Combat Sports Historian and Martial Artist
On April 5, 1920, Frederick Charles Smith, also known as “The Red-Headed Bandit”, walked into the Easton-Taylor Trust Company at 4474 Easton Avenue. Smith had a revolver in each hand and demanded money from the cashier. Fearing for his life, the clerk promptly dropped $15,309 in a sack. John Lanigan, the bank’s president, sat in his office off the lobby
George Hackenschmidt (1877-1968) was a world record holding weightlifter and World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion before wrestling was prearranged and lifters were using steroids. Hackenschmidt achieved a level of greatness due to several factors. He achieved a high level of physical fitness. His physical condition allowed him to be the most successful wrestler of his era. A few wrestlers may have been
I previously wrote about an incident in which a Detective Sergeant for the St. Louis Police was shot during a robbery attempt. Unlike a number of other incidents in Gilded Age St. Louis history, Detective Sergeant James Martin King’s home in January 1920 still exists. The home is still in excellent condition. 4973 Lotus Avenue was the home of Sgt. King in
On a cold January night in 1920, the deadliest year for St. Louis Police, kicked off violently. Two not so-bright robbers attempted to rob one of the largest and bravest officers on the St. Louis Police Department. St. Louis Police Detective Sergeant James Martin King was walking to his home at 4973 Lotus Avenue via N. Kingshighway Boulevard, when two
I first heard about Chang Apana in a featurette on one of the Charlie Chan DVD sets. I knew a real life detective inspired Earl Derr Biggers to create Charlie Chan. I did not know who the man was. Chang Apana was that man. Chang Apana (born Ah Ping Chang) on December 26, 1871 on the island of Oahu was
The series of the Charlie Chan films starring Warner Oland were probably the strongest films in the Charlie Chan series. Sidney Toler made several good films also but eventually the series would become low-budget “B” films produced by Monogram Pictures. Charlie Chan’s Secret (1936) was one of the earlier Twentieth-Century Fox films about Charlie Chan. The production values are better
I have spent a lot of time studying different rank systems. The rank system seems to be a modern concept started by Dr. Jigaro Kano, an educator, who wanted a system of grading to separate students. Over the next century, numerous styles adopted the belt rank system but the only commonality was the belt systems meant what the creator decided
On Thursday, June 12, 1919, Earl Hunter and Charles Bergman, a parolee and ex-convict, held up the Meramec Trust Company shortly after it opened at 07:00 a.m. The robbery was not well planned and even more poorly executed. The corner of Virginia Avenue and Meramec Street was one of the busiest street car blocks in the city. The robbers had
Chester Gould created the Dick Tracy comic strip in 1931. Originally published through the Detroit Metro, the strip moved to the Chicago Tribune where it made the paper and Gould rich through syndication. It was only a matter of time before Dick Tracy made his debut on the silver screen. Ralph Byrd played Dick Tracy in four 15 chapter serials
While doing research, I found this picture of the Manassa Mauler training for his July 4th, 1919 title fight with Jess Willard, the World Heavyweight Boxing Champions. Willard had knocked out the great Jack Johnson in 1915 to become champion. Willard was a giant of a man at 6’06” and 235 pounds. He posed a threat to anyone based on size alone. However,