Of Irish decent from the county of Cork, the surname of Mullins is an anglicized form of the Gaelic Sept name O’Maolain. Immigrating to America in 1847, Patty Mullins and his wife Margret traveled on board the sailing ship the "Garrick". They carried with them their name, their dreams and their heritage. The Mullins family motto: "Vivere Sat Vincere", meaning "To Conquer is to Live Enough".
    Born in the mountains of eastern Kentucky on January the 18th, 1954, Ed Mullins spent his early life playing in the coal miner camps of Kentucky and on the rural farms that surrounded the area. Some of the fondest memories of his childhood was playing and wrestling with his best friend "Buck", one of his grandfathers old bulldogs.

    As a young lad he was notorious for ‘slipping off’. However, more often than not, his grandmother knew just where to find him. She would walk to the old dog lot and peeking inside the large framed dog houses, he could be found sound asleep with old "Buck" lying by his side keeping watch. Either there, or he would be with a gang of pups that had played themselves to slumber.

    His Grandfather passed away when he was very young. Economics of the time force a move to a more suburban life with his grandmother and a dog was out of the question. Time passed, as it always does, childhood memories fade and childhood friendships are left behind.

    Ed Mullins spent six and a half years in The United States Marine Corps. His tour of duty literally took him around the world. It was during this time that he was re-introduced to the American ‘Pit’ Bull Terrier. A good friend, A.T. Watson, owned a female named Bailey’s "Rose" also known as Watson’s "Rose"" or "Rosie". "Rosie" had one bad hind leg, yet you would never see it in her personality. She was one of the most outgoing dogs you could ever find.

    For several weeks Watson had talked about "Rosie" and wanted Mullins to come look at her and a litter of pups she had just whelped. At first he was not interested at all. However, A.T. was quite a persistent fellow. Then one day, Mullins went over to see the pups. He was amazed. As he looked around the yard, he could recognize dogs and realized that these were the very same type dogs as his grandfathers old "Buck". He had not seen this breed in many, many years. He ask Watson the name of the breed and where he got these dogs from. Watson was happy, even excited, to explain to his friend that "Rosie" was a direct daughter of Orday’s "Mauler". He began to flip through pedigrees, old magazines, speak about people like Joe Orday, Pete Sparks. It was far too much to take in all at once. All Ed wanted to do at this point, was see the pups. The very next day he went back and bought one. He bought a young male named "Evil" off of Bailey’s "Rose" and Sorrells’ "Crazy Dugan". A childhood friendship was rekindled and as each day passed the renewed friendship grew stronger.

    These were good years that followed. It was in 1979 that Ed Mullins first met Rachel. By this time "Evil" was older and a very well trained dog. However, all manners, all training, went right out the window when Rachel first patted his head. He fell right in love. ("Evil" liked her too!). Ed knew right away that he was going to have to marry this girl one day. Rachel was not only beautiful, she is very intelligent. She has a magnificent inner strength that Ed admires to this day. He says that she has been his strength more often than not. When times would get hard, money was tight, she always kept him faced in the right direction and provided the encouragement he needed to scratch back into life.

    He remembers times being so hard that she would save the scrap potato peelings, bones and others items, mix them with meal to cook their own dog food and to feed the pups, because they could not afford to buy dog food from a store. She loves the dogs just as much as he does and has always helped him to hold onto his dreams. She has been in involved in every aspect of his life. She has nursed sick puppies, tended the yard, feeding, cleaning, building dog houses, helping females in trouble to whelp their pups. She could in fact condition and handle better than most men, and proved it on more than one occasion. She has always had one very special talent, Ed says that in over twenty years, she has never picked out a bad pup from a litter. It came to a point over the years where many fanciers would even ask Rachel to pick their pup out for them. They would call, not wanting to talk with Ed, but to Rachel. They would tell her about a problem they were having with a keep or with a sick pup. She would always take the time to help if she could. In fact, Ed stated, that there was only one thing that she could not do well, and that was to sell a dog! It is sort of funny in a way, sometimes she would get on to him for having too many dogs at one time. He would go to sell a couple and she would always, without fail, say, "Oh no, not that one. Don’t sell that one". In twenty years she has only sold two dogs herself and Ed has had to buy or trade around to get both of them back!

    Before they moved to Texas, Ed had gotten two more pups from his friend Watson. These pups had been sired by Hargrove’s "Spanky". He remembered Watson making the statement when he picked them up that, "These dogs are pure". He did not pay much mind to the statement at the time, he just knew they would be good dogs being off of "Rosie".

    Rachel had come home that day to find her console television gone, her washer and dryer gone, and there was this two brindled pups sitting in the middle of the living room floor, one golden brindled, the other a black faced mahogany brindled. Ed standing there with a pleased look on his face saying, "Look Honey, see what I got.". She stood there a moment , she looked down at the pups that had ran over to her feet, then she looked around the room. "Ed," she said calmly, "Where is our TV?". It was actually her TV, he did not own one and they were not married yet. He began to explain the trade he had made. She never got upset, simply reached down and picked up the golden brindled female and said, "Hello Girl, you are very pretty." , Thus the female was named, "Girl", Mullins’ "Golden Girl". (Rachel got a new T.V., and many there after!) The other pup was later named "Badger", due to his unique ability to lay flat on his belly and dig under any fence or kennel. It was around this time that the name Legacy Kennels was adopted. Legacy meaning That which is handed down from an ancestor or a predecessor or from the past. Neither Ed or Rachel had ever considered having a "kennel", and really don’t see their yard that way, even today. Their yard is just a family of "good dogs" to be cared for and enjoyed. Passed down to them, and will one day be passed to another.

    It was these two dogs, "Girl" and "Badger", that became the foundation of the Legacy dogs that would follow. While stationed in Texas Ed and Rachel were involved in a tragic Jeep accident, in which he lost part of his right ankle and abruptly ended his Marine Corps Career. It also cost the life of the "Badger" dog. But, that is another story.

    During their time in Texas, while he was recuperating from the accident, Ed became more and more interested in the history of the breed. The words of his friend Watson echoed in his mind. "These dogs are pure!" . "Girl" was pregnant with a litter sired by "Badger" It became a quest for Ed to find out "Just how pure is pure?". He would look at "Girl"s pedigree. There were 64 names on the last line of the pedigree. Did each one of these dogs also have a six generation pedigree? Who were these men whose names were listed on the pedigree? Why did they breed these particular dogs the way they did? What was so important about them? His questions continued, until he had to find the answers. He not only wanted to know about the breed and their correct pedigrees, he wanted to meet the men who owned, bred, and cared for the ancestors of his own "Girl" and "Badger". He says it is a project that he has worked on for close to twenty years now and may continue the rest of his life. Ed Mullins has been referred to many time, over the years past, as "The Historian" .

    In Texas he became aquatinted with men like Kenneth Gordon. Kenneth Gordon was the man who owned Gordon’s "Red Lady". Gordon’s "Red Lady" when bred to Tudor’s "Dibo" produced one of the greatest litters of all time. That litter included Tudor’s Champions’ "Spike" and "Jeff", Crenshaw’s Champion "Buck" as well as Langham’s Champion "Lil". There were only five in the litter, one died, all the rest became Champions. Those were the days. Kenneth Gordon had been friends and partners with Earl Tudor for many, many years. He was with Tudor the first day "Dibo" was ever rolled. Ed Mullins also became friends with B.J. Dickinson, the owner of the old "Tangerine" dog, as well as "Blue Belle" and "Red Sox", found in many great dogs ancestry. His favorite Texan of all was Norman Hooten and the old Champion "Butcher Boy" dog found in "Girl"s pedigree.

    It was just a short drive over to Carlsbad, New Mexico where he visited with Ed Crenshaw of the fame "Reno", and "Sad Sack" and "Polly" and "Leprechaun" dogs. Ed Crenshaw also had the old dog known as "Diablo Rojo" or "Rex". Over the years, Mullins quest for the history of the breed, brought him in contact with, and he became friends with many of the great dogmen of the breed. Howard Heinzl nicknamed him "The Pest". Because each time Ed would find himself stumped, or at a dead end, he could always call Heinzl for the answers. Howard Heinzl may not have always had the answer himself, but he would direct Ed to people who would be "more in the know". Men like Louis Colby.

    Once back in North Carolina, Ed traveled back to Pete Sparks, for he now understood the importance of "the man behind the dog". To get a true education of this breed, sometimes one must travel. Mr. Pete Sparks was the history professor. He also went to spend time with men like Dean Plemmons, Joe Beal and Howard Teal . He would travel to Louisiana to met with Floyd Boudreaux and to South Carolina to met with Fletcher Chavis. These are all men whose names should never be forgotten. Men like William Cable, who had the old "Fang" dog. Of course, one of his closest friends, for many years now, is Lester Hughes, The Mountain Man.

    Over the years, the collections of notes, letters, pedigrees, magazines and photographs continues to mount up. Notebooks became boxes. Boxes became trunks. Trunks became rooms. It was almost natural for him to start writing about his adventures and acquaintances. Many men did not want him to publish anything on them as long as they were alive, so he simple kept all his notes intact. Since 1980, Ed Mullins has had articles printed in every major magazine around the world concerning the American ‘Pit’ Bull Terrier and some of the greatest men who ever stroked ones head or faced them to scratch. His first book, It’s the Pit’s, was a humorous little novel. Again, it was almost natural that his articles would become a book, A Decade with Dogs, published in 1989. Both sold out very quickly. Even though he has promised to reprint them, time is his greatest adversary. In 1989 The Registry was form, a private registry for serious owners and breeders of The American ‘Pit’ Bull Terrier. From that grew The Registrar their members magazine. Both these ventures keeps him busy around the clock. Between researching and typing pedigrees, putting together the magazine, and answering hundreds phone calls, the day never seems to end. But, the reprints are still promised.

    These responsibilities and in addition to taking care of his own yard. The descendants of Champion "Golden Girl" and "Badger". From those humble beginnings, that re-introduction to an old friend, has came such great dogs as "Crazy Joe" and "Yoda", the great "Banchee" and his sister "Shady lady", Champion "Bad Publicity", Champion’s "Black Girl" and Champion "Bee Gee", Mullins’ "Beatle" produced Grand Champion "Ghost" and her brother, Mullins’ "Brawler", whose name was changed with out his permission, to B.C’s "Nate" was the sire to Dolittles’ Champion "Geek". Funky Town’s Champion "Action Jackson" is another great dog that came from the same line, there has been many others over the years.

    Every fancier should look back to remember, and to remember with respect. Respect the men who have come before us and their dogs that proved game. For without them and their dedication to the breed, we would not have had the opportunity ourselves to witness the heart of these true warriors. However, do not take your eyes off of today. The American ‘Pit’ Bull Terrier is one of the greatest animals on earth. Their history is well documented. A fascinating history, both proud and glorious. Yet, do not forget history is being written this day.

    Yes, the years have been good. They continue to be so. As long as there are good friends, good times and better dogs, Ed Mullins plans to be a part of them and The Legacy continues.