John W. McAssey has had a long and active association with our sport. He acquired his first retriever in 1952 - to be used as a hunting dog. He also acquired a copy of Free's book "Training Your Retriever" and the "hook was set". Living in Denver the nearest Trial was 420 miles away; so he joined with a small group and organized the Denver club. He worked with local groups to organize Retriever clubs in Cheyenne, Colorado Springs, Salt Lake City and Albuquerque to form what was often called the "Leaky Roof" circuit.

He was owner or co-owner of three dogs that made FC-AFC's and qualified for a total of "about a dozen" National stakes. Two of them became Double Headers. The dogs were: Mainliner Mike, Mainliner Mike II, and Camliag Primero.

"Mac" has judged 135 major stakes and both National stakes. He has been on the F. T. Committee of both National clubs many times and President of both the National Retriever Club (' 72) and the National Amateur Retriever Club (' 63). He is currently (since 1980) Secretary-Treasurer of the National Amateur Retriever Club. He has been a member of the gun crew at 30 National stakes and has attended every National Open Stake since 1954 and every National Amateur Stake, except two, since its inception. He is currently (since 1978) Secretary-Treasurer of the Labrador Retriever Club. He served for eight years on the Sub-Committee of the A.K.C. Retriever Advisory Committee, which studies and formulates changes in rules and procedures.

John McAssey, with a few others, conceived and organized The Double Headers Club starting in 1959. He was also Retriever Field Trial News Director for many years.

RFTN April 1984