Thursday, January 12, 2017

The Weigh-In Podcast Preview

My new show The Weigh-In will debut on February 1, 2017. This biweekly show will give listeners an inside look into the sport of boxing both past and present. The series premier will feature my interview with former middleweight boxing contender Frank Savannah who fought professionally from 1991-1997, and retired with an impressive record of 15 wins, 1 loss, and 1 draw. On December 14, 1994, Savannah fought Dana Rosenblatt for the WBC Continental Americas Middleweight Title. This bout was the only defeat in Savannah’s six year boxing career. Frank is currently a boxing coach and trainer at Nick Catone MMA & Fitness in Brick, New Jersey.

The second episode will air on February 15th, and will feature my interviews with two of Arizona's boxing gym owners Artur Petrosyan and Sonny Gutierrez. Artur was an Armenian National Boxing Champion who fought professionally as a lightweight from 1999 to 2003. Artur runs Camelback Boxing Gym in Phoenix. Sonny is a former amateur and professional boxer who runs Sonny's Boxing Gym in Goodyear.

These two episodes will be followed up with episodes in March featuring my interviews with Randy Neumann and Steve Peacock. Randy captured the USA New Jersey State Heavyweight Title on December 9, 1971 with a victory over Chuck Wepner. He worked as a professional boxing referee from 1983 to 2014, and refereed hundreds of matches featuring boxing legends such as Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Wladimir Klitschko, and many others. Randy currently serves as a certified financial planner (CFP) at Randy Neumann Wealth Management in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.

Steve Peacock is a professional ring-announcer, voice talent and writer. For the past three years he has been the announcer for Global Proving Ground and Fight Club Champion, and during that time has also announced several USA Boxing-sanctioned tournaments and combat-sports events for promoters including Dead Serious MMA, Cage Fury Fighting Championships, and World Class Kickboxing Championships. Last baseball season he also successfully auditioned for a PA announcer slot for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, a AAA affiliate of the New York Yankees. He is available for ring/cage/stage announcing and emcee gigs as well as for voice-over recording productions. Separately, Peacock is putting the finishing touches on his novel PLAY DEAD, ROLL OVER, a fictionalized account of his ill-fated pursuit of a career with NYPD, which was cut short after getting shot by a retired New York City cop.

Fear not... I will continue to post photos and write ups from historical travels on this blog! I truly hope that fans of the MWHE Podcast will join us for this exciting new show! 

You can check out and subscribe to The Weigh-In Blog and Podcast via the following links:




MW


Thursday, January 5, 2017

Thomas Ward Custer's Grave

Thomas Ward Custer's Grave 
Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery
395 Biddle Boulevard
Fort Leavenworth, KS 66027
(Plot: Section A, Site 1488)

Thomas Ward Custer was born on March 15, 1845 in New Rumley, Ohio to Emanuel and Marie Custer. He was the younger brother of George Armstrong Custer. At the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, Custer enlisted in the 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He served in this unit until October 1864 when he was mustered out as a corporal. During his time with the 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry, he saw action at a number of major battles including Stones River and the Atlanta Campaign.

Custer received notoriety when he joined his brother George Armstrong in the 6th Michigan Cavalry. Thomas was commissioned as a second lieutenant in Company B, and eventually became his brother's aide-de-camp until the end of the war in 1865. Thomas became the first Soldier to receive two Medals of Honor in 1865 at the battles of Namozine Church (April 3, 1865) and Sailor's Creek (April 6, 1865). Thomas received these honors for capturing a Confederate regimental flag at each battle. These flags helped to identify a unit on the battlefield, and the loss of such flags was seen as a sign of disgrace to the losing command. By the end of the war, Custer had received a brevet as a lieutenant colonel.


Following the American Civil War, Custer chose to remain in the Army with his brother George Armstrong. He was appointed a first lieutenant in the 7th Cavalry, and served at the Battle of Washita in 1868, where he was wounded in battle. He also served in South Carolina, the Yellowstone Expedition (1873), and the Black Hills Expedition (1874). Thomas again served as George Armstrong's aide-de-camp during the June 25, 1876 Battle of Little Bighorn. During this battle, Thomas and other members of the 7th Cavalry were killed by a combined force Lakota, Dakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors under the leadership of Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse.

Thomas and a number of other 7th Cavalry troops were initially buried on the battlefield where they were killed. His remains were later exhumed and re-interred at Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery. Thomas is buried close to other officers of the 7th Cavalry who were also killed at the Battle of Little Bighorn.


Below are two links with more information on Thomas Ward Custer, along with several photos that I took of his grave site last summer:

https://www.nps.gov/libi/learn/historyculture/capt-tom-custer.htm

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?GRid=6793225&page=gr

MW








Sunday, January 1, 2017

The Matt Ward History Experience Podcast - Episode #12

Check out the twelfth edition of The Matt Ward History Experience Podcast!



Episode #12 contains the following segment:
  1. Let's Talk History - Interview with historian and author David Petriello.
You can check out David Petriello online via the following website:




First and foremost I would like to thank my guest David Petriello for sitting down to talk history with me. 

This episode would not have been possible if it had not been for the technical support of my good friend Peter Lloyd of One Stone Recording and Mastering. Pete mixed and cleaned up the original recordings into the great episode that you can stream on SoundCloud and iTunes.

Last but certainly not least, I would like to thank all of my readers and listeners - Especially our friend JP Favara who supports the MWHE on Patreon


The Matt Ward History Experience is brought to you by One Stone Recording and Mastering in New Brunswick, NJ. Check out One Stone Recording and Mastering for all of you mixing and mastering needs. Go to onestonerecording.com/mwhistory and receive 10% off your first session!

One Stone Recording and Mastering:



THANK YOU for your support over the last year and a half for the MWHE Podcast!

Matt Ward will return on February 1st with the series premier of an all-new biweekly boxing podcast called The Weigh-In! 


MW