CARL DAVIS ROUNDHEAD
By Paul Edward V. Tan and Noel R. Dimatulac (2009)
HISTORY OF THE LACY ROUNDHEAD
LACY ROUNDHEADS BRED BY THE ORIGINATOR
Judge Ernest Lacy of Jasper, Alabama was the originator
of the Lacy Roundhead. In 1911, Judge Ernest Lacy started
to breed gamefowls of different strains but finally
fell in love with the Roundheads for being simply the
best of all the stocks which he had.
The making of an excellent bloodline, which has been
adored by many breeders and cockers to this day, did
not come easily, for it took Judge Ernest Lacy years
before he perfected and created his own strain—The
Lacy Roundhead.
Sometime in 1915, Judge Ernest Lacy acquired a Hope Roundhead
Cock which is a 5.14 lbs., white legged, pea comb, black-breasted
red, above medium stationed cock out of a White Legged
Cock with a small amount of “Red Quill blood”
from Chas Hope of Aberdeen Mississippi over some Roundhead
Hens from Griffin Bros. of Aberdeen, Mississipi, which
Judge E. W. Long loaned him. Subsequently. in 1916, Judge
Ernest Lacy bought a Shelton Roundhead hen, pea combed,
yellow legged, red eyed, medium stationed, had white feathers
all over its body, but not enough to be called a spangle
color from Ms. Burnell Shelton of Mississippi for US$7.50.
Furthermore, in the same year, Will Gunter and Judge Ernest
Lacy acquired eggs from Ms. Shelton, which were set and
produced only two stags (pea combed black breasted reds,
with red eyes and white legs Shelton Roundhead with a
dash of Red Quill)—one went to Gunter and the other
was kept by Judge Ernest Lacy.
In the spring of 1916, Judge Ernest Lacy bred the Hope
Roundhead Cock over the Shelton Roundhead Hen which
produced 12 stags and 12 pullets. However, the pullets
were reduced into 5 (1/2 Hope Roundhead x ½ Shelton
Roundhead). In 1917, in order to avoid inbreeding, Judge
Ernest Lacy bred the White Legged Roundhead-Red Quill
Stag which came from the eggs that he and Gunter got
from Shelton, over the 5 pullets yielding to excellent,
high class fighting and desperately game offsprings
(½ Shelton Roundhead-Red Quill x ¼ Hope
Roundhead (w/ Red Quill)- ¼ Shelton Roundhead).
Parenthetically, this yard was in the handle of John
Barton of Dullin, who lived 4 miles southwest of Jasper,
Alabama.
In 1918, Judge Ernest Lacy reacquired from Will Gunter
the Shelton Roundhead-Red Quill Cock which is one of
the cocks that were produced from the eggs they got
from Ms. Shelton—the brother of the stag which
was bred to the 5 pullets. Now, this rooster was bred
to its nieces which were the pullets (½ Shelton
Roundhead-Red Quill x ¼ Hope Roundhead (w/ Red
Quill)- ¼ Shelton Roundhead) which John Barton
raised. This yard (¾ Shelton Roundhead-Red Quill
x ¼ Hope-Shelton Roundhead) was now in the care
of Bob Burton. Offsprings from this mating were described
as “extra good.” The stags from this yard
won several times until they reach 2 years old. On the
other hand, some of the pullets from this yard were
bred to a cock (Hervy Roundhead with Grists’ blood)
which Judge Ernest Lacy acquired from Mr. Geo H. Davis,
of Jasper, Alabama, resulting to ½ Shelton Roundhead
x ½ Harvey Roundhead. Parenthetically, George
H. Davis is the father of Carl Davis—the most
successful breeder of the Lacy Roundheads which made
the bloodline popular. In order to alleviate the problem
of inbreeding depression, the stag from this mating
was bred to the John Barton yard. Parenthetically, sometime
in 1920, all the hens (¾ Shelton Roundhead-Red
Quill x ¼ Hope-Shelton Roundhead) of the Bob
Burton yard which were bred to the Harvey Roundhead
from Mr. Davis were taken by Mr. James Oakley. In 1921,
Judge Ernest Lacy secured a cock from Ira Kimbel which
came from Mr. Hugh Buckingham of Memphis that was bred
to the pullets (½ Shelton Roundhead x ½
Harvey Roundhead) from the Bob Burton yard. This mating
created the “WHITE LEGGED” family of Judge
Ernest Lacy.
During this time, Judge Ernest Lacy did not infuse any
new blood to his chickens except a dash of Bair Brown
Red or Boone blood-a black type of fowl. The “Boone
blood” came from a black hen that Fred Bair got
from Alva Campbell of Kentucky. The hen was bred over
the 7-time Winner Shelton Roundhead cock called the
“Cackling Sam”, which produced sensational
progenies. Judge Ernest Lacy was given a stag which
contained a Bair Brown Red and he was bred to all his
Roundhead until the blood was breed out up to 1/32.
Two Families of Roundheads
During this stage of Judge Ernest Lacy’s breeding,
he was able to develop two families of gamefowls:
a) White Legged Strain; and b) Pure Shelton Roundhead (15/16
Shelton Roundhead x 1/16 Boone). The “White Legged
Roundhead” family does not have as much of the
cautious side stepping qualities as the old original
pure Allen and Shelton Roundheads had; but they are
great bucklers, very sturdy and are the most desperately
game cocks Judge Ernest Lacy has ever known of. Ever
since he bred such family, he never had one of them
to quit or sulk, which is the reason why Judge Lacy
had a great deal of. On the other hand, the “Pure
Shelton Roundhead” family is rather small but
fights scientifically and has really won a larger percentage
of its fights compared to the winning percentage of
the white legged strain. However, they are not as strong,
nor are they as desperately game nor as classy looking
in appearance as the white legged strain. They only
have about 1/8th or 1/16th of the black Boone blood
in them.
The Legend of the “TWO-TOED” COCK
In 1927, Judge Ernest Lacy acquired the Legendary 7-time
winner “two-toed cock” (a small and unimpressive-looking
cock that weighed about 4.14 lbs., red-eyed, pea-combed,
yellow legged, with almost white ear lobes, light red
and medium stationed) from a party known as LedBetter
based near Birmingham through the help of Tom Judge. It
was said that the party LedBetter purchased the rooster
from a person named “King” for US$5.00, because
of its impressive record in the pit in just one season.
The two-toed cock was bred over the Roundhead hens which
produced the finest cocks and stags that Judge Ernest
Lacy ever had. The two-toed cock was only bred once, from
which Judge Ernest Lacy kept two hens from such mating.
This breeding then became his foundation line.
Lacy Roundheads in the hands of GEORGE WOODS
In November of 1942, Judge Ernest Lacy died from a heart
attack, while visiting a yard of chickens being raised
by Manley Daniel. It was only George Lacy Woods who
is the only interested succeeding heir of the deceased
cocker. Unfortunately, Goerge Woods was drafted to the
army, leaving him not much time to propagate or maintain
the Roundhead strain which his uncle left. Nonetheless,
before he left for overseas, he asked a fine old man
to take care two trios from Judge Ernest’s yard.
After World War II, when George Woods came back. However,
the person to whom he entrusted the stocks with failed
to propagate the stocks; worse, neglected to even take
care of them, because the fine old man was given a different
war assignment. Thus, upon his return, he only had a
few of the original Lacy Roundhead hens. He needed to
start all over again.
In 1945, George Woods acquired an Albany-Claret Cock
from Mr. J. T. Shepler of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, who
is a good friend of Judge Ernest Lacy. The Albany-Claret
cock Mr. Shepler sent was not at all impressive in looks.
He was a medium red in color, straight comb, yellow
legs, rather small. He had one unusual characteristic:
he walked with his legs bent, never straightening them
out but always having a bend at the knees. George Woods
knew that Judge Ernest has some fowls with many friends,
he was shy at that time, and did not dare to ask for
a Lacy Roundhead Cock. George Woods had no option but
to breed the Albany-Claret to the three Lacy Roundhead
hens. Call it a blessing in disguise, but the infusion
of the Albany-Claret “nicked” with the Lacy
Roundheads. But, George Woods calls himself “lucky..”
He claimed, if he will be given a chance to rectify
the breeding procedure, he should have sought the best
pure Lacy Roundhead cock. The stags from this mating
exhibited extreme gameness, evidenced by the fact that
they killed each other, which left George Woods pullets,
and a blinker stag from a different mating (Manley Daniel
Lacy Roundhead x Original Lacy Roundhead Hen).
The Lacy Roundhead Blincker Stag was then bred over the
½ Albany-Claret x ½ Lacy Roundhead hen.
From this mating, came out the finest stag produced that
did not exhibit any Albany-Claret traits. In 1954, this
¾ Lacy Roundhead x ¼ Albany-Claret was fought
at two years old, and won sensationally, which caused
a roar over the spectators of the pit.
CARL DAVIS ROUNDHEAD
In 1954, George Woods gave Rusell Sutherland and Carl
Davis the 1-time Winner ¾ Lacy-¼ Albany-Claret
Cock at pitside, after its sensational win. This rooster
was bred over the Lacy Roundhead hens (with 1/8 Newell
Roundhead which came from Mr. Ned Toulmin of Toulminville,
Alabama) which they produced from the trio of Lacy Roundheads
which they acquired from Manley Daniel. The offsprings
from this mating was the best that have been produced
and breeds well to any kind of fowl, producing top class
feathered warriors—even better than the Lacy Roundheads
that Judge Ernest Lacy had. This mating became their
foundation line.
In 1955, in exchange to George Woods generosity, Russel
Sutherland invited George to his farm because Russel
and Carl will give George a trio from the mating of
the Woods cock x Lacy Roundhead hens. Surprisingly,
George Woods saw the most beautiful pullet he had ever
seen in his life which also came from the same mating,
and it too was given to George. George propagated his
line using the pullet from Russel Sutherland. Subsequently,
Carl Davis gifted George with a stag from the Lacy Roundhead
mating, which George Woods bred over the Russel hen.
George Woods became successful with this mating which
he shared to many of his friends including Hugh Norman,
from whom he bartered with a pair of Lacy Roundheads
in 1960.
From 1950’s to 1960’s, Carl Davis was fighting
the George Woods line of Lacys crossed with power blood
(Hatch) with considerable success. (Russell had quit
fighting by then.) Carl's best cocks were ¾ Lacy-¼
Hatch or other power blood. They were some of the best
cocks to be found in Alabama, winning consistently in
all of the major Alabama pits. If they went to the drag
pit with a power cock on equal terms, they would win
four times out of five on cutting ability and gameness.
It was Carl's success with his Lacy crosses more than
anything else which made cockers in Alabama begin wanting
roundheads again. Until then, almost the only thing
wanted was pure power blood. Carl's success showed cockers
that a cross of Southern fowl and power blood could
produce first class battle fowl. Hugh Norman, on the
other hand, knew about it.
The CARL DAVIS ROUNDHEAD is an excellent ring general,
that gets an advantage because it breaks very high (salto)
with accurate punches and off-beat tempo. Although some
of the ROUNDHEADS are criticized due to lack of gameness.
The CARL DAVIS ROUNDHEAD is dead game and aggressive,
making it a complete fighter and is suitable for the
long-knife slasher type of cockfighting in the Philippines.
The CARL DAVIS ROUNDHEAD is an early maturing bloodline.
It blends well to most of the modern day slashers, especially
the Sweater, Hatches and Clarets. When blended to other
bloodlines, it produces offspring which have good station
with excellent fighting style.
Among the breeders who have the CARL DAVIS ROUNDHEAD
are Mr. JERRY ADKINS and JASON CAMPBELL of SLICK LIZARD
GAMEFARM. CARSON FARM is fortunate to acquire the CARL
DAVIS ROUNDHEAD from friends JERRY ADKINS and JASON
CAMPBELL of Nauvoo, Alabama, U.S.A. CARSON FARM is proud
to have acquired the bloodline, and had been winning
since then.
CARSON FARM continues to develop the strain breeding
the CARL DAVIS ROUNDHEAD to the Sweater-Claret. Battle
crosses are fast tactical fighters that take its opponent
on the air and finish the fight with machine gun shuffles
on the ground.
CARSON FARM also developed the LIGHT HACKLED CARL DAVIS
ROUNDHEAD.
WHITMIRE ROUNDHEAD
Mr. Guy Whitmire of White Pine, Tennessee is the originator
of the WHITMIRE ROUNDHEAD. He had these LACY ROUNDHEADS
since 1970's and had developed and propagated them until
the late 90's. The Whitmire Roundheads come pea-comb,
white legged and light hackled. They are Smart fowls
suited for the long-knife, which are elusive, deliberate
punchers, and have excellent timing.
Among all the other Roundheads, the WHITMIRE ROUNDHEAD
could be considered as the GAMEST. In fact, Derrick
Sizemore, an American Breeder said: "The Whitmire Roundhead
is the gamest roundheads he has ever seen."
In 1998, Doyle Watson of Tennessee acquired a trio of
the LACY ROUNDHEADS from Mr. Whitmire who was selling
stocks due to old age and some health issues. Doyle
Watson was able to acquire a Frank Ellis Lacy Roundhead
hen from a good friend in Alabama , and bred it with
his WHITMIRE ROUNDHEADS. Subsequently, in 2006, Doyle
Watson received a Hugh Norman Lacy from Chet Layne of
Kentucky . He has then been concentrating with his breeding
to develop the WHITMIRE ROUNDHEADS, which produced good
results. The WHITEMIRE ROUNDHEAD blends well on anything.
However, his favorite is a cross with the ALBANY.
Mr. Watson is a close friend of Steve Simbeck whose
SIMBECK ROUNDHEADS have been winning in the World Slasher
Cup.
In 2007, CARSON FARM was blessed to acquire these WHITMIRE
ROUNDHEADS from Doyle Watson. The blood was used to
freshen up the LACY ROUNDHEADS (Carl Davis and Hugh
Norman) of the farm. CARSON FARM continues to develop
them by breeding them with Sweaters, Hatches and Clarets.
DAN GRAY ROUNDHEAD
DAN GRAY , a retired oil worker of Shriever, Louisiana,
is the originator of the DAN GRAY ROUNDHEAD. In 1965,
he started breeding the Boston Roundheads. Subsequently,
he introduced some Lundy Roundhead and Lacy Roundhead
with his Boston Roundheads. Actually, in Mr. Gray's
pursuit of his all-around gamefowl suited for long knife
and short knife fighting, he used almost all kinds of
Roundheads including the Brunner Roundhead and Allen
Roundheads, but these roundheads failed his expectations.
Nevertheless, after experimenting, he liked the Lacy
Roundhead the best. From a concoction of bloodlines
complementing the Lacy Roundhead, he was able to develop
a bloodline famously known as the DAN GRAY ROUNDHEAD.
The DAN GRAY ROUNDHEAD comes in dark red, pea comb and
pearl white leg. They are superb cutters, high breakers,
smart, elusive and with side-step ability, fast, game
with multiple shuffles and very good for Philippine
long knife slasher type of fighting.
Unlike some bloodlines, however, the DAN GRAY ROUNDHEADS
are better fought when cocks. They mature like wine
and at their full potential when molted. With DAN GRAY
ROUNDHEADS, approximately 40% of stag maybe fought and
the rest molted. DAN GRAY fights his Roundheads at 2
years old.
Nevertheless, the DAN GRAY ROUNDHEAD is best to cross
with Clarets and Hatches. These crosses are suited for
long-knife and short-knife fighting. On the other hand,
to freshen up the bloodline, Dan Gray adds Madigin Clarets,
and bred them out up to 15/16 which he considers to
be PURE.
Among those who had success with the DAN GRAY ROUNDHEAD
are Joe Wolcott, Larry Whitehead, Wendell Loveday, Leonard
Faber who won some International Derbies using the said
bloodlines with Clarets, Whitehackles and Hatches infusion.
In the Philippines, the person who has been the most
successful with this bloodline is Atty. Jun Santiago--smart,
persistent and like his chickens, doesn't quit (as described
by Dan Gray himself)--who has won the 2005 World Slasher
Cup Derby with Joe Wolcott and Larry Whitehead.
CARSON FARM was fortunate to acquire these DAN GRAY
ROUNDHEADS of Atty. Jun Santiago through the help of
Atty. Santiago's golf partner. Subsequently, CARSON
FARM uses this bloodline to freshen up the Roundheads
(Carl Davis and Hugh Norman) in the farm. In addition,
CARSON FARM has already finished with the drawing board,
and soon will be executing a breeding program that will
produce the best Dan Gray Roundheads to be known as
the CARSON FARM DAN GRAY ROUNDHEADS.
Hugh Norman Roundhead
Came from a trusted friend Mike Everett of Axtel, Texas
Mike thanks for the nice gift.
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