George Baptiste’s Heartbreak

george-baptiste

During February 1901, St. Louis professional wrestler and local businessman George Baptiste reluctantly filed for divorce from his wife, Nellie May Baptiste, alleging desertion.  It was actually the second time, Baptiste filed for divorce from Mrs. Baptiste. During the summer of 1896, Baptiste was vacationing in Millford, Connecticut.  The 31-year-old was a powerful swimmer and all-around athlete in addition to

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Terrible Terry Wins Bantam Title

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“Terrible” Terry McGovern earned a reputation as one of the most powerful punchers in the history of the lighter divisions of professional boxing.  McGovern weighed between 112 and 126 pounds.  Unlike his fellow smaller fighters, who overwhelmed their opponents with punching volume, McGovern possessed exceptional knockout power. McGovern proved his power on Tuesday, September 12, 1899, when he fought British

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Hack and Zbyszko Battle to Draw

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At the beginning of 1911, the wrestling public considered three men to be the greatest challenge to reigning World Champion Frank Gotch.  Former champion George Hackenschmidt, Stanislaus Zbyszko and “The Terrible Turk” Yussif Mahmout wanted the chance to beat Gotch. Gotch, who was nobody’s fool, decided to take some of the starch out of his challengers by matching them up

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Sullivan Beats Paddy Ryan

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On February 7, 1882, John L. Sullivan fought Paddy Ryan for a title, which was certainly the American Heavyweight Prizefighting Championship but probably not the World Title it was billed as.  In 1880, Paddy Ryan won the title in his first and only prize fight before facing the ferocious power puncher Sullivan. The men met in Mississippi City, Mississippi around

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Masked Marvel To The Rescue

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Samuel Rachmann promoted the International Wrestling Tournament in New York during 1915.  Rachmann invited wrestlers from around the world to the tournament but his real intention was to establish European Greco-Roman Wrestling Champion Alex Aberg as the successor to the retired Frank Gotch as World Champion. Rachmann’s plan for establishing Aberg was going as planned after the tournament kicked off

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Jack Johnson and The Fight of the Century

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After Jack Johnson became champion, a lack of strong contenders caused public pressure to mount on James J. Jeffires, the retired former heavyweight champion, to end his retirement and fight Johnson.  Jeffries was considered the first and most credible of the “White Hope” contenders. In his prime, Jeffries probably couldn’t beat Johnson.  At 35 years of age and nearly 300

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Ira Cooper Unravels Money Order Theft

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On February 22, 1924, unknown suspects took $20,000.00 in American Express Company money orders from the Mercantile Trust Company in Downtown St. Louis.  Initially, the American Bankers Association hired private detectives.  After the detectives were unable to discover any serious leads, the association turned the case over to the St. Louis Police Department. When the bank association turned over the

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Jeanette Gets Revenge on McVey

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On April 17, 1909, African-American heavyweight boxer Joe Jeanette met World Colored Heavyweight Boxing Champion Sam McVey for the title in a fight to the finish.  Before the classic bout was complete, the men would box for 49 rounds over 3 hours and 30 minutes. From February 5, 1903, when he beat “Denver” Ed Martin to December 26, 1908, when

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