Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
COCK FIGHTING
COCK FIGHTING. In one episode recorded in the Dubuque Herald in 1897, one hundred people attended a cock fight in the yards of the HEIM BRICK COMPANY on November 7th. The roosters were owned by individuals from Independence and Dubuque.
The battle was heralded at the championship of Iowa and consisted of eleven fights. The stakes were $10 a side for each battle and $100 a side "on the main."
The event began at 11:00 p.m. with the "pitters" stepping into the pit with their birds for the first battle which lasted thirty minutes. The account stated that the Independence bird was a "blinker" and weighed five ounces more than its Dubuque opponent. When the Dubuque bird was all "but gone," the fight was given to the Independence bird.
The second match proved a Dubuque win by default in two minutes. The Independence bird proved to be a "runaway" and escaped the pit three times before the win was given to the Dubuque entry.
The four match only lasted five minutes when the Independence bird "planted his spur in a vital spot" on the Dubuque bird and was declared the winner.
The fourth match lasted thirty-two minutes when the Dubuque bird was "counted Out" after "breaking the count about fifteen times." It was anticipated the match would last all night.
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Source:
"Cocking Main Last Night," Dubuque Herald, January 3, 1897, p. 4