By Ezra Lee Kohli, Secretary, Ohio-Penn Racing Pigeon Federation (auacedq@yahoo.com)

John Bianco

51 Years in the Sport

1^st Interstate Section, 2010 Ohio-Penn Federation 400

************

The Interstate Combine in southwestern Pennsylvania is one of the largest racing organizations in the Ohio-Penn Racing Pigeon Federation and is no place for a tender man to win a pigeon race. The combine came into being as the remnants of Pittsburgh pigeon racing continued to reorganize themselves some 17 years ago. Today it is dominated by tough-flying men like Gary Marsh, Angelo Bianco, Jr., Phil Breeman, Mich Himich, Harry Humberger, Stan Piesetzkie and John Bianco. Remember the great running back, Franco Harris, of the Pittsburgh Steelers? If you do, then, you get the idea.

The Pittsburgh Center

I’ve written about Pittsburgh area pigeon racing before. It had 3 strong combines that together could ship 7000 birds to a race (kind of a Gulf Coast Homing Club on steroids). It was a major pigeon racing hub during an exciting time in the life of the sport. The nationally known Peter Barry was Secretary of a feisty Pittsburgh Center that had 650 members. Winning in the Pittsburgh Concourse was tough and they say if you won the top spot once in 5 years, you were pretty darn good, or pretty darn lucky. On Monday mornings, it is reported that the Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph ran nearly a full page of club race results from the previous day’s races. Competition was tough, and men were serious enough about winning to search out the best pigeon blood in the business to get them to the top of the sheet. Much of the same genetics flows in the veins of today’s champions in the leading lofts in the Interstate Combine, and it is coupled with the same intense determination to win.

The Rivalry

Some of the younger men competing then, still race as elders of the sport today; Mule Shed’s Harry Humberger, Mich Himch, and John Bianco to name a few, and for many of them the competitive flame still burns like it did 40 years ago. “I live just to beat Harry Humberger and Mich Himich in our weekly pigeon racing”, said a smiling John Bianco of nearby Greensburg, Pa.

“I care not where I place on the sheet, as long as it is above at least one of my two old friends. Besides, they are usually so good it almost guarantees me that I’ll be near the top of the sheet. I won’t buy any of their birds either, because you can’t beat these two guys with their own stock. They know how to motivate it too well. You could never catch up to them. You have to beat them with better birds from better flyers, if there is such a thing. I keep searching, but it is tough. Right now I am mixing Tony Zatta’s Zeko/King David Houbens and the GHC’s Laszlo Szentendrei birds (Ganus and Barry Yu) with my base family of Calia Janssens. They fly pretty well from 100 to 600 miles.”

That passion has served the competitive, seasoned Bianco well. In 2010, at 27^th overall, he won the Interstate Section of the Ohio-Penn Fed 400 against 1017 birds from 83 lofts. His old friend Mule Shed Humberger was 147^th. The great, hard-hitting Himich was 155^th. In 2011, Bianco pressed the old boys again by placing 32^nd against 1024 birds in the Fed 400, while the two old friendly’s were 34^th and 42^nd.

However, in the 2011 Fed 500, the motivation of the rivalry showed its strength; Himich scored big with a 1^st Overall Federation Win against 1129 birds/92 lofts. Two years earlier, in 2009, the same thing happened. Himich won 1st Overall of the Federation 400, Mule Shed Harry was 48^th, and the hard pressing, long flying Bianco, flew to a disappointing 80^th. So, you can see, this competitive soup has been bubbling and percolating for a long time, and from this we can draw the conclusion that friendly rivalries are good for the sport.

Little All American-Honorable Mention

Bianco is an old time pigeon die-hard who has successfully raced pigeons for 51 years in four different Pittsburgh clubs. There isn’t much that he hasn’t seen, hasn’t tried, or hasn’t had done to him. During that time he was also three times Little All American-Honorable Mention (as awarded by the Racing Pigeon Bulletin), accumulated thirty 1^st Combine Section B trophies, 20 show trophies, and has won 12 Combine Section B Average Speed awards. In 2010 he was 1^st Combine Long Average Speed, and in 2011, 3^rd Combine Long Average Speed.

Today his focus is directed toward the long races of the Ohio-Penn Federation as he gives the younger members an opportunity to have some success in the Interstate short program. “I’m concerned about the sport, and I want others to have some success and some fun along the way, like I did. Success is the only thing that will keep them participating. For five years, I didn’t even race young birds, but I started young bird racing again in 2007, after my wife died, as a means of better preparing my old birds for the Fed’s long distance racing program.”

The Orthodox and Unorthodox

Bianco has a few tricks of his own; some unique and unusual; some probably debatable. “Mate right-handed tail feathered pigeons to left-handed tail feathered pigeons. Pair your birds on February 14^th. Don’t train young birds in heat that exceeds 85 degrees. Don’t vaccinate unless you are forced to by disease outbreaks. Never train after early morning when the distance exceeds 50 miles. Don’t top dress your feed with oils or supplements, especially brewers yeast, for fear of bacteria growth. Fly double widowhood. Give lots of open loft. When it is really hot, with a syringe, squirt water down a bird’s throat before shipping. Place 2 Omega 3 fish oil tablets down a bird’s throat at shipping. Feed light to heavy on Monday and Tuesday using barley, then switch back to regular feeding on Wednesday.” He also suggests, very thoughtfully, that discerning flyers find and read a Racing Pigeon Digest article written by Gene Yoes in November 1992, about Dr. John Kazmierczak’s management and overview of the sport. I read it, and consider it to be one of the best, most concise write-ups I have ever seen about someone that knows how to successfully bring science and art together into a healthy, motivated, little package of feathers. That one article was well worth the $40 subscribers paid for all of their Digest magazines that year, and is a perfect example of why it is important to support the sport’s only national magazine.

Final Thoughts

What we know from our studying, reading and interviewing of so many different flyers is that there are literally hundreds and hundreds of ways to win a single pigeon race. Winning consistently year after year, of course, requires a little more sophistication and regimentation, but what is necessary is a bona fide interest in the game, and the determination to find ways to compensate for your known shortcomings while persistently searching for your unknown shortcomings before they can upend you. There are no recipes, and no one can write out for any underperforming flyer a fail-proof list of instructions that would magically turn him into a pigeon racing magnate. It just can’t be done. There are too many variables. In the meantime, there are guys like John Bianco (724-834-3396) out there that are full of ideas and theories about what makes a pigeon tick. Or, you can check with their primary rivals, like Mich Himich, (724-539-7977) for substantive ideas. These guys just know what is needed to win. They are dedicated pigeon flyers that will always have pigeon racing at the top of their priority list, and that makes them unique and a valuable resource to us all. They are to pigeon racing what Chuck Noll was to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He coached the team from 1969 to 1991, and took the team to four Super Bowls. Imagine what advice he could give to a small football team. Call our friends. Help yourself in the process. These men have the mindset of a professional football coach.

**********

(About the author: Ezra Lee Kohli is Secretary and Publicity Officer for the Ohio-Penn Racing Pigeon Federation. He is a 3 time Overall Winner of the Ohio-Penn Federation 400 and has been 2^nd Overall, a fourth time. He is also a 9 time Section Winner in the Ohio-Penn Federation, has a BS Degree in Poultry Science from the Ohio State University, and owns and operates a 100 year old General Store, and 2 pizza shops in Ohio’s Amish Country with his wife and step-son. Kohli is a certified life-time fanatic of the sport. His articles are dedicated to the memory of the great pigeon racer Steve Schnitkey, of Archbold, Ohio.)