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61 – Purebred PIGEON
B
ob
F
ragoman
Bob Fragoman (New York) well known as a breeder of Muff Tumblers,
passed away September 29. 2022 in his sleep from bone cancer. Bob was a
driving force in the Western Tumbler Club as President in the 1980s and 90s.
He succeeded in his goal of recruiting over 100 club members for the
Centennial Tumbler Show and remained active with his birds to the end. He
also wrote a regular column in the former
APJ
called “Come Along With Us”.
Bob was generous with his birds and opinions and promoted his favorite
breed by traveling long distances to support a show of Tumblers. We commu-
nicated weekly over the years and his friendship will be greatly missed.
— submitted by Barry Wilson
S
addle
M
uffs
By Bob Fragoman
I received my first Saddle Muffs in the 1950s and if I remember cor-
rectly, I bought them from Al Conway, a local young man who at the time
swapped pigeons and anything else with feathers. Locally, they were also
known as American Flying Tumblers. I entered them in the New York State
Fair and by associating with other exhibitors, I learned that there was a
world of other pigeon shows out there.
Next I started to show with the Pigeon Fanciers of Rochester, in Roch-
ester, New York. There I met a couple of gentleman who had several colors
of Saddles and most of their birds were very well marked.
The late Al Grace, from Buffalo, New York loved to fly his Saddles and
hear them clap their wings.
Then I discovered the Louisville Young Bird Show and I eventually
joined the Western Tumbler Club there. I was elected the President of the
W.T.C. and along with Barry Wilson we promoted the Saddle Muff and we
had some very good shows of Saddles.
The last Saddles that I banded were in 2012, when I had to cut back on
my birds. I still had my Modern Muffs and I was taking on a new project.
Something had to go, plus the Saddles were producing some clear eggs. My
The first few paragraphs of one of Bob Fragoman’s
monthly columns for LF Tumblers in the
American Pigeon
Journal,
May/June 1992 issue, page 52. Thirty years ago
but still relevant and great advice!
wife told me that I was breeding them too close.
I never got back into the Saddles due to lack of
room plus health and getting older. It is getting hard-
er to take care of what I have now, but if anything
happened to my Modern Muffs, I would a call my
good friend Barry Wilson for some more Saddles. •