Biddle, Anthony J. Drexel (Anthony Joseph Drexel), 1874-1948

[Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle (1874-1948) was an eccentric millionaire whose fortune allowed him to pursue theatricals, self-published writing, athletics, and Christianity on a full-time basis.] He was the man upon whom the book My Philadelphia Father and the play and film The Happiest Millionaire were based. He trained men in hand-to-hand combat in both World War I and World War II, was a fellow of the American Geographical Society and founded a movement called "Athletic Christianity" that eventually attracted 300,000 members around the world. A 1955 Sports Illustrated article called him "boxing's greatest amateur" as well as a "major factor in the re-establishment of boxing as a legal and, at that time, estimable sport."

found: LC in RLIN, 3/18/94(hdg: Biddle, Anthony Joseph Drexel, 1874-1948; usage: A.J. Drexel Biddle)

found: Wikipedia, June 8, 2017(Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle Sr.; Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle I (1874-1948) was an eccentric millionaire whose fortune allowed him to pursue theatricals, self-published writing, athletics, and Christianity on a full-time basis; he was the man upon whom the book My Philadelphia Father and the play and film The Happiest Millionaire were based; he was born on October 1, 1874 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and died May 27, 1948 (aged 73) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; an officer in the United States Marine Corps, Biddle was an expert in close-quarters fighting and the author of Do or Die: A Supplementary Manual on Individual Combat, a book on combat methods, including knives and empty-hand skills, training both the United States Marine Corps in two world wars and Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; a keen boxer, Biddle sparred with Jack Johnson and taught boxing to Gene Tunney; he even hosted "boxing teas" in his home, where other boxers would spar a couple of rounds with him and then join the family for dinner)

[Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle (1874-1948) was an eccentric millionaire whose fortune allowed him to pursue theatricals, self-published writing, athletics, and Christianity on a full-time basis.] He was the man upon whom the book My Philadelphia Father and the play and film The Happiest Millionaire were based. He trained men in hand-to-hand combat in both World War I and World War II, was a fellow of the American Geographical Society and founded a movement called "Athletic Christianity" that eventually attracted 300,000 members around the world. A 1955 Sports Illustrated article called him "boxing's greatest amateur" as well as a "major factor in the re-establishment of boxing as a legal and, at that time, estimable sport."