Combat Sports Historian and Martial Artist
St. Louis Chief of Detectives William Desmond would be primarily responsible for the security of the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. Prior to the fair opening in April 1904, Desmond played a critical role in St. Louis’ boodling investigation. During his boodling investigation, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Joseph “Holy Joe” Folk indicted City Councilman Charles Kratz for taking bribes or
In this post, which was previously a podcast, we will discuss the epic sixty-one round draw between James J. Corbett and Peter Jackson in 1891. This bout prepared Corbett for his successful challenge of John L. Sullivan in 1892. Main Content – On March 21, 1891, the most serious contender for the inactive John L. Sullivan’s world championship broke the color
Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942) is the first of twelve Sherlock Holmes films made by Universal Pictures. Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce reprise their roles as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson respectively. Universal set the series in the 1940s despite the fact that the literary Sherlock Holmes was 60 years old in 1914. In a good deal
On September 21, 1897, Joseph Bloomfield Jackson attempted to sneak into the White House armed with a loaded revolver. Jackson had boasted of plans to attack a high government official for days. Jackson was arrested before he could carry out his plans to attack President McKinley. Police quickly realized Jackson was mentally disturbed. They sent him to a Washington asylum
On April 27, 2015, I had the honor of promoting my sons to Black Ranks in our system of self-defense. I promoted my oldest son Kenneth to 2nd Degree Black Rank. Kenneth was the first student I promoted to Black Rank on April 27, 2013. Over the past year and a half, Kenneth and I have been working on a
Once you reach the rank of black belt, you will find it difficult if not impossible to workout in class. Unless you have lots of black belts, who can take turns rotating, you will spend most of your time teaching. The window of training in class also closes the longer that you are a black belt. How do you continue
In the late 1990s, my grandfather, Gilbert Ellis, was living with my Aunt Maureen and Uncle Dale. They had decided to have a large garage/shed installed, so Grandpa and my uncle would have a workshop. They had the shed assembled and engaged a local electrical company to run electricity to the workshop. Uncle Dale had to run some errands on
The Trap (1946) is the last Charlie Chan film starring Sidney Toler as Inspector Chan. The eleventh of eleven Charlie Chan films that Toler made for Monogram Pictures, it marks the return of Victor Sen Yung as “No. 2 Son Jimmy”. Toler was deathly ill during the filming, so Jimmy and Birmingham Brown, played by Mantan Moreland, handle most of
In 1904, St. Louis hosted the Louisiana Purchase Exhibition better known as the 1904 St. Louis’ Worlds Fair. While the Fair brought lots of tourists to town, criminals also made their way to the Gateway City. The man tasked with taking care of the security at the Fair and dealing with the increased criminal element in town was St. Louis’
On September 9, 1893, Frisco line brakeman James Pennock boarded the Frisco Line at Tower Grove in St. Louis. At the Cheltenham stop, Frisco brakeman Sam Robertson and former brakeman Muncie Ray also boarded. The men boarded the train with the intent of robbing the train at Sandy Cut, two miles east of Pacific, MO. When the train got close