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Joe LouisJoseph Louis Barrow (either May 13 or May 14 (sources differ), 1914 – April 12, 1981), better known in the boxing world as Joe Louis and nicknamed The Brown Bomber, was a native of LaFayette, Alabama who became the world heavyweight boxing champion. He held the title around 11 years and made a division-record 25 successful title defences. At a turbulent time in history, just before World War II, he became a popular and national hero, along with Jesse Owens, for both black and white America. Many boxing historians rate Joe Louis as the greatest heavyweight champion of all time[1]. BiographyEarly life and careerJoe Louis Barrow was born in Chambers County, Alabama, and was the son of Monroe Barrow, a sharecropper, and Lilly Reese, a homemaker. His father was committed to an asylum when Louis was just two years old, and died there two years later. His mother re-married when Joe was seven and the family moved to Detroit in 1926. In his teens he worked for an ice company; he would later credit lifting the heavy blocks of ice with helping build his arm and upper body strength. It was during this time that he first became interested in boxing.
He used money given to him by his mother for violin lessons to pay for a locker at a local recreation centre. His mother was not pleased but encouraged him to do his best.
Louis had a successful amateur career which he finished with winning Michigan's Golden Gloves title. He turned professional in 1934, making his debut on July 4 of that year, knocking out Jack Kracken in the first round at Chicago, Illinois. He won 12 fights that year, all in Chicago, 10 by knockout. Among his opponents in 1934 were Art Sykes and Stanley Poreda. It was Louis who coined two of boxing's most famous quotes: "He can run, but he can't hide" and "Everyone has a plan until they've been hit." Joe Louis's trainer was Jack Blackburn. Joe and he called each other "Chappie." AscendanceIn 1935, Louis fought 13 times, creating a sensation. He knocked out his first world champion, former world heavyweight champion Primo Carnera, in six rounds. Louis then knocked out the iron-chinned former heavyweight champion Max Baer in four rounds. Before losing to Louis, Baer had never been knocked off his feet. Louis also knocked out Paolino Uzcudun, who had never been knocked down or out before Louis KO'd him. Louis began 1936 knocking out Charlie Retzlaff in the first round. In his next fight, he was matched with former world heavyweight champion Max Schmeling, who was thought to be fading when he upset Louis by a knockout in round 12 in New York. Max SchmelingSchmeling now deserved a fight for the title, but was denied a chance to challenge the world champion in large part due to his relatively weak ties to the German Nazi Party. That year Louis had four more Fights, winning all of them. Among the boxers he knocked out were former Heavyweight champ Jack Sharkey and Eddie Simms, who turned and asked the referee to take a walk on the roof with him after being knocked down by Louis. The referee stopped the fight right away. By 1937, and after a ten round decision win over a running Bob Pastor, Louis was matched with world champion James J. Braddock in Chicago for the World Heavyweight title. Louis was dropped in round one, but he got up and knocked Braddock out in round eight, winning the world heavyweight championship. He said after the fight, however, that he would not feel like a world champion until he beat one man: Schmeling. Louis retained the title three times, outpointing the Welshman Tommy Farr in 15 rounds in his first title defense, and knocking out Nathan Mann in three and Harry Thomas in five. The rematch with Schmeling finally took place, on June 22, 1938. This time the fight was hyped on both sides of the Atlantic, and many fans around the world saw this fight as a symbol: Louis representing the American interests and Schmeling, who was wrongly seen as a Nazi, fighting for Germany and white supremacy. This 'Good vs Evil' perception was mistaken, as Schmeling was, at best, a hesitant poster boy for the regime. Aside from employing a Jewish manager, Joe Jacobs, he also sheltered the two sons of Jewish friends after Kristallnacht at considerable personal risk. The fight itself ended quickly, with Louis knocking out Schmeling in the first round. The fight was widely celebrated; "Little Bill" Gaither, the jazz guitarist, wrote his well-known song "Champ Joe Louis" the day after the fight [2], in celebration.
During World War IIFrom December 1940 to March 1942, when his career was interrupted by World War II, Louis defended his title ten times, a frequency unmatched by any heavyweight champion since the end of the bareknuckle era. His nearly-monthly fights against every challenger, and his convincing wins, earned his opponents the unfair group nickname "Bum of the Month." In all, Louis made 25 defenses of his heavyweight title from '37 to 1949. He was a world champion for 11 years and 10 months. Louis set records for any division in number of defenses and longevity as world champion non stop, and both records still stand. His most remarkable record is that he knocked out 23 opponents in 27 title fights. Other notable title defenses before Louis enlisted were:
Louis retired after two fights with Jersey Joe Walcott. In the first fight, Walcott scored two knockdowns over Louis but lost a disputed decision. In the second fight, Walcott again knocked Louis down, but the aging Louis came on to knock out Walcott in the 11th round. Obviously no longer the fighter he once had been, Louis wisely retired. Louis served in the Army from 1942 to 1945 and spent that period travelling around Europe visiting with the fighting troops and boxing in exhibitions. During this time, he became a national spokesman for the Army. After he came back to keep defending his title in 1946, Louis looked somewhat slower in his fights, and his best years were obviously behind him. On March 1, 1949 Louis announced his retirement from boxing. A not very well known fact is, that in 1944, during a promotional tour of Liverpool, England Joe Louis (as a publicity stunt) actually signed for Liverpool Football Club as a player. As of today the records still state that he was on the books and is classed as having been a Liverpool player.
1950sIn 1950, harassed by the I.R.S., he announced a comeback and he lost a 15 round unanimous decision to world champion Ezzard Charles, who had won the vacant title after Louis retired. Overweight and much slower than he had been in his prime, Louis kept boxing, but at a level far below that of his championship days. In 1951, Louis lost by a knockout in eight rounds to the future world Heavyweight Champion, Rocky Marciano. He retired with a record of 69 wins and 3 losses, with an amazing 55 of those wins coming by knockout. Louis became a professional wrestler in 1956 but quit in 1957 due to injuries suffered during a match. Retirement and later lifeA few years after his retirement, a movie about his life, The Joe Louis Story, was filmed in Hollywood. The role of Joe Louis was played by fighter Coley Wallace. Louis remained a popular celebrity in his twilight years. Because the IRS had taken nearly all of his money, old army buddy Ash Resnick gave him a job welcoming tourists to the Caesar's Palace hotel in Las Vegas, where Ash was an executive, just so Louis could make ends meet. Louis' health began to deteriorate, and he had two operations which long-time friend, Frank Sinatra, paid for. Sinatra flew Louis to Houston to have Michael DeBakey perform surgery. Later Louis suffered a stroke, and a year later his heart finally failed him. Max Schmeling and Louis remained friends until Louis' death. Joe Louis died of a heart attack in 1981. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia with full military honours. His funeral was paid for by former competitor Max Schmeling. His life and his achievements prompted famed New York sportswriter Jimmy Cannon to write "Joe Louis is a credit to his race - the human race." Filmography
CommemorationLouis was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor, the highest award given by the U.S. legislative branch, in 1982. Congress stated that he "did so much to bolster the spirit of the American people during one of the most crucial times in American history and which have endured throughout the years as a symbol of strength for the nation." He has a sports complex named after him in Detroit, the Joe Louis Arena, where the Detroit Red Wings play their NHL games. A memorial to Louis was dedicated in Detroit (at Jefferson Avenue & Woodward) on October 16, 1986. The sculpture, commissioned by Time, Inc. and executed by Robert Graham, is a 24-foot long arm with a fisted hand suspended by a 24-foot high pyramidal framework. It represents the power of his punch both inside and outside the ring. Joe Louis is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. A street near Madison Square garden is named after Joe Louis.
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