No Average Joe

Welcome back we got the authenticity check ticked off with our last piece, today I’d like to take you back in time to meet a special dog, an American!

I sit here today watching Joe Biden and Donald trump navigating retirement and assassin’s bullets as America gears up for an election, I’m putting them two names in a blender and it spat out Joe Dump !

This greyhound was bred by a hobby breeder Joe Fallon who worked driving a bulldozer at the local dump , Falllon was known by everyone as Joe Dump and passed the name on to he’s red brindle pup this is he’s story !

Born on April fools day 1977 bred and owned by Fallon he showed promise at a track in Pensacola Florida before settling on the newly opened Greenetrack in Eutaw Alabama.

Greenetrack only raced for a few decades ,again as I write,these eerie coincidences arise as the young dog came to the track right on time as if custom ordered the track closed in 1997.

The record for most consecutive wins by a greyhound was held by American star Real Huntsman from Florida 27 remarkable wins in a row , he entered the hall of fame with Flashy sir and Rural babe , these 3 combined to be 1st inductees, Real Huntsman raced in 1950-51 , the record was a tall order .

Joe had won 6 of 14 at he’s favourite playground but he seemed to be smarter then the other dogs ,some weeks he would lead all the way , but mostly win from behind with uncanny track sense he quickly rattled off 10 straight wins , a sly buzz was in the air at Greenetrack and a young aspiring kid journalist started spruiking about Joe doing the unthinkable, well Joe up the bet 10 became 15 15 became 20 now everyone in Eutaw knew Joe Dump.

The kid kept writing ✍🏻 and Joe kept winning ,they travelled to the track from everywhere to watch him , Memphis and further, complete strangers in town would talk about him they weren’t greyhound people but they were now , the little fella kept winning bang 25 in a row A grade races in the late 70’s surely he couldn’t, Alabama football team was flying, Muhammad Ali defeated Leon Spinks to regain title but the attention in that part of the world was on a greyhound.

On May 15 1979 Joe Dump would line up to break the world record and try win 28 races in a row set in 1951 , he drew the 6 box and came out awful why is theatre so dramatic in these moments 🤷‍♂️ he nearly came down and gave them 4 lengths start around 1st bend ,yes he was odds on and these dogs were not elite speedsters, but I’ve been around greyhound racing a long time and the pressure on him would of been immense, as we know he knew every inch of the track , after some bumps he weaved he’s path and won running away , but he still had to do it and he did !, that night he became bigger then the code and Eutaw’s favourite son , people travelled from Georgia , Mississippi, Dallas just to be there.

28 wins wasn’t enough he stretched it to 31 wins in a row before being Malachi Crunched in a defeat, many in the crowd were crying , they say that night Joe knew he’d been beat and kept he’s head down for two hours after the race, this is an example of the global influence I talk about ,the dog was a local , bred by a battler who became a legend , I’m in Sydney in 1988 at Wentworth park as a young greyhound enthusiast, and guess what, I swear on my life people were talking about Joe Dump , it’s exiting for me to revisit and learn about him , many say he wasn’t the fastest dog but easily the smartest, track sense like no other , pick a run and nail it with a kick home , plus an old adage he knew exactly where the post was , after he’s famous win he just mingled with crowd didn’t really parade just done he’s own thing became a bit cheeky you could say !

Then the offer came 60000$ dollars from a gynaecologist and businessman they wanted fame and Joe was sold he’d only earned 20000 on track if that , he was in New York Times as most money ever paid for a greyhound still racing , he won 4 on end at other tracks , had some mixed results the 125000$ Hollywood race was calling and trainer JC Stanley was confident but in a heat he stopped cold on the bend out to back straight as if to say what am I doing here , but after the race he was diagnosed with a deep muscle tear ,most greyhounds would keep running but he stopped, knew he was injured , human like he limped off track such the legend goes he was never the same after that .

Joe Dump died at the age of 12 in 1989 he was buried at the finish line of the Greenetrack racecourse such was he’s status , a gravestone reminds people of he’s achievements .

The service was held in private similar to a person ,fanfare from media was not wanted but many were there who knew him he was much loved and often people would say at a later date , is he really buried there ? JC Stanley who had a great affinity with Joe and many others would simply reply , yes !

He’s offspring were few and no champions but they kept he’s Legacy alive and the people loved watching them he was now the record holder , a member of the all American 🇺🇸 team and a dog who changed peoples perception of the sport ,a 29 kg red brindle from Eutaw Alabama who shocked the world ,therefore he is on my list as one of the five , I hoped you’ve enjoyed meeting him , definitely no Average Joe !

Until next time Hounfrenz lots a love 🩵 we keep fighting for our beautiful hound sport!