Combat Sports Historian and Martial Artist
Universal Pictures released the thirteenth of fourteen Sherlock Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes on February 1, 1946. Twentieth Century-Fox produced the first two films. Universal produced the final 12 films. Terror By Night (1946) finds Holmes hired to protect the Star of Rhodesia diamond on a train bound for Scotland. Rodney Carstairs hires Holmes to protect the
Ad Santel entered professional wrestling a generation too late. By the time he started wrestling in the 1910s, professional wrestling transitioned from contests to prearranged exhibitions. Santel possessed strong submission skills, which would have allowed him to beat most of the wrestlers in legitimate wrestling contests. Santel did take part in several legitimate contests with Japanese jujitsu practitioners. He used
On May 20, 1947, Ralph Byrd returned to the Dick Tracy franchise in Dick Tracy’s Dilemma (1947). It was welcome news for fans of the franchise although Chester Gould was a notable exception. Gould created the Tracy character for the comic page of the Detroit Mirror. After the Chicago Tribune picked up the comic for syndication, it’s popularity exploded. Gould
On August 17, 1891, St. Louis Archbishop Peter Richard Kenrick celebrated his 85th birthday and fifty years as head of the St. Louis Catholic Church. In 1841, Kenrick was appointed as Coadjutor Bishop of St. Louis. When St. Louis Bishop Joseph Rosati died in Rome during 1843, Bishop Kenrick was appointed Bishop of the St. Louis Diocese. In 1847, the
In late 1909, Stanislaus Zbyszko traveled to the United States to challenge World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Frank Gotch. Prior to meeting Gotch, Zbyszko toured the United States and battled many local wrestlers throughout the early part of 1910. Zbyszko would travel 37,000 miles. Early in his tour, Zbyszko met Frank Gotch in a handicap match. Zbyszko defeated Gotch, who was
My second great-grandfather August H. Elker was born in Hanover, Germany on May 22, 1848 in the year of revolutions in Europe. Whether related to the revolutions or not, August’s family travelled to America in 1854. After landing in New York City, the Elker family made its way to St. Louis, Missouri. St. Louis had a large German Catholic community, which
Oliver Leonard Kirk has the distinction of being the only Olympic boxer to win a gold medal in two separate weight classes in the same Olympic Games. Oliver Kirk accomplished this feat at his hometown Olympics in 1904. St. Louis hosted the third Olympiad during the 1904 World’s Fair Exposition. Like the Paris Games four years before, St. Louis gave
Arthur Wontner is arguably the best film portrayer of Sherlock Holmes. His fifth and final outing as Holmes in Murder at the Baskervilles (1937). The film was released in the United Kingdom in 1937 but was not released in America until January 15, 1941. Wontner was excellent as usual but Murder at the Baskervilles is the weakest offering in the
On Thursday, January 27, 1904, Tom Jenkins defended his American Wrestling Championship against an up-and-coming wrestler from Iowa. After the first fall, the fans realized it was the toughest match of the c Frank Alvin Gotch, the Humboldt, Iowa farm boy who would defeat Georg Hackenschmidt for the World Heavyweight Championship in 1908, was Jenkins’ challenger. Jenkins had defeated Gotch’s
After several months of wrangling, Clarence Whistler met Duncan C. Ross on Monday, November 7, 1881 in a best three-out-of-five falls match. Two falls were to be conducted in catch-as-catch-can wrestling, which both men were considered adept at. Two falls were to be conducted in collar-and-elbow wrestling, which was a Ross speciality. The final fall would be conducted in Greco-Roman