Combat Sports Historian and Martial Artist
The Vampire Bat (1933) is a genre bending film starring Lionel Atwill. Ostensibly, it is a horror film but is actually more of a mystery. It would fall into the “B” movie category, a short film meant to be the appetizer for the main film on a double bill. Majestic Pictures produced the film, which was directed by Frank R.
No one can question that Stanislaus Zbyszko was a great wrestler. He began wrestling when the pro game was still an actual competition. He continued to be successful after the game changed to worked (prearranged) matches. In fact, he participated in a shoot contest, when he legitimately defeated Big Wayne Munn for the title in 1925 by double-crossing his promotoers.
When William Rudolph broke out of the St. Louis Jail on Independence Day 1903, the newspapers called it an act of unprecedented daring. However, twenty-two years earlier, Frank Fone and John D. Shea broke out of the St. Louis Jail the same way. Fone and Shea were local criminals, who frequented the Downtown area. Shea was violent, while Fone was
The Woman in Green (1945) is the ninth of twelve Sherlock Holmes produced by Universal Pictures. Basil Rathbone returns as Holmes in the eleventh of fourteen turns as the English sleuth. The film is one of the few “B” series films, which could have been an “A” film. Sherlock Holmes investigates the murder of several young London women. After they
Alex Aberg defeated many notable foes in the greatest year of his professional wrestling career. In 1915, Aberg competed in both the Spring and Fall versions of the New York International Wrestling Tournament. Competing exclusively in his preferred style of Greco-Roman wrestling, Aberg defeated Dr. Benjamin Roller, Wladek Zbyszko and Ed “Strangler” Lewis along with a number of journeyman wrestlers.
At one point before I bought my own house, I thought home repairs were one of my skills. I helped my grandfather, Gilbert Ellis, make repairs to our house and the flat he lived in. Grandpa Ellis taught me how to replace electrical outlets, washers on sinks and build lots of things with wood. I put together lots of prefabricated
On Christmas Night 1902, two small town, small-time, holdup men blew open the safe of the Union, Missouri Bank. After threatening a few citizens, they made off with over $15,000. The men were relatively safe for a few months until the Pinkerton Detective Agency was called in. The Pinkertons had a nationwide agency, which was the closest thing the United
On March 16, 1945, Universal Pictures released The House of Fear (1945), the eighth of twelve Sherlock Holmes films produced by the studio. Basil Rathbone returned as Holmes for the tenth time. Rathbone played Sherlock Holmes twice for Twentieth Century – Fox before Universal started producing the series. Despite its late entry into the series, the film (affiliate link) stands
I recently read Choque: The Untold Story of Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil, Volume 1 by Roberto Pedreira (Amazon affiliate link), which tells an alternate story of BJJ’s beginnings than we have been told by in various interviews with members of the Gracie Family. “Choque” translates to “shocking” in Brazilian Portuguese. While Pedreira exhaustively researches and cites primary sources, mostly Brazilian newspapers,
Fred Beell wrestled professionally from 1900 to 1919. After developing a legendary reputation due to some of his victories over Martin “Farmer” Burns, Dan McLeod and Frank Gotch, Beell retired as he neared 43 years of age. His post wrestling career would lead to his unexpected death at 57. Fred Beell overcame long odds to become a competent professional wrestler