Ashley Whippet Greatest Frisbee Dog of All Time! |
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 One of
world's outstanding athletes has Greenfield
connection
By Ron Coffey In the 1970s">
Ashley
Whippet Greatest
Frisbee Dog of All Time! By Ron Coffey In the 1970s, a new sport caught the fancy
of Americans. Requiring a combination of athleticism and grace, this sport
was not for the faint of heart. It involved running at speeds up to 35
miles per hour and catching an object ten feet in the air. The greatest
athlete who ever played this game has Greenfield connections! At the age of six months, this young
athlete was already attracting crowds on the Ohio State University campus.
He became the creator, and the most accomplished practitioner, of his
chosen sport. He was the Professor Naismith, the Babe Ruth and the Michael
Jordan of his sport all rolled into one. He did not have a long life, but he lived
it to the fullest. He performed at the Super Bowl, at the White House, on
television, and was featured in a movie. Upon his death, he received a
glowing tribute in the pages of Sports Illustrated. You have probably seen him on TV, or at
least seen the many imitators he inspired. If you aren't familiar with his
name, let me explain. His name was Ashley Whippet. And he was
just that, a whippet, a kind of greyhound-like, wiry dog that the
McLaughlin family kept as pets in the 1960s and early '70s. Doug and Betty
McLaughlin lived in a big three-story home on S. Washington Street with
their daughters, Tara and Lisa, and sons Mike and Tony. The family
business was Orlando's, a clothing store on S. Washington Street. As a young adult during that time period, I
spent many an evening there, visiting with this friendly family, watching
football games on TV, and occasionally petting the whippets that lived
there. Alex Stein, an Ohio State student from
Cleveland Heights, befriended Mike McLaughlin, who was in the same
fraternity. When he met Mike's family, Alex began dating Mike's sister
Lisa. On June 4, 1971, Lisa's pet gave birth to a litter of pups, and she
gave one of them to Alex. He named the dog Ashley because of his cigar-ash
color and also in honor of Ashley Wilkes, one of the characters in Gone
With the Wind. Ashley's coloration would later change to black and white,
and the dog would go on to change Alex's life. In the early 1970s Frisbees were popular
objects on college campuses and wherever young people gathered. No doubt
other Frisbee fanatics taught their dogs to catch the whirling discs, but
no other dog possessed the artistry, grace and sense of drama that Ashley
was to display. Alex, a sophomore at Ohio State University,
introduced Ashley to Frisbees as a puppy by using them as dishes for
Ashley's food and water. Ashley must have been born to play Frisbees,
because by the age of six months he was entertaining hundreds of people on
the OSU Oval with his acrobatic catches. "He was a ham and a half in
front of a crowd," said Stein. "He'd jump up and twist and
contort his body on a catch because he knew that's what people
liked." As Alex began to realize the gifts that
Ashley possessed, he decided to pack up and move to Hollywood. Alex began
contacting agents, telling them about his dog that could run 35 mph, leap
high into the air and catch Frisbees. He did not get the response he
expected. One scout at a famous agency hung up. Others said they didn't
handle animals. Calls were not returned, and Stein realized he needed to
find another way to get some attention for Ashley. Upon hearing that the Los Angeles Dodgers
would be hosting the Cincinnati Reds on NBC Monday Night Baseball,
Stein suddenly got an idea. On August 5, 1974, just before the Dodgers
came to bat in the bottom of the eighth inning, Stein and Ashley Whippet
dashed over the wall separating the fans from the players and raced into
centerfield. Alex would throw the Frisbee, and Ashley displayed his
ability to make twisting, leaping catches, closing his jaws on the Frisbee
at just the right moment to bring cheers from the crowd. NBC trained its
cameras on Ashley for several minutes as he raced under throws as long as
90 yards and hauled them in like a canine Lynn Swann. When Stein and Ashley came off the field
there was confusion and bad news. Stein was arrested for trespassing and
subsequently had to pay a $250 fine. Even worse, in the commotion Stein
was separated from Ashley and feared he would never see his dog again.
Luckily, the news began to get better. After three days, a Long Beach
youngster who had taken Ashley home read an article in the paper about the
incident and returned the animal to Stein. Another call came in from the
Los Angeles Rams' halftime coordinator, who eventually signed Alex and
Ashley to perform at two games that fall. Ashley's star began to rise, and he was
invited to appear at the World Frisbee Championships (then for humans
only), as well as on the Tonight Show and as a guest of Merv
Griffin. As Alex and Ashley spread the gospel according to Frisbee,
countless dog owners began training their pets to emulate Ashley. Inspired by Ashley's performances, the
World Frisbee Championships inaugurated formal Catch & Fetch
competition in 1975. The object of Catch & Fetch is to complete as
many throws as possible in a two-minute span. The throws must cover at
least 15 yards, and extra points are awarded if the dog has all four paws
off the ground during a catch. Ashley not only had sure jaws and ample
hang time, but also possessed the discipline to return swiftly after each
throw, allowing his master the opportunity to make more throws. Other dogs
rivaled Ashley in athletic talent but lacked the requisite discipline to
rise to the top. Ashley reigned as world champion from
1975-77, appeared on Wide World of Sports, and was featured in an
Academy Award-nominated documentary, Floating Free, filmed during
the 1977 nationals. He got to rub noses with the rich and famous, playing
with Amy Carter's dog Grits on the White House lawn. There were
appearances on Monday Night Football and at halftime of Super Bowl
XII. By 1980 Ashley was no longer competing, but
he still toured the country and was capable of seemingly impossible feats.
One occurred at the Rose Bowl, when he ran the entire length of the
football field and made a great catch of a Frisbee just before it was
about to hit the ground. "Call me crazy, but I swear that Ashley took
a bow, acknowledging the well-deserved tribute from the huge crowd in the
stadium," wrote Irv Lander in his biography of the dog, appropriately
entitled Ashley Whippet. Ashley served as spokesdog for the Gaines
dog food company and spent time with his family of 60 sons and daughters
and 12 granddogs. One of the daughters, Lady Ashley, went on the road
promoting Gaines products. Recognized as the creator of his sport,
Ashley lived to see the national Catch & Fetch series officially
renamed the Ashley Whippet Invitational in 1982. By the time of his death
in 1985, the event attracted more than 15,000 dogs. Loved by everyone, and universally
acknowledged as the greatest Frisbee-catcher ever, Ashley Whippet lives on
today in books and on web sites. I fired up my trusty computer and typed
"Ashley Whippet" to see what came up. I located several web
sites devoted to Frisbee disc catching, and found others devoted to the
great champion Ashley Whippet, including animations of Ashley in action
during his prime as well as information about the Ashley Whippet biography. Through the Internet I was able to contact
Peter Bloeme, director of the Canine Frisbee disc Championships, who told
me how to get in touch with Alex Stein. Alex, who has retired from the
hectic schedule of constant traveling, is the owner of the Deli on Rye,
located at 180 W. Streetsboro in Hudson, OH 44236. I had hoped Alex would confirm that Ashley
Whippet was born in Greenfield because the McLaughlins lived in Greenfield at the
time, but Alex said Ashley was actually born in Oxford, Ohio, where
Michael McLaughlin was a student in 1971. Still, there's a local
connection with the McLaughlin family. Alex sent me a copy of Irv Lander's
official Ashley Whippet biography which was most helpful in the
writing of this piece. A second Greenfield connection occurred
when I contacted Peter Bloeme for information. I recognized that name
because Peter and his Frisbee-catching dog Wizard performed at the Greene
Countrie Towne Festival in Greenfield in July 1985! There are some wonderful dogs out there in
the world of Frisbee catching, using techniques developed by Alex Stein.
However, there was only one Ashley Whippet, and he remains the standard
against which all others are measured. The legend of this star athlete
will continue to inspire others for years to come. |
