Martial Artist, Historian and Writer
On Christmas Night 1902, two small town, small-time, holdup men blew open the safe of
Scrooge (1935) is Twickenham Studios version of the Charles Dickens’ classic, A Christmas Carol. Seymour
On April 3, 1908, American Wrestling Champion Frank Gotch met World Wrestling Champion George Hackenschmidt
On Christmas Night 1911, Stanislaus Zbyszko met Giovanni Raicievich in a much-anticipated heavyweight wrestling bout. Zbyszko, who was campaigning for a rematch with World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Frank Gotch, agreed to throw Raicevich 3 times in 90 minutes or be declared the loser. As the men entered the famed Madison Square Garden in New York City, Zbyszko was clearly the
When I first read In The Line of Duty: St. Louis Officers Who Made the Ultimate Sacrifice by Barbara Miksicek, et. al., one of the case that jumped out at me between 1880 and 1930 was the case of Hugh J. McCartney. Officer McCartney had joined the St. Louis Police Department two months before he was shot and killed in
The International Wrestling Tournament occurred in two phases between May 19, 1915 and December 31, 1915. Fifty wrestlers would compete in the first phase of the tournament including World Greco-Roman Champion Aleksander “Alex” Aberg. The second installment had 40 wrestlers including up and coming star Ed “Strangler” Lewis, who joined a month into the tournament on November 22, 1915. The
On October 14, 1932, RKO Pictures released The Phantom of Crestwood (1932), the film end to a radio play of the same year. The film concerns the murder of Jenny Wren or more properly “Who Killed Jenny Wren?” Wren, played by Karen Morley, blackmails several prominent men, who carried on affairs with her in the past. One of the men
Louis G. Robers had just come on duty on Saturday night, May 20, 1916, at 11:00 p.m., when he saw that Joseph Ariotto, a local bar owner, had his vehicle on Daggett Avenue without its lights on. City ordinance at the time required vehicles to have their lights on, when parked on the street. Robers warned Ariotto to turn the
William Muldoon, a former New York City detective, won the World Greco-Roman Wrestling Championship by defeating Thiebaud Bauer. Muldoon reigned for ten years before retiring as champion. After retiring, he began to make a living as a personal trainer. Muldoon trained many wrestlers but really came to prominence after getting a woefully out of shape John L. Sullivan fit for
During the last week of December 1902, William Rudolph, a recently returned miner to Franklin County, and George Collins robbed the Union Bank in Union, MO. They robbed it overnight, when no one was present by blowing up the safe. Rudolph returned to his parents’ cabin in Stanton, MO. He and his accomplice hid out until the Franklin County Sheriff
William Muldoon was the reigning World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion and a noted physical culturist, when he was engaged by John L. Sullivan’s backers to get their fighter in shape. Sullivan was the reigning World Heavyweight Bare Knuckle Prizefighting Champion. He signed an agreement to meet his toughest challenger, Jake Kilrain, in July 1889. Sullivan admitted he was in bad shape,
As patrons sat around the Centerfield Lounge, 3111 North Grand Boulevard in St. Louis on Saturday night, April 14, 1956, they were surprised by a slightly built man walking in through the back door armed with a revolver. His stocky partner wore a mask but was not carrying a visible firearm as they entered the tavern around 11:15 pm. The
The day before Independence Day in 1925, 75 employees of the H.S. Printing Company were watching the clock about 4:00 p.m. as they would soon be getting off work. Suddenly, 6 young men, armed with revolvers, popped into the office on the sixth floor of 1531 Washington Avenue, a 10-story loft building in St. Louis, Missouri. Frank Bird, Maurice O’Flaherty,