I would tuck Fred under my arm like a football and run ahead of PANTHER who would do his best to keep us with us. If PANTHER slowed down, I would run back and encourage him to pull harder. During one workout, a rabbit jumped out infront of PANTHER, and he showed suprising head speed for such a big dog. PANTHER seized the rabbit and bolted it down in a couple seconds. This left me feeling rather useless as I stood ten yards away, rooster in hand.
Just like all my match dogs, PANTHER was free of intestinal parasites as well as external parasites like fleas and ticks. I made sure that PANTHER'S ears were absolutely clean, because any opponent was certain to grab the ears in an effort to hold out this hard charging dog. During the last three weeks I got up at 5 am every morning to get PANTHER accustomed to hard work at that hour. Since bulldogs are creatures of habit just like us, it was critical that PANTHER be at match weight and rearing to go at 5 am.
At the end of the keep I deviated from my normal routine. Normally, I drive directly to the match site with my bulldog rather than drive out a day before the match and get a room at a motel. This time I drove out to Matt's place and put PANTHER back on his old chain. He felt great and spent most of the night running his chain burning up his energy reserves. The next morning I got early to check on him I was shocked to find that he was 2 lbs. under the contract weight and he had not taken his morning bowel movement. It was still several hours until match time and I decided to gamble, by feeding PANTHER complex carbohydrates. I also kept PANTHER with me so he'd calm down, rest quietly and hopefully build up his depleted energy reserves. My gamble paid off since Boss Hog requested additional time so he could get his dog to defecate. I readily agreed to this request, because it gave PANTHER an opportunity to rest and digest his last feeding.
Matt wisely selected a flat low area in a river valley as a match site. Since heat rises this area would still be cool at daybreak. Gusto and Squeky were in attendance along with a number of people who were familiar with PANTHER. BOSS HOGG came with a large boned , white in color, REDBOY bred dog, and weighed in exactly at 55lbs. PANTHER weighed in 2 lbs. Lt. at 53 lbs, but he had recovered from the previous night's activities. PANTHER came out fast trying for the shoulders, but the white dog was adept at holding out PANTHER. The pattern continued with PANTHER trying but unable to get any good holds. At twenty minutes, PANTHER HIT THE FRONT END AND THE WHITE DOG WAS IN TROUBLE. By the 40 minute mark, PANTHER was putting the finishing touches on the white dog, who took the ten second count in his corner making PANTHER the winner in 40 minutes. I kept PANTHER for a while as I had his weight open to match. It looked like PANTHER was going to get a chance at his second win but something always went astray. People who were interested in matching would not put up a forfeit or would reconsider the match weight. For one reason or another, PANTHER'S opponents did not materialize. I had several other match weights under contract so I returned PANTHER to Tar Heel Matt's yard where he stayed open to match for a year or two. In the mean time PANTHER demolished several roll opponents with such speed that his already formidable reputation grew even more. At the age of six years, Matt retired PANTHER and bred the dog to several of his bitches. After several years PANTHER was sold to Rich Cupo. PANTHER sired two champions and a bunch of one and two time match winners. The best of PANTHERS off spring retained the signature trade mark of this strain. They would start fast and if a dog could not avoid their charge, the panther dogs would win in short order.
Another Story about Panther:
Why Panther should be an ROM
Panther was owned by a very low key man "Tarheel Matt" and Panther was only bred 9 time's in his whole life.
1.Hartmans Molly Brown 2.Ch.Bolero 3.Mean Joleen 4.Jilly BUCK 5.Baby Girl 6.Miss Willie 7.Lonzo's Suzie 8.Tar Baby 9.Cash's Mountain Girl (sister to my Buddy dog)
The Bolero,Mean Joleen,Baby Girl dogs all went to Japan to Mr.Kiro who was a very wealthy man and paid far and beyond what the dogs were worth so off they went.The rest stayed in the states and Canada and Panther should be an "ROM" in just 9 litters.He produced,
1.Gr.Ch.Miss Panther 2 points 2.Gr.Ch.Samuri 2 points 3.Ch.Lightning 1 point
and the Japan dogs who won in all large legar conventions,the dogs comp was not all that but,they definately was pitted each time claimed as 300 by standers were there each time in towns square.The Bob Stevens tape was a tape of Panther dogs that did not bite much at all but,his point was they were winning on gameness in 1:30 each time,A poor judgement call on a video but,that was his idea,just kinda rather see the bad asses but,everyone was crying curs,so he showed some game ones to proove his personal point.
Gr.Ch.Rhino Gr.Ch.Rambo
are off Panther and Japan dogs Rhino won 11x's all in large conventiones but,even if you dont count the Japan shows Panther is still ROM from the state side winners its all easy to check on,more Jack Kelly Anti Zebo crap and one more reason why I never reported to him he was dis-ing my favorite line at that time,so I didnt bother.but,Panther produced enough in 9 breedings to be ROM in the states and if you counted the Japan dogs he'd be well up in the top 15,not bad for a dog bred less than 10 times.I did a interveiw with Matt Mcgee and Rollbar and Bulldogf Revelation can help you obtain the interview of Tarheels own words instead of mine.Hope this helps,we use atleast a 1/4 Panther and it works and according to Tarheel we have the heaviest bred Panther today,but,we don't sell anything more than 1/4 Panther we keep the rest on the yard and cull,cull,cull and keep only the best,we get good and bad both but,the good are real good.
Another Story about Panther:
One of my favorite Dogs
"ONE OF MY FAVORITE MATCH DOGS WAS TARHEEL MATT'S PANTHER , WHO WAS ZEBO/BIG BOY/COWBOY BREEDING. BIG BOY WAS ZEBO'S UNCLE AND A MULTI TIME WINNER AT CATCH WEIGHT. PANTHER WAS RAISED AS A HOUSE PET UNTIL HE TURNED THREE YRS OLD. HE GOT INTO SOME TROUBLE WITH A LOCAL DOG AND WAS RETURNED TO MATT BY THE PEOPLE WHO PURCHASED HIM, IT TAKE MATT LONG TO REALIZE THAT HE HAD BRED A MATCH DOG. MATT HAD COMPLETE CONFIDENCE IN PANTHER AND LET ME ROLL HIM AND MATCH HIM. LIKE MANY DESTROYER TYPES. PANTHER WAS SWEET AND GENTLE TOWARDS PEOPLE. EVEN MY LONG TERM GIRLFREIND LOVED PANTHER IN SPITE OF HIS DEADLY REPUTATION AS A MATCH DOG.
I ARRANGED A ROLL WITH IRONHEAD OF THE ODD COUPLES AND IN 19 MINS. IN 97 DEGREE HEAT I SAW THAT PANTHER WAS WORTH A BET. MATT HAD NOT EXAGGERATED PANTHER'S MOUTH SO WE PUT HIM OUT AT A WEIGHT OF 55#. BOSS HOGG PICKED UP THE WEIGHT SO WE STARTED IN ON THE KEEP. PANTHER WAS NOT A ENTHUSIASTIC WORKER BUT WORKED HARD WHEN IN THE COMPANY OF MY HOUSE DOG JERSY GIRL;(GROVES RUFUS X BREWER'S SUSIE). I WANTED SHORT HIGH INTENSITY WORK OUTS TO MATCH PANTHER'S STYLE. ONE OF THESE WORKOUTS WAS THE "CHICKEN RACE", WHERE PANTHER DRAGGED HEAVY CHAINS ATTEMPTING TO CATCH MY ROOSTER WHICH I CARRIED IN FRONT OF HIM. DURING ONE OF THESE "CHICKEN RACES" A RABBIT DARTED OUT IN FRONT OF PANTHER, SHOWING SURPRISING SPEED FOR A BIG DOG PANTHER CAUGHT THE RABBIT AND SWALLOWED IT DOWN IN NO TIME AT FLAT. THE MATCH SITE WAS LOCATED DOWN IN A RIVER VALLEY, WHICH WOULD HOLD THE COLD MORNING AIR. THE SQUARE WAS SMALLER THAN THE REGULATION SIZE, BOTH OF WHICH FAVORED THE BARNSTORMING, HARD MOUTH PANTHER. EVERYTHING SEEMED TO BE STACKED IN PANTHER'S FAVOR EXCEPT THE WEIGHT WHICH WAS MY MISTAKE. INSTEAD OF DRIVING PANTHER DIRECTLY TO THE SITE, I PUT HIM BACK ON HIS OLD CHAIN IN MATT'S YARD. RATHER THEN QUIETLY RESTING, PANTHER RAN HIS CHAIN ALL NIGHT LONG LOOSING TWO POUNDS IN THE PROCESS. I WOKE UP EARLY IN THE MORNING TO WEIGHT PANTHER AND FED HIM COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES TO REPLACE THE LOST ENERGY FROM THE PREVIOUS NIGHT. WE DROVE TO THE SIGHT AND WAS HAPPY TO FIND THAT BOSS HOG WAS HAVING TROUBLE MAKING WEIGHT THIS GAVE PANTHER MORE TIME TO FULLY ASSIMILATE THE CARBS I'D FED HIM EARLIER THAT MORNING.
BOSS HOGG HAD A STRONG LOOKING RED BOY BRED DOG WHO WAS BIG AT THE WEIGHT AND CAME IN RIGHT ON 55 LBS. PANTHER WEIGHED IN TWO POUNDS LIGHT AND LOOKED MUCH SMALLER THAN THE RED BOY DOG. IN SPITE OF THIS GUSTO AND SQUEEKIE WERE BETTING ON PANTHER'S REPUTATION AS A SHIP-WRECKING BULLDOG. AT THE BREAK, PANTHER WAS IN THE FRONT END AND HOG THE HEAD AND FOR TWENTY MINUTES PANTHER WAS DRIVING HOG FROM PILLAR TO POST WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO GET A DECENT HOLD. HOG WAS USING HIS SUPERIOR SIZE TO KEEP OUT OF HARM'S WAY. I WAS WORRIED THAT PANTHER WOULD RUN HOT AND WEAR DOWN FROM THE EXTREME EXERTION. AFTER THE TWENTY MINUTE MARK PANTHER GOT WHERE HE WANTED TO BE AND WHEN HE DROVE THROUGH THE BACK DOOR THE MATCH WAS OVER. AT 40 MINUTES PANTHER SHOT OVER ON HIS COURTESY SCRATCH.
THAT WAS PANTHER'S ONLY MATCH. SEVERAL TIMES IT SEEMED LIKE WE HAD HIM MATCHED BUT FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER A SECOND MATCH NEVER MATERIALIZED. MATT SOLD PANTHER TO RICH C. WHERE HE LIVED TO A RIPE OLD AGE. PANTHER SIRED A NUMBER OF HIGH ABILITY MATCH DOGS, LIKE GRAND CHAMPION MISS PANTHER, TARHEEL MATT'S ANGUS AND TAR BABY. I WILL ALWAYS HAVE FOND MEMORIES OF THAT AFFABLE OLD BLACK DESTROYER."
BY BARNEY FIFE
Another Story...
Barney Fife purchased a female pup from a Davis' Midnight Cowboy X Hand's Gr. Ch. Candy breeding and named her Sea Train, after the famous rock band. While still a puppy, Sea Train was sold to STP who raised her to maturity.
At the time Barney Fife was breeding Zebo dogs, as Zebo was showing exceptional pit dogs, when STP phone to ask who he should breed Sea Train to. It was no surprise that Zebo was recommended as a stud. Tar Heel Matt purchased a pup named Margie, who whelped Panther.
During her younger years, Margie whelped two litters sired by Tar Hill Matt's Monzon, who had won two matches. Panther was whelped in the 2nd litter. Monzon was sired by Lonzo's Mike, who too was a 2X winner. His dam was also a 2X winner named Rick's Thistle, who was Big Boy and Bullyson breeding.
Tar Hill Matt had some good dogs from the first breeding of Monzon and Margie, so he repeated the breeding and produced several more pit winners. Some these were Willie, Billy (1XW), Bonnie (1XW), Jimmy (stopped Ch. Spike), Carlos (1XW, 1XL) and Monzon, Jr. Tar Heel Matt contacted Barney Fife to condition Panther and put his weight out at 55lbs., when Boss Hog picked it up.
Boss Hog came with a large boned, Red Boy bred dog, and weighed in exactly at 55lbs., Panther weighed in 2lbs. light. Panther came out fast trying for the shoulders, but the white dog was adept at holding out Panther. The pattern continued with Panther trying, but unable to get any good holds. At the twenty minute mark, Panther hit the front end and the white dog was in trouble. By the 40 minute mark, Panther was putting the finishing touches on the white dog, who took the 10 count in his corner making Panther the winner in 40 minutes. For reasons unknown, Panther's weight was never picked up again for almost two years.
In the mean time, Panther demolished several roll opponents with such speed, that his formidable reputation grew even more. At the age of six, Matt retired Panther and bred him to several of his bitches. After several years Panther was sold to Rich Cupo, where he died shortly after.
Panther sired 1 Grand Champion, 1 registered Champion, and many other winners. The best of Panther's offspring retained the signature trade mark of this strain. They would start fast and if a dog could not avoid their charge, the Panther dogs would win in short order.
I am constantly being asked questions about the Alligator dog and the family of dogs that has come about from this great old warrior.
It seems the more that’s said the more is left unsaid or at least overlooked and not purposely so.
Alligator came about as almost an after thought. Mr. Williams of Ft. Worth had obtained the Satin Lady bitch from Maurice Carver. She was a big, black pretty bitch that I never cared much about as an individual. She was one of these scatter-bred dogs Maurice was famous for. Unlike most of the Carver dogs she was cold. When it came time to breed her Mr. Williams went to Wichita Falls, Texas and bred her to Tudor’s old Nigger dog, which was owned at that time by J.E. King. Nigger was some of the last of the old Tudor stuff and had been on several yards before King got him.
The breeding was made, and as they grew into adulthood I was able to see and handle all three of these dogs. Alligator, as great as he was, had two littermates that in my opinion were at least as good if not better than him. There were Soko and Susan Renee’, both real bulldogs in every way.
Mr. Williams kept Alligator until he was just over a year old, so he could breed him back to his dam, which he did. Soko had shown so good at a young age for the little Plumber that the Plumbers went in together to buy Alligator.
When they bought him, I was certain they had an albatross, because he was so big. I figured they would never be able to get him hooked up. I also figured his chances of being as good as Soko were little to none at all. You have got to figure this was during an era of really great dogs, and who would ever expect this big, ugly dog to be anything special.
The Plumber’s started out with such a good bunch of dogs that they expected everything to be really fast lane. They had roll dogs better than most people’s match dogs, and were always looking for action and better dogs.
They felt they never had the luxury of a methodical schooling process. They were great dog men, but were hard on the dogs. They felt their dogs were either ace or near ace, or they were out of here with little regard for mediocrity.
Gator was started out on good dogs that were smaller than he was and most were just dominated by this optical illusion.
There were also several Brush Matches where Alligator would just run over the competition. The Plumbers were concerned because they had never seen him get his oil checked, even though he had been double dogged on several occasions.
They had got a Tudor dog from me named Zeke that was a plug, but very game. A fellow showed up on that place, and in the course of conversation said the old black dog did not impress him that much and he would bet ole Zeke could whip him. The Plumbers, being ever ready to show what sports they were, agreed on the bet and down they went. The fellow who underestimated Alligator was soon separated from his money when he told them to pick up Zeke, who was no match for the Alligator dog. As the stranger left, he made a statement that always holds true in the Bulldog world. "You sure can’t tell one by how they look".
In their quest for perfection, they made a request to use Trussell’s Dum Dum dog to see if Alligator was truly game. Dummy you see was a game dog that was even bigger than Alligator. It seems that in that day and time any dog from a cross, scatter bred or real rough were suspect of being a cur, so they did everything they could to stop Alligator. When they got to Trussell’s they ran Alligator on the tread mill for one half hour then fifteen minutes road work to cool him down, then to the roll pit, where he went over half an hour with the larger Dum Dum dog. It was nip and tuck and Alligator went across when he shouldn’t have on wobbly legs. This roll turned out to be a pretty good game test for Dum Dum too. When asked how it turned out, Trussell said, "The black dog gave Dummy everything he wanted."
The next match for "Alligator" was in the Big League at one of Maurice’s big ten match shows. He went in as a definite underdog, going into Bryant, males fifty eight pounds. Both dogs appeared to be in excellent shape and came to fight with a fast hard pace set for big dogs. Alligator goes to the legs with Bryant’s dog Satin swapping it out and going from legs to nose, and then getting into Gator’s stifle, where they swap it out. A turn is called on Satin at twenty-six minutes. A handle made at thirty minutes and Satin makes a good scratch. A handle is made and Alligator makes the scratch at forty minutes, taking Satin down to work the front legs. Satin takes the count at forty-five, making Gator the winner. There was much speculation among the huge crowd present if any one had a big one for this hound dog looking goof.
His next match was into a dog called Jack at catch weight. Alligator came in sixty pounds heavier. These heavy weights hit and the fight was on. Jack, a big staff looking dog takes Gator down and works him over for twenty minutes with Gator being content to take the bottom where he is always in hold. Gator is coming to the top and by thirty minutes it’s an even fight. Jack was a seasoned dog who had never met his equal and you can see Alligator has begun to come to the top as Jack begins to fatigue and get that far away look in his eyes. During the earlier part of the match, Bobby Ackel had commented on Gator may have met his match and Jimmy Jobe turned and said to me, as Gator was being trashed like a stepchild, "that if Jack was game and keeps this up, ole Gator could be in trouble". As the match was winding down Bobby Ackel said, "Ole Jack looks like he has bout had it", and sure enough in just the hour mark he takes the count. I went over to check on the Jack dog and offer any assistance I could and I noticed his stomach and chest. I could see what had made the difference in this match and it was the punishment Gator had dished out from the bottom and it was unbelievable. I heard later that Jack lived out his life in luxury after Gator ended his ring career.
There was some time after this match, as no one wanted any of the Gator Dog, so during a roll session at the Plumbers’ place; the Caddell’s showed up with several to school. These boys had some old time stuff the old man had been breeding for years and some were sure solid, from the Lightner-Colby stuff. They had a male named Jeff that was a big spotted dog, too big for everything on the place except Alligator. So he was taken off the chain to oblige the Jeff dog. This dog was the closest thing to Gator’s equal that I saw during his career. The roll ended early due to a bleeder being hit on Gator. Jeff went to the Midwest where he did very well and where I heard he made Champion.
When the Plumbers had about given up on another official match, word came from Oklahoma that a man named Brown had one he would run at the Alligator dog. Up to then, several had fallen through, but this one came off and as they say in the dogs these boys "brought a paddle for the Plumber’s ass." They had done their homework and rather than a punisher, they brought one that not only could punish but was versatile and smart. This dog could have whipped Gator and on another day might have. The dogs were conditioned by two of the best conditioners of the day. Gator conditioned by Burton and Joker conditioned by Fox. The match was males at fifty-seven pounds and Oklahoma Shorty was the referee. The dogs hit and Gator takes the bottom but is coming up from time to time and being frustrated by Joker’s style, that had never been too effective on him with the defensive dogs he had met earlier in his life. A turn was called on Joker at twenty-five minutes, but a handle was not made until fifty-two minutes and Joker scratches strong. Alligator has started to dominate the match by the hour mark. At an hour nine, Gator is screaming from his corner to scratch and is showing what he is said to be famous for, "Killer Instinct" and you can plainly see he plans to finish the job if allowed to do so. At an hour twelve, Joker takes the count. We all agree, we have just witnessed two of the best big dogs to ever come down the pike and what a show they put on. The Plumbers are quick to commend Mr. Brown and Mr. Fox on bringing an excellent dog in top condition. They also say they plan on retiring the old warrior, no that he is officially a Champion.
As I look back, I can only recall a few heavyweights that were ever in Alligator’s league. Hooten’s Butcher Boy, Sampson (Alligator’s half brother) were two very good dogs that ended each other’s careers. There was also a dog out of Tennessee that sure impressed me, but in my mind Alligator will always be the best.
Besides a great combat dog, Alligator was a pleasure to be around and always a clown. He was never bred to an army of bitches, but produced what I consider his share of really good dogs. This story goes further than Alligator himself and must include his littermates and both his and their offspring. They represent not just a few good dogs, but a great family of dogs that have stood the test of time, not just in this country but on five continents. You must remember these dogs were never mass-produced, but still have made a tremendous impact on the dogs of today. I have never been overly sentimental about my dogs, but have had a few of these dogs that were special to me.
Of all the things said about the Alligator family I think the most impressive trait I’ve seen is how well it crosses with most any other good family of dogs. I sincerely believe it is a genetic pool that cannot hurt any breeding program, and in most cases adds that something special that comes along from time to time, that makes them special and that is what we are all looking for, right?
A killer in his day CH Alligator is considered the best big pit dog who ever crossed the scratch line and the sire of the great Hammonds' Rufus ROM.,CH ALLEN'S MAG, CH PLUMBER'S EBONY, GR CH SOFIAKIS' TANK (6XW) And many other winners
The week after this issue came out , I received a letter and printed it in the January 1992 issue, turning it into an article called, More on Smith's Bandit.
REGISTRATION #: 45700C-32 SEX: MALE COLOR: BLACK / WHITE CHEST WEIGHT: 37 BIRTHDATE: 1983-05-04 LAST MODIFIED: ~ Sire of CH Gunther, CH Barbarian, CH Reggie, Two Eyes ROM (2XW), the ace Rapid Roy (1XW), and Wildside's Renegade.
above: spikey's grand championship from the 97 yearbook
Here is what I saw of Spikey in the mid 1990s.
BBB had gotten the dog from his breeder a guy named Marty Glasgow. Marty was a hobbyist breeder , but like many hobbyist they have historically made some important breedings. Marty is also accredited with being the breeder of Frisco To Valerie, the first time that breeding was made.
Spikey schooled out well and showed to be promising. They won one with him at this time in the NC area, where I also lived. I saw him go and he was winning for sure and I loved to go into winners. So I hooked Bungholio into him. Bungholio was a 1 time winner that had beat TVK & Milk Inc's Cobb ( Cobb was a full brother to Arangadanga and Wicked ) Bungholio was out of a brother to Champion Taz ROM named Kretler's Marvin bred to Cocoa who was a full belly sister to Gr Ch Bo. I was sick of hearing about Spikey and I was getting ready to shut him down. Wrong. If you look in the bottom of many Champion and Grand Champions from the late 1900's you will see my name were I was repeatedly mistaken. This was to be the case again.
Bungholio and Spikey meet one early day just as the sun turned the sky red for a moment. On release they were even. Neither dog getting out front for long, the light of day was upon them and the match went back and forth. About 45 minutes it turned for the worse for us as Bungholio made a bad move a turn was called and a handle was made. Bungholio was not doing well and by the hour mark he took the count. Spikey wins. Damn.
Spikey was now looking for his championship. During this period was a kennel called Baltimore Ron, Ron was known for going out and buying what he needed to win. He came with the best he could find and was no soft spot. He brought a dog named Casino, the match went 34 minutes. He is now Champion Spikey.
During this same time period The Untouchables are on a roll and BBB and the Untouchables are on path to a head on collision as Ratliff's Champion Bumphus and Ch Spikey are hooked. It was a good one with Bumphus losing in 1:04.
Does BBB stop there? Nope, one more time and make a run at the toughest 41/2 male in the country known at that time.
Hargroves had a dog named Lil red , that had just come back from Florida winning over a champion in style. He was said by many to be the next "one" . BBB had different plans for Lil Red as they hooked up and this was set to be big time excitement. Over the course of Spikey's 4 wins he had become quite the little ace dog and showed it by completely shutting Lil Red down in 28 minutes and becoming Grand Champion Spikey.
BREEDER: RANCHERITA KENNELS OWNER: VIERA BROTHERS KENNELS REGISTRATION #: 33700E-41 SEX: MALE COLOR: BLACK CONDITIONED WEIGHT: 38 LBS POSTED: 2001-04-09 LAST MODIFIED: 2005-03-09 No OF VIEWS: 3195 times
ch. rommell is a tremendously game bulldog.he's blind as a bat.his record speaks for its self.he is a mix of the#1,2and 3 TRUE ROM males and #1 rom female. He is producing damn well,and his pedigree or SHOW record leaves nothing to be desired.
This article on Rommel came from the the Jan 1998 AGDT. You can purchase this issue for $25 including shipping worldwide by airmail. This issue also contains: Danny Burton Interview, Story on Alblizin's Luther , Cedar Brooks Nutty Buddy, Gambler's Champion Virgil, Mike's Champion Barkley, More on red Dogs with Iron Mike, and Times Square along with WhatsUp! Its an outstanding issue.
STP'S GR. CH. BUCK ROM
McGEE'S PANTHER
O. STEVENS' GR. CH. VIRGIL ROM
STEPP'S GR. CH. ANGUS
BASS' TRAMP RED BOY
ADAMS' GR. CH. ZEBO ROM
COY'S GR. CH. BANJO ROM
PATRICK'S TOMBSTONE ROM
CRENSHAW'S CH. RASCAL
WILLIAMS' CH. PALADIN
GARNER'S CH. CHINAMAN ROM
O. STEVENS' CH. CHOLLY BOY
STONE CITY KENNELS' GR. CH. YELLOW BUCK
INDIAN BOLIO ROM
CAROLINA KENNELS' CH. TERMITE ROM
GARRETT'S CH. JEEP ROM
DEAD SERIOUS KENNELS' CH. EL DIABLO NEGRO
DIBO 
RASCAL
FITZWATER'S GOLDIE
CASTILLO'S TROLL ROM
CHAVIS' CH. JOCKO
RUSHIN' BILL'S GR. CH. 35
GREENWOOD'S MISS HOLLADAY
BOYLES' CH. BOLT ACTION ROM
ADAMS & CRUTCHFIELD'S GR. CH. ART ROM
FAT BILL'S TWO EYES
ROLLING HILL'S CH TAZ ROM
SOUTHERN KENNELS' GR. CH. MAYDAY ROM
GARNER'S GR CH SPIKE
GAMBLER'S GR. CH. VIRGIL
CH. HONEYBUNCH ROM
TANT'S GR. CH. YELLOW ROM
K. ALLEN'S DBL GR. CH. TORNADO
ANDERSON'S CH. TONKA
WOOD'S SNOOTY ROM
DAVIS' GR. CH. BOOMERANG
ARMITAGE'S KAGER: 47 LBS : 1919
FINKLE WINKLE'S CH. DOLLY
Dibo's Online Pedigree
Tudor's Black Jack 16x
Pinscher's Online Pedigree
Finley's Ch Bo ROM
Ch Bo ROM's Online Pedigree
Carver's Stompanato
Stompanato ROM's Online Pedigree
Greenwood's Oakie
Ch Honeybunch ROM's Online Pedigree
Hobb's Tuffy 1x
Tuffy's Online Pedigree
Snakeman's Gr Ch Pedro ROM
Brewer's Vindicator
Kirkland's Ch Texas
White's Tab ROM
Ch Ace Blackie
Dead Serious Kennel's Gr Ch Banjo
Gr Ch Banjo's Online Pedigree
Garner's Ch Chinaman
Assassinator ROM's Online Pedigree
Ch Brutus' Online Pedigree
Patrick's Bull Boy Bob ROM
Bull Boy Bob ROM's Online Pedigree
Giroux' Ch Booger ROM
Ch Booger ROM's Online Pedigree
Fat Bill's Ch Bolero
Ch Bolero's Online Pedigree
Patrick's Commander White Head
Commander White Head's Online Pedigree
Ratliff's Daisy Mae ROM
Boyles' Dirty Mary ROM
Art's Missy ROM
Garner's Frisco ROM
Giroux' Ch Gunner ROM
Kamakazee Kennels' Hunter Red ROM
Hunter Red ROM's Online Pedigree
Santa's Gr Ch Mongoose
Gr Ch Mongoose's Online Pedigree
Gator Boy's Ch Mickey
Edward's Molly Bee
Krazyside's Ch Nino
Crenshaw's Ch Otis
Ch Otis ROM's Online Pedigree
P.R. Joe's & Machiavelli's Ch Opie
Hollingworth's Ch Pinky
Ch Pinky's Online Pedigree
Stone City Kennel's Ch Miss Piggy
McGee's Panther 1x
