Showing results by author "Ken Zimmerman Jr." in All Categories

The Matches Which Built and Crippled an Industry Frank Gotch turned pro wrestling from a fringe spectacle to one of the most popular spectator sports. Still, it took Gotch three years to lure undefeated World Champion George Hackenschmidt to the United States for a title defense. The result was two controversial but legitimate wrestling matches, whose effects were felt for the next two decades. Read the true story of this series of matches.

What can a popular Third Party candidate accomplish in an American presidential election? One of the most popular presidents in US history. His handpicked successor. And the Ivy League President. 1912 represented the first real threat from a third party to the dominant two-party system. Learn how the election affected presidentail politics for the next one hundred years.

The Daring Robbers Who Took on the Most Powerful Detective Agency in the World Two daring young burglars. The most powerful detective agency in the world. A nationwide manhunt. When two young men blew up the bank vault on Christmas night, they set off a series of events in the small town leading to the murder of a Pinkerton agent. Was killing the Pinkerton detective a fatal mistake?

Could the Masked Marvel save the 1915 International Wrestling Tournament? In December 1915, a muscular masked man sat in the front row of the Manhattan Opera House. After a successful spring tournament, Sam Rachmann desperately needed to save his tournament. Would the masked stranger be the answer? Read the true story of the first masked wrestler in the United States

Lewis, Burns, Jenkins and Gotch, Legendary Wrestlers of the Legitimate Era In January 1881, Edwin Bibby defeated Duncan C. Ross to establish the first American based catch wrestling title, the American Heavyweight Wrestling Championship. For the next thirty-two years, the best wrestlers in American competed for the prestigious title. Learn the true history of the first catch wrestling championship in the United States.

Fighting Crime in the Largest City West of the Mississippi Famous robbers. A Trunk Murder. The deadliest incident in St. Louis Police history. This book covers some of the most significant crimes affecting the city from 1860 to 1909, when it was the largest city west of the Mississippi River. These true stories are stranger than fiction.

The Double Cross Which Brought Down the Most Powerful Organization in Professional Wrestling Between 1923 and 1928, World Champion Ed "Strangler" Lewis, manager Billy Sandow and promotional genius Joseph "Toots" Mondt dominated pro wrestling. Their promotional practices resulted in Ed "Strangler" Lewis earning more money than any professional athlete in the 1920s including Babe Ruth and Jack Dempsey. Riding a high tide of full houses and big gates, poor decisions based on greed led to trouble for both the Trio and professional wrestling. Learn How a 45-Year-Old Changed the Fortunes of ...

The Events at 2912 Washington Avenue Shows the Evolution of a Neighborhood In the 19th Century, affluent families including a future mayor living in the area around 2912 Washington Avenue. By the time Albert Whitefield murdered Arthur Huddleston, absentee owners converted most of the mansions to rooming houses. How did the area transition from wealth to poverty to stores to a vacant lot?

Revised and Expanded - 4 unsolved murders. 8 officers. The deadliest year for St. Louis Police. Read about the murders that shook a city. Never again would assaults and accidents claim so many officers.

St. Louis' Bloody Labor Dispute On Saturday, May 5, 1900 at 11:30 p.m., the bombing of the Suburban Line at the Wabash and Sarah Street railroad crossing marked the beginning of the St. Louis Street Car Strike of 1900. Before the strike was over, the streets of St. Louis were a battle ground between rich and poor. Read the graphic details about this explosive time.

World Prizefighting Champion and Tammany Hall Enforcer On July 26, 1854, World Prizefighting Champion John Morrissey challenged part-time prize-fighter and New York Whig enforcer William "Bill the Butcher" Poole to a street fight. The bad blood between Morrissey and Poole culiminated in Stanwix Hall on February 25, 1855. The outcome led to three trials and a twenty-year campaign to rebuild a reputation.

The Deadliest Twenty Year Period for the St. Louis Police Bank Robberies. Prohibition. Civil War Within Egan's Rats. This book focuses on the St. Louis during the 1910s and 1920s, two of the most dangerous decades in the city's history. This book chronicles some of the most significant crimes affecting the city during this time. Eye-opening crimes from a hundred years ago.

The Deadliest Shootout in St. Louis Police History A daring train robbery. Desperate criminals. The 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. These events collided to create the deadliest shootout in St. Louis Police History. Read this detailed true crime account with more chilling events than anything imagined in crime fiction. The Shootout That Shook a City to It's Core

The One Man John L. Sullivan Feared New York City detective William Muldoon reigned as undefeated World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion for 9 years before embarking on a career as America's first celebrity trainer. Initially training prizefighters like John L. Sullivan, Muldoon trained athletes, businessmen and politicians at the first health resort in America. Read about the Solid Man vanquishing his foes in the ring and meeting challenges outside of it. Read the exploits of the first recognized American World Champion

The legitimate professional wrestler who despised working matches. John "The Nebraska Tigerman" Pesek was born twenty years too late. A legitimate wrestler who debuted as the sport transitioned to working matches. Pesek was made for the late 19th Century wrestling ring. Promoters were wary of Pesek but only too happy to use his legitmate skills to end promotional wars and to double-cross adversaries. Learn the true story of one of professional wrestling's last great legitimate wrestlers.

The first Japanese pro wrestler in the United States In late 1883, Kojiro Matsuda, a former Sumo wrestler named Torakichi, traveled to the United States to learn professional wrestling. Matsuda also won strong man competitions and could have been a professional strongman. Learn the true history of this groundbreaking wrestler.

The One Opponent Frank Gotch Feared Wrestling fans believed no living man could defeat World Champion Frank Gotch. To stimulate fan interest, Gotch’s manager lured Stanislaus Zbyszko, a European Greco-Roman wrestling champion, to America for a match with Gotch. The pairing produced one of the most controversial falls in Gotch’s lengthy career. The controversy dogged both men for the next four years. Why Did Gotch Duck the Challenge of Stanislaus Zbyszko?

The Story of St. Louis's First African American Detective Andrew J. Gordon, made an exemplary record of over 900 arrests during his five year career. Yet, the St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners fired him in November 1905. This book is the story of Gordon's outstanding career and the political forces that ended it prematurely.

Who captured members of the Wild Bunch? Solved a nationally known 1893 train robbery? Who helped capture H.H. Holmes, America's first serial killer? Chief William Desmond commanded the largest detective force west of the Mississippi River. The St. Louis Chief of Detectives from 1890 to 1907 personally solved hundreds of crimes and protected fair goers during St. Louis' 1904 World's Fair. Learn the true story of one of America's greatest detectives.

The early years of one of the top legitimate professional wrestlers of all-time Myths and tall tales obscure the true history of Ed "Strangler" Lewis' early years in professional wrestling. How many legitimate matches did Lewis wrestle prior to 1916? How did he really meet Billy Sandow? Why did he change his name to Ed "Strangler" Lewis? Learn the true history of Lewis' first five years in professional wrestling.