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
One of the things that always impressed me about the Gracies is how they were able to turn out generation after generation of top-notch instructors. After reading a number of articles about their original belt system, etc., I started to adapt some of their methods with our own students. Once the student reaches Green Belt, we allow them to start
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,
My great grandfather Parker was the victim of one of the largest natural disasters to hit Cape Girardeau, MO, the 1949 tornado. It hit the city on Saturday, May 21, 1949 at 06:54 p.m. By 7:00 p.m., Parker Zimmerman was dead at 74 years of age. I always found my great grandfather interesting because he led such a varied life
While watching the Facebook Prelims for UFC 161, I observed a trend that happens often in mixed martial arts competition. One of the competitors would get a dominant position but would sacrifice it to chase a submission. He caught the other competitor in close to ten submissions but the other man escaped all ten and one a close split decision.
A number of the old Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes movies have recently become available on DVDs and streaming. The Universal series, is well done for a “B” film series. This film would have warmed the audience up for the main feature like Double Indemnity (1944). In the The Scarlet Claw (1944), Sherlock Holmes, played by Rathbone, is in Quebec,
William Dillon was responding to reports about the murder of Officer McKenna by the Lewis Brothers. Dillon believed that the Lewis Brothers, who were auto and wire thieves, were responsible for McKenna’s death. Dillon proceeded to the DeMorris home at 4232 Athlone Avenue. He observed two of the Lewis brothers enter the garage in the Ford. Dillon entered the garage
Before Friday, April 7, 1916, was over, the Lewis brothers would kill two St. Louis Police Officers, John McKenna and William Dillon. McKenna was the first to fall, when he interrupted the brothers attempts to steal wire, a valuable commodity during World War I. The brothers would kill Dillon, while he investigated McKenna’s murder. The St. Louis Police Department assigned
The deadliest incident in St. Louis Police history was not a shootout, natural disaster, or act of terrorism. The deadliest incident in St. Louis Police history occurred on the night of Monday, September 3, 1900. Electricity was the assailant as a power line with 3300 volts of electricity fell onto the telephone lines, at Eight Street and Carr Avenue. The
My stepfather, Ernest C. Diaz, was born in St. Louis, MO on Saturday, May 21, 1932. It was the same day Amelia Earhart became the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean in an airplane. Dad was the youngest of five children born to Joseph (Josef) Diaz and Marie Moellenberg Diaz. Dad said the family did not have a lot
Sometimes when you are researching the family history, you get an unpleasant shock. I was researching my stepdad Ernest C. Diaz’s family history in the Library of Congress database. Dad did not know much about the Moellenburgs, so I have been trying to find more information on them. While the discovery was significant, it was also a bit depressing. Dad’s