Cock Fighting in Wallington (1895) – Page

From the book  Arms’ Crossroads – Wallington  page 23 by The Wallington Cobblestone Schoolhouse Restoration Committee 1982

OH FEATHERS !

One March day in 1895 about 5:25 in the afternoon at the Oswego R. W. + O. R. R. depot a number of men got onboard the train for Wallington with odd looking bundles under their arms. They were not planning to attend a missionary meeting nor a Y. M. C. A. convention, but were on their way to Wallington to hold a “chicken discussion.” They arrived at Wallington at 6:00 that evening and were met by a number of Wayne County sports who were excited about the fights which were to be held that evening. If you haven’t guessed by now, these men were planning a cock fight, which was illegal but was still enjoyed by a number of sneaky characters like these in our story. The whole operation had been carefully selected to take place at Wallington because it was a goodly distance from the place where the Wayne County Sheriff resides.

The whole party adjourned to the hotel of which Wallington boasts and after they had eaten a fine dinner and had a number of drinks of Wayne County Whisky, (which reported not to have been of the best quality) they moved on to the place where the fights were to be held. The men from Oswego had brought along thirteen birds while the Wayne sports had nine. There were a total of nine weight classifications in which the birds were placed. Each battle was pre-agreed upon to be for ten dollars on a side except the last which would be for forty dollars. The birds of each side had been well-matched and were all in good condition, but the more experienced Oswego birds ended up carrying back the honors with six out of nine wins including the forty dollar battle. The men from Oswego returned home with light hearts, light heads, and heavy wallets, and for the Wayne men? Well, better luck next time.

 

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