History American Staffordshire Terrier

in picture with : Multi CH Gang Staff Wild Thing

Father of Multi CH Royal courts Covered in gold (our kennel)

The origins of the American Staffordshire Terrier can be traced with reasonable certainty to

late 18th century England. Bull baiting, a variety of other baiting sports, and dog fighting were

all common pastimes. Vivid accounts of these barbarous and gory contests are still readily

available. The bulldog, a large rangy dog of up to 90 pounds in weight, and the possessor of

phenomenal courage, was used in the baiting of bulls and bears. Terriers, usually smooth

coated and frequently of black and tan coloration, were involved in rat killing contests, badger

baiting, dog fighting, and in other situations where a small, fast and courageous dog excelled.

In an effort to produce ever more efficient fighting machines to participate in dog fighting,

numerous crosses between bulldogs and working terriers were carried out over a period of

several decades. Sources dating to this period describe the breeding of bulldogs to large terriers

in order to add speed to the former and size and power to the latter. The gameness of both

forebears was maintained in the resulting "bull-and-terriers." The products of these crosses

depicted in publications as early as 1806 bear a striking resemblance to today's American

Staffordshire Terrier.

In the study of these early dogs, it must be kept in mind that breeds as we know them today

did not exist until well into the 19th century. The "terrier," for example, was a dog that would

go to ground after game; the designation "terrier" referred to the dog's utility rather than to his

appearance. Any dog used in this way, regardless of breeding background, was then

designated a terrier. For this reason, efforts to assign to one or another of today's terriers or to

terriers of the mid-19th century a foundation position in the development of "bull-and-terriers"

are not reasonable. None of the candidates were themselves in existence.

Bulldogs of this period were larger and much rangier than today's dogs of that name. Again,

the term "bull dog" referred to the function of the dog rather than to his appearance although

variations in appearance were apparently less pronounced than with terriers. Bulldogs pictured

in "The Sporting Magazine" from 1798 to 1824 resemble today's American Staffordshire

Terrier far more closely than the modern bulldog. In fact, the type of the modern bulldog is so

vastly different from his working ancestors that the latter must be considered extinct.

With the passage, in England, of the Cruelty to Animals Acts of 1835,l baiting, dog fighting,

and other blood sports were driven underground. Public participation was greatly reduced.

About 1860, the white bull terrier emerged as a distinct offshoot of the basic bull-and-terrier.

The originator of this cousin of our American Staffordshire Terrier was James Hinks.

According to his son, James Hinks the younger, the white bull terrier was bred using a

combination of bull-and-terrier, white English terrier, and Dalmatian. The type of these early

white dogs has been altered considerably in the intervening century. Hinks had success in the

pit with this "White Cavalier." There is no hard evidence, however, that the white bull terrier

has been used for that purpose more than occasionally since the mid-19th century. In the early

1900's the colored bull terrier was developed by crossing the white bull terrier back to the pit

bull.

The Breed in the United States ---- 1850-1930

Many dogs were brought to this country before 1860. For example, the great dog Spring

was imported by McCaffrey in 1857 and started a line of great dogs. About 1880,

"Cockney" Charlie Lloyd imported Paddy and Pilot, both destined to win fame in the

fighting pits of the northeast. By this time the breed was already well known in the

States. Designated as the Pit Bull, or Pit Bull Terrier, the breed became increasingly

popular. Dog fighting contests were openly held and widely publicized. Champion

fighters became famous along with their owners and breeders. In 1898 the United

Kennel club was founded in Kalamazoo, Michigan, by C. Bennett for the purpose of

registering the American Pit Bull Terrier.

Owned by such famous persons as John L. Sullivan and Theodore Roosevelt, the breed

became one of the most popular dogs during the first quarter of the century. Patriotic

posters from World War I depict the American Pit Bull Terrier along with representative

dogs from the other allied nations as the defenders of the allied cause. In fact, the most

decorated American war dog of World War I was an American Pit Bull Terrier. This dog

and a special exhibit depicting her heroic feats were long on exhibit at the Smithsonian

Institution in Washington, D.C. One of James Thurber's best loved short stories is a

nostalgic tale of the American Pit Bull Terrier of his childhood. He was also the loyal

and familiar companion to Buster Brown in an early comic strip.

"Pete," the famous dog with the ring around his eye of the "Our Gang Comedies," was

the first Staff registered by the American Kennel Club in 1936. He was the only dog to

survive the transition from silent movies to sound --- a tribute to the intelligence of the

dog and to the skill and ingenuity of his trainer, Harry Lucenay.

The American Bull Terrier Club, founded in 1921 in Clay Center, Kansas, published a

standard from which our present standard is derived. (W. M. Whitaker, June 1966 AKC

Gazette.) "The Dog Fancier," a magazine of national circulation, was devoted to the

American Pit Bull Terrier. Accounts of pit winnings were also carried in "Bloodlines,"

the journal of the United Kennel Club.

It should be noted that while the American Bull Terrier or American Pit Bull Terrier was

being developed in the is country, the English continued to develop their version of the

pit bull. This dog, distinctly smaller and of somewhat different type, was recognized in

1935 by the British Kennel Club under the name Staffordshire Bull Terrier.