Tom Allen Fights Bill Davis

tom-allen-prizefighter

In the 19th century, most states banned bare-knuckled prizefighting and professional gloved boxing. Police often arrested fighter, managers, and promoters to stop prizefighting. A unique aspect of geography turned St. Louis into an ideal fight venue to get around the authorities’s activity to stop professional prizefighting. In the Mississippi River between Missouri and Illinois, the river’s current created a handful

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Pretty Boy Floyd’s St. Louis Robbery

pretty-boy-floyd-mugshot

In 1934, Charles Arthur “Pretty Boy” Floyd ended his criminal career in an East Liverpool, Ohio corn field after a shoot out with FBI agents and local law enforcement officers.  However, in December 1925, he was inmate number 29078 at the Missouri Penitentiary.  The 21-year-old Floyd had just been convicted of robbing the Kroeger Grocery and Baking Company main office

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Appointment with Danger (1950)

alan-ladd

I’m continuing with watching some old Alan Ladd movies that I first saw thirty years ago on American Movie Classics (AMC), when they showed classic movies. I recently watched Appointment with Danger (1950), which was as entertaining as I remembered it. Paramount Pictures released Appointment with Danger (affiliate link) in London in 1950 but didn’t release it in the United

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Baptiste and Wasem Handle Parker

george-baptiste

In late 1902, Harvey Parker, a professional wrestler who began wrestling in 1900, travelled to St. Louis to challenge the local wrestling community.  Parker may have thought St. Louis to be an easier town than “Farmer” Burns territory in Chicago and Iowa.  However, Parker would discover two capable wrestler in St. Louis, George Baptiste and Oscar Wasem. By 1902, George

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