Combat Sports Historian and Martial Artist
On September 15, 1887, a muscular man stood in the First District Police Court listening to Judge Cady. As he looked out between eyes almost swollen shut and a busted lip, he waited to see if justice would be done. It was as Judge Cady told the beaten man, “$10 fine for disturbing the peace. $100 for resisting arrest. You
On November 30, 1910, reports came from England that former World Heavyweight Prizefighting Champion Jem Mace had died at 79 years of age. Mace was world champion from 1860 to 1862 and again from 1866 to 1876. After reportedly earning a million dollars in a career that spanned 1857 to 1909, Jem Mace died penniless. He was laid to rest
On September 15, 1919, St. Louis citizens woke up to read about the death of one of their oldest citizens, Alexander Baptiste. Just a few months before his 101st or 102nd birthday depending on which source you believed, Alexander Baptiste passed away from intestinal disease. For years, Alexander was known as one of the fittest St. Louisans. An early advocate
“Terrible” Terry McGovern proved to be a rare fighter at the turn of the Twentieth Century. While smaller boxers packed no power in their punches, McGovern, who scaled between 110 and 126 pounds, possessed tremendous knockout power. “Terrible” Terry often finished his opponents in the first four rounds. On July 1, 1899, Brooklyn based McGovern met Chicago’s Johnny Richie at
On August 26, 1886, Evan “Strangler” Lewis met the British Wrestling Champion Tom Cannon in Cincinnati, Ohio. During the legitimate wrestling era, other wrestlers feared the powerful Lewis because of his stranglehold. Lewis employed a carotid arterial strangle known as the rear naked choke in Judo. At least that was what I originally thought and most historians have quoted. Modern
My grandfather’s first cousin, Julius W. “Joe” Johannpeter, was one of St. Louis’ airplane pioneers. Julius, who was known in the family as “Punks”, joined the Air National Guard in the mid-1920s. He would be commissioned as a Lieutenant. Julius flew planes for both the military and civilian air corps. Most of the men in his unit, which included Charles
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
While a few actors played Charlie Chan before Warner Oland and a few portrayed Inspector Chan after Roland Winters, the main body of Earl Derr Biggers’ Charlie Chan film adaptations occurred between 1931 to 1949. Warner Oland began playing Charlie Chan in The Black Camel (1931). After his death, Sidney Toler started playing the role of Charlie Chan in the
On February 10, 1897, 60-year-old William H. Stewart, a civil engineer, died in St. Louis City Hospital. Stewart passed away from a morphine overdose. St. Louis Police originally thought it was a case of suicide or accidental overdose. Stewart lived with his son-in-law F.C. Bennett at 2634 Dickson Street. Mr. Bennett categorically denied Mr. Stewart used drugs of any kind.
Estonia gave birth to three of the greatest wrestlers of the first two decades of the 20th Century: Georg Lurich, George Hackenschmidt and Aleksander “Alex” Aberg. As part of the Russian Empire at the time, Estonia contained a number of elementary and high schools with superior physical education programs. Lurich and Hackenschmidt both started out as weightlifters and transitioned into