My dog's breed (Irish Terrier) has only been AKC since 1968, but the breed is one of the oldest terriers around.
AKC is strange, some breed groups do not want to be AKC, like the Muensterlander.
Oh, I know all about the anti-AKC thing from the Border Collie lovers (my aunt being 1 and having had/bred some 20 of them by now).
BTW, again - if AKC is "just a registry", why do so many breeds want to avoid it like the plague? :D