Frederick Wedge
Encyclopedia
Frederick Wedge was an American boxer who fought over 70 professional bouts as "Kid" Wedge; an ordained clergyman, who pastored churches in Nebraska, Wisconsin, and California for the Presbyterian
, Baptist, and Congregational denominations; a Chautauqua
lecturer; an author of several books, including The Fighting Parson of Barbary Coast; and an educator, who taught at Pasadena College, and high schools in Arizona and California, whose admission into the Graduate School of Education of Harvard University
in January 1922, and his January 1929 second marriage were both a national cause célèbre
in the USA.
, United States of America, the son of Hugh Wedge (born in Michigan), and Nettie Hunter Wedge (born in Michigan).
Wedge grew up in Martinez, Mecosta County, Michigan
. When he was two years old, his father was killed. His mother subsequently married a man who proved to be physically abusive to both her and Wedge. After his mother died when he was 8, making him an orphan
, his stepfather abandoned him, and he was sent to live with his father's brother, Isaac Wedge (born December 1856 in French Canada), a sawmill
man, and aunt Alice Hunter (born June 1861 in Michigan), who lived at 137 Eagle Street, Pelican, Wisconsin
.
As a young boy Wedge worked as a newsboy
and sold newspapers, having to defend his location against "street arabs
" and prevent theft, and later worked as a helper in various Wisconcison lumber camps, before becoming a lumberjack
in Rhinelander, Wisconsin
. Wedge soon acquired a reputation as a hard drinker and tough fighter, and "took delight in starting drunken brawls in Rhinelander" and other logging camps, or assaulting policemen. with several convictions for drunk and disorderly conduct, serving a total of 105 days in the Oneida County
jail. During this time, Wedge was considered "the rough-and-tumble champion of northern Wisconsin
".
pugilist, fighting under the name "Kid" Wedge. Additionally, Wedge fought in many bar fights, resulting in his skull being fractured twice. Wedge was considered "one of the best rough-and-tumble fighters in the days when loggers and lumberjack
s considered gouging, strangling and stamping with their hobnailed boots as fair in a fight". Among his opponents were Clarence English, Abdul the Turk and Jack Carrig.
Wedge fought as "Kid" Wedge in at least seventy professional boxing contests in seven years from 1899. Wedge was discovered and managed by Bill Daniels. Wedge's first professional fight was a ten-round bout with Chicago Jack Glenn, who had ten years professional boxing experience, with Wedge winning in the 9th round after Glenn's corner threw in the sponge after Glenn broke his right hand. On Saturday, July 23, 1904, Wedge was arrested "on suspicion" by a local police officer in Oshkosh, Wisconsin
and ordered to leave town by the police chief.
After three fights in Omaha in the summer of 1905, Wedge met his future wife, Prudence Olive Tracy, for the first time after a concert in Omaha. After realizing that he was uncultured and lacking in education, and with Prudence's encouragement, Wedge began a course of self-education guided by a retired doctor. At the age of 22, Wedge had been illiterate, being unable to read or write. About 1905 Wedge entered a preparatory school and completed twelve years of education in six years. His tutor assisted him with his grammar school education in the evenings after working ten hours each day as a lumberjack. Eventually Wedge graduated from the Rhinelander High School
, Rhinelander, Wisconsin
.
Wedge was converted in a religious meeting in June 1906 conducted by Presbyterian
evangelist
Rev. Hay Red Bell (born July 22, 1862 in Illinois; died November 16, 1917 in Missouri), a graduate of Moody Bible Institute
. By November 1906 Wedge came to believe that it was wrong to fight except in self defence, and that he should devote his life to Christian service. Other factors in his decision to retire were that he may have been the loser of several of his more recent bouts, and was also remorseful over the death of an opponent in San Francisco. and was encouraged to do so by Prudence Tracy.
At the time of his retirement in November 1906, Wedge was the lightweight champion of Arkansas
. Wedge, who was scheduled to fight Guy Buckles in front of 2,000 fans over six rounds on a sand bar south of Omaha, Nebraska
, announced his retirement before the bout to devote his life to Christian service and then gave Buckles a religious tract and a New Testament
. Buckles, who was insulted by Wedge's actions, punched Wedge on the nose, however Wdge refused to retaliate, choosing instead to "turn the other cheek". However, after another blow from Buckles, Wedge indicated: "I have not been told what to do next, but I guess I can pound you to pulp without interfering with my conscience". In the ensuing altercation, both fighters were severely disfigured, but Wedge was adjudged the winner. Wedge indicated that he would pray for Buckles.
, where the Presbyterians had constructed a church building in 1889. However, by March 1908 Wedge had suffered a nervous breakdown.
In November 1908 Wedge announced he would resume boxing as he could not make a living as a preacher, and that he would fight Walter Stanton of San Francisco in Omaha in early December.
On February 22, 1909 Wedge preached a 17-minute sermon just prior to the Buckles-Hanson prize fight in Omaha, Nebraska. On Friday, September 3, 1909, Wedge preached a short sermon and sang a hymn before the fight between Dick Fitzpatrick of Chicago and Guy Buckles.
, a Presbyterian seminary in North Omaha, Nebraska
, for a year in order to complete the requirements for ordination in the Presbyterian Church. To finance his studies, Wedge gave boxing lessons in Omaha.
, but later was forced to leave due to opposition to his pugilistic past, and the embarrassment caused by his fiancee cancelling their wedding amid rumors of Wedge's immorality.
Herbert Asbury
described the Barbary Coast: "The slums of Singapore at their foulest, the dens of Shanghai at their dirtiest, the waterfront at Port Said
at its vicious worst - none of these backwaters of depravity and vice ... achieved the depths of corruption that typified the 'Barbary Coast'". When Wedge arrived there was "over six hundred dance halls and dives" in "a district little over half a mile square". Engaged by the City of San Francisco, during the next few months, Wedge "waged a campaign on vice and corruption in Chinatown and the Barbary Coast". A contemporary report indicates that Wedge "carried the battle to the very doors of the hidden opium den
s; he ferreted out the leaders of the tong wars and slave girl rings, and left Chinatown renovated spiritually". Wedge's ministry was considered one of the factors responsible for the amelioration of conditions on San Francisco's Barbary Coast. Wedge also was director of boy's work among the newsboys
of San Francisco.
On December 1, 1910, Wedge was arrested and incarcerated in the city jail on charges of battery
for attempting to strike a night watchman
named Gus Miller and begging after being found on Fifth Street near Market Street at 4.30am. Wedge denied the allegations and explained his alcoholic odor as due to his incarceration with drunks and "wine bums", and that he possessed port wine
given to him by the Hahnemann Hospital
to prevent pneumonia. Wedge was given the sobriquet
"The Fighting Parson of the Barbary Coast". In 1917 Wedge explained its origin: "I was preaching on a beer keg in a saloon on the Barbary coast in San Francisco when a couple of toughs went for me. I guess maybe I cleaned out the place then. A reporter on the San Francisco newspaper gave me the name. He said I was a fellow who, if he could not preach good into men, would knock h--l out of them. Those fellows got me, though, and put me in the hospital for a while". After being hospitalized after a vicious assault by several denizens of the Barbary Coast at the corner of Pacific and Montgomery avenues, by the end of 1910 Wedge decided to return to Omaha to recuperate and to attempt to reconcile with Prudence Tracy.
After his marriage to Prudence on December 18, 1910, the newly weds returned to San Francisco to continue Wedge's ministry in the Tenderloin.
. After his return to Nebraska, Wedge re-enrolled at the University of Nebraska. Wedge's only child, Hugh T. Wedge (died January 20, 1991 in Lake Havasu City, Arizona
) was born on January 13, 1912 in Genoa. Wedge had a "fistic encounter" with a lawyer named Rose, whom Wedge whipped in the public street. In the subsequent hearing held by the Kearney Presbytery in July 1912, Wedge admitted conduct unbecoming a minister, and renounced his allegiance to the presbytery. The Presbytery terminated his pastorate at Genoa on July 24, 1912, and suspended him on the ground of insubordination from any ministerial activity until his trial in September.
During his suspension from the ministry, Wedge wrote a novel, The Fighting Parson of Barbary Coast, based in part on his own life and ministry, which was published by November 1912. Wedge dedicated it to Prudence: "to the noble woman who saw good in me when others saw evil; who believed I would win despite every handicap." Wedge trained "Battling" Nelson at St. Joe, Wisconsin
in early September as he was "run down and needed the exercise", where he also engaged in street preaching.
On September 24, 1912, Wedge was found not guilty of all charges, after he explained that Rose had "attempted pugilistic tactics by insolent words and by puffing out his chest, ... he annoyed my wife when she was in poor health". Wedge refused $3,000 to box again on the orpheum circuit and another offer of $125 a week to play a militant preacher in a New York Bowery
play, in order to accept the Presbyterian Church's offer to be an evangelist on the Nebraska home mission district for $800 a year.
About 1912 Wedge held a series of religious meetings at the Presbyterian church in Table Rock, Nebraska
. In December 1912 Wedge was tried but found not guilty in the "celebrated" trial of State v. Fred Wedge in Nebraska.
On June 5, 1913 Wedge announced his resignation from the ministry in Eureka, California
, as "the call of the blood was too strong". Wedge announced: "I am quitting the ministry for several sufficient reasons. My forehead is too low, my jaw is too square. I like the things of the world too well".
A ferw hours later Wedge was arrested and incarcerated overnight in the city jail due to public intoxication after a charge by Rev. Arthur Hayes Sargent (Born May 18, 1879 in Corinth, Vermont
; died August 9, 1969 in Portland, Maine
), pastor of the Eureka Universalist church
, who with some other local ministers had tried to rescue him. However, on September 21, 1913 Wedge spoke at the Church of Christ in Lincoln, Nebraska
.
By May 1914 Wedge was claimed to have fought and "never suffered defeat", and in 1922 his record was given as having "fought 70 fights and lost but three of them".
In the Summer of 1914 Wedge gave lectures on his life at Chautauqua
s at Lodi, California
in May, Modesto, California
in June, and Butte, Montana
in July.
In December 1914 The Beatrice Daily Sun reported Wedge's "fall from grace".
. While pastoring the Rhineland church, Wedge complete courses at the University of Wisconsin. Despite his retirement from boxing, Wedge, known as "the Fighting Parson", supported the sport indicating that it was more clean and wholesome than in his era, and inspired youth to lead clean and healthy lives. Consequently, in January 1917 Wedge applied for a licence to organize and manage the Rhinelander Amateur Athletic Association in order to train his Sunday School boys and hold bouts in their gymnasium. The Wisconsin Athletic Association approved their licensing on January 2, 1917.
On January 10, 1917 Wedge was arrested on a charge of using slanderous language on January 1, 1917 to a former member of his congregation, whom Wedge had ousted from church membership for irregular conduct. On January 13, 1917, Wedge was jailed for a few hours in Rhinelander after being found guilty of using abusive language. After pleading not guilty, Wedge admitted the charge, but indicated he had been provoked, and refused to pay the fine of $5 and costs. Wedge was released after the fine was paid anonymously. On February 18, 1917 Wedge was admitted to St. Mary's Hospital after collapsing while preaching in the evening service at the Rhinelander First Baptist Church, and was unable to complete the service. On February 23, 1918 Wedge resigned from the First Baptist church due to his health and departed for Hot Springs, Arkansas
, where he planned to remain until he regained his health and then return to his pastorate.
After his resignation from the Rhinelander pastorate, Wedge worked erecting silo
s, but quit as it did not meet his income needs. By July 1917 Wedge had moved to St. Louis, Missouri
. After the USA entered World War I
, Wedge attempted to enlist in the US Army in order to fight overseas, but was rejected despite being physically fit, because of his use of a dental plate due to his "shortage of teeth, accounted for by the numerous pugilistic encounters he had before entering the ministry". After being rejected for military service, Wedge obtained a job working in a munitions factory in St. Louis, Missouri
.
By August 1, 1917 Wedge found employment as a brakeman
for the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad on the Antigo, Wisconsin
to Ashland, Wisconsin
line, earning $125 a month, with which he hoped to pay off his debts and accumulate a small "nest egg". Later that month Wedge was involved in a street fight at the rear of a downtown saloon in Antigo, Wisconsin
with a "ham and egger" named "Fighting Leach", that was broken up by the police. Wedge was charged with disorderly conduct, found guilty, and the sentence was suspended.
Wedge discontinued his studies at the University of Nebraska in 1917 in his Senior year and the family moved to Chicago, Illinois.
While in Chicago, Wedge did a post-graduate course in Greek, Hebrew, and other subjects at the McCormick Theological Seminary
.
, where his wife's younger sister Eunice D. Tracy (born 1874 in Ohio) lived. As Wedge had been previously refused admission into the US Army, and as he believed that boxing training would help American soldiers defeat the Germans, Wedge volunteered to be a civilian boxing instructor for the United States Army
at Camp Grant
near Rockford, Illinois
, where he also ministered to the men of the 341st Infantry, 35th Engineers, and the Quartermaster Corps. While at Camp Grant, Wedge became the secretary for the YMCA
building No. 4 at Camp Grant, and formed an Ironsides Bible Class among the 86th Division, reviving the motto of Oliver Cromwell
's Ironsides
: "The Lord of hosts is with us". In December 1917 Wedge was found guilty of using abusive language.
After being hospitalized after a severe bout of influenza
in the Winter of 1917-1918, Wedge was diagnosed as having "hasty consumption" (incurable tuberculosis
) and given only 2–3 months to live, with the recommendation that he move to a warmer climate. In April 1918 Wedge was discharged from his duties at Camp Grant.
, where after a few weeks he worked as a street car motorman
for the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad. In May 1918 Wedge wrote: "Whether I get well or die, I am going to keep smiling as long as I can get a bit of air in these old lungs of mine". Needing funds to relocate from El Paso, Texas
to Tucson, Arizona
to enroll in the University of Arizona
, and after extensive training which he believed cured him of tuberculosis, and hoping to be able to return to his position as a boxing trainer in the US Army, Wedge returned briefly to the ring by September 1918. After bouts with two border army corps men in preceding months, on January 1, 1919, Hedge fought Sergeant Tommy Murphy, the welterweight
champion of the Southwestern United States
, who was serving with the US 5th Cavalry at Fort Bliss
,. but was knocked out
early in the fight and lost the ten round fight on a points decision. Wedge remained in his job in El Paso until July 1919.
to began his studies at the University of Arizona
. Initially Wedge worked as a switchman
for the Southern Railroad for eight hours each night from midnight. By January 1920 Wedge was employed as a clerk at the Southern Railroad, and lived in a boarding house on East 13th Street, Tucson with his wife and son. After twelve months at the University, Wedge completed his course requirements and graduated in June 1920 with a Bachelor of Arts degree where he studied Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and the sciences. Wedge was able to speak six languages. In Spring 1921 Wedge's application for admission was accepted to the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University
, where he planned to earn a Ph.D. in social and educational psychology. To earn sufficient funds to study at Harvard, Wedge accepted the position as the principal of the Union High School
in Benson, Arizona
.
on December 31, 1921 with only $10 and "rode the rails" in railroad boxcar
s for 2,000 miles, arriving in Cambridge, Massachusetts
on January 16, 1922. However, soon after his arrival, Wedge was advised he would not be admitted to Harvard University. Harvard officials rescinded their offer of admission, probably due to the publicity surrounding his pugilistic past, indicating that "despite his degree that he was not scholastically equipped to enter for the degree of doctor of philosophy
". Wedge fought to reclaim his place at Harvard, indicating he had renounced his "barbarian ways for the glory of Harvard", and promising that if admitted on probation for a year, he would study hard, and not publicise his past. On February 15, 1922, the Harvard authorities decided to admit Wedge for second semester. Wedge intended to specialize in psychology, and return to teach at the University of Arizona after graduation in 1925.
On March 13, 1922 Wedge appeared in District Court in Watertown, Massachusetts
after being arrested for public intoxication late the previous evening in Mary's lunch room, but was released without penalty as a first offender. After an investigation by Harry W. Holmes, dean of the Graduate School of Education, Wedge was exonerated as it was discovered that he had been ill with the grippe and that his intoxication was due to taking a prescribed dose of medicine that was a mixture of quinine
and whiskey. After several weeks in hospital, Wedge left Harvard for Arizona after April 27, 1922. Despite claims by Harvard authorities that he had left Harvard due to a recurrence of tuberculosis, Wedge admitted that he had left as he was missing his wife and son who were still living in Arizona, and that the weather was affecting him adversely. Later he acknowledged that lack of finances also compelled him to leave Harvard. Wedge planned to return to Harvard with his family in September 1922.
In June 1922 Wedge announced plans to produce a film of his life story, in which he would star, with all profits to be used to finance his return to Harvard.
at Terminal Island
"among the lumber yards and shipbuilding plants of Los Angeles Harbor". Wedge preached to the longshoremen each noon and on Sundays without any compensation. By 1923 Wedge had resigned as the pastor of the Congregational Church on Terminal Island.
In July 1922 Wedge joined the Marine Transport Workers Industrial Union 510 in San Pedro, California and became a longshoreman. While working as a longshoreman, Wedge joined the Industrial Workers of the World
. During the April 1923 San Pedro strike, Wedge addressed about 2,000 strikers at the May Day
rally organized by the IWW at Fourth and Beacon Streets, San Pedro. Wedge was one of 26 arrested when the police arrested San Pedro strikers on May 4, 1923, but was released from jail by May 14. Wedge, who was assaulted by a jail officer, became sympathetic to the cause of the IWW and its members. Wedge was eventually elected to the executive board of the IWW. Wedge later used his 15 months of experiences inside the IWW to fulfil his academic requirements and gather data for his thesis
, and later to lecture on the IWW. Wedge's self-published book Inside the I.W.W. was published in 1924, with its profits helping meet the cost of further post-graduate studies.
as a post-graduate student. While studying at UC Berkeley, Wedge and his family lived at the Kittredge Apartments in Berkeley. By August 1924 Wedge was a teaching fellow at UC Berkeley. Rather than accept the position of principal of a local high school, at the end of December 1924 Wedge announced his intention to become an evangelist
. However, he subsequently joined the faculty at Redwood City High School
.
At the end of December 1924 Wedge announced that after he completed his post-graduate studies at the University of California
, that it was his intention to forgo his ambition to become a college professor to become an evangelist, hoping to succeed Billy Sunday
, a former professional baseball player who was the best-known evangelist of the early 20th century.
On Sunday evening, May 2, 1926, Wedge preached on the subject "A Knock-out for the Devil" at the First Church of the Nazarene in Oakland, California.
degree and was recruited by H. Orton Wiley
to be the dean of the college of liberal arts
at the Church of the Nazarene
's Pasadena College, where he was also professor of sociology and psychology.
Wedge resigned from Pasadena College in 1927 to enrol in a Master's degree program at Columbia University
in New York
. Soon after his arrival in New York, Wedge's wife, Prudence, who had been diagnosed with cancer, had two major operations, and was sent to her sister Eunice's home in Freeport, Illinois
to recuperate.
, having received 27 of 29 votes cast by the church members. Despite his son Hugh winning the A.A.U.
Midwest Lightweight title victory in a boxing bout in Omaha, Nebraska
on January 31, 1928, Wedge filed charges with the A.A.U. against the referee who officiated, alleging he allowed the opponent to foul Hugh repeatedly.
On Friday April 13, 1928, Wedge returned to the University of Nebraska and lectured on the Industrial Workers of the World
, drawing on his fifteen months experience as a member.
As Prudence needed to move to California for her recovery, Wedge left Columbia University and traveled to California with his son to establish a home in preparation for her coming. Prudence died in Illinois in May 1928, and was buried in Oakland, California after a funeral conducted by her husband.
, and completed his post-graduate work at the University of California
's Summer session in 1928.
While eschewing the use of alcohol, in 1928 Wedge campaigned for the repeal of the Volstead Act
and Prohibition
arguing they were ineffective, and that training of young people to make good decisions by their parents would be more effective. In November 1928 Wedge led an unsuccessful campaign to repeal California's 10-round boxing law.
.
On Friday, July 14, 1933, Hugh Wedge fought Jack Howard over three rounds in an exhibition bout at the Athens Athletic Club in Oakland, California. By September 1935 Hugh Wedge was a successful amateur boxer with aspirations to box as a middleweight
in the 1936 Summer Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany, after winning the Diamond Belt titles for simon-pures
of Oregon, California, and Arizona. In February 1936 Hugh Wedge sparred with former heavyweight champion Max Baer in Oakland, as part of Baer's efforts to reclaim his title. A third round TKO defeat by Hugh McPhillips in the semi-finals of the Pacific 160-pound championship at the Dreamland auditorium in San Francisco, proved to be the end of Hugh Wedge's Olympic aspirations.
, and taught boxing to the local boys.
On April 24, 1945, Wedge and Guy Buckles fought for the fourth time in their careers, their first since 1913, a three round exhibition bout in Monroe, Nebraska
in a boxing carnival organized by Wedge, who was then pastor of the Union Church.
), the postmistress
of Florence, Nebraska
, a northern suburb of Omaha, since 1895, a graduate of the University of Nebraska, choir singer and concert musician, and the third of the five children of Sarah E. Smalley (born October 1846 in Ohio; died September 2, 1889 in Ohio) and Jonathan Franklin Tracy (born about 1845 in Otway, Ohio
), a Wisconsin physician
. on December 18, 1910 in Florence, Nebraska
. Prudence had previously been engaged, but broke off her engagement to the other mman who had decided to migrate to Canada. Wedge and Prudence were soon engaged, and had announced their wedding date, but Prudence cancelled the wedding after a family friend brought to her mother's attention rumors that Wedge had not really reformed but was rather living an immoral life. In 1909 Wedge resigned from the pastorate and relocated to San Francisco to work as a missionary on the Barbary Coast. After their marriage, the Wedges moved to San Francisco.
Thirteen months later their only child, Hugh Tracy Wedge (born January 13, 1912 born in Genoa, Nebraska
; died January 20, 1991 in Lake Havasu City, Arizona
) was born.
Prudence was diagnosed with cancer, and had two major operations about 1927, and was sent to her sister Eunice's home in Freeport, Illinois
to recuperate. As Prudence needed to move to California for her recovery, Wedge and Hugh worked their way to California to establish a home in preparation for her coming. However, Prudence died about May 15, 1928, just after after Wedge and Hugh arrived at her bedside in Illinois. Prudence was buried in Oakland, California after a funeral conducted by her husband.
On August 20, 1928, Wedge, who was despondent due to the death of Prudence in May, his unemployment, and financial problems, was prevented from committing suicide in his apartment at 2261 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, by friends who had received his farewell letters. Wedge wrote a letter of resignation from the Presbyterian church where he held his minister's credentials so that he would not die as a clergyman. Wedge was committed to the psychiatric ward of the Highlands Hospital for several days of observation after a petition by his friend, Rev. Miles B. Davis, pastor of the First Congregational Church in Berkeley.
; died Dumaguete, Philippine Islands
, on January 18, 1935), pastor of the Berkeley Presbyterian Church, refused to perform the ceremony, as it was incompatible with Presbyterian beliefs on divorce and remarriage. Rev. Chauncey David Norris, pastor of the Church of the Nazarene
in Berkeley, California
, agreed to perform the ceremony. However, after Wedge's denominational leaders protested his intention to marry Holloway, as she had been divorced on the grounds of incompatibility, Wedge decided to break his engagement to Holloway and cancel the wedding. Three hours before the wedding Wedge sent a special delivery letter to Holloway: "It is better for me to remain a lonely Presbyterian minister than to marry you and break God's law. The Bible is against our marriage. While your husband is still living I would be breaking God's law by living with you, even though the laws of California sanction it". However, within hours he reconsidered and announced his intention to resign as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Oakland, California
and also from the Presbyterian denomination and to marry Holloway. The wedding was held in the evening of January 25, 1929, two hours later than scheduled, in Holloway's Oakland home, with Hugh Wedge as best man and Holloway's daughter, Mrs Jeanette Dale, the bridesmaid.
On the day after the wedding, Rev. Charles Smith, District Superintendent of the Northern California District of the Church of the Nazarene
, contacted Norris and advised him that he had no right under Nazarene polity to conduct the wedding of a person who had divorced unless adultery was the grounds, and that he would "unfrock
him for marrying a person divorced on grounds outside those recognized by the church". Norris was confident he would be exonerated after Nazarene authorities investigated the situation. On Monday, January 28, 1929, Norris met with Wedge in the bridal suite on the seventh floor of the Hotel Oakland, and quarreled about the wedding. Norris initially refused to file the paperwork for the wedding, as he claimed Wedge had lied to him about the marital status of Holloway, creating the impression that she was a widow. After Wedge threatened to file a mandamus suit
against him, Norris filed the paperwork at the hall of records. Wedge indicated that: "To save his own ecclesiastical hide, Norris would like to get me out on a limb and then saw the limb off". Wedge insisted that even if the church did not recognize the legality of his wedding, that "we are married in the eyes of God and that is enough to satisfy me". Wedge also indicated that while he expected never to be given a pastorate again, that he had no intention of resigning from the church: "They may keep me from preaching, but they won't kick me out of the church". Wedge planned to train and manage his son, who was a promising amateur boxer, but on January 30, 1929, Hugh informed his father that he had decided not to sign a contract with him, and to remain in high school and then work in a foundry. After this argument with his son, Wedge indicated that he lost control and contemplated throwing himself out of his hotel window to spare his bride anymore humiliation.
Within a week of his wedding, Wedge had been committed to the psychiatric ward in the Highland Hospital
in Oakland, California
for observation after admitting to an alienist that he had been obsessed with either strangling his new wife or defenestrating
her during their honeymoon. Wedge also confessed that "for several months I have been fighting a desire to kill myself. For weeks I would want to slash my throat every time I picked up a razor. Every time I looked out of a high window I wanted to jump out. I am a sick man and for my own protection and for the protection of my loved ones I want to be locked up and be placed where I can harm neither myself or anyone else". Wedge believed his condition was caused by damage caused by a frontal skull fracture sustained in a saloon fight about 1899, and exacerbated by the stress caused by the publicity surrounding his wedding and resignation from the church.
Jennie Wedge announced on 1 February 1929 that she would be seeking to have her marriage to Wedge annulled. She was reported as saying: "If he is mentally unbalanced I am sorry. But I could never live with him again. I would be in constant fear of my life. We had been so happy all week long until this sudden threat of his to kill me and then himself". On February 2, 1929 Jennie Wedge applied in the superior court to have her marriage to Wedge annulled on the basis of his "unsound mind" and his fraud, alleging that Wedge "falsely and fraudulently" represented that he had sufficient funds to provide for her immediate needs, whereas he had insufficient funds to pay the $100 bill for their honeymoon suite. Also on February 2, 1929 Wedge was charged with insanity at his own request, with the papers signed by his son, Hugh. On February 5, 1929 Wedge was declared insane and committed to the Napa State Hospital, "an insane asylum" in Napa, California
.
Wedge's marriage to Holliday was annulled after June 1929.
After his father's committal, Hugh Wedge lived with relatives in Emeryville, California
, where he attended Emeryville High School. After graduation in 1931, Hugh Wedge was accepted into the University of California, Berkeley
, where he was part of the USC boxing team.
with her Swedish father.
Wedge lived in Berkeley, California until 1932, taught psychology at Pasadena College, and wrote several books, as well as filled the pulpit in several cities.
Matilda Trueds, a traveler and writer from Sweden, in Seattle, Washington
, in a ceremony conducted by his friend, Rev. Mark A. Matthews. Wedge was arrested on August 8, 1933, in the lobby of the Royal Hotel at Twentieth Street and San Pablo Avenue, Oakland, for being drunk and disturbing hotel patrons.
On September 16, 1933 Hugh married Marion Phyllis Hohl, a secretary, in Oakland, California.
and lived with his son, Hugh. Wedge died on March 3, 1953 in Napa.
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
The Presbyterian Church , or PC, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. Part of the Reformed tradition, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the U.S...
, Baptist, and Congregational denominations; a Chautauqua
Chautauqua
Chautauqua was an adult education movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua brought entertainment and culture for the whole community, with...
lecturer; an author of several books, including The Fighting Parson of Barbary Coast; and an educator, who taught at Pasadena College, and high schools in Arizona and California, whose admission into the Graduate School of Education of Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in January 1922, and his January 1929 second marriage were both a national cause célèbre
Cause célèbre
A is an issue or incident arousing widespread controversy, outside campaigning and heated public debate. The term is particularly used in connection with celebrated legal cases. It is a French phrase in common English use...
in the USA.
Early life and family
Frederick Rhinaldo Wedge was born on July 31, 1880 in MichiganMichigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, United States of America, the son of Hugh Wedge (born in Michigan), and Nettie Hunter Wedge (born in Michigan).
Wedge grew up in Martinez, Mecosta County, Michigan
Mecosta County, Michigan
Mecosta County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. The county is named after Chief Mecosta, the leader of the Potawatomi Native American tribe that once traveled the local waterways in search of fish and game. Chief Mecosta was one of the signers the Treaty of Washington in 1836. The easily...
. When he was two years old, his father was killed. His mother subsequently married a man who proved to be physically abusive to both her and Wedge. After his mother died when he was 8, making him an orphan
Orphan
An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...
, his stepfather abandoned him, and he was sent to live with his father's brother, Isaac Wedge (born December 1856 in French Canada), a sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
man, and aunt Alice Hunter (born June 1861 in Michigan), who lived at 137 Eagle Street, Pelican, Wisconsin
Pelican, Wisconsin
Pelican is a town in Oneida County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,902 at the 2000 census. The unincorporated community of Malvern is located in the town.-Geography:...
.
As a young boy Wedge worked as a newsboy
Paperboy
A paperboy is the general name for a person employed by a newspaper, They are often used around the office to run low end errands. They make copies and distribute them. Paperboys traditionally were and are still often portrayed on television and movies as preteen boys, often on a bicycle...
and sold newspapers, having to defend his location against "street arabs
Street children
A street child is a child who lives on the streets of a city, deprived of family care and protection. Most children on the streets are between the ages of about 5 and 17 years old.Street children live in junk boxes, parks or on the street itself...
" and prevent theft, and later worked as a helper in various Wisconcison lumber camps, before becoming a lumberjack
Lumberjack
A lumberjack is a worker in the logging industry who performs the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to a bygone era when hand tools were used in harvesting trees principally from virgin forest...
in Rhinelander, Wisconsin
Rhinelander, Wisconsin
Rhinelander is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, Wisconsin, United States. Its population was 7,735 at the 2000 census.-Claim to fame:...
. Wedge soon acquired a reputation as a hard drinker and tough fighter, and "took delight in starting drunken brawls in Rhinelander" and other logging camps, or assaulting policemen. with several convictions for drunk and disorderly conduct, serving a total of 105 days in the Oneida County
Oneida County, Wisconsin
Oneida County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2000, the population was 36,776. Its county seat is Rhinelander.-Geography:According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,236 square miles , of which 1,124 square miles is land and 111 square...
jail. During this time, Wedge was considered "the rough-and-tumble champion of northern Wisconsin
Northern Highland
The Northern Highland is a geographical region covering much of the northern territory of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The region stretches from the state border with Minnesota in the west to the Michigan border in the east, and from Douglas and Bayfield Counties in the north to Wood and Portage...
".
Boxing career
By the age of 18 Wedge became a heavyweight bare knuckleBare-knuckle boxing
Bare-knuckle boxing is the original form of boxing, closely related to ancient combat sports...
pugilist, fighting under the name "Kid" Wedge. Additionally, Wedge fought in many bar fights, resulting in his skull being fractured twice. Wedge was considered "one of the best rough-and-tumble fighters in the days when loggers and lumberjack
Lumberjack
A lumberjack is a worker in the logging industry who performs the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to a bygone era when hand tools were used in harvesting trees principally from virgin forest...
s considered gouging, strangling and stamping with their hobnailed boots as fair in a fight". Among his opponents were Clarence English, Abdul the Turk and Jack Carrig.
Wedge fought as "Kid" Wedge in at least seventy professional boxing contests in seven years from 1899. Wedge was discovered and managed by Bill Daniels. Wedge's first professional fight was a ten-round bout with Chicago Jack Glenn, who had ten years professional boxing experience, with Wedge winning in the 9th round after Glenn's corner threw in the sponge after Glenn broke his right hand. On Saturday, July 23, 1904, Wedge was arrested "on suspicion" by a local police officer in Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
As of the census of 2000, there were 62,916 people, 24,082 households, and 13,654 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,662.2 people per square mile . There were 25,420 housing units at an average density of 1,075.6 per square mile...
and ordered to leave town by the police chief.
After three fights in Omaha in the summer of 1905, Wedge met his future wife, Prudence Olive Tracy, for the first time after a concert in Omaha. After realizing that he was uncultured and lacking in education, and with Prudence's encouragement, Wedge began a course of self-education guided by a retired doctor. At the age of 22, Wedge had been illiterate, being unable to read or write. About 1905 Wedge entered a preparatory school and completed twelve years of education in six years. His tutor assisted him with his grammar school education in the evenings after working ten hours each day as a lumberjack. Eventually Wedge graduated from the Rhinelander High School
Rhinelander High School
Rhinelander High School, abbreviated RHS, is a high school in Rhinelander, Oneida County, Wisconsin USA. As of the 2007-08 school year, it had a student population of 1,091...
, Rhinelander, Wisconsin
Rhinelander, Wisconsin
Rhinelander is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, Wisconsin, United States. Its population was 7,735 at the 2000 census.-Claim to fame:...
.
Wedge was converted in a religious meeting in June 1906 conducted by Presbyterian
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
The Presbyterian Church , or PC, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. Part of the Reformed tradition, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the U.S...
evangelist
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
Rev. Hay Red Bell (born July 22, 1862 in Illinois; died November 16, 1917 in Missouri), a graduate of Moody Bible Institute
Moody Bible Institute
Moody Bible Institute is a Christian institution of higher education and related ministries that was founded by evangelist and businessman Dwight Lyman Moody in 1886. Since its founding, MBI's main campus has been located in the Near North Side of Chicago. MBI's primary ministries are education,...
. By November 1906 Wedge came to believe that it was wrong to fight except in self defence, and that he should devote his life to Christian service. Other factors in his decision to retire were that he may have been the loser of several of his more recent bouts, and was also remorseful over the death of an opponent in San Francisco. and was encouraged to do so by Prudence Tracy.
At the time of his retirement in November 1906, Wedge was the lightweight champion of Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
. Wedge, who was scheduled to fight Guy Buckles in front of 2,000 fans over six rounds on a sand bar south of Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
, announced his retirement before the bout to devote his life to Christian service and then gave Buckles a religious tract and a New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
. Buckles, who was insulted by Wedge's actions, punched Wedge on the nose, however Wdge refused to retaliate, choosing instead to "turn the other cheek". However, after another blow from Buckles, Wedge indicated: "I have not been told what to do next, but I guess I can pound you to pulp without interfering with my conscience". In the ensuing altercation, both fighters were severely disfigured, but Wedge was adjudged the winner. Wedge indicated that he would pray for Buckles.
Nebraska (1906-1910)
In 1906 Wedge was admitted to the University of Nebraska, and completed his first year in June 1907.First Presbyterian Church, Barneston (1907-1908)
By September 1907 Wedge was appointed the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in the small village of Barneston, NebraskaBarneston, Nebraska
Barneston is a village in Gage County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 122 at the 2000 census. The present-day town of Barneston was settled at the site of one of the largest Oto villages in the 19th century. The agency and a trading post were located there...
, where the Presbyterians had constructed a church building in 1889. However, by March 1908 Wedge had suffered a nervous breakdown.
In November 1908 Wedge announced he would resume boxing as he could not make a living as a preacher, and that he would fight Walter Stanton of San Francisco in Omaha in early December.
On February 22, 1909 Wedge preached a 17-minute sermon just prior to the Buckles-Hanson prize fight in Omaha, Nebraska. On Friday, September 3, 1909, Wedge preached a short sermon and sang a hymn before the fight between Dick Fitzpatrick of Chicago and Guy Buckles.
Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary (1908-1909)
After completing three years at the University of Nebraka, in 1908 Wedge transferred to the Omaha Presbyterian Theological SeminaryOmaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary
The Presbyterian Theological Seminary was located at 3303 North 21st Place in North Omaha, Nebraska. Opened in 1891, the institution was closed in 1943.-History:...
, a Presbyterian seminary in North Omaha, Nebraska
North Omaha, Nebraska
North Omaha is a community area in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. It is bordered by Cuming and Dodge Streets on the south, Interstate 680 on the north, North 72nd Street on the west and the Missouri River and Carter Lake, Iowa on the east, as defined by the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the Omaha...
, for a year in order to complete the requirements for ordination in the Presbyterian Church. To finance his studies, Wedge gave boxing lessons in Omaha.
Presbyterian Church, Monroe, Nebraska (1909-1910)
After graduation from Omaha Theological Seminary in September 1909 Wedge was ordained by the Nebraska Presbytery, and elected pastor of the small Presbyterian Church in Monroe, NebraskaMonroe, Nebraska
Monroe is a village in Platte County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 307 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Monroe is located at ....
, but later was forced to leave due to opposition to his pugilistic past, and the embarrassment caused by his fiancee cancelling their wedding amid rumors of Wedge's immorality.
San Francisco (1910-1911)
After his fiancee Prudence Tracy cancelled their planned wedding in 1909, Wedge left university in his junior year and moved to San Francisco. By the end of April 1910 Wedge moved to San Francisco and lived in a boarding house at 633 Vallejo Street in San Francisco and served as a missionary to San Francisco's Barbary Coast, described as the "most infamous blot on the underworld, where depravity reigned supreme, despite the officers of the law, and where booze and immoral women turned men to moral lepers".Herbert Asbury
Herbert Asbury
Herbert Asbury was an American journalist and writer who is best known for his true crime books detailing crime during the 19th and early 20th century such as Gem of the Prairie, Barbary Coast: An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld and The Gangs of New York...
described the Barbary Coast: "The slums of Singapore at their foulest, the dens of Shanghai at their dirtiest, the waterfront at Port Said
Port Said
Port Said is a city that lies in north east Egypt extending about 30 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal, with an approximate population of 603,787...
at its vicious worst - none of these backwaters of depravity and vice ... achieved the depths of corruption that typified the 'Barbary Coast'". When Wedge arrived there was "over six hundred dance halls and dives" in "a district little over half a mile square". Engaged by the City of San Francisco, during the next few months, Wedge "waged a campaign on vice and corruption in Chinatown and the Barbary Coast". A contemporary report indicates that Wedge "carried the battle to the very doors of the hidden opium den
Opium den
An opium den was an establishment where opium was sold and smoked. Opium dens were prevalent in many parts of the world in the 19th century, most notably China, Southeast Asia, North America and France...
s; he ferreted out the leaders of the tong wars and slave girl rings, and left Chinatown renovated spiritually". Wedge's ministry was considered one of the factors responsible for the amelioration of conditions on San Francisco's Barbary Coast. Wedge also was director of boy's work among the newsboys
Paperboy
A paperboy is the general name for a person employed by a newspaper, They are often used around the office to run low end errands. They make copies and distribute them. Paperboys traditionally were and are still often portrayed on television and movies as preteen boys, often on a bicycle...
of San Francisco.
On December 1, 1910, Wedge was arrested and incarcerated in the city jail on charges of battery
Battery (crime)
Battery is a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact, distinct from assault which is the fear of such contact.In the United States, criminal battery, or simply battery, is the use of force against another, resulting in harmful or offensive contact...
for attempting to strike a night watchman
Security guard
A security guard is a person who is paid to protect property, assets, or people. Security guards are usually privately and formally employed personnel...
named Gus Miller and begging after being found on Fifth Street near Market Street at 4.30am. Wedge denied the allegations and explained his alcoholic odor as due to his incarceration with drunks and "wine bums", and that he possessed port wine
Port wine
Port wine is a Portuguese fortified wine produced exclusively in the Douro Valley in the northern provinces of Portugal. It is typically a sweet, red wine, often served as a dessert wine, and comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties...
given to him by the Hahnemann Hospital
California Pacific Medical Center
California Pacific Medical Center is one of the largest private, non-profit, academic medical centers in Northern California. The Medical Center is a combination of four of San Francisco's oldest medical institutions: Pacific Presbyterian Hospital, Children's Hospital of San Francisco, Davies...
to prevent pneumonia. Wedge was given the sobriquet
Sobriquet
A sobriquet is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another. It is usually a familiar name, distinct from a pseudonym assumed as a disguise, but a nickname which is familiar enough such that it can be used in place of a real name without the need of explanation...
"The Fighting Parson of the Barbary Coast". In 1917 Wedge explained its origin: "I was preaching on a beer keg in a saloon on the Barbary coast in San Francisco when a couple of toughs went for me. I guess maybe I cleaned out the place then. A reporter on the San Francisco newspaper gave me the name. He said I was a fellow who, if he could not preach good into men, would knock h--l out of them. Those fellows got me, though, and put me in the hospital for a while". After being hospitalized after a vicious assault by several denizens of the Barbary Coast at the corner of Pacific and Montgomery avenues, by the end of 1910 Wedge decided to return to Omaha to recuperate and to attempt to reconcile with Prudence Tracy.
After his marriage to Prudence on December 18, 1910, the newly weds returned to San Francisco to continue Wedge's ministry in the Tenderloin.
Presbyterian Church, Genoa (1912)
By January 1912 Wedge had become the pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Genoa, NebraskaGenoa, Nebraska
Genoa is a city in Nance County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 981 at the 2000 census. Genoa is a community rich in culture and farming is a major source of income for much of the surrounding area. The city was founded by the Mormons in 1857...
. After his return to Nebraska, Wedge re-enrolled at the University of Nebraska. Wedge's only child, Hugh T. Wedge (died January 20, 1991 in Lake Havasu City, Arizona
Lake Havasu City, Arizona
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 41,938 people, 17,911 households, and 12,716 families residing in the city. The population density was 974.4 people per square mile . There were 23,018 housing units at an average density of 534.8 per square mile...
) was born on January 13, 1912 in Genoa. Wedge had a "fistic encounter" with a lawyer named Rose, whom Wedge whipped in the public street. In the subsequent hearing held by the Kearney Presbytery in July 1912, Wedge admitted conduct unbecoming a minister, and renounced his allegiance to the presbytery. The Presbytery terminated his pastorate at Genoa on July 24, 1912, and suspended him on the ground of insubordination from any ministerial activity until his trial in September.
During his suspension from the ministry, Wedge wrote a novel, The Fighting Parson of Barbary Coast, based in part on his own life and ministry, which was published by November 1912. Wedge dedicated it to Prudence: "to the noble woman who saw good in me when others saw evil; who believed I would win despite every handicap." Wedge trained "Battling" Nelson at St. Joe, Wisconsin
St. Joe, Wisconsin
St. Joe is an unincorporated community in the town of Marshfield in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. The community is located on County Highway G in the northeast portion of the county, northwest of St. Cloud and northeast of Mount Calvary. It is considered part of the Holyland.The...
in early September as he was "run down and needed the exercise", where he also engaged in street preaching.
On September 24, 1912, Wedge was found not guilty of all charges, after he explained that Rose had "attempted pugilistic tactics by insolent words and by puffing out his chest, ... he annoyed my wife when she was in poor health". Wedge refused $3,000 to box again on the orpheum circuit and another offer of $125 a week to play a militant preacher in a New York Bowery
Bowery
Bowery may refer to:Streets:* The Bowery, a thoroughfare in Manhattan, New York City* Bowery Street is a street on Coney Island in Brooklyn, N.Y.In popular culture:* Bowery Amphitheatre, a building on the Bowery in New York City...
play, in order to accept the Presbyterian Church's offer to be an evangelist on the Nebraska home mission district for $800 a year.
About 1912 Wedge held a series of religious meetings at the Presbyterian church in Table Rock, Nebraska
Table Rock, Nebraska
Table Rock is a village in Pawnee County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 264 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Table Rock is located at ....
. In December 1912 Wedge was tried but found not guilty in the "celebrated" trial of State v. Fred Wedge in Nebraska.
On June 5, 1913 Wedge announced his resignation from the ministry in Eureka, California
Eureka, California
Eureka is the principal city and the county seat of Humboldt County, California, United States. Its population was 27,191 at the 2010 census, up from 26,128 at the 2000 census....
, as "the call of the blood was too strong". Wedge announced: "I am quitting the ministry for several sufficient reasons. My forehead is too low, my jaw is too square. I like the things of the world too well".
A ferw hours later Wedge was arrested and incarcerated overnight in the city jail due to public intoxication after a charge by Rev. Arthur Hayes Sargent (Born May 18, 1879 in Corinth, Vermont
Corinth, Vermont
Corinth is a town in Orange County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,461 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 48.5 square miles , of which 48.5 square miles is land and 0.04 square mile is water...
; died August 9, 1969 in Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
), pastor of the Eureka Universalist church
Universalist Church of America
The Universalist Church of America was a Christian Universalist religious denomination in the United States . Known from 1866 as the Universalist General Convention, the name was changed to the Universalist Church of America in 1942...
, who with some other local ministers had tried to rescue him. However, on September 21, 1913 Wedge spoke at the Church of Christ in Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
.
By May 1914 Wedge was claimed to have fought and "never suffered defeat", and in 1922 his record was given as having "fought 70 fights and lost but three of them".
In the Summer of 1914 Wedge gave lectures on his life at Chautauqua
Chautauqua
Chautauqua was an adult education movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua brought entertainment and culture for the whole community, with...
s at Lodi, California
Lodi, California
Lodi is a city located in , in the northern portion of California's Central Valley. The population was 62,134 at the 2010 census. The California Department of Finance's population estimate as of January 1, 2011 is 62,473....
in May, Modesto, California
Modesto, California
Modesto is a city in, and is the county seat of, Stanislaus County, California. With a population of approximately 201,165 at the 2010 census, Modesto ranks as the 18th largest city in the state of California....
in June, and Butte, Montana
Butte, Montana
Butte is a city in Montana and the county seat of Silver Bow County, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. As of the 2010 census, Butte's population was 34,200...
in July.
In December 1914 The Beatrice Daily Sun reported Wedge's "fall from grace".
First Baptist Church, Rhinelander (1916-1917)
By May 1916 Wedge became the pastor of the First Baptist Church in Rhinelander, WisconsinRhinelander, Wisconsin
Rhinelander is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, Wisconsin, United States. Its population was 7,735 at the 2000 census.-Claim to fame:...
. While pastoring the Rhineland church, Wedge complete courses at the University of Wisconsin. Despite his retirement from boxing, Wedge, known as "the Fighting Parson", supported the sport indicating that it was more clean and wholesome than in his era, and inspired youth to lead clean and healthy lives. Consequently, in January 1917 Wedge applied for a licence to organize and manage the Rhinelander Amateur Athletic Association in order to train his Sunday School boys and hold bouts in their gymnasium. The Wisconsin Athletic Association approved their licensing on January 2, 1917.
On January 10, 1917 Wedge was arrested on a charge of using slanderous language on January 1, 1917 to a former member of his congregation, whom Wedge had ousted from church membership for irregular conduct. On January 13, 1917, Wedge was jailed for a few hours in Rhinelander after being found guilty of using abusive language. After pleading not guilty, Wedge admitted the charge, but indicated he had been provoked, and refused to pay the fine of $5 and costs. Wedge was released after the fine was paid anonymously. On February 18, 1917 Wedge was admitted to St. Mary's Hospital after collapsing while preaching in the evening service at the Rhinelander First Baptist Church, and was unable to complete the service. On February 23, 1918 Wedge resigned from the First Baptist church due to his health and departed for Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs is the 10th most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Garland County, and the principal city of the Hot Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area encompassing all of Garland County...
, where he planned to remain until he regained his health and then return to his pastorate.
After his resignation from the Rhinelander pastorate, Wedge worked erecting silo
Silo
A silo is a structure for storing bulk materials.Silo may also refer to:* Silo , a 3D modeling software* Silo , a defunct chain of retail electronics stores* SILO , used in Linux...
s, but quit as it did not meet his income needs. By July 1917 Wedge had moved to St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. After the USA entered World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Wedge attempted to enlist in the US Army in order to fight overseas, but was rejected despite being physically fit, because of his use of a dental plate due to his "shortage of teeth, accounted for by the numerous pugilistic encounters he had before entering the ministry". After being rejected for military service, Wedge obtained a job working in a munitions factory in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
.
By August 1, 1917 Wedge found employment as a brakeman
Brakeman
A brakeman is a rail transport worker whose original job it was to assist the braking of a train by applying brakes on individual wagons. The advent of through brakes on trains made this role redundant, although the name lives on in the United States where brakemen carry out a variety of functions...
for the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad on the Antigo, Wisconsin
Antigo, Wisconsin
Antigo is a city in and the county seat of Langlade County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 8,560 at the 2000 census. Antigo is the center of a farming and lumbering district, and its manufactures consist principally of lumber, chairs, furniture, sashes, doors and blinds, hubs and...
to Ashland, Wisconsin
Ashland, Wisconsin
Ashland is a city in Ashland and Bayfield counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The city is a port on Lake Superior, near the head of Chequamegon Bay. The population was 8,695 at the 2010 census....
line, earning $125 a month, with which he hoped to pay off his debts and accumulate a small "nest egg". Later that month Wedge was involved in a street fight at the rear of a downtown saloon in Antigo, Wisconsin
Antigo, Wisconsin
Antigo is a city in and the county seat of Langlade County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 8,560 at the 2000 census. Antigo is the center of a farming and lumbering district, and its manufactures consist principally of lumber, chairs, furniture, sashes, doors and blinds, hubs and...
with a "ham and egger" named "Fighting Leach", that was broken up by the police. Wedge was charged with disorderly conduct, found guilty, and the sentence was suspended.
Wedge discontinued his studies at the University of Nebraska in 1917 in his Senior year and the family moved to Chicago, Illinois.
Olivet Presbyterian Church, Chicago (1917)
Wedge moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he was the assistant pastor of the Olivet Presbyterian Church in Chicago, where he had 300 young men in his athletic Bible class. At this time Wedge also was the director of the Junior Boys' club of Olivet.While in Chicago, Wedge did a post-graduate course in Greek, Hebrew, and other subjects at the McCormick Theological Seminary
McCormick Theological Seminary
McCormick Theological Seminary is one of eleven schools of theology of the Presbyterian Church . It shares a campus with the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, bordering the campus of the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois...
.
YMCA secretary, Camp Grant (1917-1918)
By the end of November 1917, Wedge and his family moved to Rockford, IllinoisRockford, Illinois
Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...
, where his wife's younger sister Eunice D. Tracy (born 1874 in Ohio) lived. As Wedge had been previously refused admission into the US Army, and as he believed that boxing training would help American soldiers defeat the Germans, Wedge volunteered to be a civilian boxing instructor for the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
at Camp Grant
Camp Grant (Illinois)
For other uses see Camp Grant.Camp Grant was a U.S. Army facility located in the southern outskirts of Rockford, Illinois named in honor of General Ulysses S. Grant...
near Rockford, Illinois
Rockford, Illinois
Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...
, where he also ministered to the men of the 341st Infantry, 35th Engineers, and the Quartermaster Corps. While at Camp Grant, Wedge became the secretary for the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
building No. 4 at Camp Grant, and formed an Ironsides Bible Class among the 86th Division, reviving the motto of Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
's Ironsides
Ironside (cavalry)
The Ironsides were troopers in the Parliamentarian cavalry formed by English political leader Oliver Cromwell in the 17th century, during the English Civil War. The name came from "Old Ironsides", one of Cromwell's nicknames...
: "The Lord of hosts is with us". In December 1917 Wedge was found guilty of using abusive language.
After being hospitalized after a severe bout of influenza
Influenza
Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...
in the Winter of 1917-1918, Wedge was diagnosed as having "hasty consumption" (incurable tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
) and given only 2–3 months to live, with the recommendation that he move to a warmer climate. In April 1918 Wedge was discharged from his duties at Camp Grant.
Texas (1918-1919)
In late April 1918 Wedge was transported to El Paso, TexasEl Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
, where after a few weeks he worked as a street car motorman
Motorman
A motorman is the person who operates an electrified trolley car, tram, light rail, or rapid transit train.The term refers to the person who is in charge of the motor in the same sense as a railroad engineer is in charge of the engine. The term was gender-neutral...
for the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad. In May 1918 Wedge wrote: "Whether I get well or die, I am going to keep smiling as long as I can get a bit of air in these old lungs of mine". Needing funds to relocate from El Paso, Texas
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
to Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
to enroll in the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
, and after extensive training which he believed cured him of tuberculosis, and hoping to be able to return to his position as a boxing trainer in the US Army, Wedge returned briefly to the ring by September 1918. After bouts with two border army corps men in preceding months, on January 1, 1919, Hedge fought Sergeant Tommy Murphy, the welterweight
Welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also began to use it for their own weight division system...
champion of the Southwestern United States
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
, who was serving with the US 5th Cavalry at Fort Bliss
Fort Bliss
Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in the U.S. states of New Mexico and Texas. With an area of about , it is the Army's second-largest installation behind the adjacent White Sands Missile Range. It is FORSCOM's largest installation, and has the Army's largest Maneuver Area behind the...
,. but was knocked out
Knockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
early in the fight and lost the ten round fight on a points decision. Wedge remained in his job in El Paso until July 1919.
Arizona (1919-1921)
In July 1919 Wedge moved from El Paso to Tucson, ArizonaTucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
to began his studies at the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
. Initially Wedge worked as a switchman
Brakeman
A brakeman is a rail transport worker whose original job it was to assist the braking of a train by applying brakes on individual wagons. The advent of through brakes on trains made this role redundant, although the name lives on in the United States where brakemen carry out a variety of functions...
for the Southern Railroad for eight hours each night from midnight. By January 1920 Wedge was employed as a clerk at the Southern Railroad, and lived in a boarding house on East 13th Street, Tucson with his wife and son. After twelve months at the University, Wedge completed his course requirements and graduated in June 1920 with a Bachelor of Arts degree where he studied Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and the sciences. Wedge was able to speak six languages. In Spring 1921 Wedge's application for admission was accepted to the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, where he planned to earn a Ph.D. in social and educational psychology. To earn sufficient funds to study at Harvard, Wedge accepted the position as the principal of the Union High School
Benson High School (Arizona)
Benson High School is a high school in Benson, Arizona. It is part of the Benson Unified School District....
in Benson, Arizona
Benson, Arizona
-Transportation:Benson Airport is located 3 miles north west of the city.Benson is served by Interstate 10 to the north, which travels directly to downtown Tucson....
.
Harvard University (1922)
Wedge left Arizona to enrol in the Graduate School of Education of Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
on December 31, 1921 with only $10 and "rode the rails" in railroad boxcar
Boxcar
A boxcar is a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry general freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is probably the most versatile, since it can carry most loads...
s for 2,000 miles, arriving in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
on January 16, 1922. However, soon after his arrival, Wedge was advised he would not be admitted to Harvard University. Harvard officials rescinded their offer of admission, probably due to the publicity surrounding his pugilistic past, indicating that "despite his degree that he was not scholastically equipped to enter for the degree of doctor of philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
". Wedge fought to reclaim his place at Harvard, indicating he had renounced his "barbarian ways for the glory of Harvard", and promising that if admitted on probation for a year, he would study hard, and not publicise his past. On February 15, 1922, the Harvard authorities decided to admit Wedge for second semester. Wedge intended to specialize in psychology, and return to teach at the University of Arizona after graduation in 1925.
On March 13, 1922 Wedge appeared in District Court in Watertown, Massachusetts
Watertown, Massachusetts
The Town of Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,915 at the 2010 census.- History :Archeological evidence suggests that Watertown was inhabited for thousands of years before the arrival of settlers from England...
after being arrested for public intoxication late the previous evening in Mary's lunch room, but was released without penalty as a first offender. After an investigation by Harry W. Holmes, dean of the Graduate School of Education, Wedge was exonerated as it was discovered that he had been ill with the grippe and that his intoxication was due to taking a prescribed dose of medicine that was a mixture of quinine
Quinine
Quinine is a natural white crystalline alkaloid having antipyretic , antimalarial, analgesic , anti-inflammatory properties and a bitter taste. It is a stereoisomer of quinidine which, unlike quinine, is an anti-arrhythmic...
and whiskey. After several weeks in hospital, Wedge left Harvard for Arizona after April 27, 1922. Despite claims by Harvard authorities that he had left Harvard due to a recurrence of tuberculosis, Wedge admitted that he had left as he was missing his wife and son who were still living in Arizona, and that the weather was affecting him adversely. Later he acknowledged that lack of finances also compelled him to leave Harvard. Wedge planned to return to Harvard with his family in September 1922.
In June 1922 Wedge announced plans to produce a film of his life story, in which he would star, with all profits to be used to finance his return to Harvard.
California (1922-1923)
To earn funds to return to Harvard to complete his post-graduate studies, Wedge moved to Los Angeles, California by the beginning of July, 1922.Congregational Church, Terminal Island (1922-1923)
At the beginning of July 1922 Wedge started the Los Angeles, Terminal Union Congregational churchCongregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
at Terminal Island
Terminal Island
Terminal Island is an island located in Los Angeles County, California between Los Angeles Harbor and Long Beach Harbor. Originally a mudflat known to the Spanish as Isla Raza de Buena Gente, and later called Rattlesnake Island, it has officially been Terminal Island since 1918...
"among the lumber yards and shipbuilding plants of Los Angeles Harbor". Wedge preached to the longshoremen each noon and on Sundays without any compensation. By 1923 Wedge had resigned as the pastor of the Congregational Church on Terminal Island.
In July 1922 Wedge joined the Marine Transport Workers Industrial Union 510 in San Pedro, California and became a longshoreman. While working as a longshoreman, Wedge joined the Industrial Workers of the World
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
. During the April 1923 San Pedro strike, Wedge addressed about 2,000 strikers at the May Day
May Day
May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....
rally organized by the IWW at Fourth and Beacon Streets, San Pedro. Wedge was one of 26 arrested when the police arrested San Pedro strikers on May 4, 1923, but was released from jail by May 14. Wedge, who was assaulted by a jail officer, became sympathetic to the cause of the IWW and its members. Wedge was eventually elected to the executive board of the IWW. Wedge later used his 15 months of experiences inside the IWW to fulfil his academic requirements and gather data for his thesis
Thesis
A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...
, and later to lecture on the IWW. Wedge's self-published book Inside the I.W.W. was published in 1924, with its profits helping meet the cost of further post-graduate studies.
Harvard University (1923-1924)
Later in 1923 Wedge returned to Harvard and spent twelve months in classes there. Wedge was commended by his Harvard professors for both his academic ability and application.California (1924-1927)
By 1924 Wedge transferred to the University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
as a post-graduate student. While studying at UC Berkeley, Wedge and his family lived at the Kittredge Apartments in Berkeley. By August 1924 Wedge was a teaching fellow at UC Berkeley. Rather than accept the position of principal of a local high school, at the end of December 1924 Wedge announced his intention to become an evangelist
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
. However, he subsequently joined the faculty at Redwood City High School
Sequoia High School (Redwood City, California)
Sequoia High School is a high school in downtown Redwood City, California, United States. Established in 1895, it is the oldest high school in the San Francisco Bay Area between San Francisco and San Jose. It was founded as a preparatory school for Stanford University...
.
At the end of December 1924 Wedge announced that after he completed his post-graduate studies at the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
, that it was his intention to forgo his ambition to become a college professor to become an evangelist, hoping to succeed Billy Sunday
Billy Sunday
William Ashley "Billy" Sunday was an American athlete who, after being a popular outfielder in baseball's National League during the 1880s, became the most celebrated and influential American evangelist during the first two decades of the 20th century.Born into poverty in Iowa, Sunday spent some...
, a former professional baseball player who was the best-known evangelist of the early 20th century.
On Sunday evening, May 2, 1926, Wedge preached on the subject "A Knock-out for the Devil" at the First Church of the Nazarene in Oakland, California.
Pasadena College (1926-1927)
By 1926 Wedge had been awarded a doctor of divinityDoctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects....
degree and was recruited by H. Orton Wiley
H. Orton Wiley
Henry Orton Wiley was a Christian theologian primarily associated with the followers of John Wesley who are part of the Holiness movement...
to be the dean of the college of liberal arts
Liberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
at the Church of the Nazarene
Church of the Nazarene
The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged from the 19th century Holiness movement in North America with its members colloquially referred to as Nazarenes. It is the largest Wesleyan-holiness denomination in the world. At the end of 2010, the Church of the...
's Pasadena College, where he was also professor of sociology and psychology.
Wedge resigned from Pasadena College in 1927 to enrol in a Master's degree program at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Soon after his arrival in New York, Wedge's wife, Prudence, who had been diagnosed with cancer, had two major operations, and was sent to her sister Eunice's home in Freeport, Illinois
Freeport, Illinois
Freeport is a city in and the county seat of Stephenson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 26,443 at the 2000 census. The mayor of Freeport is George W...
to recuperate.
Presbyterian Church, Monroe (1927)
In June 1927 it was announced that Wedge would become the pastor of the Presbyterian church in Monroe, NebraskaMonroe, Nebraska
Monroe is a village in Platte County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 307 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Monroe is located at ....
, having received 27 of 29 votes cast by the church members. Despite his son Hugh winning the A.A.U.
Amateur Athletic Union
The Amateur Athletic Union is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.-History:The AAU was founded in 1888 to...
Midwest Lightweight title victory in a boxing bout in Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
on January 31, 1928, Wedge filed charges with the A.A.U. against the referee who officiated, alleging he allowed the opponent to foul Hugh repeatedly.
On Friday April 13, 1928, Wedge returned to the University of Nebraska and lectured on the Industrial Workers of the World
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
, drawing on his fifteen months experience as a member.
As Prudence needed to move to California for her recovery, Wedge left Columbia University and traveled to California with his son to establish a home in preparation for her coming. Prudence died in Illinois in May 1928, and was buried in Oakland, California after a funeral conducted by her husband.
California (1928-1930)
Wedge returned to Berkeley, worked part-time as an undercover prohibition agentBureau of Prohibition
The Bureau of Prohibition was the federal law enforcement agency formed to enforce the National Prohibition Act of 1919, commonly known as the Volstead Act, which backed up the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution regarding the prohibition of the manufacture, sale, and transportation...
, and completed his post-graduate work at the University of California
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
's Summer session in 1928.
While eschewing the use of alcohol, in 1928 Wedge campaigned for the repeal of the Volstead Act
Volstead Act
The National Prohibition Act, known informally as the Volstead Act, was the enabling legislation for the Eighteenth Amendment which established prohibition in the United States...
and Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
arguing they were ineffective, and that training of young people to make good decisions by their parents would be more effective. In November 1928 Wedge led an unsuccessful campaign to repeal California's 10-round boxing law.
First Presbyterian Church, Oakland (1928-1929)
By January 1929 Wedge was the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church at 2619 Broadway, Oakland, CaliforniaOakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
.
On Friday, July 14, 1933, Hugh Wedge fought Jack Howard over three rounds in an exhibition bout at the Athens Athletic Club in Oakland, California. By September 1935 Hugh Wedge was a successful amateur boxer with aspirations to box as a middleweight
Middleweight
Middleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
in the 1936 Summer Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany, after winning the Diamond Belt titles for simon-pures
A Bold Stroke for a Wife
A Bold Stroke for a Wife is Susanna Centlivre's 18th-century satirical English play developed in 1717. The plot expresses the author's unabashed support of the British Whig Party: she criticizes the Tories, religious hypocrisy, and the greed of capitalism....
of Oregon, California, and Arizona. In February 1936 Hugh Wedge sparred with former heavyweight champion Max Baer in Oakland, as part of Baer's efforts to reclaim his title. A third round TKO defeat by Hugh McPhillips in the semi-finals of the Pacific 160-pound championship at the Dreamland auditorium in San Francisco, proved to be the end of Hugh Wedge's Olympic aspirations.
Nebraska (1945)
By April 1945 Wedge was the pastor of the Union Church in Monroe, NebraskaMonroe, Nebraska
Monroe is a village in Platte County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 307 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Monroe is located at ....
, and taught boxing to the local boys.
On April 24, 1945, Wedge and Guy Buckles fought for the fourth time in their careers, their first since 1913, a three round exhibition bout in Monroe, Nebraska
Monroe, Nebraska
Monroe is a village in Platte County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 307 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Monroe is located at ....
in a boxing carnival organized by Wedge, who was then pastor of the Union Church.
Prudence Olive Tracy (1910-1928)
After a protracted friendship, a broken engagement and cancelled wedding plans, Wedge married Prudence Olive Tracy (born March 1872 in Ohio; died May 1928 in Freeport, IllinoisFreeport, Illinois
Freeport is a city in and the county seat of Stephenson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 26,443 at the 2000 census. The mayor of Freeport is George W...
), the postmistress
Postmaster
A postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...
of Florence, Nebraska
Florence, Nebraska
Florence is a neighborhood in Omaha, Nebraska on the city's north end and originally one of the oldest cities in Nebraska. It was incorporated by the Nebraska Territorial Legislature on March 10, 1857. The site of Winter Quarters for Mormon migrants traveling west, it has the oldest cemetery for...
, a northern suburb of Omaha, since 1895, a graduate of the University of Nebraska, choir singer and concert musician, and the third of the five children of Sarah E. Smalley (born October 1846 in Ohio; died September 2, 1889 in Ohio) and Jonathan Franklin Tracy (born about 1845 in Otway, Ohio
Otway, Ohio
Otway is a village in Scioto County, Ohio, United States. The population was 86 at the 2000 census.The first house in Otway Village was built in 1841, and the first post office served the area in 1847...
), a Wisconsin physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
. on December 18, 1910 in Florence, Nebraska
Florence, Nebraska
Florence is a neighborhood in Omaha, Nebraska on the city's north end and originally one of the oldest cities in Nebraska. It was incorporated by the Nebraska Territorial Legislature on March 10, 1857. The site of Winter Quarters for Mormon migrants traveling west, it has the oldest cemetery for...
. Prudence had previously been engaged, but broke off her engagement to the other mman who had decided to migrate to Canada. Wedge and Prudence were soon engaged, and had announced their wedding date, but Prudence cancelled the wedding after a family friend brought to her mother's attention rumors that Wedge had not really reformed but was rather living an immoral life. In 1909 Wedge resigned from the pastorate and relocated to San Francisco to work as a missionary on the Barbary Coast. After their marriage, the Wedges moved to San Francisco.
Thirteen months later their only child, Hugh Tracy Wedge (born January 13, 1912 born in Genoa, Nebraska
Genoa, Nebraska
Genoa is a city in Nance County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 981 at the 2000 census. Genoa is a community rich in culture and farming is a major source of income for much of the surrounding area. The city was founded by the Mormons in 1857...
; died January 20, 1991 in Lake Havasu City, Arizona
Lake Havasu City, Arizona
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 41,938 people, 17,911 households, and 12,716 families residing in the city. The population density was 974.4 people per square mile . There were 23,018 housing units at an average density of 534.8 per square mile...
) was born.
Prudence was diagnosed with cancer, and had two major operations about 1927, and was sent to her sister Eunice's home in Freeport, Illinois
Freeport, Illinois
Freeport is a city in and the county seat of Stephenson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 26,443 at the 2000 census. The mayor of Freeport is George W...
to recuperate. As Prudence needed to move to California for her recovery, Wedge and Hugh worked their way to California to establish a home in preparation for her coming. However, Prudence died about May 15, 1928, just after after Wedge and Hugh arrived at her bedside in Illinois. Prudence was buried in Oakland, California after a funeral conducted by her husband.
On August 20, 1928, Wedge, who was despondent due to the death of Prudence in May, his unemployment, and financial problems, was prevented from committing suicide in his apartment at 2261 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, by friends who had received his farewell letters. Wedge wrote a letter of resignation from the Presbyterian church where he held his minister's credentials so that he would not die as a clergyman. Wedge was committed to the psychiatric ward of the Highlands Hospital for several days of observation after a petition by his friend, Rev. Miles B. Davis, pastor of the First Congregational Church in Berkeley.
Jennie Mina Holliday (1929)
While studying at the University of California Summer session in 1928, Wedge met Jennie Mina Holliday, a fellow student, with whom he soon fell in love, and decided to marry after she had visited him several times when he was hospitalized after his August 1928 suicide attempt. However, his friend Dr. Lapsley Armstrong McAfee (born on March 31, 1864 in Ashley, MissouriAshley, Missouri
Ashley is an unincorporated community in Pike County, Missouri, United States. It is located on Route 161 about six miles south of Bowling Green....
; died Dumaguete, Philippine Islands
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, on January 18, 1935), pastor of the Berkeley Presbyterian Church, refused to perform the ceremony, as it was incompatible with Presbyterian beliefs on divorce and remarriage. Rev. Chauncey David Norris, pastor of the Church of the Nazarene
Church of the Nazarene
The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged from the 19th century Holiness movement in North America with its members colloquially referred to as Nazarenes. It is the largest Wesleyan-holiness denomination in the world. At the end of 2010, the Church of the...
in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, agreed to perform the ceremony. However, after Wedge's denominational leaders protested his intention to marry Holloway, as she had been divorced on the grounds of incompatibility, Wedge decided to break his engagement to Holloway and cancel the wedding. Three hours before the wedding Wedge sent a special delivery letter to Holloway: "It is better for me to remain a lonely Presbyterian minister than to marry you and break God's law. The Bible is against our marriage. While your husband is still living I would be breaking God's law by living with you, even though the laws of California sanction it". However, within hours he reconsidered and announced his intention to resign as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
and also from the Presbyterian denomination and to marry Holloway. The wedding was held in the evening of January 25, 1929, two hours later than scheduled, in Holloway's Oakland home, with Hugh Wedge as best man and Holloway's daughter, Mrs Jeanette Dale, the bridesmaid.
On the day after the wedding, Rev. Charles Smith, District Superintendent of the Northern California District of the Church of the Nazarene
Church of the Nazarene
The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged from the 19th century Holiness movement in North America with its members colloquially referred to as Nazarenes. It is the largest Wesleyan-holiness denomination in the world. At the end of 2010, the Church of the...
, contacted Norris and advised him that he had no right under Nazarene polity to conduct the wedding of a person who had divorced unless adultery was the grounds, and that he would "unfrock
Defrocking
To defrock, unfrock, or laicize ministers or priests is to remove their rights to exercise the functions of the ordained ministry. This may be due to criminal convictions, disciplinary matters, or disagreements over doctrine or dogma...
him for marrying a person divorced on grounds outside those recognized by the church". Norris was confident he would be exonerated after Nazarene authorities investigated the situation. On Monday, January 28, 1929, Norris met with Wedge in the bridal suite on the seventh floor of the Hotel Oakland, and quarreled about the wedding. Norris initially refused to file the paperwork for the wedding, as he claimed Wedge had lied to him about the marital status of Holloway, creating the impression that she was a widow. After Wedge threatened to file a mandamus suit
Mandamus
A writ of mandamus or mandamus , or sometimes mandate, is the name of one of the prerogative writs in the common law, and is "issued by a superior court to compel a lower court or a government officer to perform mandatory or purely ministerial duties correctly".Mandamus is a judicial remedy which...
against him, Norris filed the paperwork at the hall of records. Wedge indicated that: "To save his own ecclesiastical hide, Norris would like to get me out on a limb and then saw the limb off". Wedge insisted that even if the church did not recognize the legality of his wedding, that "we are married in the eyes of God and that is enough to satisfy me". Wedge also indicated that while he expected never to be given a pastorate again, that he had no intention of resigning from the church: "They may keep me from preaching, but they won't kick me out of the church". Wedge planned to train and manage his son, who was a promising amateur boxer, but on January 30, 1929, Hugh informed his father that he had decided not to sign a contract with him, and to remain in high school and then work in a foundry. After this argument with his son, Wedge indicated that he lost control and contemplated throwing himself out of his hotel window to spare his bride anymore humiliation.
Within a week of his wedding, Wedge had been committed to the psychiatric ward in the Highland Hospital
Highland Hospital (Oakland, California)
Highland Hospital is a public hospital located in Alameda County, Oakland, California. It is operated by the Alameda County Medical Center.It is a Level II trauma center.- History :-External links:*...
in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
for observation after admitting to an alienist that he had been obsessed with either strangling his new wife or defenestrating
Defenestration
Defenestration is the act of throwing someone or something out of a window.The term "defenestration" was coined around the time of an incident in Prague Castle in the year 1618. The word comes from the Latin de- and fenestra...
her during their honeymoon. Wedge also confessed that "for several months I have been fighting a desire to kill myself. For weeks I would want to slash my throat every time I picked up a razor. Every time I looked out of a high window I wanted to jump out. I am a sick man and for my own protection and for the protection of my loved ones I want to be locked up and be placed where I can harm neither myself or anyone else". Wedge believed his condition was caused by damage caused by a frontal skull fracture sustained in a saloon fight about 1899, and exacerbated by the stress caused by the publicity surrounding his wedding and resignation from the church.
Jennie Wedge announced on 1 February 1929 that she would be seeking to have her marriage to Wedge annulled. She was reported as saying: "If he is mentally unbalanced I am sorry. But I could never live with him again. I would be in constant fear of my life. We had been so happy all week long until this sudden threat of his to kill me and then himself". On February 2, 1929 Jennie Wedge applied in the superior court to have her marriage to Wedge annulled on the basis of his "unsound mind" and his fraud, alleging that Wedge "falsely and fraudulently" represented that he had sufficient funds to provide for her immediate needs, whereas he had insufficient funds to pay the $100 bill for their honeymoon suite. Also on February 2, 1929 Wedge was charged with insanity at his own request, with the papers signed by his son, Hugh. On February 5, 1929 Wedge was declared insane and committed to the Napa State Hospital, "an insane asylum" in Napa, California
Napa, California
-History:The name Napa was probably derived from the name given to a southern Nappan village whose people shared the area with elk, deer, grizzlies and cougars for many centuries, according to Napa historian Kami Santiago. At the time of the first recorded exploration into Napa Valley in 1823, the...
.
Wedge's marriage to Holliday was annulled after June 1929.
After his father's committal, Hugh Wedge lived with relatives in Emeryville, California
Emeryville, California
Emeryville is a small city located in Alameda County, California, in the United States. It is located in a corridor between the cities of Berkeley and Oakland, extending to the shore of San Francisco Bay. Its proximity to San Francisco, the Bay Bridge, the University of California, Berkeley, and...
, where he attended Emeryville High School. After graduation in 1931, Hugh Wedge was accepted into the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, where he was part of the USC boxing team.
Viola M. Anderson (1930)
By the beginning of April 1930 Wedge was listed as being an unmarried author, and living in the Union Mission, a two-story frame building for indigent men, at 126 South Marengo Avenue, Pasadena. On April 15, 1930 The Los Angeles Times announced Wedge's intention to marry Viola M. Anderson (born about 1900 in Wisconsin), a stenographer residing in Montebello, CaliforniaMontebello, California
Montebello is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the southwestern part of the San Gabriel Valley. It is located on of land just east of downtown Los Angeles. It is considered part of the Gateway Cities, and the city is a member of the Gateway Cities Council of...
with her Swedish father.
Wedge lived in Berkeley, California until 1932, taught psychology at Pasadena College, and wrote several books, as well as filled the pulpit in several cities.
Matilda Trueds (1933)
On Tuesday, April 4, 1933, Wedge married divorceeDivorcee
Divorcee, refers to a person whose marriage has ended in divorce, a legal dissolution of marriage before death by either spouse. The feminine form is "divorcée", and the masculine "divorcé". At one time the term had negative cultural and religious associations...
Matilda Trueds, a traveler and writer from Sweden, in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, in a ceremony conducted by his friend, Rev. Mark A. Matthews. Wedge was arrested on August 8, 1933, in the lobby of the Royal Hotel at Twentieth Street and San Pablo Avenue, Oakland, for being drunk and disturbing hotel patrons.
On September 16, 1933 Hugh married Marion Phyllis Hohl, a secretary, in Oakland, California.
Death
Wedge moved from Oakland, California to Napa, CaliforniaNapa, California
-History:The name Napa was probably derived from the name given to a southern Nappan village whose people shared the area with elk, deer, grizzlies and cougars for many centuries, according to Napa historian Kami Santiago. At the time of the first recorded exploration into Napa Valley in 1823, the...
and lived with his son, Hugh. Wedge died on March 3, 1953 in Napa.
Works
- The Fighting Parson of Barbary Coast. Columbus, Nebraska: Tribune Printing Company, 1912.
- "From Prize Ring to Doors of Harvard". Boston Globe (February 13, 1922).
- "On the San Pedro Slave Market".
- "Inside the IWW, by a Former Member and Official: A Study of the Behavior of the IWW, with Reference to Primary Causes" (1924).