Champion Gentleman Jim

History/Origin:

The Staffordshire Bull Terrier first came into existence in or around the seventeenth century. As bull baiting declined in popularity and dog fighting enjoyed a surge of interest, it became necessary to develop a dog which possessed a longer and more punishing head than the Bulldog and also to combine strength and agility.

The Staffordshire Bull Terrier was derived from the fighting Bulldog being crossed with the now extinct English White Terrier.

This is easily understood when it is realised that Staffords have been bred for more than a century for the sole purpose of dog-fighting. When bull-baiting finally ceased, about 1835, the men who worshipped at the shrine of the Game Dog transferred their devotion from the bull-ring to the dog pit.

Dog-fighting had long been very popular and bulldogs had been crossed with various terriers to produce the combination of dauntless courage with agility and endurance which was even more necessary in the pit than the ring. At first, the resulting crossbreds, which must have been anything but uniform, were called "bull-and-terriers" and, as the best of them were used for breeding, a new breed was gradually evolved which became known as 'bull terriers."

Some of these bull terriers took after their bulldog ancestors and were quite heavy "cloddy" dogs of up to 50 lbs in weight. Others, which took after the terriers, were only between 10 and 20 lbs. There was no "type", as the term is understood by modern dog-breeders.
Men did not care what they looked like so long as they would fight.
The dogs were not only fought for entertainment but provided a working man with valuable extra income when worked against badgers or rats in the dog pit.

These dogs were renowned for their courage and tenacity and despite their ferocity in the pit were excellent companions and good with children.
Although dog fighting and other barbaric pastimes of the day were patronised by the aristocracy - Lord Camelford reportedly owned a famous dog called 'Belcher'- fighting dogs were also owned by the poorest of families.

With the introduction of the Humane Act in 1835, baiting sports and dog fighting became unlawful.

Between 1860 and 1870 these bull terriers were split into two camps. James Hinks, of Birmingham, who had always loved a game dog, produced a white strain which he registered at the Kennel Club as "English Bull Terriers".
It is believed that they were produced by crossing the original bull terriers with Dalmatians, and much of their gameness was quickly sacrificed for looks, which was the only commodity paying dividends in the show ring.

The original breed, which was still unspoilt by crossing with dogs which had not been bred for gameness, was now barred from the official title of Bull Terrier and it gradually became known as the Staffordshire Bull Terrier to distinguish it from the newer breed.
The reason that Staffordshire was used as the qualifying term, to distinguish between the old and the new, was that the colliers and ironworkers of Staffordshire were so attached to dog-fighting that the sport became practically localised in the Black Country.

There was a very wide variation of types from district to district. In the Walsall district it was common to find of 34-38 Ibs, Which were tall enough to suggest Whippet in the ancestry.

Only a few miles down the road from Walsall lies Darlaston, The Staffords of Darlaston did favour their Terrier forbears. They were much finer in the muzzle and Terrier faced. They were lighter in boned and smaller and weighing in at 25-35 Ibs.
The Darlaston men did say that theirs was the only real Stafford. There was a 3rd type a few miles away in Cradley Heath. These dogs displayed some of the previous pedigree members but also had a passing resemblence to a match with Bulldogs, Short muzzle,Thick broad skull, Tremendous depth of chest and spring of rib, Muscles that any modern athlete or sportsman would be proud off.

It was from the Cradley Heath type that the standard was written describing the dog's physical attributes and this dog was named the Staffordshire Bull Terrier to differentiate him from the English Bull Terrier who was more favoured with the aristocracy.

The first club show for the breed took place in August 1935 at Cradley Heath in the West Midlands.
The founder club was named The Staffordshire Bull Terrier Club and is affectionately known as 'The Parent Club'.

There are now a total of 18 clubs in Great Britain and Northern Ireland ranging from the North of Scotland to the West of England.
The first two Champions of the breed were Ch. Gentleman Jim and Ch. Lady Eve.
The popularity of the breed has now spread abroad with well established clubs in most international countries.

Over the years the Staffordshire Bull Terrier has become a successful show dog and a serious contender in the Terrier Group.
More importantly the Stafford has become a popular pet retaining the attributes gained from generations of fighting dogs bred for courage, tenacity and most important: total reliability and affinity with people and in particular children.

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