Frederick Rhinaldo Wedge (July 31, 1880 – March 3, 1953) 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,"'Kid' Wedge Takes Roosevelt as Ideal", The New York Times (January 18, 1922). and his January 1929 second marriage were both a national cause célèbre in the USA."Kid Wedge, Pastor and Ex-Pugilist, 'Knocked Out' by Divorcee", The Milwaukee Journal (January 25, 1929):2.
Early life and family Frederick Rhinaldo Wedge was born on July 31, 1880, in Michigan, United States of America,Ancestry.com. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917–1918. Registration Location: El Paso County, Texas. Roll 1953279; Draft Board: 1. 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.Frederick R. ("Kid") Wedge, "From Prize Ring to Harvard: How I Fought My Way From the Lumber Camp to a College Degree", The Milwaukee Sentinel (March 4, 1922):10.One source says it was his mother who died when he was two. See "Remember 'Kid' Wedge?", The Evening State Journal and Lincoln Daily News (Lincoln, NE) (December 10, 1917):7. 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,Frederick R. ("Kid") Wedge, "From Prize Ring to Harvard: How I Fought My Way From the Lumber Camp to a College Degree", The Milwaukee Sentinel (February 20, 1922):18. Isaac Wedge (born December 1856 in French Canada),Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census Census Place: Martinez, Mecosta, Michigan; Roll: 609; Family History Film: 1254609; Page: 460C; Enumeration District: 253; Image: 0004."Fred Wedge Will Become Evangelist", Berkeley Daily Gazette (December 25, 1924):14. a sawmill man, and aunt Alice Hunter (born June 1861 in Michigan), who lived at 137 Eagle Street, Pelican, Wisconsin.Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census. Census Place: Pelican, Oneida, Wisconsin; Roll: T623_1808; Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 194.
As a young boy Wedge worked as a newsboy and sold newspapers, having to defend his location against "street arabs" and prevent theft,"Champion Fighter Now Chautauqua Lecturer", The Lodi Sentinel (Lodi, California) (May 12, 1914):2. and later worked as a helper in various Wisconsin lumber camps, before becoming a lumberjack in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Wedge soon acquired a reputation as a hard drinker and tough fighter,"Minister is Advocate of Boxing Game", The Troy Sunday Budget (Troy, New York) (January 7, 1917):17. and "took delight in starting drunken brawls in Rhinelander" and other logging camps, or assaulting policemen.American Magazine 85 (Colver Pub. House, 1918):54. 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".
Boxing career By the age of 18 Wedge became a 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 lumberjacks considered gouging, strangling and stamping with their hobnailed boots as fair in a fight"."'Rough and Tumble' Fighter of 20 Years Ago Rides Box Car from Arizona to Enter Harvard", Special to The New York Times (January 17, 1922):16, https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1922/01/17/107044980.pdf Among his opponents were Clarence English, Abdul the Turk and Jack Carrig.Frederick R. ("Kid") Wedge, "From Prize Ring to Harvard", Syracuse Herald (Syracuse, NY) (February 15, 1922):20.
Wedge fought as "Kid" Wedge in at least seventy professional boxing contests in seven years from 1899.Frederick R. ("Kid") Wedge, "From Prize Ring to Harvard: How I Fought My Way From the Lumber Camp to a College Degree", The Milwaukee Sentinel (February 22, 1922):18.One source says 60 fights. See Alexander McConnell, William Revell Moody, and Arthur Percy Fitt, eds. Record of Christian Work 37 (Record of Christian Work Co., 1918):454.Another source indicates Wedge participated in a hundred prize fights. See "Here and There", Lewiston Evening Journal (Lewiston, Maine) (November 28, 1906):6. 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,"Jackson and Jeffrics Tomorrow", Chicago Daily Tribune (March 21, 1898):1. 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."In Police Circles", The Daily Northwestern (Oshkosh, WI) (July 25, 1904):3.
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.Frederick R. ("Kid") Wedge, "Wedge Lied in Order to Meet Woman", Syracuse Herald (Syracuse, NY) (February 16, 1922):13. 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.Frederick R. ("Kid") Wedge, "The Fighter Begins His Battle for an Education", Syracuse Herald (Syracuse, NY) (February 19, 1922):9. 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 1906The Daily Free Press (Carbondale, IL) (June 19, 1906)."NOTE AND COMMENT", The Hartford Courant (Hartford, CT) (November 30, 1906):10. conducted by Presbyterian evangelist Rev. Hay Red Bell (born July 22, 1862, in Illinois; died November 16, 1917, in Missouri),Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census. Census Place: Upper Loutre, Montgomery, Missouri; Roll: T623_876; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 70.Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. General Assembly, Minutes of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1907).Presbyterian Magazine 13 (Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., 1907):761.Kenneth Weant, ed., Montgomery County, Missouri Obituaries, 1889–1935. a graduate of Moody Bible Institute.The Institute Tie 5:7 (March 1905):319. By November 1906 Wedge came to believe that it was wrong to fight except in self-defense, and that he should devote his life to Christian service."His Last Fight", Poverty Bay Herald (New Zealand), (26 January 1907):5, http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=PBH19070126.2.39 Other factors in his decision to retire were that he may have been the loser of several of his more recent bouts,"The Roundup by Willie West", Newburgh Telegram (Newburgh, NY) (December 8, 1906):3. 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."Here and There", Lewiston Evening Journal (Lewiston, Maine) (November 28, 1906):6. Wedge, who was scheduled to fight Guy Buckles"Boxer: Guy Buckles", https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/88309 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 Wedge 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".Frederick Wedge, in "His Last Fight", Poverty Bay Herald (New Zealand), (26 January 1907):5, http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=PBH19070126.2.39. In the ensuing altercation, both fighters were severely disfigured, but Wedge was adjudged the winner. Wedge indicated that he would pray for Buckles.
Ministry and education
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, Nebraska,"From Prize Ring to Pulpit in One Year", The Pittsburg Press (September 29, 1907):22.The Advance 54 (The Advance Co., 1907):431."CHURCHMEN", Los Angeles Times (March 1, 1908):VI 14.Another source indicates that Wedge was pastor of the First Baptist Church at Rhinelander, Wisconsin. See "John L. Proud of His Ring Record", The Telegraph-Herald (Dubuque, Iowa) (September 29, 1907):18. where the Presbyterians had constructed a church building in 1889.Hugh Jackson Dobbs, History of Gage County, Nebraska: A Narrative of the Past, with Special Emphasis upon the Pioneer Period of the County's History, its Social, Commercial, Educational, Religious, and Civic Development from the Early Days to the Present Time (Western Publishing and Engraving Company, 1918):277. 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."Preacher to Fighter", The Evening Chronicle (Spokane, Washington) (November 25, 1908):5."Forsakes Pulpit for Ring Arena", The Youngstown Daily Vindicator (October 15, 1908):16.
On February 22, 1909, Wedge preached a 17-minute sermon just prior to the Buckles-Hanson prize fight in Omaha, Nebraska."Minister Starts a Prize Fight Off with a Sermon", The Youngstown Daily Vindicator (February 23, 1909):16. 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."Sermon First, Then Prize Fight", The Day (New London, Connecticut) (September 4, 1909):1.Chicago Daily Tribune (September 4, 1909):9."Sermon Before Boxing", Boston Daily Globe (September 5, 1909)."Friday 3 September 1909", http://boxrec.com/date_search.php?yyyy=1909&mm=09&dd=03
Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary (1908–1909) After completing three years at the University of Nebraska, in 1908 Wedge transferred to the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary, a Presbyterian seminary in North Omaha, Nebraska,Charles Arthur Hawley, Fifty Years on the Nebraska Frontier: The History of the Presbyterian Theological Seminary at Omaha, Nebraska (Ralph Printing Co., 1941). for a year in order to complete the requirements for ordination in the Presbyterian Church."Pugilist-Parson Weds", Los Angeles Times (December 19, 1910). To finance his studies, Wedge gave boxing lessons in Omaha.
Presbyterian Church, Monroe, Nebraska (1909–1910)