Category: Police Gazette News

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The Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame Trophy

On July 9th, the National Police Gazette was formally inducted into the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame as the first and only publication from the original era. The impact the Police Gazette and its publisher Richard K. Fox had on the sport of boxing as a whole, and bare knuckle boxing in particular, cannot be overstated.

Pictured below is the Gazette‘s BKBHOF trophy, accepted by current publisher Steven Westlake. During his acceptance speech, Westlake said “If Richard K. Fox were here today he would say ‘Is that all?’” Fox was known for his Stephen Colbert/Howard Stern-style faux grandiosity. But even this was in the service of making a sport thought to be the ultimate in low entertainment seem more refined and deserving of high status.

Shown behind the trophy is an original issue of the Police Gazette that describes the results of the famous John L. Sullivan versus Jake Kilrain bare knuckle boxing world championship.

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OFFICIAL BARE KNUCKLE BOXING HEAVYWEIGHT NO-WRAP RANKINGS

Proudly and respectfully announced Wednesday, March 23, 2016, at the Sands Casino in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, by Scott R. Burt, president of the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame; Belfast, New York.

BOBBY GUNN; USA, Hackensack, New Jersey (71-0, 71 KOs)
Holder of National Police Gazette-Authorized WORLD Championship Belt
Lineal holder of the National Police Gazette’s Bare Knuckle Boxing World Championship Belt first awarded to Jake Kilrain in 1887 before being famously won from him in 1889 by The Great John L. Sullivan. Gunn is the third man in history to own it. It is now under complete control and authority of BKBHOF President Scott R. Burt, the only man in the World authorized to name BKB World Champions and issue belts representing such.

Top 10 Ranked WORLD Heavyweight Contenders:

1. Danny Batchelder; USA, Glens Falls, New York (44-0, 44 KOs)

2. Kevin Ferguson AKA Kimbo Slice; Bahamas, Nassau (31-1, 31 KOs)

3. Shannon Ritch; USA, Coolidge, Arizona (25-2, 25 KOs)

4. Dhafir Harris AKA Dada 5000; USA, Miami, Florida (47-0, 47 KOs)

5. Sharif Kemp; USA, Atlanta, Georgia (36-0, 36 KOs)

6. Dan Biddle; USA, Hockessin, Delaware (19-0, 19 KOs)

7. Anthony Caputo; USA, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania (17-0, 17 KOs)

8. Jamie Hearn; UK, Colnbrook, Berkshire (30-0, 30 KOs)

9. David Whittom; Canada, Quebec City, Quebec (10-0, 10 KOs)

10. Michael Ferry; UK, Newcastle upon Tyne (5-0, 4 KOs)

DANNY BATCHELDER; Glens Falls, New York (44-0, 44 KOs)
Holder of National Police Gazette-Authorized AMERICAN Championship belt
Lineal holder of the National Police Gazette’s Bare Knuckle Boxing American Championship title, last held by The Great John L. Sullivan; he won it by defeating Paddy Ryan in 1882 and was given it by the Gazette. Batchelder is the second man in history to own it. This title is now under the complete control and authority of BKBHOF President Scott R. Burt, the only man in the World authorized to name Champions and issue belts representing such.

Top 10 Ranked AMERICAN Heavyweight Contenders:

1. Shannon Ritch; Coolidge, Arizona (25-2, 25 KOs)

2. Dhafir Harris AKA Dada 5000; Miami, Florida (47-0, 47 KOs)

3. Sharif Kemp; Atlanta, Georgia (36-0, 36 KOs)

4. Dan Biddle; Hockessin, Delaware (19-0, 19 KOs)

5. Anthony Caputo; Kennett Square, Pennsylvania (17-0, 17 KOs)

6. Mark Brown; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (14-2, 14 KOs)

7. Nelson Lopez Jr.; Pahokee, Florida (11-2, 11 KOs)

8. Mike Liberto; Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (8-1, 8 KOs)

9. Ricardo Marquez; Phoenix, Arizona (12-3, 12 KOs)

10. Ruben Albino; Ocean City, Maryland (13-4, 13 KOs)

Lists were derived from extensive research based on witness accounts, quality of opponents, individual fight styles, submitted records, and potential for upward movement.

Scott Burt has been endorsed by the late great historian and publisher of The Ring magazine Bert Randolph Sugar. In February of 2016 Scott was also authorized by the iconic National Police Gazette to be the sole acknowledger of World Bare Knuckle Boxing Champions and sole issuer of belts to represent such. Steven Westlake, the current publisher of the National Police Gazette, stated “The task, honor, and responsibility now belongs solely to Scott Burt, President of the BKB Hall of Fame in Belfast, New York. His unselfish dedication to preserving the sport’s amazing history with class and dignity is impressive.”

From 1880 to 1920, the National Police Gazette was the most important boxing journal in the world. The magazine also sanctioned bouts and issued championship belts before there were official boxing associations. The Gazette through its publisher Richard K. Fox sanctioned the last bare-knuckle boxing championships ever to take place until Bobby Gunn won an approved match vs Richard Stewart in 2011 and then was presented with the current world bare-knuckle-boxing championship belt in 2014 by President Burt of the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame. In February 2016, the Police Gazette, through its current publisher Steven Westlake, formally recognized Scott Burt and the Hall of Fame as having the sole authority to issue new bare knuckle championship belts.

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Closing the Squared Circle: The Return of Sanctioned Bare-Knuckle Boxing

“The end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”

T.S. Eliot probably was not referring to bare-knuckle boxing when he wrote those words. But we do seem to find ourselves in that situation today.

Back in 1877, Richard K. Fox took over the National Police Gazette and soon began featuring boxing within the Gazette’s pages. This was prize fighting, by the London Prize Ring Rules. There were no gloves, no wraps, no protection of any sort from the waist up. And it was totally illegal in every jurisdiction within the United States.

Prize fighting had always been illegal in the U.S. But it was popular nonetheless, until the first high-profile tragedy occurred in 1842. In a match in Hastings, New York, Christopher Lilly essentially beat Thomas McCoy to death. And the combination of a law-enforcement crackdown and the public’s shock at the incident put a pall over the sport in this country for a generation.

With the passage of time, however, the public’s taste for bare-knuckle boxing began to return, and then two things happened. Those things were Richard K. Fox and John L. Sullivan.

Fox’s story can be found elsewhere in this website. But in a nutshell, he was the P.T. Barnum of publishing. He refined sensational journalism to a degree never before approached, and which is still the template for it to this day. Conflict was king, and shocking, in-your-face depictions of activities society preferred to sweep under the rug was queen. Bare-knuckle boxing fit this recipe to a T.

John L. Sullivan, like Muhammad Ali 80 years later, had phenomenal ring skills combined with an uncanny feel for promotion and public relations. Did Fox and Sullivan really hate each other as is commonly thought? After all, Fox was Irish Protestant and Sullivan Irish Catholic. But Ali and Howard Cosell were much friendlier than they appeared on camera. Was it a coincidence that Sullivan and Fox’s conflict produced the greatest boxing matches of the late 19th century, bringing Sullivan, the Police Gazette, and boxing in general to heights no one could have imagined? Don’t bet on it.

In 1889, Fox backed the latest of his challengers to try to teach Sullivan a lesson. Jake Kilrain lost that fight, and Sullivan solidified his hold on the bare-knuckle boxing championship of the world, winning the Police Gazette championship belt. It would be the last bout to determine that championship for over 120 years.

After more than 10 years of Fox and Sullivan’s efforts, boxing was on the threshold of mainstream acceptance. But there was one catch: it had to be gloved, Marquess of Queensberry Rules. In 1892, Sullivan fought James Corbett for the first gloved championship to be held completely legally in the light of day. From that point on, professional boxing followed the gloved path and the bare-knuckle variety was left to the back alleys and dark corners.

But after more than 100 years of evidence, who are the gloves really protecting? The punch taker or the punch thrower? There are not enough examples yet to do a conclusive scientific comparison, but are brain injuries really less common in the gloved version than the bare knuckle? Or is it reversed? One way to answer the question might be to ask which sport has more brain injuries, rugby or American football? Both similar sports. One with no protection, the other with massive amounts of protection. But again, what is being protected more? The recipient of the blow or the deliverer who is so cushioned he can deliver with maximum force each time without worry of doing damage to himself.

With that—and other factors and influences—in mind, bare-knuckle boxing has been experiencing a renaissance. Yet it picks up right where it left off in 1889: as illegal as the day is long. This in spite of the fact that safety precautions are now abundant, so a repeat of a Thomas McCoy incident is remote. Bouts are no longer governed by the London Prize Ring Rules, which allowed stand-up grappling, throwing, and no time limits. If a fighter was able to walk to the center of the ring without assistance the fight would go on. Fighters like McCoy had to rely on his seconds to know he’d had enough and to stop the fight, whereas impartial referees have that job today.

How, then, can a new bare-knuckle championship belt be given without condoning illegal activity? The first Americans have the answer! On August 5, 2011, the Yavapai Nation just outside Scottsdale, Arizona, sanctioned a bare-knuckle bout between Bobby Gunn and Richard Stewart under the laws of the Nation. Gunn emerged the victor and claimed the bare-knuckle world championship, a claim made more official when Scott R. Burt of the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame presented Gunn with a championship belt in 2014.

This belt is the first given to a bare-knuckle champion since Richard K. Fox presented his to John L. Sullivan on behalf of the National Police Gazette in 1889. This year, the Police Gazette officially recognizes the authority of Scott Burt’s belt, bringing full circle a sport that has remained in the shadows for 125 years, and giving today’s fans a chance to “know the place for the first time.”

The Police Gazette Heavyweight Champion Belt

Today’s Police Gazette World Champion Belt Presented by the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame

For more information visit the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame at Twitter, Facebook, and the Web.

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Hitler Highlights and Fun Facts from Police Gazette Book Hitler Is Alive!

Only in the Police Gazette!

Subjects explored in the new book Hitler Is Alive!

-Eva Braun’s secret diary entries lament that her man is always away ruling the world and doesn’t have any time for her. But later entries reveal how when the cat’s away, the mice will play!

-Gisela Fleischer Hoser claimed to be Hitler’s daughter and told the Police Gazette, “I rather hope that my father is still alive and reads these lines to learn that his only daughter has married a Jew.”

-Argentina was perfect for escaping Nazis. A quarter million German immigrants already lived there and leader Juan Perón made no secret that he welcomed former members of the Reich whose European welcome had worn out.

-The Soviet Union gave more support and direction to the Socialist Reich Party, the successor to the Nazi party in post-war Germany, than to the West German Communist Party. Why? Only the Police Gazette knows!

-Letters between Hitler and Mussolini unintentionally reveal Hitler’s real reason for not throwing a full assault against Great Britain and ending the war in Western Europe. They show Mussolini being led by the nose by a master manipulator.

-Hitler’s personal physician, Dr. Ludwig Stumpfegger, developed a procedure called the “silk-cord operation” that could temporarily paralyze parts of the human brain. Did he use it on Der Fuehrer before his escape from Berlin?

-The Police Gazette‘s last Hitler-Is-Alive report in May of 1972 says it is “sending one of its top investigative reporters to find out” if Hitler is still at his “heavily guarded fortress in a remote region of Patagonia” and to “be on the lookout for this important article.” The reporter was never heard from again….

All the original articles from this granddaddy of all conspiracy theories, plus new commentary and analysis that’s sure to entertain as well as inform. Go here to read rave pre-release reviews.

Click pic to see more and reserve your copy today…

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Rave Reviews for Hitler Is Alive!

Open Road Media and Mysterious Press have teamed to release Hitler Is Alive!, a Police Gazette collection edited by Steven A. Westlake, head of the company that manages this website and all things Police Gazette.

Already the verdict is in. And Hitler Is Alive! is a winner. Read these pre-release reviews:

From Booklist, the leading trade journal for libraries and booksellers:
“Editor Westlake joyously collects a cavalcade of these breathless accounts, filed by intrepid deep-cover reporters, of Hitler’s Antarctic compound; sexually frustrated Eva Braun’s obtained diaries; and the clandestine documents, X-rays, and blood analyses that prove Hitler’s corpse wasn’t Hitler’s corpse (or that Hitler had children, or that Hitler was secretly a Jew, or . . . well, you get the idea). Ridiculous alt-history fun.”
—Daniel Kraus

From Amazon Vine Voice (averaging 4 out of 5 stars):
“A great read.”
—Jerry Saperstein, Hall of Fame Reviewer

“Highly recommended for conspiracy theory buffs.”
—Kilgore Gagarin, Top 500 Reviewer

“The writing is superb. Pulpy yes, but stylistically solid. Therein lies the true enjoyment in this fascinating piece of period journalism. The articles are so well written that a reader is compelled to follow along in the story with very little effort. Masterfully edited with original illustrations and great story selection so you can also enjoy it as an interesting work of alternative history speculative fiction. I’m very enthusiastic about a collection like this.”
—Dirk Drudgler, Top 1000 Reviewer

“Better written [than the National Enquirer] and more entertaining. If you are interested in gonzo history and conspiracy or just want to read some great, outlandish ‘history,’ this book fits the bill.”
—Kevin Fontenot

“There is such a draw to the content, you almost want to believe what you are reading. It is interesting to see tabloid writing collected and treated like a cultural artifact, which it definitely is.”
—Bryan Newman

“This is an interesting and meaty collection of the theories that are still being floated on the subject. Regardless of how you view the actual possibility that Hitler lived on, it’s a fun and hugely entertaining read.”
—Lauri Crumley Coates

“Worth reading through and thankfully it is a big lark, or is it?”
—Narut Ujnat

From GoodReads, world’s largest site for book recommendations:
“Believable in the way the X-Files is believable or that a congressman will believe and quote ‘The Onion’ as a source. A fun romp through a history that never was.”
—Joseph (evilcyclist)

All the original articles from this granddaddy of all conspiracy theories, plus new commentary and analysis that’s sure to entertain as well as inform. Go here to see Hitler Highlights and Fun Facts covered in the book.

Click the pic to visit Amazon, and order your copy today!

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130 Years of Greatness: A History of Police Gazette Pioneers

Pictured on this month’s cover are the four men most responsible for making and keeping the National Police Gazette an American institution for 130 years. All of them are pioneers and/or geniuses in the field of popular magazines, and all of them knew there was something about the Police Gazette in particular that made it worth the effort.

Of the four, it must be admitted the most significant, not only for the Police Gazette but for all of pop-culture publishing, is Richard K. Fox. An immigrant from northern Ireland, Fox took control of the Gazette in 1877 and immediately undertook to remake the weekly in his own sensationalistic image—not unlike what William M. Gaines would do decades later after taking over “Educational Comics” and having it produce Tales From The Crypt and Mad Magazine. Fox not only perfected sensational/tabloid journalism but made the Gazette the forerunner of the illustrated sports weekly, the girlie/pin-up magazine, the celebrity gossip column, the men’s lifestyle magazine, and Colbert Report/Howard Stern-style ironic coverage of current events. He also had a blast being the Guinness World Records of his day. The trophies, medals and prizes handed out by the Police Gazette for achievements in every activity imaginable numbered into the thousands. The Gazette even sponsored Harbo and Samuelsen, the first people ever to row a boat across an ocean, partly because other publications—thinking the attempt too dangerous—refused to do so. Even with all these credits under his belt, Fox’s greatest impact may have been on the sport of boxing, which, when Fox took control of the Gazette, was illegal in every jurisdiction in the country and devoid of any regulatory authority. The Police Gazette changed all that. Fox’s tireless promotion and management of the sport raised it to a level of respectability and popularity it would never fully relinquish. Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst would later apply Fox’s innovations to the daily-newspaper format and the rest, as they say, is history.

If Richard K. Fox made the National Police Gazette a spectacular 19th-century phenomenon, then Harold Roswell is the reason it became one in the 20th century. Roswell, with partner Edward Eagle picked up the Gazette at perhaps its most vulnerable moment. Following a gradual loss of focus and the death of Fox in 1922, the Gazette succumbed to the Great Depression and declared bankruptcy in 1932. It was purchased for a song by a pulp-magazine group led by Harry Donenfeld and Merle Hersey that got right to work bringing back the kind of shock and sensation beloved by Fox. Graphic articles and pictures of horrifying crimes and bare-breasted women on the front cover said the Police Gazette was reclaiming its place as the magazine you would spend all day in the barbershop reading, but would never have a subscription at home. Sadly, though the content was up to snuff, the business-management side suffered, and only a year and a half later Donenfeld and partners could no longer continue. When Roswell and Eagle took control in 1935, they brought with them the much-needed business discipline, and the Gazette gradually came back to life. For 10 years it focused on the familiar sex and crime. But in the late 1940s, Roswell—now the sole head—pivoted to featuring color sports photos on the cover—years before the debut of Sports Illustrated—reclaiming the Gazette’s legacy as the preeminent illustrated sports journal. Throughout the 1950s, he would also expand the Gazette’s celebrity gossip and sensational commentary on current events. Back in all its outrageous glory, the late 1940s through early 1960s were a new high-water mark for the National Police Gazette. Its “Hitler Is Alive!” series alone was worth the price of admission. Through perseverance, sound business management, and a feel for the “Police Gazette attitude” Harold Roswell became the magazine’s most successful owner after Richard K. Fox.

No list of important Police Gazette owners would be complete without the man who started it all. George Wilkes, with business manager Enoch Camp, wanted to publish a weekly similar to the “Police Gazette” of London, England, which reported details about fugitives and criminals for the benefit of law enforcement officials as well as the general public. Wilkes’s new publication would be the 19th-century version of America’s Most Wanted with John Walsh. On September 13, 1845, the first issue of the National Police Gazette hit the streets. It didn’t take Wilkes long to figure out—as Walsh did with America’s Most Wanted—that readers were picking up the magazine as much for thrills and entertainment as for helping to capture criminals. Wilkes also knew that libel laws of the time protected him from any actions as long as what he published came directly from public court documents. So if someone in a court proceeding testified the craziest, most outlandish things about someone else, Wilkes could publish the transcript in the Gazette and not worry about being sued. He also discovered that a good public crusade against a perceived menace sold copies. The most famous of these became the campaign against abortion provider Madame Restell. The Police Gazette’s unrelenting harangue against Restell was so effective it helped lead to her arrest and conviction. (The Police Gazette under Richard Fox, of course, became less serious and would most likely have handled the Restell case with ironic humor rather than a campaign to bring her down.) After some good years and some less good years, Wilkes sold the Gazette to a former New York City police chief. Its most memorable coverage in the remaining pre-Fox years would be of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

At the other end of the Gazette’s run, when Harold Roswell decided to sell and retire in 1968, one of the founders of the modern tabloid felt he could not miss the opportunity to pick up the reigns of the publication that had started it all. Joseph Azaria founded a little magazine called Midnight in 1950s Montreal. You still see it every time you check out at the supermarket. Only now it’s called the Globe. Azaria became very successful, but he had a career plan all mapped out: he would make as much money as he could in a short time and then retire by the age of 39. As part of this plan, he sold his stake in Globe Communications to a partner. But then the National Police Gazette came up for sale, and he couldn’t resist. Azaria kept the Gazette going for another nine years, but his mind was elsewhere. The plan was to be retired—he spent much of his time in South Florida winning backgammon championships—and the level of commitment needed to make it in the competitive world of publishing just wasn’t there anymore. The Police Gazette invented just about everything you can think of in the world of entertainment journalism. But as soon as competitors saw the success the Gazette made of something, they raced to imitate. And by this time there were dozens of other publications putting more energy and resources into doing the things the Police Gazette had done first. Joseph Azaria followed his retirement plans, ending up in Costa Rica. And the last issue of the National Police Gazette came out January 1977, completely made up of “Hitler Is Alive!” reprints.

Today, Steven Westlake and his company National Police Gazette Enterprises, LLC, manage all things Police Gazette.