History page 2

1924 - In the first Westminster held under the new rules for Groups and Best In Show judging, five Group winners (Sporting, Working, Terrier, Toy and Non-Sporting) competed for the final award of Best In Show.

1924 - Westminster becomes the first club to conduct Best In Show judging in accordance with the new rules and format installed by the AKC.

1926 - Madison Square Garden III opens on 8th Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets. Westminster moves its show there, where it will remain until the facility closes in 1968.

1928 - Mrs. Reginald F. Mayhew of Forest Hills, NY, becomes the first woman to have a voice in deciding Best In Show, as one of a panel of five judges making the decision.

1933 - Mrs. M. Hartley Dodge judges Best In Show, becoming the first woman to officiate as the sole judge of this award. Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge is soon legendary in the dog show world, as the force behind the Morris & Essex Kennel Club and the benefactor of St. Hubert Giralda Animal Shelter in New Jersey.

1933 - A German Shepherd belonging to New York Yankee great, Lou Gehrig, is among this year's entries. "Afra of Cosalta" takes second in the Open Bitch class; Gehrig goes on to some success on the baseball field instead, finishing with a .340 lifetime batting average as one of the most beloved Yankees of all time.

1934 - The Children's Handling Grand Challenge Trophy is offered for the first time at Westminster. Later to be known as Junior Handling, this competition continues to be part of Westminster every year.

1935 - Mrs. Sherman Hoyt handles her Standard Poodle to BIS, the first such win ever for a woman handler, a feat that would not be repeated until 1956.

1937 - 3,140 dogs are entered at Westminster.

1938 - Best In Show Judge John G. Bates is pictured on the cover of Time Magazine before Westminster, with the caption, "His choice becomes the people's choice."

1941 - The show is changed from three days to a two-day event.

1941 and 1942 - Proceeds from these shows are donated to the American Red Cross. In 1943 and 1944, proceeds go to the benefit of Dogs for Defense. In 1945, the National War Fund is the recipient of the proceeds.

1946 - A tugboat strike causes New York Mayor William O'Dwyer to close the city down on the eve of the dog show. Business was allowed to resume 24 hours later, by that time forcing Westminster to make arrangements to hold its show in one day instead of two. Using 17 rings and a makeshift schedule that kept all rings in constant use, Best In Show was awarded by 12:15 a.m. that night, 15 minutes earlier than the year before.

1948 - Television coverage of Westminster takes place for the first time.

1951 - The Boxer, Ch. Bang Away of Sirrah Crest, becomes the first dog from West of the Mississippi to win Best In Show at Westminster.

1956 - Anne Hone Rogers (later Mrs. James Edward Clark) becomes the first woman professional handler and the second female to handle a dog to the Best In Show award.

1968 - Lakeland terrier Ch. Stingray of Derryabah becomes the first dog to win Best In Show at Westminster after winning the same award at Crufts, Westminster's London counterpart.

1968 - The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is the final event of any kind held at Madison Square Garden III. In 1969, the show moves to Madison Square Garden IV, its present location.

1969 - A bitter snowstorm cripples the New York area and plays havoc with Westminster's first show at the new Garden.

1972 - The English Springer Spaniel Ch. Chinoe's Adamant James captures his second consecutive Best In Show at Westminster, becoming the seventh dog with multiple BIS wins (six dogs with two, one dog with three). As of 2003, no dog has done it since.

1975 - Ch. Sir Lancelot of Barvan, an Old English Sheepdog, becomes the first Canadian dog to win BIS honors since 1918.

1976 - William W. Brainard, Jr. becomes the first person to judge Best In Show three times, a mark that is still unmatched.

1982 - The Westminster Kennel Foundation and Judge Frank Sabella become the first to donate gifts of art to the AKC Museum of the Dog.

1983 - Ch. Kabik's The Challenger, an Afghan Hound, becomes only the third Hound to win Best In Show and through 2003 is still the last Hound to do so.

1987 - The Westminster Kennel Foundation establishes an annual scholarship program for veterinary students.

1989 - A red Doberman Pinscher bitch, Ch. Royal Tudor's Wild as the Wind CD, becomes the first dog with an obedience title to capture Best In Show (and through 2004 remains as the only dog to do so).

1992 - Westminster becomes the first Champions Only dog show held under AKC rules. Awards of Merit are added to the awards, the exact number given to be a function of the number of entries in each breed or variety.

1997 - Ch. Parsifal Di Casa Netzer, a Standard Schnauzer, becomes the first Italian bred dog to win Best In Show.

1999 - "Kirby", a spunky Papillon officially known as Ch. Loteki Supernatural Being, becomes the oldest dog ever to win Best In Show. He is eight years, one month and ten days old. With this win, he becomes the first dog in the world to win both the World Dog Show (he won Best In Show at Helsinki over 17,000-plus dogs in 1998).

2003 - Ch. Torums Scarf Michael, a Kerry Blue terrier, captures Best In Show, becoming only the second dog to win both Westminster and Crufts.