About Al Grossman
Al Grossman was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, specifically in South Shore where he graduated from South Shore High school as a two letterman in Track and Basketball
Through the years of growing up there were always dogs in the house. First there was a Lhasa Apso then a German Shepherd and last a Boston Terrier.
Al went to the University of Illinois for his BS degree and then on to Northwestern for graduate work. He continued on to the University of Georgia for his Masters degree. After graduation he was appointed to the faculty as an Assistant Professor. While he was in graduate school Al bought a buff Cocker Spaniel to keep his wife Marjorie company. They entered the Cocker in a local sanction match and the puppy went fifth in a class of five. This placement only served to whet their appetites. They decided they could do better... and they did. Much better. Twenty-five Cocker Champions and two Lakeland Terrier champions in only 25 litters over a 25-year period. Al continued with his education at the University of Washington where he earned his doctorate and became a licensed Clinical Psychologist.
He became the publisher of Doral Publishing, a publisher of high quality dog books, among them Pat Craige Trotter's BORN TO WIN, Ric Beauchamp's SOLVING THE MYSTERIES OF BREED TYPE, and the latest edition of Rachel Page Elliott's DOGSTEPS.
Al is also a award winning author in his own right, He has written the following books: THE GREAT AMERICAN DOG SHOW GAME, THE STANDARD BOOK OF DOG BREEDING, WINNING WITH PURE BRED DOGS with Beverly Grossman, BREEDING BETTER COCKER SPANIELS, and THE AMERICAN COCKER SPANIEL. With Robert Howe he also penned DATA PROCESSING FOR EDUCATORS, a book widely used in Community Colleges across the country. He also writes a syndicated column under the "From The Skeptic Tank" heading for 29 American magazines and for the RingLeader magazine in Australia. His books and articles have been translated into five different languages. He has won the Dog Writers Association of America award for Best Article in a Breed magazine and most of his books have been nominated as Best in their Category by DWAA.
Al and his late wife Marjorie bred under the Hi-Boots prefix. They bred Cocker Spaniels and campaigned them on a National level. When Marjorie became ill they "played" with Lakeland Terriers breeding two champions in their only litter. Their bitch Ch Jonnie's Julie of Hi-Boots was the top winning bitch in the breed the year she was campaigned as a Special by Joe Waterman.
For the past 33 years Al has been married to Doris. He and Marjorie had one son; Gary who is now Worldwide PR Manager for Techtronix, Inc. Gary resides in a Portland suburb. Doris has two boys, Ken the eldest is a partner in a major law firm in Sacramento, California while Bob is the Manager of the Sunriver Observatory in Bend, Oregon. All three boys graduated from the University of California.
Ray McGinnis handled the Grossman's Cocker Spaniels. One of their most important dogs was Ch. Hi-Boots Such Brass (Digger), a Black and Tan Cocker who was in the top ten Sporting dogs in the two years he was campaigned. They retired him when he won his 100th Best of Variety. He sired 37 champions.
Al started judging dogs in 1973. He is approved for all Sporting breeds, Junior Showmanship and Best in Show. He has been fortunate to have judged in fourteen foreign countries, many of them on numerous occasions. They range from New Zealand to Russia. Among the noted foreign shows he has judged are the World Show in Amsterdam and the Paris International. He has also judged many of the major shows in the U.S.
He is a life member of the American Spaniel Club, having served as President for four terms and on the Board of Directors for three years. He has judged the Spaniel Club on six occasions and he was also President of the U.S. Lakeland Terrier Association for two years.