Category Archives: Historical Pit Bull Maulings

A collection of posts about historical pit bull maulings, dating back to 1896, including John P. Colby’s fighting pit bull that killed his nephew.

It's Official: Pit Bulls Attack Planes, Trains and Automobiles

View Archive Article DogsBite.org - While browsing through The New York Times historical archives recently, we happened upon an incident in 1911 where a "big white bull terrier" (known today as a pit bull) darted into a whirling propeller of a biplane killing itself. The force of the blow split the propeller and knocked a corner loose. The daring aviator, Harry N. Atwood, wanted to risk the flight with a piece of the blade still hanging, but was cautioned by his mechanics to rep… [Read full blog post]
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1909 Dog Bite Fatality: John P. Colby's Fighting Pit Bull Kills Nephew

John P. Colby and son Louis (1922), Colby's Pincher (top) and Colby's Twister. View Archive Article Newburyport, MA - While researching fatal pit bull attacks of the early to mid 1900s, we came across the most damaging fatal attack the pit bull community has ever known. To start, in 1901 a pet pit bull killed its owner's mistress, in 1909 a pet pit bull killed its owner's brother, in 1945, a pet pit bull killed a 21-month old baby in Los Angeles (just 3-months before fighting pit bu… [Read full blog post]