ED PINE, FRANK STRYKER AND THE ALBANY COMBINE
By: E.T. Piper
Ed Pine was born and lived all his life at south Cairo, New York in the foothills of the catskill mountains. It was also home of Frank Stryker, another cocker, don’t get Frank Stryker and Jack Stryker mixed up. Jack lived in New Jersey and had fowl of various kinds, including greys. they were not related and it `s doubtful if they were acquainted with one another. Frank Stryker eventually became a member of what some refereed to as the “Albany combine” that is Billy Lawman, John Hoy and others who controlled the Lawman white hackles and muffs : considered by men living today, who saw them in their prime, as the greasiest fowl ever to land on these shores. they came to Billy lawman at Schenectady, new York from his father in the north of England near the Scottish border, hence the name “north brittions” which, I believe, was first applied to them in this country, in the early 1900 `s, frank Stryker was fighting a family of Charley Brown Shawlnecks that were very good fowl.
This was in what cockers have always referred to as “eastern ‘New York State and the vicinity, which included south Cairo. Stryker was very successful with his Shawlnecks and was considered quite a cocker. along about this time, john hoy moved to Albany, N.Y. from Brooklyn/NJ, in short order, he became associated with Billy lawman with his muffs and white hackles. hoy was an outstanding cocker and feeder, and he and lawman soon began going to town with their fowl, one of their early victims was frank Stryker and his shawls. friend `s of frank tried to console him by saying he got some tough breaks, but he was too smart a cocker to swallow that. he said the cocks that beat him were the best he ever saw, that he would not only never try to beat them again, he was going to try to and get in with hoy and lawman and get some. that is exactly what he did, he crossed them over his charley brown shawls and began going to town with the cross. they where outstanding fowl in every way Lawman and Hoy fought some of them and did equally well with them. they { the cross} became known as Stryker whitehackles.
Shawlnecks and white hackles have always been almost identical in appearance and the cross made a family outstanding, typical whitehackles. in referring to these fowl , i say the cross made the stryker whitehackes,but i may be and probaly am, in error there for this reason,after stryker got in with Hoy and Lawman, he could get anything from them he wanted.exactly how he bred from then on no one would know for sure.all that is known for certain is that the stryker white hackle were a combination of blood of Lawman whitehackle and Charley Brown shawl. probaly, if the lawman blood was as outstanding as it was claimed, he leaned in that direction with his breeding and put in more lawman blood,cutting down on the shawl. the combine went to town to beating everyone as Billy lawman said, from new York City to buffalo, NY it has been said they beat Kearney and Duryea five times out of six and Dennis mahoney and many others old-timers. mahoney died in 1907, so many of these mains must have been between 1902 and 1907 when mahoney died. i believe John Hoy fed most of their mains. there were no tournaments or derbies in those days.
somewhere between 1902 and 1915 which is closer to the time Stryker died, Ed Pine, was a tall,gamgly young fellow and helped Stryker work his cocks and also walked them, Stryker had been a butcher and it was said his wife was an Indian, or part Indian, who knew nothing about and cared less about her husband `s chickens. so when Stryker died suddenly, Ed Pine fell heir to all of the Stryker fowl. from then on, they were known as Ed Pine `s strykers.lawman dided somewhere between 1911 and 1920, and Hoy went along with his lawman fowl and pine with his Stryker fowl. both did exceptionally well. hoy died in 1929 but had been inactive several years previous due to old age. Pine, between 1915 and 1935 when for practical purposes quit the game. probably fought more mains and won a larger majority than any cocker who ever lived in this county.