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Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914–April 12, 1981), better known as Joe Louis, was a heavyweight boxing champion. Nicknamed the Brown Bomber, he is considered to be one of the greatest in boxing history. Number one on Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time
Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time

Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time was published in 2003. The writers of Ring Magazine ranked the 100 greatest punchers of all-time....
. Louis held the heavyweight title for over 106 months, more than anyone else before or after him, recording 25 successful defenses of the title. In 2005, Louis was named the greatest heavyweight of all time by the International Boxing Research Organization.






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Quotations


Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.

He can run, but he can't hide. (regarding Billy Conn, who planned to hit and run in their upcoming match)

I don't like money, actually, but it quiets my nerves.

I made the most of my ability and I did my best with my title.

Let me tell you, that was a thrill. Now, even more, I knew I had to get Schmeling good.

Once that bell rings you're on your own. It's just you and the other guy…






Encyclopedia


Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914–April 12, 1981), better known as Joe Louis, was a heavyweight boxing champion. Nicknamed the Brown Bomber, he is considered to be one of the greatest in boxing history. Number one on Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time
Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time

Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time was published in 2003. The writers of Ring Magazine ranked the 100 greatest punchers of all-time....
. Louis held the heavyweight title for over 106 months, more than anyone else before or after him, recording 25 successful defenses of the title. In 2005, Louis was named the greatest heavyweight of all time by the International Boxing Research Organization. He participated in 27 heavyweight championship fights, a record which still stands.

In the turbulent era during World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
, he became a national hero in America, partly because of his comment about the Allies, "We're gonna win 'cause we're on God's side".

Biography


Early life and career of Joe Louis

Louis was born in 1914 La Fayette
La Fayette, Alabama

LaFayette is a city in Chambers County, Alabama, Alabama, United States, 47 miles northwest of Columbus, Georgia, Georgia . It is the county seat....
, Alabama
Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the Southern United States of the United States of America. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west....
, son of Barry Jerry Barrow, a sharecropper, and Lilly Louis. In 1934, as an amateur, he won the Michigan Golden Gloves, the National AAU
United States Amateur Champion

The United States National Boxing Championships bestow the title of United States Amateur Champion on amateur boxers for winning the annual national amateur boxing tournament organized by USA Boxing, the national governing body for Olympic boxing and is the United States' member organization of the International Amateur Boxing Associati...
 and the Chicago Golden Gloves
Golden Gloves

For the honor in Major League Baseball, see Gold Glove.The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States....
 Tournament of Champions. Later that same year he turned professional, making his debut on July 4 in a fight against Jack Kracken
Jack Kracken

Jack Kracken, born Emil Ecklund, was a Norway-United States boxer of the 1930s. He is best remembered as the first boxer defeated by Joe Louis on July 4, 1934....
. Louis knocked out Kracken in the first round at Bacon's Arena in Chicago, Illinois
Illinois

The State of Illinois is a U.S. state of the United States, the 21st to be admitted to the United States. Illinois is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern United States state and the fifth most populous state in the nation....
. He won all 12 professional fights that year, all in Chicago, 10 by way of knockout
Knockout

A knockout is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving strike ....
. Among his opponents in 1934 were Art Sykes
Art Sykes

Arthur S. Sykes, , known as Artie, was an United States boxer from Elmira, New York. Sykes made his professional debut in 1933. In 1934, he was defeated by a young Joe Louis....
 and Stanley Poreda
Stanley Poreda

Stanley Poreda was a Jersey City Boxing considered a top heavyweight contender in the early 1930s.Born in Jersey City January 30, 1909 in Jersey City, NJ....
.

Originally, Louis's trainer, Jack Blackburn
Jack Blackburn

Charles Henry 'Jack' Blackburn was an United States Boxing and boxing trainer.A lightweight, Blackburn had a long career in the sport, comprising some 147 professional fights, often against naturally bigger opponents, and finished with a final record of 99-26-19....
, wanted him to only fight other African-American boxers. Louis, however, decided to ignore this advice, and fought white boxers as well. In England during 1944, Joe Louis was reported to have enlisted as a football player for Liverpool Football Club
Liverpool F.C.

Liverpool Football Club is a professional association football club based in Liverpool, England. The club plays in the Premier League, and it is the Football records in England#Most successful clubs overall in the history of Football in England; the club has won List of football clubs in England by major honours won than any other English cl...
 as a publicity stunt.

Ascent to World Championship

In 1935, Louis fought 13 times. He knocked out the former world heavyweight champion, the 6'6", 265-pound Primo Carnera
Primo Carnera

Primo Carnera was an Italian people Boxing who became the List of Heavyweight Champions....
, in six rounds. Louis then knocked out the iron-chinned former heavyweight champion Max Baer in four rounds. Before losing to Louis, Baer had been knocked down only once, by Frankie Campbell
Frankie Campbell

Frankie Campbell was a heavyweight boxer. During fights, he was known for feigning injury during bouts to incite sloppy offense from his opponents, thereby leaving sufficient opening for a knockout victory....
. Louis also knocked out Paolino Uzcudun, who had never been knocked down or out before.

In his next fight, he was matched with former world heavyweight champion Max Schmeling
Max Schmeling

Maximillian Adolph Otto Siegfried Schmeling was a Germany boxing who was List of heavyweight boxing champions between 1930 and 1932. His two fights with Joe Louis in the late 1930s transcended boxing and became worldwide social events because of their national associations....
. Although not considered a threat, the German had studied Louis's style intently, and believed he had found a weakness. By exploiting Louis's habit of dropping his left low after a jab, Schmeling handed Louis his first loss by knocking him out in round 12 at Yankee stadium.

Louis, despite the loss, was awarded a title shot by champion James J. Braddock
James J. Braddock

James Walter Braddock was an Irish-American List of heavyweight boxing champions.Fighting under the name James J. Braddock , he was known for his powerful right hand punch, strong chin, and his amazing comeback from a floundering career, which saw him lose several bouts before struggling to support his family by working on the docks...
 after negotiations with Schmeling, Madison Square Garden's number one contender, broke down. Braddock, looking to retire on a large payoff, was promised a more lucrative fight with the Brown Bomber after Louis bounced back up the pecking order by knocking out former champion Jack Sharkey
Jack Sharkey

Jack Sharkey was an American List of Heavyweight Champions. He was of Lithuanian descent.Born in an era when prizefighters, actors and others in the public spotlight adopted an "American-sounding" pseudonym, Joseph Paul Zukauskas took the family name of a popular retired Ireland boxer and future Hall of Famer, Thomas Sharkey ....
.

Schmeling (and the Nazi German government
Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the colloquial English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party , which established a Totalitarianism dictatorship that existed from 1933 to 1945....
) was furious, and insisted that a win over highly ranked Sharkey did not reverse the Louis defeat by Schmeling, which was considered a title eliminator. The matter was settled in court, and Madison Square Garden and Schmeling lost. The fight was staged in Chicago, and Braddock's heavyweight championship would be up for grabs. Despite a knock down in round 1, Louis defeated the "Cinderella Man" by KO in round 8. Joe Louis was heavyweight champion of the world.

At his first defense of the title, on 30 August 1937 at New York's Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium

The original Yankee Stadium is a stadium located in The Bronx in New York City, New York. It served as the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees from 1923 in baseball to 1973 in baseball and after extensive renovations, from 1976 in baseball to 2008 in baseball....
, Louis fought one of the hardest battles of his life against "the Tonypandy Terror", British Empire champion Tommy Farr
Tommy Farr

Thomas George Farr was one of the most famous British people boxings of all time. Born in Clydach Vale, Wales and nicknamed "the Tonypandy Terror", he became List of British heavyweight boxing champions and Empire heavyweight champion on 15 March 1937....
, over 15 rounds. The world champion was awarded a controversial points decision. "After collecting the judges' votes, referee Arthur Donovan announced that Louis had won the fight on points. The crowd of 50,000...amazed that Farr had not been knocked out or even knocked down, booed the decision... Speaking over the radio after the fight, Louis admitted that he had been hurt twice."

The Louis-Schmeling Fight, 1938

The rematch between Joe Louis and Max Schmelling is one of the most famous boxing matches of all time, and is remembered as one of the major sports events of the 20th century. Following his defeat of Louis in 1936, Schmeling became a national hero in Germany. Schmeling's victory over an African-American man was touted by Nazi officials as proof of their doctrine of "Aryan superiority." When the rematch was scheduled, Louis retreated to his boxing camp in upstate New York and trained incessantly for the fight. A few weeks before the bout, Louis visited the White House, where President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt , often referred to by his initials FDR, was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States....
 told him, "Joe, we need muscles like yours to beat Germany." Louis later wrote in his autobiography, "I knew I had to get Schmeling good. I had my own personal reasons and the whole damned country was depending on me." Comedian Dick Gregory
Dick Gregory

Dick Gregory is an United States comedian, social activist, writer and entrepreneur.Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Dick Gregory is an influential United States comic who has used his performance skills to convey to both white and black audiences his political message on civil rights....
 jokingly said that it was "probably the only time in history that a black man could end up being a white hope."

When Schmeling arrived in New York in June, 1938, for the rematch, he was accompanied by a Nazi party publicist who issued statements that a black man could not defeat Schmeling, and that when Schmeling won, his prize money would be used to build tanks in Germany. Schmeling's hotel was picketed by anti-Nazi protesters in the days before the fight.

On the night of June 22, 1938, Louis and Schmeling met for the second time in the boxing ring. The fight was held in Yankee Stadium before a crowd of 70,043. It was broadcast by radio to millions of listeners throughout the world, with radio announcers reporting on the fight in English, German, Spanish, and Portuguese. Before the bout, Schmeling weighed in at 193 pounds; Louis weighed in at 198¾ pounds.

The fight lasted two minutes and four seconds. Louis battered Schmeling with a series of swift attacks, forcing Schmeling against the ropes and giving him a paralyzing body blow. (Schmeling later claimed it was an illegal kidney punch.) Schmeling was knocked down three times, and only managed to throw two punches in the entire bout. On the third knockdown, Schmeling's trainer threw in the towel and referee Arthur Donovan stopped the fight.

Louis's victory was seen as a major victory for America. The German press recounted Schmeling's story that Louis had won the bout thanks to an illegal kidney punch. But in America, and throughout the world, Louis's victory was seen as a major rebuff of German claims of racial superiority.

Ironically, while most people associate the German Schmeling with the Nazi party, he never joined, and is reported to have once refused to accept an award from Adolf Hitler. His resistance of the Nazi party made him a hero in post-war Germany, and he became a life-long friend of Joe Louis. Their rivalry and long-lasting friendship is the main focus of the 1978 TV movie Ring of Passion.

Other matches

Poster Joe Louis
From December 1940 to March 1942, before his career was briefly 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 1937 to 1949. He was a world champion for 11 years and 10 months. Louis set records for any division in number of defenses and uninterrupted longevity as world champion, 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:

  • His fight versus world light-heavyweight champion John Henry Lewis
    John Henry Lewis

    John Henry Lewis was an African American Boxing who was the world List of light heavyweight boxing champions from 1935 to 1939.One interesting fact of his is that Lewis was managed by a gambler and racketeer of the 1930s: Gus Greenlee, a man who became very important to baseball's Negro Leagues as a commissioner and team owner....
    , knocked out in the first.
  • His fight with "Two Ton" Tony Galento
    Tony Galento

    Dominic Anthony Galento was an Italian American heavyweight boxing. Nicknamed "Two Ton" for his reasoning to his manager for being nearly late to one of his fights: "I had two tons of ice to deliver on my way here"....
    , who knocked Louis down in the third round with a left hook. Galento then received a terrible beating, being knocked out in the fourth round.
  • His two fights with Chilean Arturo Godoy
    Arturo Godoy

    Arturo Godoy was a Chilean boxing born in Iquique, Chile, Chile, in 1910. He died of cancer in Chile in 1987.He was South American Heavyweight Champion and had an extensive and successful career in Argentina, Cuba, Spain, and the United States roughly between 1931 and 1954....
    . Louis won the first by a decision, and the rematch by a knockout in the eighth round.
  • His fight with world light-heavyweight champion Billy Conn
    Billy Conn

    William David Conn , better known in the boxing world as Billy Conn, was a Light-Heavyweight boxing champion famed for his fights with Joe Louis....
    . Conn, smaller than Louis, said that he planned to "hit and run," prompting Louis's famous response, "He can run, but he can't hide." After 12 rounds, Conn was ahead on points, only to be knocked out by Louis in the 13th round.


During World War II

Joe served in the Army
Army

An army , in the broadest sense, is the land-based armed forces of a nation. It may also include other branches of the military such as an air force....
 from 1942 to 1945 and spent that period traveling around Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
 visiting with the troops and boxing in exhibitions. During this time, he donated over $100,000 awarded to him from these fights to the Army and Navy Emergency Relief Funds to show his support for the U.S. war effort. However, this income was fully taxed by the IRS, and this left him with serious tax debts. Even the $600 left to him by his dying mother was seized by the IRS.

When asked about his decision to enter the racially-segregated U.S. Army, Louis's explanation was simple: "Lots of things wrong with America, but Hitler ain't going to fix them." During his time in the army, Louis used his connections in the State Department to get his friend Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson

Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first African-American Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Although not the first African-American professional baseball player in United States history, Robinson's 1947 Major League debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers ended approximately 60 years of baseball Racial_segregation#United_States_...
 and several other black soldiers admitted into Officers' Candidate School — a favor for which Robinson was especially grateful. Louis himself received the rank of Sergeant, and was awarded the Legion of Honor medal for his service.

Louis became a national spokesman for the Army, encouraging African-American men to enlist in the Armed Services, in spite of the racial segregation. He became a highly-visible symbol of the contributions of African-American soldiers to the war effort.

In 1943, Louis made an appearance in the wartime Hollywood musical This Is the Army
This Is the Army

This Is the Army is a 1943 in film United States motion picture produced by Hal B. Wallis and Jack L. Warner, and directed by Michael Curtiz, and a wartime musical designed to boost morale in the U.S....
, directed by Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz

Michael Curtiz was an Academy Award-winning Hungarian-American film director. He directed at least 50 films in Europe and a further hundred in the United States, among the best-known being The Adventures of Robin Hood , Angels with Dirty Faces, Casablanca , Yankee Doodle Dandy, and White Christmas ....
. Louis appears as himself in a musical number, "The Well-Dressed Man In Harlem," which emphasizes the importance of African-American soldiers, and promotes their enlistment.

Retirement and later life

In 1946, following his war service, Louis returned to the ring for a rematch against Billy Conn. He won by a knockout in the eighth round. In 1947, Louis faced Jersey Joe Walcott
Jersey Joe Walcott

Arnold Raymond Cream , better known as Jersey Joe Walcott, was a world heavyweight boxing champion. He broke the world's record for the oldest man to win the world's Heavyweight title when he earned it at the age of 37....
. During the fight, Walcott scored two knockdowns over Louis but lost a disputed decision. In a rematch held in 1948, Walcott again knocked Louis down, but the aging Louis came on to knock out Walcott in the 11th round.

On March 1, 1949, Louis announced his retirement from boxing. In his matches with Conn and Walcott, it became obvious that he was no longer the fighter he once had been. In 1950, plagued by debts to the IRS, Louis attempted a comeback. He fought Ezzard Charles
Ezzard Charles

Ezzard Mack Charles was an African-American professional boxer and former List of Heavyweight Champions of the world.He was born in Lawrenceville, Georgia, Georgia , but is commonly thought of as a Cincinnati, Ohio....
, but lost on a decision after a 15-round bout.

On October 26, 1951, Louis faced Rocky Marciano
Rocky Marciano

Rocky Marciano , born Rocco Francis Marchegiano, was the heavyweight champion of the world from 1952 to 1956. Marciano, with forty-three knockouts to his credit , remains the only heavyweight champion in boxing history to retire having won every fight in his professional career....
. Despite his being a 6-to-5 favorite, few boxing insiders believed he had a chance. Before the fight, Marciano said, "This is the last guy on earth I want to fight." It was feared his unwillingness to quit would get him seriously hurt. In the event, Louis was dropped in the eighth round by a Marciano left, and knocked out of the ring less than thirty seconds later. Afterwards, Louis retired for good from boxing.

In 1952, Louis was invited to play in the San Diego Open on a sponsor's exemption, and became the first African American ever to play in this PGA Tour
PGA Tour

The PGA Tour is an organization that operates the main professional golf tours in the United States. It is headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, a suburb of Jacksonville, Florida....
 event. A few years after his retirement, a movie about his life, The Joe Louis Story, was filmed in Hollywood
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California

Hollywood is a district in Los Angeles, California, situated west-northwest of Downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word "Hollywood" is often used as a metonym of cinema of the United States....
. The role of Louis was played by fighter Coley Wallace
Coley Wallace

Coley Wallace was an United States actor and heavyweight boxer who outpointed Rocky Marciano in a three-round amateur boxing.Although Wallace, a Jacksonville, FL native had a respectable record as a professional , his claim to fame came in 1948 when, as an amateur, he defeated future heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano in the finals of the...
. By the end of the 1950s, Louis had owed over $1 million in taxes. To bring in money, Louis appeared on quiz shows
Game show

A game show is a type of television program in which members of the public or celebrity, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving problems for money and/or prizes....
. Old army buddy Ash Resnick gave him a job welcoming tourists to the Caesar's Palace
Caesars Palace

Caesars Palace, is a luxury hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, an Unincorporated area township in Clark County, Nevada, Nevada, United States in the Las Vegas metropolitan area....
 hotel in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada, the seat of Clark County, Nevada, and an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and entertainment....
, where Ash was an executive, just so Louis could make ends meet. Louis developed a friendship with former rival Max Schmeling
Max Schmeling

Maximillian Adolph Otto Siegfried Schmeling was a Germany boxing who was List of heavyweight boxing champions between 1930 and 1932. His two fights with Joe Louis in the late 1930s transcended boxing and became worldwide social events because of their national associations....
 in their retirement, and Schmeling offered financial assistance to Louis during this period. Louis became a professional wrestler in the 1950s and 60s, and as late as 1972.

Louis remained a popular celebrity in his twilight years. He was good friends with mobster Frank Lucas
Frank Lucas (drug lord)

Frank Lucas is a former heroin dealer and organized crime boss who operated in Harlem during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was particularly known for disintermediation in the drug trade and buying heroin directly from his source in Golden Triangle ....
, who paid off a $50,000 tax lien for him and wept when he died, calling him "my daddy."

Eventually, Louis's health began to deteriorate to the point where he had to be in a wheelchair after suffering a stroke. Hours after his last public appearance viewing the Larry Holmes
Larry Holmes

Larry Holmes is a former world heavyweight boxing champion. Holmes has spent the majority of his adult life in Easton, Pennsylvania, in the state's Lehigh Valley region, giving rise to his boxing nickname, The Easton Assassin....
-Trevor Berbick
Trevor Berbick

Trevor Berbick was a Jamaican heavyweight boxing who fought as a professional from 1976 until 2000. He was the victim of a homicide near his hometown of Norwich, Jamaica....
 heavyweight championship, Joe Louis died at age 66 of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction

Myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when the Blood flow to part of the heart is interrupted. This is most commonly due to occlusion of a coronary artery following the rupture of a Vulnerable plaque, which is an unstable collection of lipids and white blood cells in the wall of an artery....
 in Desert Springs Hospital on April 12, 1981. Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States and the 33rd Governor of California . Born in Illinois, Reagan moved to Los Angeles, California in the 1930s, where he was an actor, president of the Screen Actors Guild , and a spokesman for General Electric ....
 waived the eligibility rules for burial at Arlington National Cemetery, and Louis was buried there with full military honors on April 21, 1981. His funeral was paid for in part by former competitor and friend, Max Schmeling.

Legacy

Joe Louis lives on in popular memory. Among other contributions, Louis 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." In 1936, a beat writer for the Winnipeg Tribune
Winnipeg Tribune

The Winnipeg Tribune was a metropolitan daily newspaper serving Winnipeg, Manitoba, Manitoba, Canada from January 28, 1890 to August 27, 1980....
 used Joe Louis's nickname to refer to the Winnipeg Football Club after a game. From that point, the team became known popularly as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Winnipeg Blue Bombers

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a Canadian Football League team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers have won the league's Grey Cup championship ten times, most recently in 1990 Grey Cup....
. In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante
Molefi Kete Asante

Molefi Kete Asante is a contemporary American Academia in the field of African studies and African American Studies. He is currently Professor in the Department of African American Studies at Temple University, where he founded the first PhD program in African American Studies....
 listed Joe Louis on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans
100 Greatest African Americans

100 Greatest African Americans is a biographical dictionary of the one hundred greatness African Americans, as assessed by Molefi Kete Asante in 2002....
.

Commemoration

Joe Louis Congressional Gold Medal Reverse
Louis was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, 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
Joe Louis Arena

Joe Louis Arena, nicknamed The Joe and JLA, is a hockey arena located at 600 Civic Center Drive in Detroit, Michigan. It is the home of the National Hockey League franchise, the Detroit Red Wings....
, where the Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan, who are the current Stanley Cup champions.They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
 play their NHL
National Hockey League

The National Hockey League is a professional ice hockey league composed of 30 teams in North America. It is considered to be the premier professional ice hockey league in the world, and one of the North American Major professional sports leagues of the United States and Canada....
 games. A memorial to Louis was dedicated in Detroit (at Jefferson Avenue & Woodward) on October 16, 1986. The sculpture, commissioned by Time, Inc.
Time Warner

Time Warner Inc. is the world's third largest media and entertainment Conglomerate by market capitalization , headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City....
 and executed by Robert Graham
Robert Graham (sculptor)

Robert Graham was a sculptor based in the U.S. state of California in the United States of America. His monumental bronzes commemorate the human figure and are featured in public places across America....
, 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. Because of his efforts to fight Jim Crow laws, the fist was symbolically aimed toward the south. Joe Louis is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

A street near Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, has been the name of four arenas in New York City....
 is named after Joe Louis. In 1993, he became the first boxer to be honored on a postage stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service.

The former Pipe O' Peace Golf Course in Riverdale, Illinois
Riverdale, Illinois

Riverdale is a village in Cook County, Illinois, Illinois, United States. The population was 15,055 at the 2000 census....
 (a Chicago suburb) was in 1986 renamed "Joe Louis The Champ Golf Course."

American Legion Post 375 was named after "Joe Louis" and is located in Detroit, MI.

Professional career

|- |align="center" colspan=8|69 Wins (55 knockouts, 13 decisions, 1 disqualification), 3 Losses (2 knockouts, 1 decision) |- |align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Res. |align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Opponent |align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Type |align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Rd., Time |align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Date |align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Location |align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Notes |-align=center |Loss |align=left| Rocky Marciano
Rocky Marciano

Rocky Marciano , born Rocco Francis Marchegiano, was the heavyweight champion of the world from 1952 to 1956. Marciano, with forty-three knockouts to his credit , remains the only heavyweight champion in boxing history to retire having won every fight in his professional career....
 |KO |8 |1951-10-26 |align=left|Madison Square Garden, New York |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Jimmy Bivins
Jimmy Bivins

James Louis Bivins, , was an United States heavyweight boxing whose professional career ran from 1940 to 1955. Although he was never given the opportunity to fight for a world title, despite at one point being the number one contender in both the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions, Bivins fought and defeated many of the great fighte...
 |Decision |10 |1951-08-15 |align=left|Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore, Maryland

Baltimore is an independent city and the largest city in the U.S. state of Maryland in the United States. Baltimore is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay....
 |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Cesar Brion |Decision |10 |1951-08-01 |align=left|San Francisco, California |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Lee Savold
Lee Savold

Lee Savold was a heavyweight boxer who held the British and European version of the World Heavyweight championship between 1950 and 1951 and was a leading contender in the forties and early fifties....
 |KO |6 , 2:29 |1951-06-15 |align=left|Madison Square Garden, New York |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Omelio Agramonte |Decision |10 |1951-05-02 |align=left|Detroit, Michigan |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Andy Walker |TKO |10 , 1:49 |1951-02-23 |align=left|San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California

The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California and the List of United States cities by population in the United States, with a 2007 estimated population of 799,183....
 |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Omelio Agramonte |Decision |10 |1951-02-07 |align=left|Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida

Miami is a global city in southeastern Florida, in the United States. Miami is the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, the most populous county in Florida....
 |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Freddie Beshore |TKO |4 , 2:48 |1951-01-03 |align=left|Detroit, Michigan |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Cesar Brion |Decision |10 |1950-11-29 |align=left|Chicago, Illinois |align=left| |-align=center |Loss |align=left| Ezzard Charles
Ezzard Charles

Ezzard Mack Charles was an African-American professional boxer and former List of Heavyweight Champions of the world.He was born in Lawrenceville, Georgia, Georgia , but is commonly thought of as a Cincinnati, Ohio....
 |Decision |15 |1950-09-27 |align=left|Yankee Stadium, New York |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Jersey Joe Walcott
Jersey Joe Walcott

Arnold Raymond Cream , better known as Jersey Joe Walcott, was a world heavyweight boxing champion. He broke the world's record for the oldest man to win the world's Heavyweight title when he earned it at the age of 37....
 |KO |11 |1948-06-25 |align=left|Yankee Stadium, New York |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Jersey Joe Walcott |Decision |15 |1947-12-05 |align=left|Madison Square Garden, New York |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Tami Mauriello |KO |1 , 2:09 |1946-09-18 |align=left|Yankee Stadium, New York |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Billy Conn
Billy Conn

William David Conn , better known in the boxing world as Billy Conn, was a Light-Heavyweight boxing champion famed for his fights with Joe Louis....
 |KO |8 , 2:19 |1946-06-19 |align=left|Yankee Stadium, New York |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Johnny Davis |TKO |1 , 0:53 |1944-11-14 |align=left|Buffalo, New York |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Abe Simon |TKO |6 |1942-03-27 |align=left|Madison Square Garden, New York |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Buddy Baer
Buddy Baer

Buddy Baer , born Jacob Henry Baer, was an American boxer, and the brother of heavyweight champion Max Baer . He boxed 57 professional fights, won 50 with 44 knockouts, and was defeated 7 times....
 |KO |1 , 2:56 |1942-01-09 |align=left|Madison Square Garden, New York |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Lou Nova
Lou Nova

Lou Nova aka Cosmic punch was an United States boxing and actor. Born in Los Angeles, California, California, the 6' 3 1/2" Nova was the United States and World Amateur Boxing Champion in 1935....
 |TKO |6 , 2:59 |1941-09-29 |align=left|New York City |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Billy Conn
Billy Conn

William David Conn , better known in the boxing world as Billy Conn, was a Light-Heavyweight boxing champion famed for his fights with Joe Louis....
 |KO |13 , 2:58 |1941-06-18 |align=left|New York City |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Buddy Baer
Buddy Baer

Buddy Baer , born Jacob Henry Baer, was an American boxer, and the brother of heavyweight champion Max Baer . He boxed 57 professional fights, won 50 with 44 knockouts, and was defeated 7 times....
 |Disqualification |7 |1941-05-23 |align=left|Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the Capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790....
 |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Tony Musto |TKO |9 , 1:36 |1941-04-08 |align=left|Saint Louis, Missouri |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Abe Simon |TKO |13 , 1:20 |1941-03-21 |align=left|Detroit, Michigan |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Gus Dorazio |KO |2 , 1:30 |1941-02-17 |align=left|Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Red Burman |KO |5 , 2:49 |1941-01-31 |align=left|Madison Square Garden, New York |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Al McCoy
Al McCoy (boxer)

Al McCoy was a boxing world middleweight champion from 1914 to 1917.He defeated George Chip in an upset with a 1st round knockout to win the world title on April 7, 1914....
 |TKO |6 |1940-12-16 |align=left|Boston, Massachusetts
Boston, Massachusetts

Boston is the State capital and largest city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is considered the economic and cultural center of the region, and is sometimes regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England." Boston city proper had a 2007 est...
 |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Arturo Godoy
Arturo Godoy

Arturo Godoy was a Chilean boxing born in Iquique, Chile, Chile, in 1910. He died of cancer in Chile in 1987.He was South American Heavyweight Champion and had an extensive and successful career in Argentina, Cuba, Spain, and the United States roughly between 1931 and 1954....
 |TKO |8 , 1:24 |1940-06-20 |align=left|Yankee Stadium, New York |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Johnny Paychek |TKO |2 , 0:41 |1940-03-29 |align=left|Madison Square Garden, New York |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Arturo Godoy
Arturo Godoy

Arturo Godoy was a Chilean boxing born in Iquique, Chile, Chile, in 1910. He died of cancer in Chile in 1987.He was South American Heavyweight Champion and had an extensive and successful career in Argentina, Cuba, Spain, and the United States roughly between 1931 and 1954....
 |Decision |15 |1940-02-09 |align=left|Madison Square Garden, New York |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Bob Pastor |KO |11 |1939-09-20 |align=left|Detroit, Michigan |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Tony Galento
Tony Galento

Dominic Anthony Galento was an Italian American heavyweight boxing. Nicknamed "Two Ton" for his reasoning to his manager for being nearly late to one of his fights: "I had two tons of ice to deliver on my way here"....
 |TKO |4 , 2:29 |1939-06-28 |align=left|Yankee Stadium, New York |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Jack Roper |KO |1 , 2:20 |1939-04-17 |align=left|Wrigley Field, Los Angeles |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| John Henry Lewis
John Henry Lewis

John Henry Lewis was an African American Boxing who was the world List of light heavyweight boxing champions from 1935 to 1939.One interesting fact of his is that Lewis was managed by a gambler and racketeer of the 1930s: Gus Greenlee, a man who became very important to baseball's Negro Leagues as a commissioner and team owner....
 |KO |1 , 2:29 |1939-01-25 |align=left|Madison Square Garden, New York |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Max Schmeling
Max Schmeling

Maximillian Adolph Otto Siegfried Schmeling was a Germany boxing who was List of heavyweight boxing champions between 1930 and 1932. His two fights with Joe Louis in the late 1930s transcended boxing and became worldwide social events because of their national associations....
 |KO |1 , 2:04 |1938-06-22 |align=left|Yankee Stadium, New York |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Harry Thomas
Harry Thomas

Harry Thomas , was a Wales football striker. In his early days, he played for Swansea City A.F.C. and Porth. In April 1922, he was sold to Manchester United F.C., where he made his debut against Oldham Athletic A.F.C....
 |KO |5 , 2:50 |1938-04-01 |align=left|Chicago, Illinois |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Nathan Mann |KO |3 , 1:56 |1937-02-23 |align=left|Madison Square Garden, New York |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Tommy Farr
Tommy Farr

Thomas George Farr was one of the most famous British people boxings of all time. Born in Clydach Vale, Wales and nicknamed "the Tonypandy Terror", he became List of British heavyweight boxing champions and Empire heavyweight champion on 15 March 1937....
 |Decision |15 |1937-08-30 |align=left|Yankee Stadium, New York |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| James J. Braddock
James J. Braddock

James Walter Braddock was an Irish-American List of heavyweight boxing champions.Fighting under the name James J. Braddock , he was known for his powerful right hand punch, strong chin, and his amazing comeback from a floundering career, which saw him lose several bouts before struggling to support his family by working on the docks...
 |KO |8 |1937-06-22 |align=left|Chicago, Illinois |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Natie Brown |KO |4 |1937-02-17 |align=left|Kansas City
Kansas City

Kansas City may refer to:* Kansas City Metropolitan Area, metropolitan area surrounding Kansas City, Missouri includes territory in both Missouri and Kansas....
, Missouri |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Bob Pastor |Decision |10 |1937-01-29 |align=left|Madison Square Garden, New York City |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Steve Ketchel |KO |2 , 0:31 |1937-01-11 |align=left|Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York

Buffalo , is the second largest city in the state of New York. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River, Buffalo is the principal city of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area and the county seat of Erie County, New York....
 |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Eddie Simms |TKO |1 , 0:26 |1936-12-14 |align=left|Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, the most populous county in the state. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately 60 miles west of the Pennsylvania border....
 |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Jorge Brescia |KO |3 , 2:12 |1936-10-09 |align=left|Hippodrome, New York City |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Al Ettore |KO |5 , 1:28 |1936-09-22 |align=left|Municipal Stadium, Philadelphia |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Jack Sharkey
Jack Sharkey

Jack Sharkey was an American List of Heavyweight Champions. He was of Lithuanian descent.Born in an era when prizefighters, actors and others in the public spotlight adopted an "American-sounding" pseudonym, Joseph Paul Zukauskas took the family name of a popular retired Ireland boxer and future Hall of Famer, Thomas Sharkey ....
 |KO |3 , 1:02 |1936-08-18 |align=left|Yankee Stadium, New York |align=left| |-align=center |Loss |align=left| Max Schmeling
Max Schmeling

Maximillian Adolph Otto Siegfried Schmeling was a Germany boxing who was List of heavyweight boxing champions between 1930 and 1932. His two fights with Joe Louis in the late 1930s transcended boxing and became worldwide social events because of their national associations....
 |KO |12 , 2:29 |1936-06-19 |align=left|Yankee Stadium, New York |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Charley Retzlaff |KO |1 , 1:25 |1936-01-17 |align=left|Chicago, Illinois |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Paulino Uzcudun
Paulino Uzcudun

Paulino Uzcudun Eizmendi was a Spanish people heavyweight boxer, who is considered to be the greatest heavyweight from Spain. Uzkudun is another variation on the spelling of his last name....
 |TKO |4 , 2:32 |1935-12-13 |align=left|Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, has been the name of four arenas in New York City....
, New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
 |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Max Baer |KO |4 |1935-09-24 |align=left|Yankee Stadium, New York |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| King Levinsky
King Levinsky

King Levinsky , also known as Kingfish Levinsky, was an American heavyweight boxing who fought during the 1930s. He was born Harris Krakow, and was a member of the Krakow fish-selling family of Maxwell Street, Chicago....
 |TKO |1 , 2:21 |1935-08-07 |align=left|Chicago, Illinois |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Primo Carnera
Primo Carnera

Primo Carnera was an Italian people Boxing who became the List of Heavyweight Champions....
 |TKO |6 , 2:32 |1935-06-25 |align=left|Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium

The original Yankee Stadium is a stadium located in The Bronx in New York City, New York. It served as the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees from 1923 in baseball to 1973 in baseball and after extensive renovations, from 1976 in baseball to 2008 in baseball....
, New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
 |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Gene Stanton |KO |3 |1935-05-07 |align=left|Kalamazoo, Michigan
Kalamazoo, Michigan

Kalamazoo is the largest city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County, Michigan. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city had a total population of 77,145....
 |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Willie Davies |KO |2 |1935-05-03 |align=left|Peoria, Illinois
Peoria, Illinois

Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, Illinois, in the United States. As of the United States Census, 2000, the city was the sixth largest in Illinois and had a total population of 112,936....
 |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Roscoe Toles |KO |6 |1935-04-25 |align=left|Flint, Michigan
Flint, Michigan

Flint is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River , 66 miles northwest of Detroit, Michigan. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city had a population of 124,943, making it the fifth largest city in Michigan....
 |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Biff Bennett |KO |1 , 2:26 |1935-04-22 |align=left|Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio

Dayton is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, Ohio, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The population was 166,179 at the United States Census, 2000....
 |align=left| |-align=center |Win |align=left| Roy Lazer |KO |3 , 2:26 |1935-04-12 |align=left|Chicago, Illinois | |-align=center |Win |align=left| Natie Brown |Decision |10 |1935-03-29 |align=left|Detroit, Michigan | |-align=center |Win |align=left| Don Barry |TKO |3 |1935-03-08 |align=left|San Francisco, California | |-align=center |Win |align=left| Lee Ramage |TKO |2 , 2:11 |1935-02-21 |align=left|Los Angeles, California | |-align=center |Win |align=left| Hans Birkie |TKO |10 , 1:47 |1935-01-11 |align=left|Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | |-align=center |Win |align=left| Patsy Perroni |Decision |10 |1935-01-04 |align=left|Chicago, Illinois | |-align=center |Win |align=left| Lee Ramage |TKO |8 , 2:51 |1934-12-14 |align=left|Chicago, Illinois | |-align=center |Win |align=left| Charley Massera |KO |3 |1934-11-30 |align=left|Chicago, Illinois | |-align=center |Win |align=left| Stanley Poreda
Stanley Poreda

Stanley Poreda was a Jersey City Boxing considered a top heavyweight contender in the early 1930s.Born in Jersey City January 30, 1909 in Jersey City, NJ....
 |KO |1 , 2:40 |1934-11-14 |align=left|Chicago, Illinois | |-align=center |Win |align=left| Jack O'Dowd |KO |2 |1934-10-31 |align=left|Detroit, Michigan | |-align=center |Win |align=left| Art Sykes
Art Sykes

Arthur S. Sykes, , known as Artie, was an United States boxer from Elmira, New York. Sykes made his professional debut in 1933. In 1934, he was defeated by a young Joe Louis....
 |KO |8 |1934-10-24 |align=left|Chicago, Illinois | |-align=center |Win |align=left| Adolph Wiater |Decision |10 |1934-09-26 |align=left|Chicago, Illinois | |-align=center |Win |align=left| Al Delaney |TKO |4 |1934-09-11 |align=left|Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Wayne County, Michigan. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwestern United States of the United States....
 | |-align=center |Win |align=left| Buck Everett |KO |2 |1934-08-27 |align=left|Chicago, Illinois | |-align=center |Win |align=left| Jack Kranz |Decision |8 |1934-08-13 |align=left|Chicago, Illinois | |-align=center |Win |align=left| Larry Udell |TKO |2 |1934-07-30 |align=left|Chicago, Illinois | |-align=center |Win |align=left| Willie Davies |KO |3 |1934-07-12 |align=left|Chicago, Illinois | |-align=center |Win |align=left| Jack Kracken
Jack Kracken

Jack Kracken, born Emil Ecklund, was a Norway-United States boxer of the 1930s. He is best remembered as the first boxer defeated by Joe Louis on July 4, 1934....
 |KO |1 |1934-07-04 |align=left|Chicago
Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the Midwestern United States, as well as the List of United States cities by population city in the United States with more than 2.8 million residents....
, Illinois
Illinois

The State of Illinois is a U.S. state of the United States, the 21st to be admitted to the United States. Illinois is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern United States state and the fifth most populous state in the nation....
 |

In popular culture

  • Louis played a boxer in the 1938
    1938 in film

    The year 1938 in film involved some significant events....
     race film Spirt of Youth.
  • In the 1987 movie Coming to America
    Coming to America

    Coming to America is a 1988 in film comedy film directed by John Landis. The screenplay was written by David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein, from a story by Eddie Murphy, who also stars in the film....
    , Eddie Murphy
    Eddie Murphy

    Bold text'Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an United States actor, film director, Film producer, comedian and "singer". Murphy ranks as the highest grossing film star in history, having a total of 37 films to date, his films grossing over $3.4 billion in the US alone, averaging $104 million per film....
    's character Clarence states that Frank Sinatra
    Frank Sinatra

    Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an United States singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became a solo artist with great success in the early to mid-1940s, being the idol of the "bobby soxers"....
     once told him that Joe Louis was 137 years old.


See also

  • List of heavyweight boxing champions
    List of heavyweight boxing champions

    This is a chronological list of world heavyweight boxing champions since the introduction of the Marquess of Queensberry rules:...


  • Joe Louis Arena
    Joe Louis Arena

    Joe Louis Arena, nicknamed The Joe and JLA, is a hockey arena located at 600 Civic Center Drive in Detroit, Michigan. It is the home of the National Hockey League franchise, the Detroit Red Wings....
     (located in Detroit, Michigan
    Detroit, Michigan

    Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Wayne County, Michigan. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwestern United States of the United States....
    )


External links

  • *
  • Joe's bio and Profile
  • NPR special on the selection of the radio broadcast to the National Recording Registry
    National Recording Registry

    The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, which created the National Recording Preservation Board, whose members are appointed...
  • Watch footage of the fight on JustOneTV