Theory #2: Family Abduction by George Waters with George Brody and/or Associates

[Shadow205]

IMO, there is a good posibilty that this is George Brody.

 

[HeartofTexas]

To me Brody's jaw is even more noticeable in the 1923 picture I posted... it really looks prominent in that picture.

Shadow, thanks for posting the two you did... it helped me to be able to go back and forth.

MB, great job on your overlay! Wow, what a matchup. Brody's big ears are still a little bit of a problem for me, but I do understand they grow as we age (AAAACCCKKK!). However, if Brody was born in 1924 or 1935 as he claims, there's no reason for his ears to have grown that much by 1974. OTOH, if he was born in 1907, then they could very well have grown that much by '74. Anyway, great job. It's a pretty good matchup IMO.

 

[HeartofTexas]

This may be bad news... I think Midget and Bobby may have been the same person, and Wolgast wasn't his real name.

Midget Wolgast

Born Joseph Robert LoScalzo in Philadelphia, PA., Wolgast turned pro in 1925 and was considered one of the fastest boxers of his time. He marveled fans with his inventive antics in the ring. He boxed world class Corp. Izzy Schwartz in a no decision bout in 1927.


Wolgast, who was managed by Chris Dundee, defeated Black Bill for the vacant New York State Athletic Commission world flyweight title in 1930.


Wolgast drew with Frankie Genaro in a bout for the vacant world title. He successfully defended his title against Ruby Bradley and Willie LaMorte and also scored non-title wins over Lou Salica, Speedy Dado, Pete Sanistol and Juan Zurita before losing his crown to Small Montana, September 16, 1935.


Wolgast continued to box until 1940.

Further bad news:

Born: July 18, 1910
Died: Oct. 19, 1955

 

[HeartofTexas]

I believe Bobby and Midget are one in the same person. Here's an article from a 1930 article in Time Magazine:

Well, shoot... Time won't let you copy it. It shows up all garbled.

So here's the url:

www.time.com/time/archive/ preview/0,10987,738987,00.html

Also, the google return page showed this (if it happens to copy), which says that he changed his name to Midget.

He started to fight, changed his name to Midget Wolgast. Last week in Madison Square Garden he climbed into a ring and sat down facing

 

[mbroemsen]

Here is a link to some photos of Midget. I dont think he looks the same???

http://www.phillyboxinghistory.com/galleries/gallery_wolgast_midget.htm

 

[laini]

I found a George L. Brody listed in the online index of 'Cemetary Inscriptions Of Stark County, Ohio' Volume 4 - 1982. I wonder if Brody was from Ohio and had arranged for his ashes to be buried there, or if this is not even our Brody. I can find no further information. I don't know if the 1982 is referring to when the index was published or the date the cemetary inscription was made.

Does anybody think this is anything?

 

[mbroemsen]

Here is a link to Midget's fights:

http://www.boxrec.com/print.php?boxer_id=009568

And a link to Bobby's:
http://www.boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=010077

It certainly appears they are two different people

 

[Shadow205]

Here are the photos for comparison

 

[mbroemsen]

Midgets DOB is listed as 1910-07-18 which doesnt match up to the birth year for Bobby Wolgast that is 23?

 

[mfmangel1]

From what I can find....Bobby Wolgast fought only in the eastern part of the US and did so from 1920-1926.

Per http://www.boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=010077

 

[HeartofTexas]

The Robert Wolgast that I first found (born in 1907) is obviously the wrong one because Wolgast wasn't the boxer's real name. But I'm confused about the difference in the pix. But the Time article said Joseph Robert whatever his last name was changed his fighting name to Midget Wolgast, so I assume they're the same person. I'm totally confused, so don't rely too much on what I say.

 

[mbroemsen]

The Robert Wolgast that I first found (born in 1907) is obviously the wrong one because Wolgast wasn't the boxer's real name. But I'm confused about the difference in the pix. But the Time article said Joseph Robert whatever his last name was changed his fighting name to Midget Wolgast, so I assume they're the same person. I'm totally confused, so don't rely too much on what I say.

If they are two different people, couldnt it still be his real name?

The ears in the overlay could be off due to the camera angle...

 

[mfmangel1]

It appears to me that "Midget" fought several more years after any fight records for "Bobby" and that "Midget" was a flyweight, while "Bobby" was a bantamweight....I think.

 

[gardenmom]

For what it's worth they look like two different guys to me, and Bobby is definately worth looking into. :twocents:

 

[mbroemsen]

I used another photo of Wolgast overtop Brody...

I lined up the eyes and did the best I could measure from the top of the nose to the bottom. Its almost perfect from that standpoint.

http://www.broemsen.com/images/myspace/brody2.gif

Brodys face seems thinner but it could be the angle (he is not as head on as Wolgast) or perhaps it is age...

 

[HeartofTexas]

The ears in the overlay could be off due to the camera angle...

MB, sorry, when I said above that I was confused about the difference in the pix, I wasn't talking about the ears being off in Brody's pix... I was talking about the difference in the pix of Bobby and Midget. Sorry I didn't make myself clearer.

If I'm not mistaken, both Midget and Bobby died in 1955, but I need to recheck that because I'm still totally confused! I may have it mixed up with Ad Wolgast.

 

[HeartofTexas]

I'd say everyone is right... Midget and Bobby are two different fighters. I guess what mixed me up was the person on one website who mis-marked one of the boxing pix with the Genero guy and called him Bobby when it was really Midget. Lordy, I've learned more about boxing tonight than I ever hoped to... and more about the 4 different Wolgast boxers than my brain has room for.

So, we know Midget died in 1955, but we don't know when and if Bobby died. Is that right?

 

[Shadow205]

Some more about Midget:

Joseph Robert Loscalzo was born in Philadelphia on July 18, 1910 of Italian-American descent. His size undoubtedly accounted for the name "Midget," and he may have taken the professional name of Wolgast after the famous light heavyweight champion of the early 20th Century, Ad Wolgast, who was best known for successfully defending his title against Joe Rivers on July 4, 1912, when after what appeared to be a double knockout in the 13th round the referee inexplicably picked Wolgast off the canvas and declared him the winner.
Midget Wolgast's professional boxing career started in 1927. He won 22 of his first 25 matches.
http://members.tripod.com/newsbrown/wolgast.html

We have found where Bobby Wolgast was boxing in 1925. This makes me think that Bobby & Midget are 2 different people even though Midgets middle name is Robert.

 

[HeartofTexas]

And it's possible they're both from Pennsylvania. It's an odd coincidence to have so many boxers in the same time frame with the same last name (for boxing purposes) in the same state.

The one thing I can't determine from going thru the boxing archives is whether Bobby Wolgast was his real name or not. Most of the other boxers changed their names, but I can't find out whether Bobby did or not.

 

[SherlockJr]

I used another photo of Wolgast overtop Brody...

I lined up the eyes and did the best I could measure from the top of the nose to the bottom. Its almost perfect from that standpoint.

http://www.broemsen.com/images/myspace/brody2.gif

Brodys face seems thinner but it could be the angle (he is not as head on as Wolgast) or perhaps it is age...

MB, could you do this with the photo of GB in his younger years? There is a Marguarite Kilroy portrait on doogie's album, however you have to take off his glasses. (hehe)