Stidham dogs

[CYJ]

Hello All. If my memory is correct. Sonny Shropshire from Eden N.C. Who was a accomplished Game Cock breeder and Game Cock conditioner. Whom I went several times with Sonny and Tar Heel Matt on at least one occasion, to Box Wood.

Box Wood was one of the last legal places to hold Cock Derbies back then. It was just over the N.C. line and into the Virginia line. Sonny was experimenting with some Jap/Hatch etc. crosses. These cocks were powerful/very hard to kill. but too slow. Yet any that went into the drag pit, the other cock was in big trouble. Sonny for awhile gave the game dogs a try and was successful. I had some great times at the Box Wood events and just visiting on week ends with Sonny. Sonny had some of my Carver/Creel x Coplin bred dogs along with a black colored, full brother to my Young's Jake dog.

Sonny later got discouraged,on how many of the dog men conducted themselves. Told me he felt the game cock men he knew were on the average far more honest. So later He quit the dogs and went back to his Game Chickens. He always liked the pure Hatch fowl. Some years later I tried to contact Sonny to find out where all his dogs went to. Sadly he had passed with a heart attack while out on his Game Fowl yard.

Now to the Stidham dogs. Most pedigrees showed the Stidham dogs carrying a lot of old family red nose lightner blood from Mr. Bob Hemphill's dog yard. I asked Sonny about the Stidham dogs and at that time Mr. Stidham was still alive. Sonny said that Mr Stidham was predominately a game cock fowl breeder and competitor. He also did keep some game dogs on his place. Most of that blood line came directly from Mr. Hemphill. Sonny said that Mr. Stidham game tested his game dogs hard as he checked out his game fowls. He checked them extra/extra hard once a dog was mature enough to take it.

So those that got any of his tested Hemphill old family red nose stock. You could count on some deep game dogs or pups bred from deep game dogs. With his dogs, gameness was first and foremost over ability. Sonny back then had planned for us to visit Mr. Stidham and a few other older N.C. dog men you see on a lot of the UKC registered dogs. Sadly I never got too