Combat Sports Historian and Martial Artist
On November 16, 1877, St. Louis Police Officer John S. White and his partner Officer Heffernan responded to a report of a wanted man tried to pawn stolen merchandise at Wright’s Pawnshop. The man later identified as Frank Rande entered Wright’s Pawnshop at about 9:30 a.m. Wright sent one of his assistants for the police. As Officer White and Heffernan
On Friday, October 14, and Saturday, October 15, 1904, 42 wrestlers in 7 weight classes met in the first Olympic Games contested in the freestyle wrestling method. Prior Olympic Games were contested in the Greco-Roman style of wrestling. The 1904 Summer Olympics was held in conjunction with the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, MO. St. Louis was well-represented in
Kate Chopin, daughter of a prominent French family and at the time local author, collapsed at the St. Louis 1904 World’s Fair on August 20, 1904. Madame Chopin was only 54 years old and suffered a brain hemorrhage or aneurism. She died at her home on McPherson Avenue on August 22, 1904. Kate Chopin was born Kate O’Flaherty in St.
My second great-grandfather John Riley Deweese served as Welch Township Republican Committee Chairman in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri for most of his adult life. Besides holding party caucuses in his home, John Riley served as Road Commissioner in the 1910s. Residents mostly traversed the roads by horse and buggy. One of the mechanisms governments used to collect fees for road
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
On February 22, 1918, former World Bantamweight and Featherweight Boxing Champion “Terrible” Terry McGovern died in New York City’s Kings County Hospital. McGovern checked in a few days earlier with what McGovern thought was a severe upper respiratory infection. However, doctors diagnosed pneumonia. McGovern went from walking and talking to unresponsive in just one or two days. McGovern never recovered.
William Desmond nabbed many thieves during his 17 year career as St. Louis Chief of Detectives. He developed a nationwide reputation as “The Thief Taker”. On Monday, October 15, 1900, Chief Desmond nabbed the pants of a thief but not the thief himself. Jonas Washington entered the yard of Shickle, Harrison and Howard Iron Foundry at 12th and Gratiot Streets
Monogram Pictures released So’s Your Aunt Emma! (1942) on April 17, 1942. Zasu Pitts stars as Aunt Emma Bates. In her youth, Aunt Emma was engaged to up-and-coming professional fighter Jim O’Banion. Her sister didn’t approve of the match, so they sent her on a trip to break up the couple. Aunt Emma regretted it and starts following the career
In the distant past, one of the new holders of a teacher’s certificate in a traditional martial art brought a wheel barrow with round wheels for approval to the head of the style and his top two instructors. Previously, the wheel barrow had square tires and was referred to as a square barrow. The student waited with expectation as the
I have always said the St. Louis Streetcar Strike of 1900 was not the story of the evil streetcar companies exploiting the innocent workers. “The innocent workers” committed many deplorable acts during the streetcar strike. One of their most frequent tactics involved stripping woman in public who rode the streetcars during the strike. Amazingly, their victims were young and attractive