Combat Sports Historian and Martial Artist
On April 13, 1936, Ed “Strangler” Lewis wrestled his final legitimate contest with Lee Wykoff
https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/q2pnhj/Episode_58uqay.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadIn this episode, I will be talking about some
On October 20, 1916, Ad Santel, a noted “hooker” or skilled submission wrestler, met Taro
Who is the greatest legitimate professional wrestler to wrestle in the United States? How do
On July 26, 1854, the bare knuckle champion John Morrissey met occasional bare knuckle fighter William Poole in a no rules street brawl. What followed would be the worst five minutes of John Morrissey’s life. On October 23, 1853, the 22-year-old Morrissey beat Yankee Sullivan for the world bare knuckle championship in a disputed decision. Sullivan actually knocked Morrissey out
Sam Hill, a Seattle businessman, brought Professor Yoshiaki Yamashita to the United States in 1902. Professor Yamashita intended to help spread Dr. Jigoro Kano’s relatively new martial art of Judo. Accompanying Professor Yamashita was his student Mitsuyo Maeda. Maeda would go on to teach Carlos Gracie in Brazil. The Gracies modified the techniques into the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Over
I first read about William Muldoon in a biography of John L. Sullivan, the last bare knuckle heavyweight champion. Sullivan ushered in gloved boxing by refusing to take part in any more bare-knuckle bouts. John L. Sullivan and Jake Kilrain fought the last major bare-knuckle bout in 1889. Odds were against Sullivan, a binge drinker indulging heavily between bouts. He was in terrible
On Thursday night, May 31, 1900, Albert Koenig, a strike sympathizer with a history of mental illness, shot and killed Patrolman Dennis Crane. Patrolman Crane and several other officers responded to the area due to reports of Koenig menacing other citizens. Koenig entered Eas and Sons Saloon at the southwest corner of S. Broadway and Osage Streets. Koenig may have
The 1900 St. Louis Streetcar Strike was a shooting war between the working class and the upper class. It started as a job action by streetcar workers of the newly consolidated streetcar lines. However, it quickly divided the city with the working class supporting the strike while the upper and professional classes defied the strike. The result was a deadly
When I was growing up, I often heard Grandma Ellis, Alvina M. Mosblech Ellis, talk about her two lost sisters. She lost her oldest sister Margaret and her little sister Loretta before her 40th birthday. Margaret B. Mosblech was the first of fourteen children born to Eduard and Magdalena Mosblech. Great Aunt Margaret was born on June 10, 1908. As
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) released After The Thin Man (1936), the sequel to the popular Thin Man (1934), on Christmas Day 1936. The film is one of 14 films William Powell and Myrna Loy made together. Powell and Loy play Dashiell Hammet’s characters Nick and Nora Charles respectively. Nick Charles formerly worked as a private detective before marrying the wealthy heiress Nora.
Jack Johnson has always been a tough subject for me. I admire his courage and strength in confronting hatred and bigotry in a time when doing so put his life in danger. He refused to conform and accept a position of inferiority to white Americans. Yet, like many human beings he was a flawed man. He beat his first wife
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. On March 21, 1891, the most serious contender for the inactive John L. Sullivan’s world championship broke the color line to
Sam McVey, who was considered the Idol of Paris, during his boxing career from 1902 to 1921, is largely forgotten today. One of the greatest black heavyweights of his time, he was frozen out of fighting for the world title even after Jack Johnson defeated Tommy Burns in 1908. McVey lost to Jack Johnson three times early in his career