Traffic Officer

Traffic Officer and his owner were an inseparable pair. The “Gilbert and Sullivan” of the racing world. While Art Wilson claimed fame as a baseball pitcher, Traffic Officer will always be remembered as an outstanding star at coursing, track racing, and as a progenitor.

Many said he was the greatest all-around greyhound ever produced in America. Although tracing his pedigree back virtually to the beginning of greyhound registration was no simple task, it showed that there was hardly a fault in his breeding.

Whelped in April 1925, he had a racing weight of 76 pounds and was indeed impressive in appearance. He was named for his owner’s father, who was a traffic officer.

He started his racing career by winning the National Coursing Futurity in 1926. He was such a standout on the track in 1927 that he ran mostly in match races with no betting. Unfortunately, at that time track records were not kept.

Mr. Wilson sold Traffic Officer to George Oswald for $3,300. After the purchase, Oswald raced him for a short time and then retired him for breeding. Thus began a greyhound racing dynasty that has had few equals in the history of track racing in the United States.