I used to own a bitch named
Nowell's Creeper, who was down from the Otis dog Frosty speaks of. She was given to me by Conan, but after awhile I gave her away myself, because she was thin-boned and very shy.
Never did anything with her, so I can't comment on her quality ultimately. There are a lot of supposed Champions in her ancestry, and I have no way to know if this is true (or at "what level" these supposed Champions competed at).
One thing I pride myself on, however, is the ability to SEE the athleticism, etc. in a dog, just by the way it moves. It was my opinion that Creeper, in addition to being shy, was a gangly and not very athletic animal. Also, her skin and bones were very thin, and she simply did not have the rugged durability that my dogs had.
In addition to extreme gameness, another reason my dogs are able to repeatedly and consistently go and ultimately win in 1.5 to 3 hour-long fights is because they are TOUGH (thick bones, thick hide). At the top of the food chain, you need extreme athleticism, supported by thick bones, and protected by a thick hide ... all driven by extreme gameness ... if you expect to win a long, drawn out fight. After observing the shy, gangly, thin-boned, thin-skinned Creeper for a few months, I just made the decision to give her away ... as there was no way in hell she belonged next to my other bulldogs.
Unfair decision? Premature?
Possibly.
But I have have been able to keep the same family of dogs in the winner's circle, for more than 2 decades, because I know an athlete when I see one ... right away when they're young ... and I didn't see what I like to see in that particular animal.
Jack