General William Tecumseh Sherman of Civil War fame had deep roots in St. Louis stretching back to 1843. As a soldier, he was assigned to Jefferson Barracks. He was also involved in St. Louis businesses as he was the St. Louis Street Railroad Company President until he left St. Louis for the Civil War […]
On Tuesday, January 19, 1909, Dr. Benjamin Roller, a Seattle physician and pro wrestler who was good enough to win the American Heavyweight Championship, inexplicably decided to try his hand at professional boxing. His opponent was friend and sparring partner, “Denver” Ed Martin, who would win the Colored World Heavyweight Boxing Championship. […]
In 1934, Warren William took over the role of Philo Vance from William Powell in The Dragon Murder Case (1934). S.S. Van Dine, whose real name was Willard Huntington Wright, wrote 12 crime novels in the 1920s and 1930s focused on his character Philo Vance. Vance was an urbane private detective, who assisted […]
Frank Gotch, the farm boy from Humboldt, Iowa, would defeat George Hackenschmidt for the World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship in 1908. This victory and his subsequent defeat of “Hack” in the 1911 rematch cemented Gotch’s place as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Gotch was a very talented wrestler but he […]
Prior to Thanksgiving last year, I wrote a St. Louis history post about 151 couple who broke the one day marriage license record in 1904. 1904 was the year St. Louis hosted the World’s Fair. What I did not realize until a few weeks ago was that my great grand-uncle, Frank O. Mosblech, was […]
This guest post is from Ryan Marks, Founder and Director of Focusing on the Mark Ministries. Ryan is a young man with a heart for God. He focuses his ministry on spreading the Gospel and mentoring other young men. You can find Ryan at his website, Focusing on the Mark Ministries. I see a […]
The few people who know about the prizefighter Paddy Ryan probably know him as John L. Sullivan’s victim. Sullivan beat Ryan for the Heavyweight Prizefighting Championship in 1882. Ryan though was a good fighter in his own right. Paddy Ryan was born on March 15, 1851 in Ireland. His family emigrated to Troy, […]
The Canary Murder Case (1929) was originally shot as a silent film. However, the Paramount Studio executive thought it would be better as a talking picture. The studio delayed the release until they could add sound to the film. The addition of sound was not without its challenges. Unfortunately, one of the main […]
Martin “Farmer” Burns is more famous today as the trainer of legendary wrestler Frank Gotch. “Farmer” Burns was a great wrestler in his own right. Burns was considered the American Heavyweight Wrestling Champion despite being only 165 pounds. In 1891, Burns as the Iowa Heavyweight Champion took on J.C. Comstock, the Michigan Heavyweight Champion. […]
William T.”Willie” Egan took over “Egan’s Rats” on the death of his older brother Tom in 1919. Thomas “Snake” Kinney and his childhood friend and brother-in-law Tom Egan formed St. Louis’ criminal organization in the late 1800s. Both Kinney and Tom Egan were saloon keepers and Democratic politicians. They employed “the Rats” for political […]