Heavy Boned Gamefowls

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[Tahor]

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 Flaherty's Pit, both in the old days at Laurel Hill, back of Calvary cemetery by the chemical works, and at Flaherty's later location at the Queensboro at Long Island City. I also fought against him in mains and was in his and Flaherty's company in many safaris to Tom Foley's 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, eliminating 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.
I'm 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 guided the destinies of the Anthracite Club of PA. At 80, I'm still in good health, and my Morgan's are still winning their share in the hands of customers I placed them with.

[Tahor]

Some say that the original E.S. Hatch blood was bred by Hatch's friend Judge Leiper who got them originally from a man in Huntington, Long Island. They were supposed to be a Kearney Whitehackle, Kearney Brown Red cross. Leiper also bred a 4.12 ginger-colored cock from Duryea for several years. Hatch told Ed Piper that around 1900 he got some dark red, green legged fowl from a Mr. Cassidy (or Lynch) of Huntington, Long Island, NY, and later several times through the years got more of that blood. They were dead game, hard hitting and tough.

He bred a black red cock from Harry Genet of NY, breeder of the Genet Pyles over the Cassidy (some say Lynch) hens. This was the foundation blood and Hatch made many crosses and it is said that at the time he gave them to Mathesius none of the pure original stock was left. Hatch was well acquainted with Mike and Harry Kearney, Jim Thompson, Joe Crossin, J.W. E. Clark and Simon Flaherty. It is said they often loaned each other brood fowl.

When Jim Thompson died, Hatch got the choicest of his Mahoganies. When Mr. Clark died, Hatch got the best of what he had left. These came mostly Roundhead and were probably part Duryea, which contained Boston Roundhead blood. Hatch and T.W. Murphy were close friends and he had some of the Murphy blood. He crosses Foley's Gingers (that Murphy gave him after buying all Foley supposedly had). They quit and discarded them. He bred a Stegmore cock from Bradford, and then discarded those. Clarets and others from Dave Ward were bred. Blood from Morris O'Connell was added as well as good Morgan blood from Billy Clarkin. He bred fowl from Simon Flaherty.

Most of his cocks were yellow legged and dark reds. However, some came green legged and came all shades of red, some a dark red, some a rusty red, some a brownish red and others a sort of maroon color. They were strong, hard hitting cocks, not only dead game, but tough and could take a lot more than they could dish out as many of them were low headed, dumb and poor cutters.
In 1931, Hennie Mathesius went to work for Hatch and carried his fowl with him, which were Morgan Whitehackles, from Hill, of New Jersey, some Lowman blood and some Gull/Morgan crosses. Some of these were crossed on the Hatch fowl and though their progeny looked about the same, they fought better. They lost a little of their power, but became higher headed, better cutters and won a larger percent of fights. Some think they lost their extreme gameness, but I think this was the case only in some yards. Hatch gave all his fowl to Mathesius, who sold them to C.C. Cooke, of Oklahoma, who soon became partner of E.W. Law.

Butchers: The Butchers are the result of a cross between Marsh Speeders and Groves Whitehackles in 1915 and by 1920 were set as a strain. Through selective breeding the Butchers come black-red with a straight comb, white and yellow legs, and have red, orange and lemon color hackles. Additionally their breasts may have red flecks. About 5 % of our Butchers will come spangled. The hens will come wheaton and partridge in color and about 1/3 will have spurs. The Butchers are known primarily as head and neck cutters as that is what is needed in short heel fighting, but they can and do cut very well to the body. In addition they are known as good side steppers.