BCA History

1930 - 1955

The Bulldog Club of America

1930 – 1955

by Edna R. Secor

1930, according to John Collins, Secretary, was “a very successful year both from a sporting as well as a financial standpoint.” The Specialty Show was held in Buffalo, New York, and plans were made to hold the 1931 Specialty in conjunction with the Morris and Essex Show. Mr. Collins reported eight “good strong bulldog clubs” which had helped the breed, and registrations had increased to 1202 for the year. On the Board of governors at that time were Mr. J. Hampton Baumgartner, still an active judge and bulldog enthusiast today, and Mr. George Haas, a member of Division I at the present time. Among those joining in 1930 was Mr. John R. Oeis, well-known bulldogger in the Philadelphia area. Total membership at that time was about 55 members.

In 1931 permission was denied the Pacific Coast Bulldog Club to apply for membership in the American Kennel Club, the Board adhering to its previous policy and stating “that the policy of the A.K.C. was to have only one Specialty Club of each breed as a member club.” Also in 1931 the Bulldog Club of Northern California was organized with headquarters in San Francisco, The Specialty Show was held again at the Morris and Essex Show and in 1933 was held in Chicago under the auspices of the Chicago Bulldog Club. A suggestion was made to reduce the annual dues to $5.00 and members were asked to express an opinion.

A Parade of Champions was approved with certificates to be awarded each champion, provided five or more dogs participated in such a parade.

In 1934, Mr. Collins resigned as Secretary and Dr. Joseph Taferner was elected to take his place. Mr. Hugh McCroden was a member of the Board. Other familiar names appearing on a 1935 membership list are Dr. & Mrs. Cabot of Brooklyn, Ferd Kramer of Chicago, Mr. Ben Mathews of New Orleans, R. Sparkes of Toronto and Mr. & Mrs. Trimpi of South Orange, N. J.

In 1935, a picture of “Roseville Blaze” and an article on the history of the Bulldog by Dr. Taferner was furnished the AKC for their next edition of “Pure Bred Dogs.” Mr. Oels was campaigning for the addition of a “breeders’ class” – a mission finally accomplished a few years ago in the “Bred By Exhibitor Class.” Discussions took place on classes for stud and their get, bitches and their progeny, and for the Club to print a preferred list of judges – all of which have materialized over the years. (The first record of the stud dog and brood-bitch classes is at a sanction match in 1937). Investigation in 1935 into the cost of holding an independent Specialty Show proved that it would be too costly and the idea was abandoned.

In 1937, Mr. Collins was again elected Secretary and also Delegate to the AKC. Mr. Edward I. Pratt’s name appears as a member of the first time. In 1938, the membership had dropped to 33 and of these only 15 were paid up. At almost every meeting, they discussed ways of increasing the membership, even to requiring the presidents of new Specialty Clubs to become members of the parent club. By 1940, the total membership was 31 with only 17 of those not delinquent.

During these years, about the only activity, aside from two or three meetings of the Board of Governors, an annual meeting, and an occasional Match Show, was the annual Specialty held for the most part with the Morris and Essex Show. The show in 1940 celebrated the Club’s 50^th Anniversary. On June 2 of that year, Mr. Geo. Hammond, who had been President of the Club since 1928, passed away, and Mr. John Collins was elected to take his place. Mrs. Elizabeth Brooks was elected Secretary. At this time also Mr. Kramer offered an idea for the reorganization of the BCA making it a “Club of Clubs and possibly some individual members.” The Club members would be the 19 other bulldog clubs in the U.S. Nothing further was apparently done concerning this idea.

On May 1, 1941, our present Delegate to the AKC, Mr. S. Quintana, became a member of the club. Also in 1941 the Grand Trophy and the Sawyer Cup were permanently retired, never to be placed in competition, to be held as stationary Club property. They have been on exhibition in the East several times at annual dinners and are at present in a vault in a bank. The cost of keeping them polished and presentable for exhibition was so great that their exhibition was discontinued.

In 1942, several meetings of the Board were held, and due to apparent disagreement over the legality of the so-called annual meeting and due to war conditions, it was resolved that “this Club will not attempt to hold dog shows, nor any meeting unless actually necessary and waive the collection of dues, including dues for the current fiscal year, for the duration of the war or until such time as the members or the members through the Board of Governors shall decide that that Club shall become active again.” A Specialty Show was held in 1945 with the Westminster Show. Several meetings were held in 1945, culminating in the resignation of Mr. Collins as President, and finally on October 30 a group met, elected officers and made plans to revive the Club. Match Shows were resumed and monthly meetings of the Board were held for many months. We can thank Mr. Page, Mr. Fletcher, Mr. Blaisdell, Mr. Horne and Mr. Pratt for rebuilding the BCA during this period as they contributed freely of their time and efforts to do so. Within four months, the membership grew from 13 to 30. The Rodney Trophy, donated by Mr. Hopton “for the best bulldog, bred, owned, and shown by a member of the BCA. and to be won three times at the annual show with a different dog before becoming the property of the exhibitor”, was accepted and put into competition in the 1946 Specialty Show. It might be of interest to note that this trophy was originally given to the BCA by Richard Croker and was won by Mr. Hopton. It cost $750.

In 1946, the Board of Governors invited each Specialty Club to appoint a representative in the New York area to attend its meetings. Also, approval was granted to the Bulldog Club of New England to apply for AKC membership. The first note of a proposed Bulldog Year Book was in 1946, the proposal being made by Mr. Lockett.

Dues were reduced to $5.00 annually instead of $10. Copies of the Bulldog Standard were printed for distribution to members and clubs. In 1947 the first of many delightful dinners for the bulldoggers was held at Bernardsville, N.J., following the Morris and Essex Show. Mr. John Collins was made an Honorary Member of the Club. The BCA Medallion trophy, first made up by Tom Hayden – the BCA banner, thanks to Bertha Quintana’s efforts – independent Specialty Show with over 100 entries – 109 members – beginning of a study of reorganization – all these represent the progress 1947.

In 1948, awards of Sterling Silver bulldog medals were made to all members owning bulldogs, which had completed their championships during the past year. The high light of 1949 was the Specialty Show held in Indianapolis.

In 1948, Mr. Livingston made the first report for the Reorganization Committee, which Committee worked tirelessly to draw up a revised Constitution and By-Laws that would be acceptable to both the AKC and the members of BCA. At the beginning of 1950 the revised Constitution and By-Laws, after approval by the AKC was submitted to our members for approval and was declared effective on February 13, 1950. Within a few months, the newly created seven divisions had scheduled organization meetings and elected Divisional officers. The Executive Committee, from Division I for the first three years, held frequent meetings, considered all proposals submitted from all sections of the country, and with the approval of the Council, carried out several projects, e.g. the questionnaire on bulldog judging and the compilation of a “National List of Judges;” the purchase for resale to members of a BCA Decal; the acceptance of Specialty; the Yearbook; the BCA Reporter and others.

The question was asked by many during the reorganization period, “What is the BCA going to do for us?” If I may be permitted to express a personal opinion, I think we should rather ask, “What can we do for the BCA and for the bulldogs?” Many loyal members from the time the Bulldog Club of America was organized have given freely of their time and resources to further the aims of our Constitution. I could not possibly name all who deserve plaudits for their efforts to build a sound, united, national club, but I know that all, including myself, have not regretted our efforts if we feel that progress has been made. We sincerely hope that the next 65 years will show continual progress.

In studying the minutes of the Club for the three installments of history, it is most interesting to note the similarity of problems, suggestions for improvement, discussions on how to increase membership methods of handling disagreements between individuals and between clubs, throughout the years. I feel that in the last five years, many important things talked about for years, but never undertaken, have been accomplished. We hope that future Executive Committees will continue to explore new fields and that all members will keep in mind forever our objectives as stated in the Constitution:

1. To maintain a standard of excellence for the guidance of breeders, owners and judges.

2. To improve the breed through encouragement of effort directed towards approach to, or attainment of, the degree of excellence set forth in the standard of the bulldog breed.

3. To stimulate interest in competitive public showings of bulldogs.

4. To further the interests of the Breed.

5. To work for the general good of breeders, owners, and exhibitors of bulldogs.

Return to BCA main page