First I would like to welcome you all to my website. I truly believe that the true Birmingham Roller is a wonderful bird. I believe that Bill Pensom loved this hobby and wanted to enlighten individuals of the qualities of the individual bird. Currently, I am an Engineer for a large Aerospace corporation and teach at the local university twice a week in the evening college program. I have been in the hobby for over 38 years now and have had the pleasure of knowing many great roller men and I have gained a tremendous amount of knowledge from Ralph Hilton, George Gulla, Danny McKenzie, Bill Patrick, Mr. Metcalf, Frank Lavin, Arnold Jackson, Bob Scott, Bill Yurga, Bruce Cooper, Elwood Daniels Sr., Carl Dorton and many more. During my youth I would call Bill Yurga and Ralph Hilton daily and they all seemed to have patience with me and I appreciate it. Bill Yurga’s birds were from Dr. Nordland (fireballs) and Ralph Hilton’s birds were from Bill Pensom so I received both perspectives.
My family of rollers came from Bruce Cooper and I enjoy them. My breeding is all done in individual breeding pens and I have done this for decades. I am currently, 2006, one of two judge’s in California for the National Performing Roller Association and member of the Spinning Birmingham Roller Club. Both clubs are individual performing bird clubs and birds are judged based on velocity, depth and style. We are seeking quality spinners and understand the difference between rolling and spinning. I have won the money fly a couple of times with some real good spinners in the SBRC. The old timers of the Black Country would fly individual birds against each other to see who had the fastest spinners as to Lewis Wright’s description.
Yours in Sport
LaRon Doucet