Cock Fighting at Pelham Bridge in the 19th Century

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In the last few months I have published to the Historic Pelham Blog several postings regarding Pelham Bridge and the tiny community that sprang up nearby during the 19th Century. Among the postings to touch on the neighborhood have been:

Tuesday, June 28, 2005: The Hotel and Bar Room at Pelham Bridge

Wednesday, March 23, 2005: Prize Fighting At Pelham Bridge in 1884

The area seems to have been somewhat of a rough-and-tumble place. Today's Blog posting describes a large cock fight held in the area in 1883, only a year before the prize fight described in the March 23 posting that led to several arrests. The account is from the December 18, 1883 issue of The New York Times.

"A DESPERATE COCKING MAIN.

One of the most desperate and sharply contested cocking mains ever fought in the neighborhood of New-York took place on Sunday last at a quiet little spot in the neighborhood of Pelham Bridge, and was attended by a large number of sporting men from this City and the annexed district. The match, for $20 a fight and $500 on the main, was between the birds shown by Mr. Mercer, of Pelham, and an equal number shown by Mr. Corsey, of the Town of West Chester, and expectation was on tip-toe for several weeks as to the result of the contest, and large amounts of money were freely wagered on both sides. Mercer's birds won the first and fourth battles and Corsey's the other two. The fifth was the gamest fight ever seen in the annexed district. Mercer's bird was a dominick of five pounds four ounces and Corsey's a red, an ounce heavier. The fight lasted 35 minutes, the birds spurring and dodging one another like pugilists. In the end the red when put to the scratch refused to pick, thus giving the fight and the main to Pelham. When the red was taken up by its handler it quickly revived and picked vigorously, showing every desire to renew the fight, but too late for the hopes and pockets of its backers. This caused some expressions of dissatisfaction among the West Chester men, but no disturbance occurred."

Source: A Desperate Cocking Main, N.Y. Times, Dec. 18, 1883, p. 2, col. 2.

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.