Combat Sports Historian and Martial Artist
Growing up I heard lots of stories about my Great Grandmother Caroline “Lee” Ellis from my mother. She spent lots of time with her grandmother who lived in St. Louis. Grandpa Ellis moved to Illinois a couple of times during the 1940s and 1950s. Mom would come back to St. Louis frequently to see Great Grandma Ellis. Grandma and Grandpa
Frank Gotch was famous for defeating George Hackenschmidt, the world champion wrestler and weightlifter in 1908 and the 1911 rematch. Gotch held the title for five years and defeated all comers. At the relatively young age of 35, Gotch decided to retire. For his last match, he would take on another famous European wrestler and weightlifter, George Lurich. George Lurich
On November 13, 1930, Roland V. West released The Bat Whispers (1930), the talkie version of his silent classic, The Bat (1926). The film follows faithfully the script of the original. However, West is able to experiment with film techniques like tracking shots, still a novelty in early sound cinema. Editing still dominated as the continuity and story moving technique.
Around 10 am on Thursday, April 10, 1919, five heavily armed men burst into the Baden Bank. The bandits confronted M.W. Muntzel, the cashier, and demanded access to the vault. They rounded up the four other employees as Muntzel led the group to the vault. The robbers wore colored bandanas to obscure their features. While two of the five men
On Friday, May 12, 1905, World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion George Hackenschmidt toured the United States after defeating reigning American Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Tom Jenkins. One of Hackenschmidt’s stops was the “Gateway to the West”, St. Louis, Missouri. Hackenschmidt agreed to throw three wrestlers in under 90 minutes. He accomplished this feat in less than 19 minutes after the third wrestler
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