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4Pit Dogs’: What kind of4sportis dog fighting?By WAYNE KING N.Y. Times News Service GAINESVUXE, Fla. - As magazines go, “Pit Dogs,” which is published periodicallyand irregularly in the little town of Starke, Fla., a few miles from here, seems rather skimpy.It is not more than 30 pages, as a rule, printed in indifferent black and white on mediocre paper. Yet it is not cheap.At a subscription rate of $10 a year, the little magazine might cost its roughly 400 subscribers up to $5 a copy, since it rolls from the presses mostly at the whim of its editor and sole writer, a 74-year-old Government retiree named Pete Sparks, and that lately has meant no more than two or three issues a year.ft*“Pit Dogs has nevertheless been going strong for more than 20 years, witness to the durability of its sole subject matter: the breeding andmatching of fighting dogs.Indeed, the nationwide problem of clandestine dog fighting is now the target of an inquiry by a House subcommittee in Washington, and dog fighting magazines such as “Pit Dogs”are expected to come under scrutiny during the hearings. O- V,TO GET on the closely held mailing list of “Pit Dogs,” a subscriber must be recommended by someone already on the list or otherwise known to Sparks. He in fact does know a great number of his subscribers personally, and many of their names appear regularly in his magazine in the accounts of the fights.There are at least two other dog fighting magazines, ‘‘Sporting Dog Journal,” published in New York, and “Pit Dog Report,” which issues from the Dallas area. All deal with the same subject matter — accounts of major dog fights across the country. Of the three, “Pit Dogs” is the largest and oldest.All the mailing lists are secret because dog fighting, which is almost always accompanied by substantial gambling, is illegal in every state.And the magazines not only name the dog fighters, fight organizers and referees, but also carry ads offering fighting dogs for sale and announcing matches or “conventions,”Period endingJune 30,1974REGULAR SAVINGSThis is the highest rate paid on Regular Savings in South western VermontDEPOSITS BEFORE THE 10th EARN FROM THE 1stBENNINGTONSAVINGSLOAN ASSOCIATION341 Main StreetBennington, Vt.I )ial 2-381 IIF YOU DON'T SHOPTHIS WEEK YOU'LL PROBABLYN.Y Times PhotoThese two photos were found in “Pit Dogs/' a dog fighting magazine published in Starke♦ Fla., by Pete Sparks. The fight depicted in the lower photo lasted over two hours, ending in “no decision. ” The writer expressed his dismay, but added that sometimes “it was best tosave two good dogs.major events that attract several hundred participants and spectators and involve a dozen or more separate fights.Sparks, who breeds and sell pit dogs as well as writing about them, normally uses a rather subdued approach in his account of fights, seldom mentioning betting or odds and only occasionally lapsing into the gorier aspects of the fights.IN AN ACCOUNT of a Texas match, for example, after describing the action in a one-hour-and-a-half, he concludes by noting that the victor was a four-time winner. “Sad to relate, though,” he noted, “this fight was too much for the old dog” — apparently an indication that the dog had died.Another account describes a dog as “a rough actor that works front legs” — a phrase that describes the dog’s favorite method of attack.The dog’s opponent, “a spotted dog,” the account continues, “goes down when theForecastBOSTON (UPI) - Showers can be anticipated Sunday in New England, with fair and colder weather Monday and Tuesday, according to the extended forecast of the National Weather Service.High temperatures Sunday will be in the 60s, and in the 50s Monday and Tuesday.dog first meet, but gets in the throat. White head and front legs of (the first dog) soon show pinkish from the blood.”“Brindle likes the ear and shakes, while the white spotted dog goes for the throat., the brindle fell flat on the canvas and was counted out.”The brindle, the account notes, “lost two lower tusks in the fight, maybe one reason why he lost.”The Texas magazine, “Pit Dog Report,” is somewhat more vivid.Although the accounts and pictures of fights are also the staple of “Pit Dogs,” it carries occasional personal notes and such items as a reprint of a complex treatise on the digestive process of canines.An obituary of a long-time breeder and fighter who died a few years ago was also included in one issue, and noted that the man had a competitive spirit, was an expert on the lore of the old west, and possessed a superior matched set of six-guns. There was, however, another side to his personality, the account noted.“One thing that reflected a tender spot in the old man’s heart,” it said, “was his rose garden in his backyard. He used to say that for fertilizer he had planted dead cats killed by his pit bulls. It was not unusual for a dog of (his) to leap over the railing of his back piazza... to get a stray cat.”FoingorelgevisCl,JaWewhfaiweanrelImea Iserthe1LaiDaSaiOaPeiniadrtFarrch£Culwitdriplawa:IVweiSepSalposF10 c incofweisevTprnpoliiI.froiglinJ
Newspaper Details
Bennington Banner
Bennington, Vermont, US
Fri, Oct 11, 1974
Page 13
Full Page
Clipped by
Badgerlink
WI, USA 20 May 2018
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