SBTC/USA - Stud Book Home Page

The first 450 entries in the SBTC/USA Studbook seem, at first, mere statistics, but closer scrutiny will throw light on many obscure aspects of the origin of the Breed in the U.S. Most American owners visiting this site will find at least some of their own Staffords' ancestors in these pages in addition to a wealth of information from which they are encouraged to draw their own independent conclusions. Because these Studbook pages have been re-created for Internet use, Editor Steve Stone would appreciate being notified of any typos or errors that come to light.

Email corrections to: stoutheart_staffords@yahoo.com

The prefix "Bandits," owned by John and Marjorie Gordon of Romford, England, first strikes the eye because most early Staffords bore it. The Gordon's, who had earlier ceased breeding Staffords, employed their remarkable expertise in choosing the best puppies available on the English market and shipping them to buyers around the world. Their reputation for scrupulous honesty, punctual expediting of orders, and superb quality of stock stood them in good stead, and in time they came to enjoy a near-monopoly in the field.

Readers should take notice of registration numbers 54 through 60: due to the scarcity of American-whelped litters coupled with an explosive demand, six puppies arrived together in one large kennel crate in California for re-routing to prepaid buyers in states from California to Alabama and beyond, each selected not only for conformation and health but for bloodlines compatible with the those of Staffords imported earlier -- a matter of prime importance for a gene pool of narrow scope, one that made it possible to produce good Staffords in America from the very outset.

These six puppies comprised but a small percentage of the many Bandits imports that formed the nucleus of the Studbook and helped propel the Breed to a level of popularity that few -- if any -- in England or elsewhere could have imagined at the time.

Marion Forester's New Zealand Staffords and George Smith Leicester Staffords, although numerically fewer, also made vital contributions.

Joe Orday of New York, a founding member of the SBTC/USA and its first President, owned breeding-age Staffords long before most early members even heard of the Breed, so it comes as no surprise that his name appears frequently in the breeders' column here.

Claude Williams of Ashton, Maryland, also had owned Staffords before the founding of the club and played a major role in the early development of the Breed, particularly on the East Coast.

The SBTC/USA Registry began operation on January 9, 1967, at 1125 North Mar Vista, Pasadena, California, and by April 2, 1972, had 450 registered Staffords, approaching the AKC "threshold" of 500 registrations for acceptance into the AKC Registry and separate Stafford classes at AKC shows. Few breeds, if any, have ever gone from zero to sixty in such a brief time span. However, AKC acceptance was not to be forthcoming until another three years had passed, due to internal club friction.

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