Then & Now..

Then & Now..

I started out in the dogs in the late 50's..At that time I dont think there was a thousand,maybe two thousand people,at most,involved with the APBT..I could walk a dog down any city street in NYC and occasionally some dog lover would stop me and ask me what kind of dog I had at the end of leash..Invariably the nosey inquirer knew that the dog was not some run of the mill mutt,but a pure bred dog of a breed they did not reconize..usually when I told them that the dog was a full blood APBT,I got the variety of different replies..The most frequent was:

"Thats not a pitbull terrier..A pitbull is one of those white,pink eyed,long nosed dogs.."

I never aurgued the point and usually just repied that it was a different variety of the same breed..

Well,prior to purchasing my first APBT I also thought that those white,pink eyed,long nosed dogs were the dogs that many years ago the sportsman used in the pit as fighting dogs..As a matter of fact that was the breed of dog that I started out to buy..But while looking through several of the dog magazines,I came across a small classified add under the heading Staffordshire Terriers,beneath the caption there was a disclaimer--No advertising accepted for matched fighting dogs..The advertiser was Ma Folly Knls,and advertised the famous Hunky dog who won over the cuban Ch.Willy Lingo..To say that my curiousity was aroused is putting it mildly..I called that number in the add and got a fellow named Pete Sparks,who not only bred the APBT,but also published a magazine devoted to the breed..The magazine was called PIT DOGS Your Friend and Mine..Pete further enlightened me that while the staffordshire terrier and the apbt shared the same ancestors,they were definetly different breeds of dogs..Up until 1936 several breeders of the APBT petitioned the AKC to register their dogs as pure bred..The AKC agreed to do so as long as the petitioner agree to change the name of the dog to AST..The obviously didnt want to be associated with the word "pit" in any breed of dog that they reconized as pure bred..Henceforth,the fanciers that wanted to show their dogs in comformation shows registered their dogs with the AKC,while the fanciers that were more interested in the sporting asspects of the dogs,continued registering their dogs with the UKC..

Pete Sparks magazine was published monthly and was approx 20 pages..It covered accounts of most of the dog fights that were held in this country replete with photos of the action and the people that bred these dogs,and the people that handled them in the pit..Pete told me some time later that he never had more than 350 subscribers to his magazine at any one time..However in the late 50's early 60's i estimate that there were no more than between 100 to 150 fanciers that matched dogs,and just about all of these matches took place among the Cajun od Louisianna,The fanciers from Texas,and a few from Florida and the west coast region..

By the late 60's and early 70's dog fighting started to draw alot of media attention..It seemed that every newspaper or magazine writer couldnt wait to publish a grossly axaggerated accounts of dog fights that none of them had ever acctually witnessed..One particular magazine writer interview Pat B.,a long time fancier from Chicago..The writer was asking Pat such ridiculous questions that Pat started to pull his leg and told him some obviously absurd,nonsensical stories,and the idiot writer took it as the gospel truth and printed an article of pure nonsense,that most of the uninformed public believed without question..Of course stories like that one motivated the different humane society to petition the law to put a stop to this "barbaric" sport even though noone connected to any of these organization had ever actually witnessed or attended a real dogfight..

All the stories written by these over zealous and uninformed writers,and the resulting actions of the various humane societies had just the opposite effect of what they were trying to do..Instead of putting a stop to dogfighting,all of the attention did just the opposite..The stories intiged a vast ammount of people from all walks of life..The price of a well bred pitbull went from under $100 to many hundreds of dollars..Whereas only a few hundred fanciers participated in the late 50's thousands were getting in each and every year..In the ensuing years I have known people from all walks of life take some sort of participation in this sport..Medical Doctores,Lawyers,polititions,Police Officers,millionaire business executives,soldiers,sailors,marines,even some members of the humane society,everybody was not only attending matches,but owned,bred,handled or conditioned the dogs..In no time at all a handful of ardent fanciers turned into many thousands of dyed in wool dog men and women..

In the early days,speacially in th south,going to the dofights was more or less a family affair..Families--Mothers,fathers and several of the kids would all be there cheering on one of the families pets..In those days there was seldom a an argument that ammounted to anything,and what dissagreements did arise were easily settled and little or no ongoing anomosity existed..That is not to say every participant was above any kind of skullduggery,percentage wise there were just as many idiots in the dogs then there are today,the difference being that today there are a thousand times more people in the sport that there was 50 yrs ago,so naturally there are a thousand idiots to around today to louse things up..let me give you a example of how a unpleasent situation was diffused about 45 yrs ago..

The late Howard Teal of NC put on some of the very best shows all during the 50's,60's,and into the 70's..His shows always attracted between 150-200 fanciers..At one particular show several of the new englanders made the trip to see some of the finest dogs in the south..Jimmy L. was among the boys from new englandJimmy was a world class beer drinker..I never knew how a little person(Jimmy weighed about 130lbs soaking wet)could hold so much beer and not fall over drunk..At this particular show Jimmy had been downing one budweiser after another all day..By the time the show was set to begin Jimmy was pretty much tanked..During the first match Jimmy thought that he had been cheated on a bet he made with another fancier..Jimmy was trying to convince one of his friends to take him back to he motel,to get his gun,then come back and shoot the the alleged cheater..As Jimmy was about to get into the car Howard teal walked up to him and said to him:

"Jim before you go,have a drink with me.."

Jimmy had never turned down a drink in his life,and Howard handed him a pint bottle of Bourbon..Like all beer drinkers,Jimmy didnt sip the bourbon,he just drank it down like it was a can of bud..It took a second or two for Jim to hit the ground,passed out,several of his friends from NE put him in the back seat of the car,tuck him in with a blanket,and that was the end of a possible serios situation..The whole thing took about 3 minutes..

In view of the ongoing efforts of those that oppose a sport they know little or nothing about,more and more dedicated dogmen are dropping out..I often wonder if this isnt a good thing..Our opposition may indeed be weeding out the undesirerables among us,and getting us back to the good old days when the sport was a family affair,and consisted of little more than a handfull of dedicated dogmen and women..Of course, alot of decent folks are getting out of the game too,and thats understandable considering the way the sport has been headed the last few yrs..However they will be doing us a favor,although unwittingly,by helping us get back to the days when the sport was a pleasure..
Jack Kelly

* This was taken from a SDJ circa 2003..

 

Re: Then & Now..

good read. thanks for posting.

 

Re: Then & Now..

Jack is very much a gentleman.I spent a memerable night with him and Tatoo just shootin the shit.He is first class all the way.Thanks SPF that brought back a few memories.

 

Re: Then & Now..

thanks for the aricle...