The International Kennel Club of Chicago: The Phoenix Rises

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148 – November/December, 2022

The International Kennel Club of Chicago: To anyone who’s been around awhile, it’s one of the Big Ones, the ones you plan for, travel for, and wait for all year. It’s one filled with excitement, tradition, innovation, prestige and numbers. It’s one that was for years the largest show in the country. It’s one that was subsequently almost lost forever. And now, like the phoenix rising from the ashes–it’s back!

A Long History

The Chicago Kennel Club was founded in 1900. The Union Stock Yard & Transit Company of Chicago purchased its charter in 1938. Thus began the IKC’s history as a privately held kennel club–one of the few remaining today. The new club’s show format was modeled after the prestigious International Livestock Exposition, which was then the nation’s number one livestock show and known for its focus on educational events, especially for young people. The IKC attempted to emulate this with an emphasis on Junior Handling and Junior Dog Judging. The IKC’s first show, in 1938, drew an astounding entry of 1,169 dogs.

While the conformation judging was the main event, the IKC devoted a huge part of its space to other aspects, including benching for 3,000 dogs. It also featured a 50,000 square foot area in which to showcase indoor field trials, sighthound straight racing over a 200 yard track, weight pulling for Siberian Huskies and Alaskan Malamutes, and scent hurdle racing (a precursor to flyball). Various canine celebrities such as Lassie and Ashley Whippet also made appearances. In addition, the IKC was one of the first shows to have vendors—and it had as many as 120 at a single show!

Of course, judges clamored to be on the panel, and IKC was able to feature some of the finest, including Mrs. Hartley Dodge of Morris & Essex fame, Alva Rosenberg, Percy Roberts, William Brainard, Harry Peters, Mrs. Robert Lindsay and Miss Laura Delano–some famous for their canine knowledge, and some as well for their society pedigree.

The show was originally held in Chicago’s International Amphitheatre in the Union Stockyards (at one time the largest exposition Center in the United States with 585,000 square feet), where it stayed until 1982.

In 1982 the club passed to the ownership of Louis Auslander, who initially co-owned it with Mrs. Gaylord Donnelly and later with his wife, Seme Auslander. The show moved to Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center in 1983, where it remained until 2015. At its peak, the IKC was the largest show in America, with entries of more than 3,000 dogs and spectator attendance topping 60,000!

When Louis Auslander died, the club continued, but without the Auslander leadership and enthusiasm it began to falter. The IKC’s last show in downtown Chicago was in February 2015. It clustered with some other shows outside the city, but it was not the same show. Finally, its doors closed in 2017.

The Resurrection

Click here to read the complete article
148 – November/December, 2022

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Posted by AnthonyA on Nov 17 2022. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.