Hatch Fowl by George Beattie I doubt very much if anyone could give you an authentic history on this great breed, named Hatch. I knew Sandy Hatch pretty well, having met him innumerable times at Flahertys Pit, both in the old days at Laurel Hill, back of Calvary cemetery by the chemical works, and at Flahertys later location at the Queensboro at Long Island City. I also fought against him in mains and was in his and Flahertys company in many safaris to Tom Foleys pit in Troy, NY, but I never inquired as to the make-up of his fowl and doubt if I could have received the information if I had. A story was rampant that Hatch gave John Leiper his farm at Huntington for his start in the fowl. Leiper handled in all the mains I fought against Hatch. He was supposed to have obtained his fowl from a race track official, Mars Cassidy. The fowl all came dark red in those early days and had a hard smash. Some claimed that they were low headed sulkers, for you could knock one down and in those days of N.Y. rules, where the handlers did the counting and a mistake could cost you the battle on the final count. They could uncork a smash that could so stun, cripple or kill your cock that he could easily be counted out. I do know that when Heinie took over, a couple of years after he had obtained a yard of my Morgans from Mr. Claude Hill, that a cross between them and the Hatch blood, produced what Hendrickson, Leiper, and Bon Lang as well as John Gildersleeve, termed the best fighting cocks ever shown on the Island and the addition of the Thompson Mahogany blood which also contained a shot of Morgan, as Jim fought many mains in partnership with the Col., did much to bring them to the top, elimintating to a great extent the objectionable low headedness. It was after the introduction of the Whitehackle blood that Tom Murphy became interested and the Long Island stable was formed. From World War I until 1942 I promoted tournaments in New Jersey, starting at the Old Deaf and Dum Club at Bill Raes at Morgan station when Frank Deizer of Mason Pyle fame was President and George Beattie, V.P. until gas rationing stopped us in 1942. Hatch, Leiper, George Pogmore, Al Jones, Harold Clesham, John Gildersleeve, Hendrickson and Rekar, Ted Ireland, Chas Storey, Herb Ploch, Issy Sholk, Frank Donato, Pat and Mat Ryan, Illston, Deinzer, Bill Anderson, Beloff, Knight, Burnett, Nee Shanahan, Haussman, Kromelbine, among others, fought ay my Eastern Breeders Pit where Henry Mondin one of the fairest referees called the shots. Many of the entrants of the big pits still in operation got their start in the Club that operated every Friday night, and the tournaments every 2nd. Saturday night held there from Jan. 1 to July 4. In all those years only one raid and that at a different location, marred the record and that was directed at a crap game on a supposedly off night. Im proud of the record I made in refining the game and furnishing honest refereeing for the sport. For many years Issy Sholk was my partner in the promoting and later giuded the destinies of the Anthracite Club of PA. At 80, Im still in good health, and my Morgans are still winning their share in the hands of customers I placed them with.
Posted on: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 06:28:21 +0000
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