Joe Louis

ALSO BY LEW FREEDMAN

AND FROM MCFARLAND

DiMaggios Yankees: A History

of the 1936 1944 Dynasty (2011)
The Day All the Stars Came Out: Major League
Baseballs First All-Star Game, 1933 (2010)
Early Wynn, the Go-Go White Sox
and the 1959 World Series (2009)
Hard-Luck Harvey Haddix and the
Greatest Game Ever Lost (2009)
Joe Louis
The Life of a
Heavyweight
LEW FREEDMAN

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers

Jefferson, North Carolina, and London
 ISBN 978-0-7864-5907-0
softcover : acid free paper

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE

BRITISH LIBRARY CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE

2013 Lew Freedman. All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form

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without permission in writing from the publisher.

On the cover: Joe Louis (courtesy of the Burton

Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library)

Manufactured in the United States of America

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers

Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
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 Table of Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

1. The Brain Trust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2. Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3. Detroit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4. Joe Who? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
5. Laying Out the Big Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
6. Jack Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
7. Going Pro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
8. The Brown Bomber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
9. The Brown Bomber Versus the Italian Man Mountain . . . . . . . 67
10. Showdown with Killer Baer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
11. An Eye for the Ladies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
12. Working His Way to the Top . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
13. Max Schmeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
14. Schmeling, Hitler and the Nazis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
15. Louis-Schmeling I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
16. Joe Bounces Back . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
17. And the New Heavyweight Champion of the World . . . . . . . . 135
18. Being the Champ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
19. Louis-Schmeling II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
20. Bigger Than Ever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

v
vi Table of Contents

21. Two-Ton Tony and Tons of Others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

22. The Tough Guy from Pittsburgh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
23. Youre in the Army Now . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
24. A Young Man Named Robinson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
25. After the War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
26. End Days of a Brilliant Career . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
27. Real Life Tougher Than Boxing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

Chapter Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
 Introduction

The man sitting in the wheelchair wearing a cowboy hat in the makeshift
Caesars Palace gym had more eyes on him than the champion skipping rope
as part of his workout. There were mostly strangers in the airy room because
he had out-lived many of his contemporaries and these were younger ght
fans and younger ght writers.
But he was in his element in the midst of the hubbub of ght preparations,
the most honored spectator soaking up the air conditioning as the intense sun
burnt a hole in the sidewalk outdoors on an early autumn day in Las Vegas.
Joe Louis health was failing in late 1980. But being part of the boxing
world he once ruled, even if only briey, brought a smile to his face. Decades
earlier the man who many believe is the greatest heavyweight champion of
all, and perhaps pugilisms greatest ghter at any weight, attracted thousands
of fans to his own workout sessions just like this.
They came from near and far to watch Joe Louis spar, to hit the heavy
bag with his rock-hard sts, to snap the speed bag with his agile punches. In
the late 1930s and in the 1940s, Louis packed them in to the big arenas for
his bouts, commanding the highest prices at the gate. But those who were
merely curious, who had only small change in their pockets, came up with
two bits or a dollar to catch a glimpse of his greatness up close in training
camp instead of Madison Square Garden or Yankee Stadium. The tickets were
cheaper and up close, instead of from a balcony or bleacher view, and the
champ looked bigger than life.
Louis wasnt signing autographs in Las Vegas at this late stage of his life,
but his presence energized the hall, provoked whispers. We were in the pres-
ence of a legend and we all knew it. Some of us were lucky enough to exchange
a word or two with him as he watched a younger generation of ghters do
their thing. That was the only time I met Joe Louis, only to say hello, a soft
Hi Joe. He nodded back.

1
2 Introduction

At the time I was the boxing beat writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer,
on assignment in Las Vegas regularly to cover Larry Holmes, the reigning
heavyweight champ, or Sugar Ray Leonard, the most charismatic ghter in
the world at the time, or Marvelous Marvin Hagler, who was a more marvelous
boxer than anyone else when he was at his best.
Sometimes men like Louis from bygone eras of the sport materialized in
Las Vegas training camps when the modern warriors were ne-tuning their
muscle for their title bouts. Sugar Ray Robinson, who had been friends with
Louis since he was a teenager, showed up to add his aura to the scene. They
were living embodiments of history, whose presence and graciousness, whose
skills and determination enobled a hard game.
All around us those who hung back took notice. Theres Joe Louis,
was the undercurrent of their talk. It was the old-age Joe Louis with us that
day, not the vintage, sculpted, toughest-man-in-the-world Joe Louis of his
prime. Still, it was noteworthy to be in the presence of such fame, greatness,
a man whose accomplishments and distinguished life made America proud.
Louis achievements in sport shone so brightly that for a time he was
almost certainly the most famous person in the United States other than the
president. For a time (along with the arrival of Olympic star Jesse Owens),
Louis was surely the most famous black American in history.
The professional boxing career of Joe Louis spanned from 1934 to his
retirement in 1951. He was the heavyweight champion for an astounding 12
years, from 1937 to 1949, and he made a record 25 title defenses. Overall, his
record was 693 in 72 bouts. He stood 6-foot-2 and mostly fought at around
200 pounds.
Joe Louis life was a Hollywood movie in the esh. It was so rich with
unlikely developments, so saturated with mighty accomplishments, and so
remarkable in so many ways. He was a poverty-stricken African American
youth in the South, yet was able to rise to such a pinnacle of respect with his
unerring actions that he was impossible not to admire. In instances when the
country needed him most, counted on him as a singular representative, Louis
was grandly capable of seizing the stage, grasping the occasion, and wringing
from it the maximum value and joy for the most number of Americans.
Americas greatest sin against its own people was slavery. The Civil War
that was supposed to settle the matter through bloodshed cured one aspect
of the disease, but left enough minds poisoned that discrimination and hatred
remained.
The Alabama where Louis took his rst breaths and where he lived into
his early teens was one of those places in the United States that had yet to
receive the message that all men were created equal. A young black man grow-
 Introduction 3

ing up in the Deep South could expect a life limited by caps on his education
and a belief that he would be nothing more than a laborer who picked cotton.
To cross the white man still meant a black man might be lynched, as the local
form of rough justice still prevailed with little threat of the legal system riding
herd on the perpetrators.
Louis family ed north as part of the Great Migration. Southern blacks
relocated to the large industrial cities of Detroit, Chicago and elsewhere, re-
establishing their lives. Louis family chose Detroit, where jobs working for
Henry Ford and his factories that turned out fresh automobiles were avail-
able.
It was in Detroit where Louis metamorphosed into a ghter. He was for-
tunate to have good handlers and good teachers, men who recognized his
potential and looked out for his best interests. Despite the tenor of the times
and the lingering bitterness in the boxing world against showman Jack John-
son, the only black heavyweight champion into the 1930s, they were able to
guide him to the heavyweight title.
Those who only know the sport from its most recent decades cannot
fathom the depth of discrimination faced by any black heavyweight contender
in the 1920s and 1930s. There was a sport-wide conspiracy backed by public
belief that no black man should be allowed the privilege of ghting for the
most prestigious individual title in sport. Johnsons bravado, insouciance, and
amboyant style made him a hated man. Even more than attitude, whites
despised his proclivity for dating and marrying white women. That was the
great taboo and Johnson irritated and enraged the prejudiced white masses
with his brazen actions.
The Johnson legacy was that even the nest African American big men
of the following generation were never permitted to ght for the heavyweight
crown. When Louis nally got his chance he was the rst black to be offered
a shot at the title in 29 years.
For most white ght fans, Louis was the antiJohnson. He was friendly,
polite, married to an attractive black woman, and unlike Johnson, never
taunted his vanquished white opponents. Joe Louis changed minds with his
demeanor. He gained fans with his boxing skills. And by the time world cir-
cumstances powered by forces much larger than any individual overran the
societal landscape, he was an ingrained, popular gure in American society.
When he was most needed to uphold Americas honor he did so in the
ring, in his sport, and in uniform representing his country. Joe Louis was vic-
torious, generous, and above all a man who was always seemingly in the right
and one whose public actions always seemed perfect for the moment.
Louis was the idol of millions, but still very much a man, with foibles
4 Introduction

and aws, who suffered setbacks and tragedies. For a time he was invincible
in the ring, but he was ever-so-human outside of it. Anyone who expects per-
fection is foolish, but Joe Louis gave more to his country than many had the
right to expect. He was not always rewarded for it, either, but never wavered
in his convictions.
If he had only been great in his sport, that would have been enough. If
he had been great in his sport and uplifted the hopes and dreams of everyday
blacks in America that would have been sufcient. But Joe Louis the man,
the ghter, the symbol, went way beyond that.
He was a man for his times and he shaped his times. In so doing Joe
Louis led an extraordinary life that touched millions of people in so many
ways. He should long be remembered beyond the walls of boxing halls of
fame as a great American.
My contact with Louis was oh-so-eeting, but the picture of him that
day remains clear in my mind. He died not long after, on April 12, 1981.
Although being in the same place at the same time as he appeared was coin-
cidental, it is a memory to be cherished.
 1
The Brain Trust

The trio of men that adopted Joe Louis the ghter treated him like a son
as they nurtured him from neophyte in the ring into the worlds heavyweight
champion. They were hard men, trainer Jack Blackburn, and co-managers
John Roxborough and Julian Black, but they were fair to him. By genteel
societal standards they were pretty much considered to be rogues, but they
were black men like Louis, understood that he was a young man of special
promise, and whatever they hoped to gain from association with him and
they did gain wealth and fame in boxing circles they were honest in their
dealings in every matter that pertained to Louis career.
All three of them, at one time or another, did jail time or were suspected
of illegal activities. In their daily lives, away from Louis, they communicated
to those they did business with in much harsher street talk than how they
spoke to him. They trafcked in a netherworld of sorts, not quite the under-
world, but not the aboveboard world of day-to-day store transactions, either.
Blackburn had been a great ghter, but relied heavily on the bottle. He
had killed a man and done time for it. Roxborough was the numbers king of
Detroit. Black operated in the same realm in Chicago and ran a speakeasy
during Prohibition.
They were not on the list of those that matrons invited to tea, but they
were guardians of a young man with potential, custodians of a great and dom-
inating talent that they were determined to protect at any cost. Whatever else
they were, however else they would be judged, by law enforcement ofcials
snifng around their activities, by their maker when they passed, what they
did for Joe Louis was unimpeachable.
Combined, they possessed the wisdom, the savvy, the determination, the
political know-how, and the special talents needed to guide Louis from a raw
but skilled athlete into a polished champion while bucking the racism of the
1930s. Louis took care of business in the ring and listened to their sound

5
6 Joe Louis

advice out of the ring, and they maneuvered him past the many great obstacles
that could have derailed him as he transformed from Joe Louis Barrow, the
son of an Alabama sharecropper, into The Brown Bomber, the feared and
loved heavyweight champion of the world.
At the same time they made him king of the world of sticuffs, they
opened the world to him. Roxborough, Black, and Blackburn helped Louis
bridge the distance between amateur ghter and professional, between pro-
fessional and champion. They also gave him words rules to live by and
assisted him in the transition from a somewhat cloistered 19-year-old with
limited education to a mature man capable of contending with the world
around him and all of its pressures.
Louis was already a ghter, though an amateur, when he was rst spotted
by Roxborough, who made the initial contact about representation. His course
seemed to be set, though without the aid of his team it is an open question
just how Louis life would have played out. It has always been critical in the
ght game for a boxer to have handlers he could trust. Without such aid a
ghter can be lost in the shufe of contenders, be taken advantage of by pro-
moters, and see his chances to achieve his potential spoiled.
In the 1930s, not even a superb management team guaranteed success to
an up-and-coming black ghter, especially a heavyweight. The myth of the
heavyweight championship is that the holder of the title is the toughest man
in the world. Boxing interest ranked higher in the hierarchy of American
sport at the time, too, behind baseball, for sure, but next to horse racing and
college football in the next tier of popularity. As always, being the heavyweight
champ meant you were the face of the sport.
Those who ran boxing in the smoke-lled rooms where deals were ham-
mered out and who made the matches that drew the biggest crowds believed
that the public would not stand for a black heavyweight champion because
the reign of Jack Johnson turned off so many in white America. No matter
how formidable or skilled, a top African American ghter could be avoided
by the match-makers and the best boxers. It was not easy for any black ghter
to get ahead in the rankings, especially when there was a general understanding
that no black man would be permitted to challenge for the heavyweight crown.
Such blanket prejudice would be denounced as unconscionable in 21st
century America, but there was no governing authority, no groundswell of
public demand, no one strong enough to break down the wall keeping black
ghters on the outside looking in. That was the way it was in the land of the
free and the home of the brave at that time.
These barriers loomed in front of any black heavyweight with aspirations
and talent. As a young amateur Louis was ignorant of the shenanigans that
 1. The Brain Trust 7

At various points in his life, Joe Louis, who adopted ashy dress once he could afford
it from his boxing paydays, favored a mix of wide-brim hats (courtesy Charles H.
Wright Museum of African-American History).

went on behind the scenes in the professional ranks, the forces that might be
arrayed against him if he devoted his career to the sport.
It was Roxborough, a somewhat round-faced man of medium height
who favored a thin black mustache and who was mostly bald, who rst rec-
ognized Louis potential. Louis had found his own way to the gym through
friends to start boxing. He found out quickly he was pretty good at it and
liked it. His earliest trainers turned him into a smooth enough amateur, but
there is a Grand Canyonsized gulf between a ghter doing well in amateur
boxing and doing well as a professional. Amateurs ght just three rounds at
a time and the scoring system differs, with an emphasis on boxing rather than
power. Professionals ght longer. At the time the championship distance was
15 rounds. Harder punching was rewarded more in professional scoring, too.
Roxborough, like so many Detroit African Americans, was from the
Deep South. He was born in New Orleans in 1892 and his family background
included Spanish, Creole, and Jamaican heritage. He spoke more French and
Spanish than English when he was a youngster. Detroit remedied that. The
8 Joe Louis

men in Roxboroughs family were intelligent and ambitious. His father was
an attorney. So was his brother Charles, who became the rst black represen-
tative elected to the Michigan state legislature.
John Roxborough intended to follow the same path. He even spent a
year in law school. However, too much of what he witnessed in daily life irri-
tated him and demoralized him. He envisioned completing law school and
not being able to get a job. African Americans with college degrees were being
offered janitorial jobs or the like and he didnt want to waste his time on
formal education if it was not going to pay off.
To hell with education, Roxborough decided. What good would it
do me? I made up my mind that when I got a chance to make money, no
matter how, Id take it. I would avoid embarrassing situations. I also promised
myself Id help myself rst and then Id help my black brothers.1
For starters, Roxborough became a bail bondsman. Then he worked his
way into the numbers racket, becoming the main man in Detroit black neigh-
borhoods for those who wished to gamble for as little as a penny a try in
attempts to win a bigger payoff by guessing the right numbers selected in this
game of chance.
This was how Roxborough made his living. But he wasnt selsh or
greedy. He lived up to his pledge of trying to help his black brothers. He did
so in many ways, most of them nancial. He made donations to organizations
such as the Urban League and the Young Negroes Progressive Association.
Those were his formal contributions. More informally, on a one-to-one basis,
Roxborough was viewed as a kind of Santa Claus.
True to his pledge, Roxborough passed out money to black individuals
in need, frequently giving aid to those who needed a few bucks to be able to
make the rent, or even to eat. It was later estimated that over the years Rox-
borough dispensed money to put 30 or more young black people through
college. Apparently, he did not retain his once-held view that going to college
for African Americans was a complete waste of time, even if he declared that
path not the right one for him.
So if some were high and mighty in their outlook of Roxborough being
a shady character working the edge of the law, many others supported him
because of his generosity. When Roxborough rst noticed Joe Louis the ama-
teur boxer and offered to get involved in the ghters life, it may not have
been completely altruistic (certainly there was a belief that money could be
made). But it was far from a sure thing and Roxborough might well have
viewed this effort as just one of the many ways he tried to open doors for
young blacks. This was a matter of furthering Louis education, too, just not
in a classroom.
 1. The Brain Trust 9

A more parallel consistency can be seen in Roxboroughs support of local

African American sports teams. One account has Thurston McKinney, the friend
of Louis who rst steered him to boxing at the Brewster Recreation Center,
approaching Roxborough for money. How come youre always laying out money
for basketball and softball teams and you never help us boxers? McKinney asked.
We need help, too.2 Right then and there Roxborough reached into his pocket,
peeled off some bills, and handed the cash over to McKinney.
McKinney was Louis connection to boxing and probably his connection
to Roxborough, though historical tellings differ. Some say that McKinney
told Roxborough about Louis, seeking some money just for his pal with the
tale, He could sure use some help. He doesnt even own a pair of trunks. But
he can punch.3 Interest piqued, Roxborough said that he wanted to watch
Louis ght. Other accounts have Roxborough discovering Louis prowess on
his own on a visit to the rec center.
If so, that was just a scouting mission, assessing if Louis was the genuine
goods. Roxborough soon took in a Louis amateur ght against a more expe-
rienced ghter named Stanley Evans. He could tell that Louis possessed talent,
but especially since the teenager lost the bout he could also see that he needed
tutoring. After the ght, Detroit trainer George Slayton introduced Roxbor-
ough to Louis. He had just lost the ght, so Louis was feeling low and was
surprised that anyone wanted to talk to him or that anyone seemed to believe
in him. That is one aspect of boxing that many underestimate. To succeed at
the sport a ghter must think of himself as practically invulnerable when he
steps between the ropes. So if he loses he is not only vanquished physically,
but also psychologically. In essence it has been proven that he is not as tough
as he thought.
Roxborough made a good impression on the sweaty and downcast Louis.
This man had real class, Louis wrote years later in his autobiography. He
was a very light-skinned black man about six feet tall and he weighed about
190 pounds. He didnt seem ashy, but stylish and rich looking. He had a
gray silk suit, the kind you dont buy off the rack. It made me look twice.
His attitude was gentle, like a gentleman should be. Mr. Roxborough told
me he liked the way I fought and he was interested in me. I couldnt under-
stand why hell, Id just lost the ght. He told me to drop by his real estate
ofce within the next couple of days.4
Soon Roxborough was nancing Louis living needs. He brought him
into stores and told him to pick out anything he wanted, from boxing supplies
to clothing. He invited Louis to his home for dinners and for Louis this was
a revelation. For a son of poverty in a rural southern environment and of
inner-city, big-city living where cash was dear, just seeing a well-to-do black
10 Joe Louis

family living in a plush house and eating regularly scheduled multiple-course

meals provided fresh role models. Louis hadnt even thought about whether
such black families existed. This kind of living was for white people.
While Roxborough was the point man in the Joe Louis team, with the
ofcial title of manager, he did not have key connections in the boxing world.
A business partner from various ventures, and someone who had once bailed
him out with a loan, Julian Black had promoted ghts in Chicago. Roxbor-
ough invited Black into the partnership as a co-manager. Black had a pot
belly, walked with a limp, had darker skin and more hair than Roxborough.
He greased it back and parted it on the left side. Like Roxborough he also
liked to invest in good suits. It was acknowledged that despite his prosperous
veneer Black was all tough guy underneath and not someone to cross or have
mad at you for cause.
Throughout their association Black was the lower-key participant,
though always present for ghts and always involved in major decisions. The
rst major decision was agreeing on the right man to train Louis. Roxborough
and Black were convinced that Louis punching power and innate skill could
carry him to the heavyweight championship. That was the goal from the
beginning. At the time Louis had not quite reached his full height, but was
about an inch shorter than 6-foot-2, and he had not lled out through the
shoulders and chest completely, so he weighed around 175 pounds, the light-
heavyweight limit.
Roxborough thought that Louis should spend another year ghting ama-
teur competition, but Louis had other ideas. His family was poor, he made
little money, and he wanted to make a move right away. When he asked Rox-
borough if he could turn pro, his reasoning was simple and straightforward.
Mr. Roxborough, Louis said, I want the money.5
Louis seemed malleable enough to accept criticism and instruction with-
out his ego getting in the way. Roxborough and Black wanted to be careful
in their selection of teacher, however. As it was, they knew a mineeld of
scheduling and bouts lay ahead, and it was going to be their considerable
challenge to negotiate it, so they wanted a trainer they could place absolute
trust in.
They did their homework and agreed on the best man for the job. The
only problem was they werent sure if the best man had the slightest interest
in working with them, and if all of their personalities would mesh. This was
a reasonable question because although he was a renowned trainer, Jack Black-
burn toted more baggage with him than a 747 ight across the United States.
He could be ornery and sarcastic and while it is not clear if Roxborough and
Black knew from the beginning, Blackburn also was an alcoholic. Blackburn
 1. The Brain Trust 11

had once been an exceptional ghter, falling shy of a world championship, it

was assumed because of the color of his skin and never getting the chance he
deserved. He had also done time in prison for murder. He was never going
to be nominated for father of the year, but he might well be trainer of the
year. Roxborough and Black laid the foundation of a support system for Louis.
It was up to Blackburn to see that he absorbed every nuance of what it took
to become a professional winner inside the ring.
Born Charles Henry Blackburn on New Years Day 1883 in Versailles,
Kentucky, the trainer had been an accomplished ghter with a record of 99-
26-19. His documented ghts ranged from his debut in 1901 to 1923, though
there are indications he fought many more times, probably in exhibitions.
Although Blackburn was mostly a lightweight, he made frequent forays into
classes well beyond the 135-pound level. Over time Blackburn lost his birth
name and was always referred to as Jack.
Admired for his boxing skill, especially his left jab, Blackburn also mixed
in a powerful left hook. Among the ghters he battled were Joe Gans, Harry
Greb, Sam Langford, Gunboat Smith and Philadelphia Jack OBrien.
Those were the most prominent names on Blackburns roster of opponents,
and he fought some of them many times. He also fought many men whose
records were not quite as distinguished and whose careers were not as mem-
orable. No one scared Blackburn, regardless of the weight differential, and he
fought often for the payday. He was lean, black and bald, but to some only
the fact that he was black mattered and he never got the break he needed to
ght for the title.
A pivotal moment in Blackburns life came in 1909. He and another man
became embroiled in a ght over Blackburns common-law wife. Blackburn
was left with a long scar on the left side of his face. The other man died and
Blackburn was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was released after ve for
good behavior. He went back to ghting because that was what he knew.
Blackburn could be mercurial and standofsh, and he didnt let many people
get close to him. However, if he liked you he called you Chappie as a term
of endearment, and some took to calling him that as a nickname right back.
After he retired from boxing Blackburn transferred his own skills into
work as a trainer. Based in Chicago, Blackburn set up shop at Traftons Gym
on Randolph Street. George Trafton was a rugged lineman for the Chicago
Bears who briey turned to boxing as a sidelight and compiled a 41 record.
He got out of the ring quickly enough, but stayed in the sport by opening
his gym.
It was at this stuffy, liniment and sweat aromatically tinged site that Rox-
borough and Black appeared one day in the summer of 1934 in an effort to
12 Joe Louis

sweet-talk Jack Blackburn into taking care of their promising ghter. Black-
burn did not need the work. He was busy enough handling other ghters.
His coaching was renowned and people were forever showing up at the door
seeking his services. He could pick and choose his pupils depending on his
mood, the value of a payday, or how much he believed in that weeks touted
prospect.
One thing was important to Roxborough and Black: they wanted a black
trainer. They did not want any white faces in Louis corner. The boxing world
was white enough and they knew they would contend with enough difculties
from white promoters if Louis amounted to much.
Blackburn was a cynical man. Being black had prevented him from ght-
ing for the title even in a lower weight class, never mind the heavyweight
division. Everyone knew that a black heavyweight was doomed, could only
go so far. When Roxborough and Black approached and informed him they
had a young heavyweight they wanted him to look over, Blackburn presumed
the boxer was white. The story has been told many times and there is no dis-
puting it.
Bring around this white boy and Ill look him over, Blackburn said.6
Blackburn was astonished and skeptical when the duo told him that the ghter
they were promoting was black. Blackburns initial reaction was that he wanted
nothing to do with this boxer. He didnt want to waste his time building up
a black heavyweight that was going nowhere. I wont have no truck with a
colored boy, Blackburn said. Colored boys aint got much chance ghting
nowadays unless they just happen to be world beaters.7
Roxborough and Black laughed, as if they were in on a private joke. A
world-beater. Thats exactly what they believed they had, someone that could
beat everyone in the world. Yet Blackburn remained unconvinced. He was
not going to take these strangers word for it. The only way he agreed to take
a look-see at Louis to see if he was worth his trouble was if the managers put
him on salary. Nothing doing on spec; he wanted guaranteed payment for
working with Louis. Four weeks worth. That was the deal, take it or leave
it. No problem, Roxborough and Black agreed.
So Blackburn accepted the assignment of evaluating Joe Louis prospects
for $35 a week with a fresh confab scheduled in a month. From the moment
Louis fell under Blackburns sway it was if he had acquired a new daddy. From
the moment Louis, Roxborough, Black and Blackburn formed an ofcial part-
nership, the demarcation line in Louis life was drawn. Behind him were the
days of his youth in Alabama, in Detroit, the days of poverty and struggle.
Ahead of him lay riches and fame and an everlasting place in the hearts of his
countrymen.
 2
Alabama

Cotton. Thats all the family could see in its future. Back-breaking cotton
picking was a way of life in the brutal frying summer heat accompanied by
sapping humidity. The work was hard, the pay was small, and the dignity
was limited.
There was no American dream within reach in small-town Alabama for
African Americans during the early years of the 20th century and that was
true for most whites, too. But for blacks, the reach was longer, the odds more
daunting, the opportunities slender for anyone to out-run the past and the
present and grab for a brighter future.
Joseph Louis Barrow was born on May 13, 1914, and while the record is
rm on the date, the location is open to some interpretation. His birthplace
was recorded as Lafayette, Alabama, but he was delivered with a midwife
named Susan Radford helping his mother, Lillie, on a farm in the Buckalew
Mountains in Chambers County. The distance from Lafayette was approxi-
mately 10 miles and the farmhouse was on County Road 50. He was named
after his fathers brother-in-law, Joe Louis Nichols.
Record-keeping in that backwoods area was sketchy and not even Louis
was 100 percent sure of his heritage and some other particulars. It is said that
he was a big baby, the seventh child of eight produced by Munroe and Lillie
Barrow, weighing about 11 pounds. His mother was partCherokee Indian
and Louis was a light-skinned black man with a pug nose and a winners
smile. One of his mothers ancestors was Charles Hunkerfoot, a Cherokee
chieftain.
There may have been shades of skin, but there were no shades of grey
in discrimination. It was even written into the law in some states that if a per-
son had a tiny percentage of African American blood then he was African
American. Lighter skinned or not, Indian blood mixing in his veins or not,
Louis never for a second pretended to be anything but black. My family

13
14 Joe Louis

looked black and was black, he said. A lot of people tried to pass themselves
off as white or even Indian because they had some of that in their blood, but
I was always proud to be black, a Negro.1
On the other side, the family traced its lineage back to slaves owned by
James Barrow, but it was not clear if Munroe Barrow was actually James son
or if he simply took the last name of the family he was reared with, as com-
monly occurred. Munroes parents were slaves on the Barrow plantation.
Louis had a slew of brothers and sisters Susie, Lonnie, Eulalia,
Emmarell, DeLeon, Alvanius and Vunice and legend has it that all in the
family who were old enough and able were working in the elds on the day
Louis was born except his mother, who was otherwise occupied.
Photographs of Louis as a young man when he was just breaking into
the ght game (and as he matured) all atter him. He was indisputably a
handsome man with dark curly hair, and as he lled out his broad chest
rippled with muscle. As he often appeared half-naked in public in the ring
and at weigh-ins, there was little doubt his muscularity worked to his advan-
tage with the large number of women attracted to him through the years.
While Jack Johnson, the only previous African American heavyweight cham-
pion, aunted his sexuality and his escorts, Louis was discreet. But he was
hardly a monk; women of all ages and skin tones propositioned him and threw
themselves at him.
That was later. Louis as a boy was basically shy. He was not chatty and
there are mixed reports from various relatives about whether he engaged others
of his age group in sticuffs, or if there was little in the way of background
to indicate he might one day become a star in the boxing world.
It might be said that much of Alabama was itching for a ght in the rst
quarter of the 20th century if a black man took a wrong step. Discrimination
was a humiliating and omnipresent fact of life in cities where there were white
and colored drinking fountains, where schools and pools were segregated,
where whites and blacks did not share the same restaurants and hotels, or
even the same playing elds. The Deep South may have nudged the calendar
into the 20th century, but many minds and outlooks were locked into the
19th century.
Blacks felt the sting of hatred at every turn and feared for their lives
from those who might attack them or even lynch them and go unpunished.
The country as a whole was gradually becoming preoccupied with the outbreak
of World War I in the year of Louis birth (although the United States would
not enter the war until 1917).
For all of the negative policies in place, daily life in rural areas played
out somewhat differently in the mingling of the races, particularly among
 2. Alabama 15

children. The sons and daughters of whites and blacks played together, even
if they did not attend the same schools. At least early in life Louis said he did
not encounter much prejudice against black people.
I guess we got along with the whites because we kept in our place,
Louis said, but there wasnt bad feelings between whites and blacks in the
country like in the city. I didnt know about bad feelings until I got to the
city. We didnt know the difference between blacks and whites in the country
because most everyone farmed and worked hard and was poor in the country.
We didnt know the difference between rich and poor because no one had
nothing.2
Perhaps in the cities the discrimination was more overt because the whites
believed blacks might compete, or take, what they had. In the country there
was nothing to take. The Barrow family lived in a shaky wooden home that
to some appeared to be on the verge of collapse. The outside was not painted
and seemed as gloomy as the long-term family nancial prospects. It was
crowded inside, with bedrooms shared among the siblings, but there was a
roof over their heads.
Munroe Barrow cut a deal to sharecrop on a 120-acre farm and picking
that cotton was a family operation. The family also grew vegetables and wheat
on the property, working the hard red clay for whatever could be gleaned
from it. Everyone had responsibilities year-round. Lillie picked cotton, too,
although she also took care of the household and cooked the meals. Louis
and his siblings had a home and they ate, but the family was living on the
edge. There was no money for luxuries, by any denition, and there was no
end in sight. Prospects were forever bleak for advancement.
There was no doubt that Louis mother, the former Lillie Reese, held
the family together heroically. A large and strong woman, she worked the
elds and worked the kitchen. She was a full-time parent, as well, especially
when her husband cracked from the strain of trying to support the clan. A
big man at 6 foot 3 and 200 pounds, whom Joe resembled in size, Munroe
Barrow suffered a mental breakdown when Louis was just two years old.
Louis father was conned to the Searcy Hospital for the Negro Insane
in Mount Vernon, Alabama, another small community not far away. Once
in a while Munroe Barrow ran away from the institution and returned to the
family, sometimes staying for a few months before being re-committed. After
the initial breakdown he was never the same. Louis was a toddler during this
tumultuous family time and had little memory of his father. He hardly knew
him at all.
As a religious woman and adopting the optimistic attitude trust in God,
work hard, and hope for the best3 Lillie hustled to keep the family going,
16 Joe Louis

wheeling and dealing with other local farms for their produce and meat. Pork
chops were the main course quite often and so was chicken. Louis loved his
mothers chicken and it was probably his favorite menu item for the rest of
her life, even after he was well into adulthood and was able to eat anywhere
in the country or the world.
Louis was more devoted to his mother for her affection than for her culi-
nary talents. He recognized that she endured a lot to raise the kids. He also
recognized that she put up with a lot from him when he got lazy about doing
his assigned chores. Everybody in the family had to work and pull their weight,
but the young Louis preferred playing sports over living up to his end of the
bargain. Lillie Barrow let him know that attitude was unacceptable, and most
of the time he wanted to please her anyway.
Mamas was special, Louis said, summing up a broader view of all the
hard-working mothers of the era. They worked harder than anyone. Mine
did. Mine was special. I knew it. At least I knew Id do almost anything for
a smile from her. She always said I was the worst crybaby of the bunch. She
always said I howled the loudest when she took a stick to me for running out
on my chores. But sometimes when Id scrub the oors and shed pick me up
and give me a big kiss I was in heaven.4
Louis was a mamas boy, for sure, in his Alabama days, but it is ironic
that Lillie considered him to be a crybaby. One of the most impressive char-
acteristics Louis displayed later in a life that had its disappointments was never
making excuses, never complaining, and always stoically accepting the bad
with the good. He was most certainly not a crybaby in his profession, but
always exhibited the traits of a stand-up guy.
As a little boy, Louis was slow to develop. He did not walk on his own
well until he was about a year old and he didnt talk much until he was about
six. Louis said his mother felt he possessed abnormal strength, though. His
klutzy walking ways resulted in many stumbles and she was surprised when
he knocked over a full butter churn. In later years, the rst sports writers who
got to know Louis failed to respond warmly when he did not offer up witty
quotes. It was not in his nature to be voluble. They could have just asked his
mother. It was nothing personal with them really, Louis was just sparing with
his words from the time he was small.
By the time Louis was three years old his father, Munroe Barrow, was
out of his life, sequestered in the insane asylum except for his brief freedom
runs. Then those ceased and Lillie Barrow was told that her husband had
died. She was a widower with eight children to guide. Not long afterwards
she was attracted to an area man named Pat Brooks, the father of eight chil-
dren.
 2. Alabama 17

A merger was effected. Lillie Barrow married Pat Brooks and the kids all
moved under the same roof Brooks house in Mount Sinai. There were
not enough beds to go around. From the other brood, Louis became closest
to Pat Jr., who was his age. It was as if every night the children all went camp-
ing, sharing tents, only instead they crammed three to a bed. Brooks turned
out to be a loving substitute father and in Louis mind as he grew up, Brooks
was his dad. He was a good stepfather, Louis said. He was the only father
I ever knew.5
Besides sleeping arrangements, the next biggest challenge was loading all
of the kids into Brooks car, a Model T with a snap-on top, come Sunday
when, as Lillie insisted, they attend the Baptist church six miles away.
The nature of their home and the neighbors growing production meant
the Barrow-Brooks family was able to obtain sufcient food, even if warm
clothing for periodically chilly December and January months was lacking.
Everyone worked those long hours picking cotton, so free time was at a pre-
mium, even for the kids. Play might involve a mule ride or taking advantage
of being out in nature in the immediate vicinity. Fishing was a major pastime
and it also provided food for the family. Louis liked to catch snakes. Games
of hide and seek involved climbing trees and hiding above ground behind the
leaves on the limbs.
If the fellow was It found you, he had to tag you by climbing the tree,
Louis said. If he got near you, youd get a good hold on that sapling and
bend it down til you dropped to the ground. Sometimes wed just swing in
the trees like little Tarzans. It sure was good for the development of shoulders
and arms.6 Louis also learned to ride a horse and he loved doing it. Later in
life, when he could afford it, he bought horses and rekindled his passion.
For the most part it was hardly sophisticated play. A century later Amer-
ican kids type on computers, play video games, talk on cell phones. It seems
nearly everything they touch is electronic. The era of Louis youth was barely
electronic, particularly outside of big cities. The family did not own a tele-
phone, and neither did any of their neighbors. The Wright Brothers lifted off
in the rst airplane in 1903 and there was no passenger service in Alabama
going. Automobiles were around in limited numbers. In 1914, the same year
Louis was born, and relying on the assembly line, Henry Ford led the way in
the mass production of cars for the average American. A car rolled off Fords
manufacturing line every 15 minutes. While there is no particular evidence
supporting the notion that Ford followed Louis career developments, Fords
achievement did have a major bearing on Louis life.
There is not a large body of anecdotal material suggesting that Louis was
much of a backyard brawler or engaged in ghts when he was growing up.
18 Joe Louis

He was larger than his schoolmates so it would seem most would not wish to
arouse his anger. Lillie said that Louis did not get into scraps in his youth.
Louis never spoke of doing so. After he became famous as the heavyweight
champion, a reporter headed to the Alabama hills to get to the bottom of the
matter. An uncle claimed that Louis used to knock four boys at a time.7 It
is a tting image to portray Louis going around bashing everyone into sub-
mission, but its probably not true. At least once Louis did get into a ght
with another student, and a teacher caught them and punished him. But there
is no real suggestion this was an everyday occurrence. Louis immersion in
the sweet science lay in the future.
Louis skipped school when he could. He hated going to the school that
housed only a dozen or so students and being singled out to give oral reports,
or even to answer questions. Not only was he shy, but he admitted, I stam-
mered and stuttered, and I guess I was so plain nervous that the other kids
laughed at me.8
Neither a natural troublemaker nor a choirboy in his behavior, Louis
said he did get into ghts sometimes protecting the honor of his sisters.
Another time Id ght was when I played marbles with the other kids, but
only if they bothered me, he said. And once half-brother Pat Brooks hit him
with a brick, leaving a scar. There was another ghting game we played
called Knocking. Id put a chip on my shoulder and dare bigger guys than
me to knock it off. If they did, we would ght. Most times it was more noise
and running and throwing a few stones than anything. I usually didnt ght
because I didnt get into a situation where it was necessary.9 Perhaps this
knocking game is what Louis uncle referred to when he recalled the boy
clobbering a quartet of fellows at once.
Contradictorily, Louis mother, Lillie, said he never had any ghts and
she felt he was one of the quietest kids she ever saw. Could be that each relative
remembered what they believed to be appropriate. The uncle may have wanted
to boast of the early prowess of his famous nephew. The mother may have
wanted to show she had not given birth to a natural-born killer. At least once
Louis said he never had the slightest bit of interest in boxing until he was 14.
Louis gured out early on how to use his size to his advantage if chal-
lenged, but he was not a bully. He also was not much of a student. He did
not enjoy school, he did not benet from much schooling, and he did not
apply himself, all of which he regretted as an adult. When Louis rst burst
upon the scene gaining attention as a ghter, sports writers peppered him
with questions about his background and expected long-winded, story-telling
answers in response. Usually, they only coaxed a few words at a time, or at
best a sentence out of Louis.
 2. Alabama 19

In a cruel rebuttal, the reporters who didnt get what they were after
began referring to Louis as illiterate. The reality was he lacked self-condence
in his ability to banter with them, was shy, and didnt trust the mostly white
reporters. The relationship between Louis and the writers gradually warmed,
but his lack of in-depth, formal education, dating back to blowing off school
in Alabama, was a factor in early national perceptions of him.
There was not a lot of pressure on Louis to succeed in school, anyway,
and certainly not from truant ofcers or local authorities. Seemingly what
educational opportunities there were for young African Americans were pro-
vided in underfunded schools, and only under duress. And in a house where
there were many young mouths to feed and where a sense of defeatism about
how the black man would be held back, it was paramount to bring in as much
money from labor as possible. Louis mother may have wanted him to make
something of himself, but she didnt envision the route for this child to pass
through Harvard or some such institution of higher learning.
When he was much older, Louis had gained intelligent perspective on
what his school days were like in Alabama, his own fault for lack of initiative,
and the school systems fault for not providing much incentive to do well.
Im mighty glad to be champion, Louis said during his long reign as heavy-
weight champion, and Ive been powerful lucky to get where I am. But I sure
wish Id started in a good school like the kids up North do, and gone regularly.
Id sure like to be a smart man moren anything else, I guess.10
Many of Louis most memorable lessons were learned not in the tiny
schoolhouse, but from his mother directly. She stressed that a good name is
better than riches and urged him to always do the right thing.11 There was
denitely some irony involved in the rst phrase. Louis did always maintain
a good name before the American public, even when the riches he had earned
were lost.
Lillie Barrow and Pat Brooks married in 1920. About ve years later an
incident occurred that stirred up Brooks wanderlust and left him fearful for
his own well being and his familys. He had an encounter with Ku Klux Klan
members and the white-sheeted racists of the region, known for burning
crosses on blacks lawns. Their taunts and their deeply rooted animosity to
blacks scared him. One night he and Lillie were driving home from visiting
relatives of a deceased friend when white-sheeted men on horseback sur-
rounded their car and menaced them. Brooks felt he was on the verge of being
yanked from his car and tormented in some unknown way when a voice cut
through the air saying, Thats Pat Brooks. Hes a good nigger.12 And the
group let Brooks and his wife go.
Brooks was shaken by the experience. At the same time, Brooks was
20 Joe Louis

hearing good reports from Detroit. There were jobs to be had. A man could
earn an honest wage in a factory. He didnt have to be chained to back-
breaking cotton picking for the remainder of his days.
It was easy to sell African Americans on the big cities of the North in
1925. They were prospective internal immigrants, hearing the kind of stories
that had spread overseas about Americas streets being paved with gold. Just
as Europeans ocked to the United States to start anew, the early 1920s the
Roaring Twenties seemed to offer possibilities to a man with a strong back
and a willingness to work.
Blacks by the thousands abandoned the Deep South, packing their
belongings in cars, loading their families onto trains. Life had to be better in
Detroit or Chicago, Pittsburgh or Cleveland, even in St. Louis. The Great
Migration, as this period was called, was fundamentally about economic bet-
terment. But it was also about hope and dignity. Not only did the black man
who was the head of a household believe he could take home a superior wage
at a job in the North, he also believed there was a far better chance that he
would be treated fairly and that he would not automatically be looked down
upon because of the color of his skin. For some the experience would be hit-
and-miss, but there was no doubt change held appeal.
There were constant reminders of just how despised African Americans
were in their home state of Alabama. Mobile actually had a curfew in effect
that required all black people to be off the street by 10 P.M. Birmingham, the
states largest city, had a building ordinance that required all of its functional
public structures (as well as outdoor sites) used for sporting events, entertain-
ment such as concerts, stage theaters, movie houses, and convention halls to
have separate entrances for whites and blacks located at least 25 feet apart.
The laws were so draconian that in a later age it seems they could not possibly
have been real, yet they were.
During the period in the South from right around Louis birth into the
1920s, there seemed to be a fresh wave of vigilante violence against African
Americans. After years of lying dormant, the Ku Klux Klan was on the rise
again throughout the region, rearming and resurging. The Klan no doubt
played as instigator in some of the violence.
Even William C. Oates who had been a general on the side of the
Confederacy during the Civil War and governor of Alabama in the 1890s, and
someone who might be viewed as holding less than sympathetic views towards
blacks announced that he was appalled by the horrors of the violence taking
place. People, he said, seemed determined to kill [the Negro] and wipe him
from the face of the earth.13
Given such a hostile climate, it was no wonder that African Americans
 2. Alabama 21

looked for better options in other states. Pat Brooks decided to take a chance.
He went exploring in Detroit, and although he did not nd a job immediately,
he was convinced that the lifestyle and the opportunity to nd a good job in
the near future far outweighed the dead-end prospects as a sharecropper in
Alabama.
Pat, Lillie and some of the older boys left for Detroit rst, seeking work.
They all found some type of employment and they were hoping to get on at
the Ford plant, which did hire blacks. After several months of members of
the family living apart, Louis and the younger children, who had been cared
for by relatives, were also on their way north to reunite.
By 1926, Brooks and his entire family, including Joe Louis Barrow, were
residents of Detroit, Michigan. Louis was 12 years old.
 3
Detroit

By 1925, the black population of Detroit was 80,000. Thousands and

thousands of people moved north from their desperate southern circumstances
looking for better jobs. The lower east side of the city, eventually called the
Black Bottom, was the area that attracted the most settlement in a segregated
city, as those migrants discovered it was.
A working mans town, Detroit was a noisy, bustling city, huge compared
to the rural, more peaceful setting of small-town Alabama. The Barrow family
embraced the change, though, because it represented hope and improved sta-
tus. In addition, the home they shared with relatives on McCombs Street,
and then in their own house on Catherine Street, had all the comforts of
modern living that were absent in Alabama. There was running water, elec-
tricity rather than kerosene lamps, and indoor plumbing instead of an out-
house.
For Joe Louis Barrow, the countryside lifestyle was gone. If there were
horses around, they were hitched to wagons doing a days work. The days of
catching snakes in the woods were over. It was easy to be overwhelmed by
the teeming city after a lifetime spent on a farm.
You cant imagine the impact that city had, Louis wrote in his auto-
biography. I never saw so many people in one place, so many cars at one
time. I had never even seen a trolley car before. There were other things that
I had never heard of parks, libraries, brick schoolhouses, movie theaters.
People dressed different. But one thing I knew, Detroit looked awfully good
to me.1
His job was to attend school and once again he wasnt all that enthusiastic
about the role. Playing hooky in Alabama had not done him any good. When
it came time to assign him to a class at the Dufeld Elementary School, Louis
skills trailed the eld in his age group. Already large for his age, he stuck out
even more when placed with younger children. Shy, still coping with a stutter

22
 3. Detroit 23

when he talked, Louis was not outgoing, did not really mix with the other
kids. He was behind in book learning and he did not really attack his de-
ciencies. For him school was a pain in the neck.
It was too much for me, Louis said. They had all kinds of routines I
didnt know a thing about assemblies, re drills, and stuff like that. So I
kept myself quiet. It bored me. Most times Id just look out the window. All
I can be sure about was that Id rather have been anyplace else than in that
classroom trying to listen to something I didnt understand.2
It was probably equal parts failure on Louis side for not working at
school and on the teachers side for not taking the time to care more. The
rst good friend Louis made at school was Freddie Guinyard, who became a
life-long pal. An incident involving Guinyard at Dufeld was the rst time
in his life he thought about racial issues, Louis said. The way Louis recalled
it, a teacher spoke only to the black students and said that if they got good
grades they would get the chance to shine shoes at the Hudson department
store on weekends. Guinyard immediately sensed the racism in the deal. He
leapt to his feet and challenged the teacher by saying, Why would you need
to have good grades to shine shoes? The act of insubordination got Guinyard
sent home and made Louis think.3
Guinyard and Louis became running mates and one way they whiled
away time on Saturdays was to attend triple-feature cowboy movies. Louis
loved westerns and was particularly partial to Tom Mix, but also liked Buck
Jones and Ken Maynard pictures. These cowpokes churned out the lms by
the dozens, rst the silent variety in the 1920s, and then some talkies.
For decades, white teachers pigeon-holed black students falling behind
in their class work, frequently dismissing them as useless students, unable to
learn and stigmatizing them as stupid. The easiest way to deal with them,
instead of offering special instruction to help them catch up, was to farm
them out, get rid of them. The catch-all dismissal was that they were too
dumb to learn so there was no point in them following the regular curriculum
or a college path. Louis ran across a teacher who disposed of him in this man-
ner.
In the case of this teacher, Vada Schwader, an instructor whom Louis
liked and said was nice, was responding as much to Louis own intransigence
in attempting to adapt to book learning. He did not help his own case and
was being held back in sixth grade; in fact his younger sister Vunice caught
up to his class. Schwader may have thought she was truly doing Louis a favor
when she said, Hes going to have to make a living with his hands. Hed
better start now.4 By that Schwader undoubtedly meant that Louis would
have to become a laborer, a woodworker, or metal worker as a career. Surely,
24 Joe Louis

she had no conception of the irony of her phrasing and that the boy she helped
transfer to Bronson Trade School would employ his meaty sts to become
heavyweight champion of the world. Working with his hands indeed.
At vocational school, which more aptly t his personality, Louis made
cabinets and tables. He didnt mind that so much, but he did want more out
of life. The idea of becoming a boxer had not yet crossed his mind, but it was
coming. He was engaged by baseball, however, and played often on the local
sandlots. Louis also became a fan of the Detroit Tigers.
By his mid-teens, Louis had become interested in the opposite sex. By
the time he was 14, he had begun a secret relationship with Bennie Franklin,
one which lasted for years. His rst girlfriend, who had also moved north
from Alabama, was the step-daughter of one of Louis sisters. Although they
were not blood relations, Louis said he knew family members would object,
so they kept things quiet.
I always loved beautiful girls, he said, something which would become
more apparent when he was a little bit older.5
The Roaring Twenties followed the grim Teens after World War I ended.
It was a time of prosperity in America, of living high. Blacks could make the
move north with assurance, feeling condent they could carve out a better
living. In baseball, the lively ball had been introduced to the sport. Babe Ruth
had conquered the home run and shown how it could be an exciting and dev-
astating weapon. The demand for tickets to watch the Yankees was so great
in New York that the team built a new palace of a stadium and it was termed
The House That Ruth Built.
There seemed to be outsized personalities in every sport. Red Grange
energized football fans. Big Bill Tilden was the king of the tennis circuit.
Bobby Jones ruled the links. And in the ght game Jack Dempsey was the
heavyweight champ, at least until stunningly, Gene Tunney dethroned him.
Their rst ght in 1926 in Philadelphia attracted 120,000 fans.
Also in 1926, an African American dentist in Detroit sought to move his
family into an all-white neighborhood with a home purchase. Dr. Ossian
Sweet became a trail-blazer, but suffered intense discrimination because of
his boldness. He was charged with murder for ghting back and defending
his home against a white mob. The famed attorney Clarence Darrow handled
the case and won an acquittal for Sweet.
The Dempsey-Tunney boxing rematch, in which Dempsey sought to
regain the crown, took place in Chicago in 1927 and was one of the most
famous bouts in history. It came to be called the Long Count ght. The
105,000 fans in attendance were shocked when Dempsey put Tunney down
on the canvas. However, he did not adjourn to a neutral corner, so the count
 3. Detroit 25

could not proceed. If Dempsey had retreated to the corner Tunney would
have been counted out. Instead, he rose before the ofcial count of 10 to con-
tinue, and then won the ght.
After he became heavyweight champ and reporters asked such questions,
Louis said that when he was a teen in the 1920s he rooted for Dempsey. He
even called Dempsey his rst sporting hero. Dempsey was one of the ubiq-
uitous gures of the Twenties, until Tunney succeeded him. We listened to
his ghts on the radio, Louis said. It was always Dempsey does this,
Dempsey does that.6
The second loss to Tunney was a dark day for Dempsey, but one of the
darkest days for the nation lay ahead. On October 29, 1929, Black Tuesday,
the stock market crashed, marking the beginning of what would soon be the
Great Depression, the most devastating economic collapse in U.S. history. By
the end of the decade many of those optimistic black migrants were out of
work in Detroit and other big cities, victims of the last-hired, rst-red doc-
trine in some cases, or perhaps because less sympathetic employers felt it easier
to let African Americans go on the unemployment rolls.
Life became a greater challenge for those who lost jobs at the Barrow
family. DeLeon Barrow, one of Joes brothers, was hired at the Ford automobile
manufacturing operation in 1928 and escaped the layoffs. He made a career
out of working at the Rouge plant, staying on for 45 years.
When times got hard Louis took on odd jobs, including delivering gro-
ceries and ice and shoveling coal. The Catherine Street abode was not in the
fanciest of neighborhoods. Indeed, there was a popular whorehouse down the
block. Louis began running with a local gang and Lillie was disturbed. She
was certain he would get hurt or be arrested. Although there did not seem to
be much logic behind the move, her way of getting her youngest son involved
in a respectable activity was to scrape up 50 cents a shot for violin lessons.
Not even teacher Schwader likely ever considered that one of the pro-
fessions Louis might tackle with his hands was training to become another
Jascha Heifetz. Louis never really professed an early-life commitment to any
type of music, but if he was drawn to anything in the early 1930s it was prob-
ably jazz, not classical. Nonetheless, what Lillie Barrow wanted, she made
happen. Louis began taking violin lessons and toting the instrument through
the neighborhood. Mostly, that earned him ridicule from the other guys in
the streets.
Nat Fleischer, the esteemed boxing writer who founded The Ring mag-
azine, the self-described bible of the sport, once wrote of Louis irtation
with the violin: There was music in his soul, but no great yearning to become
a musician.7 That sounded like a pretty fair analysis.
26 Joe Louis

As much as he loved his mother and appreciated her good wishes for
him, Louis knew he was no musician. An alternative soon presented itself to
him. One friend, Thurston McKinney, was a regular at the Brewster Recreation
Center. One day he urged Louis to skip his violin lessons and accompany
him to the gym. That proved to be a capital idea, indeed a life-changing one.
Louis put the gloves on for the rst time in late 1932 when he was 18
years old, though he had done some backyard sparring with another friend,
Amsey Rinson, in a very informal setting. McKinney had already won a
Detroit Golden Gloves championship, and when he talked about Louis joining
him at the gym, it was not a lark. Rinson had previously planted the idea of
hitting the gym when they hit each other, but he and Louis never made the
trip.
When Louis ditched his violin lesson for the gym, the violin came with
him. That must have been a conversation piece at the Brewster Rec Center.
It was my rst time in a professional gym, Louis said. I looked at the ring,
the punching bag, the pulleys, exercise mat, and it was love at rst sight.8
Louis was nished with the violin, even if his mother was not yet aware
of that development in her sons life. He took the money she gave him and
rented a locker at the gym and to pay the basic fees, and he began working
out. For a time thats all he did, getting accustomed to the equipment.
One day McKinney insisted that Louis spar with him. McKinney
was far more polished, although he was a smaller man, and he used his expe-
rience to box circles around his friend at rst. Even Louis admitted that
McKinney got the best of him and hit him with one shot to the jaw that
nearly toppled him. It also made Louis mad and I let go my right. It caught
him on the chin. His eyes got glassy and his knees buckled, and if I hadnt
moved fast to hold him, I would have knocked him out. McKinney held no
grudge, but he did make an astute observation. Man, he said, throw that
violin away.9
It was one thing to make an impression on McKinney, particularly with
him holding that Golden Gloves title, but quite another for Louis to make
his mother see that this was where he belonged, not prepping for a symphony
orchestra. For a short while Louis just made a quiet detour to the gym when
he was supposed to be sitting for his violin lesson. He was too nervous to talk
about the situation with his mother.
Soon enough that option was taken out of his hands. The violin teacher
showed up in the Catherine Street home to inquire what had become of his
pupil. Lillie had the same question for Joe. Where have you been going? was
the gist of what she asked. Quite edgy about what she would think, Louis
explained that he was more focused on becoming a boxer than a violinist and
 3. Detroit 27

Its time to put the gloves on. Heavyweight champion Joe Louis slips his hands into
the tools of his trade before a workout (courtesy Charles H. Wright Museum of
African-American History).

that he had been visiting a gym regularly. To his surprise, she didnt give him
any grief. Instead, Lillie supported him and said he should just be the best
that he could be as a boxer if he was going to pursue it.
Louis obtained a $25 a week job moving truck bodies mounted on dollies
into the spray paint assembly line at the Briggs factory. Those were good
28 Joe Louis

wages at the time and more than nanced his needs to continue his boxing
education, even while sharing some of his income with the family.
Joe Louis Barrow, a son of Alabama, was now launching what would
become one of the greatest boxing careers of all from his new home in Detroit,
Michigan. There was so much to learn, but this was a subject the young man
cared deeply about. He wasnt going to be staring out the window daydreaming
when class was in session at the Brewster Recreation Center.
There were hard times outside the door, where grown men without jobs
pleaded for work at every store or factory in the area and some were reduced
to peddling fruit to make a few cents. There would be hard times inside the
musty gym where other men tried to make their own opportunities with their
sts. Now Louis was one of them and it was on his own broad shoulders to
see how far he could go.
 4
Joe Who?

He was born Joe Louis Barrow, but became Joe Louis. The how and why
of it, however, have been obscured. Just about everyone who has written about
the one-time heavyweight champ seems to offer a different theory about how
it came to pass that the boxers name was shortened.
Sometime after Louis obtained his own locker at the Brewster Recreation
Center it was determined that he have his rst amateur ght. It was time for
a test to see how much he had learned in workouts and whether he was really
going to be a ghter. Up until the rst match of a boxers career he is exer-
cising. After he has faced competition, he is a real ghter.
One early report on Louis career portrays his name-shortening as a sud-
den, spur-of-the-moment development. The way the scene was described by
early biographer Margery Miller, Louis was standing in the ring when the
notion came to him that Joe Louis Barrow sounded too long for the
announcer to handle. In her account Louis decided then and there to become
Joe Louis. Joe was struck by the fact that the name was long for a boxer and
told him to omit Barrow, she wrote.1 This scenario is possible, but unlikely.
Louis was a person who usually thought things out and, besides, Joe Louis
Barrow was not a particularly long name.
Still, that story is echoed in another early book about Louis, presented
in this way: The announcer crossed the canvas and spoke. Your name Joe
Louis Barrow? In that instant, Joe made a decision that was to inuence his
whole future life. Just Joe Louis, he told the announcer, for it occurred to
him that his full name was too long for people to remember easily.2
Recalling the origins of Louis rst visits to the gym in lieu of violin
lessons the case has been made by others that Louis changed his name from
Joe Louis Barrow to simply Joe Louis as a way to stay under radar when he
began competing in bouts so his name would be reported in the newspaper
in a way that would not attract suspicion to his real identity. He adopted

29
30 Joe Louis

the ring name Joe Louis so his mother wouldnt nd out he was boxing,
author Chris Mead reported.3
That seems unlikely, as well, because Louis came clean and admitted he
had spurned the violin in favor of the violence pretty early on in his boxing
career, certainly well before he turned pro, and at the latest very soon after
he had his rst ght. If he preferred, at that early stage, it would have been
easy enough to go back to Joe Louis Barrow.
Richard Bak, the veteran Detroit author, tried to get to the bottom of
the mystery and heard many variations. One intriguing story was a report
that one of Louis sisters made him a gift of a satin jacket to wear into the
ring with the name Joe Louis stitched on it. A more-often told story was
that when lling out the application form for his rst ght Louis wrote in
very large letters and just ran out of room on the line that was supposed to
include his name. This transformation from Joe Louis Barrow to Joe Louis
was apparently accomplished by Joes rst amateur ght against John Miler
in 1932. After all of these questions and after all of the debate about Louis
name change, Bak discovered most of the early newspaper mentions of the
ghters names in his rst amateur bouts referred to him as Joe Lewis.4 That
was one spelling Joe Louis Barrow never chose.
When he participated in his long-awaited biography in the late 1970s,
Louis did address the issue and said he was still trying to hide his boxing from
his mother when he changed the name leading up to the match against Miler.
I didnt want my family to know anything about it yet, Louis said, so
before I boxed Miler I decided Id drop the name Barrow and just be plain
Joe Louis. That way, if it got into the papers Momma wouldnt know the dif-
ference.5
Of course if Momma had come across a boxer called Joe Louis he would
have been hard-pressed to convince her that the name was mere coincidence
and that it was somebody else. The precise timing of Lillie Barrows awareness
of her sons boxing ambitions and how it compares to his name change and
his amateur debut are unclear. Later in life, when the boxer sired a son, he
named him Joe Louis Barrow, Jr. That was probably the most visible way that
the champion ever used his birth name again.
The birth of Joe Louis the ghter took place in Detroit, inside the Brew-
ster Recreation Center, his rst ghting home, whether it was striking the
heavy bag, trading punches with Thurston McKinney, or taking the rst steps
to becoming the polished ghter who later made millions of dollars in the
ring.
Any boxing man who glimpsed the 17-year-old Joe when he showed
up at the gym would be impressed by his energy and enthusiasm, his size
 4. Joe Who? 31

(though he was still a light-heavyweight at under 175 pounds, he was lling

out) and his punching power. Although unschooled, Louis was able to push
McKinney around the ring. Only a few years later Louis would be able to
turn opponents hearts to stone with merely a scowl. For now, he was learning
his trade.
When Louis mom found out he was investing in his sts, not his ngers
with the violin, he was sure she was going to lecture him and forbid him to
continue. She did not. Sensing his passion for the sport, Lillie said she would
support him and wanted him to do the best he could. She may have hoped
that a few bloody noses would cure Joe from his desire to become a pugilist,
but if she harbored any such quiet ambitions things did not play out that
way. As tough a game as it was, Louis was in it for good.
Louis rst trainer at the rec center was Holman Williams, who began
by teaching him the fundamentals of the game. It was apparent he was not
going to be a stick-and-move specialist because he was not a speedster. Yet
Louis possessed a hard-hitting, stinging jab, so that icking left could be a
great weapon setting up the dynamite right hand he owned.
The jab can be the greatest weapon in a ghters arsenal and Louis was
very effective. His power was very impressive, but he had to work hard to
develop the necessary footwork to stay out of the reach of foes and to put
them in harms way. Boxing is an ego sport and the best ghters must have
inated egos, a solid core belief that opponents cant beat them, that no one
in their weight class can beat them.
Holman Williams encouraged me a lot, Louis said. I respected him.
He was a beautiful boxer. He told me I had the stuff to be a champion and
I knew he was serious.6
Williams had a lengthy career as a pro welterweight and middleweight,
putting up a record of 145-30-11 before he turned to training. He only trained
Louis for about a year and died in a re in his sleep when he was 55.
No athlete is born great. He may be stamped with greatness that can be
tapped, drawn out, but to achieve the pinnacle of a sport takes hard work and
the donation of sweat by the bucket-load. Louis did his part, but it still took
time to adapt. Once the rst punch lands on your chin in the ring there is a
tendency to forget every word your trainer told you. The contact tends to
scramble clear thinking.
The rst amateur ght of Louis career was staged at the Naval Armory
in Detroit in 1932. It was not wise scheduling. Louis was matched with Johnny
Miler, a member of the 1932 United States boxing team in the light-
heavyweight division at the Olympics in Los Angeles. While some old reports
spell his name as Miller, most of the reports of his ght with Louis call him
32 Joe Louis

Miler. The ghter was born John Miletich, and he adjusted his name for the
sport. In retrospect, Miler, no matter his ofcial name, had far too much
experience for the novice Louis, no matter his potential.
The result was disastrous for Louis and could have ruined his desire to
ght. Amateur ghts are scheduled to go just three rounds, but Louis didnt
last that long. The smoother Miler knocked him down seven times in two
rounds and the ght was stopped. It was an inauspicious showing for Louis,
the beating so thorough that it would have been easy to become discouraged
and quit the sport. Then as now, amateurs did not earn paychecks for their
efforts, but Louis was presented a check exchangeable for $7 worth of mer-
chandise.
Next day I went back to the gym, Louis said. I tell you I was sore
and aching, but my pride hurt more. When I got home my step-father sat
and had a long talk with me. He told me he was getting to be an old man
and except for marrying my momma and getting out of Alabama, he hadnt
accomplished much. I was young, he said, and maybe I should just try to get
a regular job, settle down and marry some nice girl.7
Certainly Pat Brooks, Louis step-father, would have been happier if he
quit the ring outright. Brooks did not really want Louis to ght. He wanted
him to work and provide money for the family. Brooks felt the defeat was an
ominous sign for Louis that he had chosen the wrong way to make a living.
He lobbied Louis to quit boxing and nd a better job. For the time being
Louis heeded his step-dads advice. Thats when he got a job at the Ford
Rouge plant. Louis backed away from training and did not ght again for
months, spilling into 1933.
The physical labor Louis took on at the plant tired him and left his mus-
cles as achy as boxing had. He was making a steady $25 a week, but knew if
he was a successful boxer he could make much more. Eventually, he decided
that if his body was going to be his bread and butter and his physical attributes
were going to be his vehicle of support, he might as well do something he
liked. In January of 1933, Louis asked his boss at the plant for a six-month
leave of absence. Many felt Louis was being foolish by surrendering steady
work during the depths of the Depression, but he went with his heart.
Louis plunged back into training and after a respectable interval Williams
ne-tuned him for more amateur bouts. Louis scored a knockout in his second
amateur ght over a foe named Otis Thomas. It was my rst ofcial knock-
out, Louis said. I was on top of the world.8
The whipping Miler gave Louis was not repeated. As he matured, grew
into his body, developed excellent training habits and as his instincts sharp-
ened, Louis found the best ways to apply his lessons when under re. One of
 4. Joe Who? 33

those lessons was not to rely so devotedly on his right hand. He would need
strength and power and condence in both hands to get very far in this
business. One day at the gym, Williams, and Atler Ellis, another handler
who had sway over Joes career at that time, tried to make a point. During a
workout they tied Louis right hand to his corner so he couldnt use it. He
had to ght one-handed, all with the left, or weaker hand, against Thurston
McKinney. It was frustrating, but Louis knew he needed to bring his left up
to par.
After KOing Thomas, Louis knocked out 13 men in a row. He entered
tournaments and traveled to Chicago, Boston and Toronto. For the rst time,
as he turned 18 in 1933, and 19 in 1934, he was not living at his parents home
and liked the freedom of being on his own. In body he was already a man.
In mind, he was becoming one.
By the end of 1933 Louis was competing for a national Golden Gloves
championship in Boston, still ghting as a light-heavyweight. By then he had
acquired a glowing reputation among those who had seen him box, and
although he lost the title match to Max Marek, one inuential viewer never
forgot the promise he spied during Louis defeat in Boston.
Boxing writer Nat Fleischer was the witness in question and he promptly
wrote that if either Marek or Louis turned professional he would be worth
watching. Marek, the recipient of a football scholarship to Notre Dame, did
try the professional ranks and was very active, if not nearly as successful as
Louis. During a pro career that ended in 1939, Marek went 33-20-11. One
thing Marek could always say was that he had beaten Joe Louis and he said
it often. He billed himself as The Man Who Beat Joe Louis. And it was for
a national amateur championship, too.
While that may have been the height of Mareks boxing career, it was
only the stepping-off point for Louis. Later the same year Louis won an ama-
teur boxing national title in Chicago. Fleischer saw him again and was even
more impressed. I had the pleasure of watching one of the most nished
amateur boxers it has been my fortune to see in 30 years, he wrote. The
name of the Negro boy is Joe Louis, a name that will soon be headlining the
sports pages of America if he decides to turn professional. Although a novice
in experience, he handles himself in all departments of the sport like a tried
veteran. He bears watching.9
Nat Fleischer was right about Joe Louis and Pat Brooks was wrong.
Fleischer had an eye for talent in the ght game, and he saw that Louis
was the genuine article. He laid it on quite thick for his readers, employing
animalistic synonyms that were later disparaged as chosen only because Louis
was black. Although there was plenty of that to come in sportswriters lingo
34 Joe Louis

about Louis, Fleischers word choice seems more indicative of the owery,
hyperbolic style of writing of the time period than racist.
Who is this Joe Louis? Fleischer wrote. He is a pugilistic symphony
with a tempo geared to bring him across the ring with all the grace of a gazelle
and the cold fury of an enraged mountain lion. He is a new type ghter who
shows a style combining exquisite harmony of movement with crushing power
stored in each hand.10
As Louis grew in stature his merchandise prizes expanded, as well, though
only to the $25 per ght range. While Williams did tutor Louis expertly dur-
ing the limited time he supervised him, he was succeeded by trainer George
Moody. With Moodys guidance, Louis became a more complete boxer. He
avenged an early loss to Stanley Evans and won a second national amateur
title.
By the time Louis reached the apex of his amateur career he had posted
a 504 record with 43 of his victories coming by knockout. This was the
power Fleischer saw in those clenched sts.
During his amateur days in Detroit, when Louis fell in love with boxing
and appreciated coming into his own as a ghter and harnessing his power,
he made some important friends. One was Eddie Futch. In the 1930s, Futch,
like Louis, was an amateur ghter representing Detroit. Unlike Louis, Futch
was a man of the lesser weight classes. He was also a southerner by birth, born
in Hillsboro, Mississippi, in 1911. In his later years Futch, who died at 90 in
2001, became one of the greatest trainers in boxing history, renowned for his
work with heavyweight champ Joe Frazier and others.
Futch was a slick amateur and won Detroit Golden Gloves champi-
onships, but a heart murmur was discovered when he considered going pro,
so he retired from inside the ring to teach outside the ring. However, he was
still active, and he frequently sparred with Louis. The idea was to give practice
to Louis catching up to faster men.
Futch used to joke that he had to be fast to stay away from Louis
artillery because at 135 pounds or so, Louis might have killed him if he
connected ush. In the ring, I couldnt force Joe anywhere, Futch said. But
I could lead him if he was following me. I would go to the corner, then I
would come out and make a circle quickly before he knew what I was doing.
I would feint the left hand into the body, watching him drop his right hand
to parry the punch. The minute I saw him drop his right hand Id throw a
quick left hook to the head because he had nothing up there. His right hand
was down.11
That was a telling observation, because a few years later making that
very same mistake proved very costly to Louis in a big ght. Futch pulled off
 4. Joe Who? 35

the stunt often enough that Louis became wary. He studied Futch and stopped
falling for the move. Louis said, I want to see how you do it because if you
can hit me with a left hook somebody who can hurt me with a left hook can
hit me.12
At various times during his training career, Futch reminisced about his
days going toe-to-toe with Louis sort of. Sort of, in the sense that he was
alone in the ring with him, but never stayed still long enough to do battle
because he didnt want to get clobbered by the much bigger man. Why would
Louis want to spar with a lightweight? He said, If I can hit you with any-
thing, I know Im alright, Futch said once. I said, Joe, I dont intend to
allow you to hit me with anything.13
Also in those Detroit days Louis made the acquaintance of another gym
rat named Walker Smith, Jr. The lad was seven years younger than Louis and
looked up to him. At the time the boy was called Junior around the neigh-
borhood and every day when Louis walked past his home there he would be
waiting outside. Junior insisted on carrying Louis equipment bag to the gym.
Louis did not know what to make of the young teenager, but he kind
of liked him so he put up with the bag carrying even though the gesture
embarrassed him and made him the butt of a few jokes when people referred
to Junior as his valet. This association only lasted for a chunk of 1932 then,
but eventually evolved into a life-long friendship when the youngster grew
up.
The boy born Smith also took a ring name a little bit later and became
known to the world as Sugar Ray Robinson, one of the few, if not the only,
boxer in history regarded as Louis superior.
Back then, when Louis was rst getting started, Junior bragged to his
friends about knowing him. It didnt make much of an impact at rst because
Louis wasnt known for doing very much yet. But the link was established
and within a decade they had become true pals. By then Robinson had com-
piled his own 850 amateur record and Louis was long established as the
worlds heavyweight champion.
After capturing a couple of national amateur titles, Louis was pleased
with his progress and proud of his accomplishments. But he couldnt eat those
merchandise certicates. They were not redeemable at the best restaurants.
He aspired to more, though when he spoke of nancial goals his mind did
not wrap around the concept of becoming rich. All he wanted to do, he said,
was make $60 a week. That was riches enough for him at the time.
Little did he know he was dreaming way too small. It was Louis trainer
Moody who introduced him to John Roxborough when the businessman
showed up at the gym.
 5
Laying Out the Big Plan

Jack Blackburn was the talent evaluator. John Roxborough and Julian
Black were pretty sure about what they had, but they needed a specialist to
make the nal call on Louis skill and potential.
The trio of black men understood the odds against their black ghter
getting his due, even if he was good enough to challenge for the heavyweight
championship. Roxborough and Black were believers and soon enough Black-
burn was.
Blackburn had endured the heartbreaks of being a black ghter with
skill but no connections. Roxborough and Black understood how harsh the
boxing world could be, too. They all agreed that justice was a difcult com-
modity to grasp, that the world was unfair to African Americans, and that
they were going to be heading down a hard road that might dead-end. But
they were bold enough and determined enough to give it a shot. They had
seen the spark of greatness in Joe Louis and they wanted to bring it out, nur-
ture it, and get him a shot at the biggest individual prize in sport.
They wanted to do it for Louis and they wanted to do it for themselves.
But they also (and Roxborough perhaps was more conscious of this than the
others) wanted to do it for the black race. Lord knows their brethren were
downtrodden enough in the United States, punished for the sin of being born
with black skin, taken advantage of by the white power structure at every
turn. These were not nave men committed to guiding Joe Louis to the top.
They comprehended that if Louis won in the ring they all won in the
nancial game and that everyone, all of the countrys black people (including
all of those that didnt even know they existed) could become big winners too,
by proxy. They may never have crystallized the image in their minds of what
they would all live to see and experience in the coming years, but in their
souls they knew that a Louis success would be every black mans success.
He also had to do it the right way. That was critical. Jack Johnson should

36
 5. Laying Out the Big Plan 37

have been one of the greatest heroes in the black community, but he was so
hated by white people that even those who liked and admired him among
African Americans understood that he had not been able to uplift the entire
race. The backlash against Johnson was so powerful in white America that he
was a pariah. Johnsons success, which might have led to more opportunities
for black Americans in the sport, had the reverse effect.
Just being black and the best was enough to make Johnson enemies
among whites. But being black, the best, boastful, smug, often arrogant, and
freewheeling on the edges of society earned him undying resentment. Was
that right? No. Was that fair? No. But that was the reality of the moment in
the 1930s when Louis turned professional and set his eyes on the prize of the
heavyweight title.
To enable Louis to obtain the chance that they believed his skills war-
ranted, Roxborough and Black played the public relations game. They wove
Blackburn into the web, as well, though his responsibilities were mainly
focused on the physical development of Louis. With a singular goal in mind
they laid the predicate for Louis behavior and lifestyle from the moment he
joined forces with them. The idea was to have no skeletons in the closet that
could be found out later to Louis detriment. The plan was to position him
as the antiJohnson.
If Jack Johnson was threatening to whites, Louis would present a friendly
image to whites. If Johnsons personality grated, Louis accommodated. If
Johnson could lick any man in the house, as John L. Sullivan had so aggran-
dized, Louis could do so, too, but he would not gloat about it. If there was
such a way to do so, it was planned that Louis would kick all contenders
butts in a polite manner.
The code of conduct for Louis was a strict and prudent one to follow if
he wished to make a run at the heavyweight title. In a society that feared any
black man of physical stature, that distrusted any black man big or small, and
that held the notion that any black man was inferior, it was going to be some
trick to guide Louis to the top of the heavyweight rankings.
There had been many rst-rate black boxers of other eras, and since
Johnson, who never were allowed to climb between the ropes against the lead-
ing white heavyweights and champions. John L. Sullivan, the last bare-knuckle
champ, who was still alive, said white men should not ght black men. Nor
was there any cooperation with contenders shown by Jack Dempsey when he
held the title. Nor was there a willingness of anyone else for the last three
decades to meet a black man if the title was at stake.
Harry Wills, nicknamed The Black Panther, was a tremendous ghter
who was an active campaigner between 1911 and 1932. He compiled a record
38 Joe Louis

Wherever he trained, indoors or out, at a favored training camp in New Jersey, or

when he was on the road prepping for bouts at other locales, Joe Louis gave the speed
bag a workout (courtesy Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History).

of 79-10-4 and although he was ranked, he was ignored when it came time
to make a match with the heavyweight champs of his era. Finally, in 1926,
Dempsey agreed to ght him, but pulled out when he did not receive the
$100,000 he had been guaranteed.
Sam Langford, a Canadian black man born in Nova Scotia, was a Wills
contemporary and in later years was called the greatest ghter nobody
knows. His record was 178-32-40. Both Wills and Langford held the World
Colored Heavyweight Championship over the years, but the phrase alone
explained their plight of being locked out of the contests that determined the
true heavyweight championship.
So that was the backdrop of history for Louis and his handlers as they
sought to nd a way around public opinion and ght ofcialdoms obstinate
ways. From the start the goal was clear. But Louis had to perform, had to
mature from the 504 amateur champ into a more sophisticated professional
 5. Laying Out the Big Plan 39

contender. Roxborough and Black knew he also had to be on his best behavior
so that he could be above criticism.
The rules of Louis behavior included how to act in public in general
and how to act in the ring. Among the things Louis was not supposed to do
was hang out in nightclubs alone, not under any circumstances be seen alone
with a white woman, and not pose for photographs with white women. As a
ghter he was not to badmouth an opponent during the period leading up to
a bout, and he was not to smile in victory or talk badly about a vanquished
opponent. Virtually every one of these things had been habits of Johnsons
and won him enmity.
Although the rules were authored by the managers, Blackburn was on
board for enforcement and believed the correctness of Louis actions in public
would be as important to his future as his power in the ring. That was why
Blackburn had originally scoffed at the suggestion that he train an African
American pursuing the heavyweight title. He was convinced that the estab-
lishment would never allow Louis to get close.
Youre colored, Joe, Blackburn once said. And a colored ghters got
to be lots better than the other man if hes gonna go places. But you gotta
have more than just two good hands. You gotta do the right thing. And never
leave yourself open so people can talk about you.1
These three older men tag teamed Louis with advice. They listed the
rules of engagement for him to hear and absorb. To be a champion youve
got to be a gentleman rst, Roxborough said. Your toughest ght might
not be in the ring, but out in public.2
Blackburn had been the big doubter when Roxborough and Black took
him on. He reveled in his four-week deal with the payday commitment. Being
on salary seemed like being on easy street for him rather than worrying about
a percentage of purses. This will be the best job I ever had, Blackburn said.
Usually, Ive got to whip my man to collect my pay. I got to tell you, youll
never make a success of this kid, but I need the job. He aint gonna make no
money worth shaking your nger at. Remember, hes a colored boy.3 There
was only one thing Blackburn said that he was right about. Training Joe Louis
was the best job he ever had.
Roxborough made the decision to move Louis to Chicago to live and
train. Louis was initially reluctant and made Roxborough play the middle
man in informing his mother. Roxborough paid all of Louis expenses. He
bought Louis new clothes, fed him, took care of his training and workout
fees, and made Louis a full-time project. Louis left Detroit behind as his
home and he left regular factory pay behind, too.
As part of Louis new life in Chicago, he lived in an apartment picked
40 Joe Louis

out for him by Roxborough and Black. But there was an added twist. The
place was owned by Bill Bottoms, an expert chef, who was to prepare Louis
meals and make sure he ate nutritionally. These days a 20-year-old left to his
own devices might often get bogged down with frequent meals taken at
McDonalds or by eating unhealthy late-night snacks. Roxborough and Black
headed off any such potential habits, if Louis had wished to indulge in any
1930s-era equivalents.
When Louis rst met Blackburn, the trainer called him Chappie. That
was a habit of Blackburns. But in Louis case it truly became a term of affection
and Louis returned the favor. He called Blackburn Chappie, as well. It was
their personal way of expressing friendship. Still, Blackburn was a stern
taskmaster from the beginning. He told Louis how it was going to be and
Louis listened carefully and agreed to the conditions. Blackburn said, You
got to jump when I say jump and sleep when I say sleep. Other than that
youre wasting my time.4
Blackburn set to work training Louis properly to become a real profes-
sional boxer, but he did not neglect his mind. In between making sure his
pupils work ethic was sound and that he did work hard Louis did not have
to be pushed Blackburn told the younger man stories about what boxing
was like when he fought and made him privy to some of the inner workings
of the game. Sometimes the stories were exciting and sometimes the stories
invited Louis to recognize that the ght world was not all about glory, but
was sometimes seamy. Louis recalled Blackburn telling him that he wore a
size 8 1 2 shoe, but when he fought he wore size tens in order to stash his payday
in his foot gear.
Most importantly, he told me that sometime, someplace, somebody was
going to try to get me to throw a ght, Louis said. He told me about all
the pitfalls. Ive done a lot of things I havent been proud of, but I never
threw a ght, Blackburn said. And you wont cause Ill know, and then
its going to be you and me.5
One promise Roxborough and Black made to Louis was that he would
never be put into such a position. The dark side of boxing could be unscrupu-
lous where shady deals might be made. If you throw this ght we will give
you a title shot that might be a deal someone was after. The co-managers
assured Louis they would never allow that to occur. They wanted everything
to be on the up-and-up.
Roxborough was very much conscious of white discrimination and he
had demonstrated his commitment to helping young blacks get an educa-
tion. But he wanted more. If Louis was the African American athlete capa-
ble of what he thought he was, then Roxborough was going to help his
 5. Laying Out the Big Plan 41

people even more by ensuring that the young man remained unspoiled and
untarnished.
One thing Roxborough insisted upon (and given the way the ght game
worked he knew he might have to take a stand and ght back against vultures)
was that Joe Louis management team remain all black. He did not want any
white men horning in on his discovery, and he hoped Louis was going to be
good enough to become a symbol or an ambassador to black America. No
white man could understand that goal and a white man on the management
team might detract from that image.
Ambassador to black America? Such a thing was difcult to imagine in
the beginning stages of the teams partnership, but Roxborough did an exem-
plary job of looking ahead to possible events that in 1934 were only on some
distant private horizon in his head.
More relevant at the moment was how Louis and Blackburn would fare
as teacher and pupil. Blackburn put more structure into Louis daily life than
he had known since he was an infant and demanded feeding at regular inter-
vals. One notable aspect of training was the early-morning run. Some boxers
thrive on the running necessary to build their wind and stamina. Some hate
it. Louis, assigned to run six miles a day, enjoyed the exertions.
It only took about a week for Blackburn to decide that Louis was a
keeper. He might have only signed on for four weeks pay, but he sensed that
in Louis he had a ghter who might be the rare jewel. The kid cooperated.
He did everything that he was asked to do. He worked hard. He got up early
in the morning for the road work. He ate well. He responded to criticism and
learned from his mistakes.
Blackburn found it hard to believe, but he might be training the black
ghter that would make Americans forget Jack Johnson.
 6
Jack Johnson

They were very different types of men, but the public couldnt know
that just by looking, so Joe Louis handlers went to elaborate lengths to dis-
tance their protg from the only previous African American to hold the
heavyweight title.
A century after Jack Johnsons reign, it is unfathomable to most people
how much the dark-skinned man with thunder in his sts was despised by
the boxing world and American society at large. Johnson rankled white folks
by his mere existence, and then he piled it on, as if he purposely dreamed up
every mannerism and act he could to irk them, annoy them, and elevate blood
pressures.
Over time Johnson seemed to become the American white worlds public
enemy No. 1, even though he was no criminal. It took some time, but that
white world actually made him into a criminal in order to subdue him. All
of this for a sporting gure.
The story of Joe Louis is inextricably tied to the story of Jack Johnson
for two reasons they were both heavyweight ghters and they were both
black men. That is about all that they had in common, but it was enough.
For Louis this meant that the routine obstacles placed before a maturing,
growing, improving ghter following the normal path to a heavyweight title
ght opportunity represented just one part of his challenge. The list of rules
of behavior that John Roxborough and Julian Black placed before him and
that Jack Blackburn reinforced came about solely because of Jack Johnsons
wild history. It was Blackburn who informed the other men, when they came
to him asking for training assistance, that no colored ghter had a chance to
succeed as a heavyweight. That was because of the Johnson precedent. What
Blackburn was saying was that Johnson had spoiled things for everyone else
by being who he was.
The climate of the times in the early 20th century during Johnsons rise

42
 6. Jack Johnson 43

reected the deeply rooted prejudice of Americans. It was unthinkable for

whites to acknowledge the superiority of a black man in so primal an endeavor
as boxing. Too scary. The inner workings of the game were designed by con-
spiracy to prevent African Americans from even getting a shot at the crown,
lest an accident happen and one of those men actually win the most coveted
individual title in the sport.
Johnson maneuvered around every problem set in his way and triumphed
anyway. Then he compounded this felony in the eyes of the white discrimi-
nators by gloating, celebrating, and at-out enjoying the hell out of being
heavyweight champ and by dating and marrying white women (probably the
larger sin). Johnson made himself into the symbol of the weakest white mens
nightmares. He was a big, strong, powerful, black man accomplished with
his sts, and God Almighty he was bedding white women, too! Oh, how they
hated him.
So the Johnson of the recent past presented the image of the heavyweight
black ghter that Louis had to conquer to get where he wanted to go. The
white worlds cry after Johnson lost his title was Never again! Clearly, John-
son and Louis were two different people. Clearly, what Johnson did with his
life had nothing to do with what Louis was trying to do with his. But nonethe-
less, they were inseparable in many minds.
Johnsons notoriety is part of his legend, but what he is notorious for is
really only a part of his story. Given how Muhammad Ali was eventually
accepted despite his braggadocio, and how comparatively forward-thinking
America seems in the area of interracial marriage today, perhaps Johnson was
simply born in the wrong century.
John Arthur Johnson was born on March 31, 1878, in Galveston, Texas.
He boxed 114 times, winning 80 bouts, losing eight, recording 12 draws, and
competing in 14 no-contests. He won the heavyweight championship in 1908
and held it until 1915. He was a worthy contender long before he was able to
obtain a shot at the title. He had to chase champion Tommy Burns of Canada
to Sydney, Australia, for his chance, and he polished him off in 14 rounds in
front of 20,000 fans. Only the kangaroos seemed happy about it.
From the moment Johnson won the crown there was a huge outcry and
campaigning began shamelessly to nd a great white hope that could defeat
him. The level of racism aimed at Johnson was almost surreal. This was not
merely back-room whispering, but in newspapers, where he was routinely
depicted in demeaning fashion in cartoons. Always caricatures of the real-life
handsome Johnson exaggerated, showing him with thick lips, wide, popping
eyes and often looking fearsome. And the words in the articles? Disgusting
in their application and venom, the color of Johnsons skin was mentioned
44 Joe Louis

and described in such fashion as to dehumanize and insult. He was referred

to in print as the Texas Darky, or big smoke, or coon.1
Also, although Johnsons southern-tinted English was quite intelligible
to those who heard him speak, the words he uttered turned into barely com-
prehensible sounds when translated for white audiences, as if Johnson had
just arrived off a boat from the jungle.
It is doubtful that any minority public gure in American history was
more vilied and eviscerated than Johnson.
The man who struck such fear and loathing in white Americans once
said, There aint gonna be but one Jack Johnson. He was right, but not
for the reasons he surmised. Johnson was unique, for sure, because of who
he was, not what he symbolized. Johnsons personality would have stood out
at any time, though not necessarily for what was singled out during his life-
time.
There were two aspects to the Johnson phenomenon that dened his life
and also affected Joe Louis. One was his boxing skill. The other was his per-
sonality. Of Johnsons ghting prowess there is no question. He was as good
as he thought he was and he could lick any man around, anywhere in the
round world. His personality was extra-large. He played in vaudeville, he
dressed so ne, he spent money lavishly on creature comforts such as slick
clothes often topped by a derby and accompanied by a cane and big cars, and
he had a gold tooth that he aunted with pleasure when he smiled big and
broad. Of course there were the women.
If it was his personal taste to prefer white women for sexual companions
and marriageable ones, then that was his right, even if almost no one else dur-
ing his prime thought so. He did not sneak around. He did not pretend. He
did not live a double life. He lived the only life he had the way he chose to
and didnt countenance interference, although just about everyone wanted to
interfere.
Dispensing with the emotion attached to Johnson, he was indeed a fab-
ulous American character, the stuff of great story-telling. Not only did he
reach the pinnacle of his profession, he had to overcome childhood economic
deprivation. He was colorful and outspoken. He dared to be great. And
although reality was complex enough, as he aged Johnson wove a personal
history that was equal parts fact and ction, as if he was standing behind a
bar making a mixed drink.
It wasnt as if Johnson was a homebody who kept returning to Galveston
after he hit it big, but he was one of nine children with strong roots in Texas.
But not even Texas-sized was big enough for his thinking, and once he realized
his sts could take him on a long journey he set out on it. He rode the rails
 6. Jack Johnson 45

and engaged in battle royals in big cities to get noticed, somewhat ridiculously
ghting four men at once.
The sport of boxing was described as the Sweet Science by writer A.J.
Liebling years later, but long before that Johnson was a practitioner. As pow-
erfully muscled as his arms were, and with his own capability of hitting foes
so they felt as if bricks were descending on their heads, Johnson was a wise
ghter stressing defense rst. He worked harder at making opponents miss
than he did at clobbering them at least in the early rounds.
It was a strategy that let the other mans energy play out so that when
he was ready Johnson could pick him apart. Its not how hard you hit that
other fella, Johnson said. Its how tired he gets tryin to hit you.2
Johnsons rst recorded ofcial bout was a second-round knockout of
another gent named Charley Brooks on November 1, 1897, in Galveston. This
victory gave him the somewhat limited Texas middleweight title. As the years
passed, the miles mounted up, and Johnson gained weight, he campaigned all
over the United States, with ghts in Chicago, Memphis, Denver, Bakerseld
in California, Oakland, Waterbury in Connecticut, Los Angeles, Victor in
Colorado, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Colma in California, Chelsea
in Massachusetts, Baltimore, New York, Topeka in Kansas, Wilkes-Barre in
Pennsylvania, Gloucester in Massachusetts, Millinocket in Maine, Lancaster
in Pennsylvania, and nally, on November 26, 1906 in Portland, Maine.
By then, Johnson, who could hardly be expected to recall which town
he was in for which ght, had a record of 39-5-8 and held the title of World
Colored Heavyweight champion, certainly an honor less than separate and
equal. Still, there might as well have been a tall concrete wall with barbed
wire on top between Johnson and the real heavyweight championship. He
embarked to Australia to campaign in 1907 and introduced himself Down
Under with two victories. On July 17, 1907, in Philadelphia, Johnson scored
probably his most notable triumph to date.
Bob Fitzsimmons was from Cornwall, England, and he was the rst boxer
to win a world championship in three weight classes. Regarded as a heavy hit-
ter, Fitzsimmons was instead punched out by Johnson in two rounds in
Philadelphia. The win improved Johnsons reputation, but merely frightened
off other opponents.
Johnsons tour continued with ghts in Reading, Pennsylvania, Bridge-
port, Connecticut, San Francisco again, and Plymouth, England. At last Burns
agreed to meet him with the true heavyweight title at stake. Australia was no
bastion of equality for a black man and Johnson was greeted by the typical
spewing of racist commentary in the local papers when he arrived and as he
prepared for the bout.
46 Joe Louis

On ght day Burns, who was 5-foot-7, weighed in at 167 pounds, an

unheard of low amount for a heavyweight, while Johnson distributed 192
pounds on his seven-inch taller body. Shades of Muhammad Ali and oppo-
nents much later, but also likely to be examples of true venom, Burns and
Johnson insulted each other vigorously in the days leading up to the ght.
That kind of give-and-take has always helped sell tickets to matches, though
it seems likely the disdain was genuine this time.
Johnsons personal defensive style played a role from the rst bell. He
infuriated Burns when the head-strong champ came at him, prompting Burns
to utter such phrases as Come on and ght, nigger! Also, Fight like a white
man!3 Johnson had the ability to ignore hateful words. It was a case of sticks
and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.
Johnson did his thing, wounding Burns with well-placed punches and
in the 14th round, as he dominated, the police stepped in to perhaps save
the outgoing champ a worse beating. Descriptions of the fateful end to the
historic ght indicate that fans seemed to be in a kind of shock. They were
quiet as Johnson was declared the new champion. That was the last time ght
fans or ght gures were quiet about anything Jack Johnson did. Almost from
the instant he won the title there was a groundswell of urgent emotion, of
plotting, planning, pleas, all designed to nd the proper white man who could
whip Johnson and seize the title back for the white race, to rectify this mis-
take.
That was not so easy to arrange. Johnson was too good and genuine con-
tenders too few. There was an immense lobbying effort to talk former champ
James J. Jeffries out of retirement and restore white supremacy.
Jeffries became heavyweight champ in 1899 by defeating Fitzsimmons,
and he held the title through 1904 when he retired. Jeffries was a very athletic
man, a sprinter and high jumper of some skill, and he weighed 225 pounds
in his 19-0-2 undefeated ghting years. He handled Fitzsimmons twice and
Gentleman Jim Corbett twice during his reign. But he had been retired for
six years when he allowed himself to be talked into the fools errand of saving
face for the white race and meeting Johnson. As an illustration of how hopeless
his task was, Jeffries had ballooned into a gargantuan gure and had to lose
100 pounds to get back to ghting weight.
Pressure mounted and Jeffries got swept up in the fantasy. The hugely
hyped ght with the erceness of hatred fueling some of the emotion resulted
in a tremendous letdown for Jeffries backers. The ght took place in Reno,
Nevada, in a specially constructed ring, and Johnson prevailed by technical
knockout in 15 rounds. Johnson battered Jeffries bloody. Most tellingly, Jeffries
admitted, I could never have whipped Jack Johnson at my best.4 It was an
 6. Jack Johnson 47

admission the racists did not want to hear, but a truth Jeffries felt compelled
to utter.
It appeared that Jeffries was the only level-headed realist in the land after
he was battered. In an astounding series of events and display of hatred that
would be beyond unfathomable now in response to the result, riots broke out
in numerous cities. Stunningly, in some places whites outraged by Jeffries
failure prowled looking to beat up or murder innocent black people on the
streets. From Little Rock to Shreveport to New Orleans, from Washington,
D.C., to Pueblo, Colorado, and elsewhere, there was violence in the streets.
As insane as it sounds from the view of hindsight nearly 100 years later, there
was a segment of the white community that simply could not abide the ascen-
sion of a black heavyweight champion.
After Jeffries, there really was no white contender in line for a title shot.
A few non-descript boxers took their chances and Johnson took care of them.
Johnson made sure he had fun as champ. He partied when he felt like it,
drank too much, was seen in the company of white women, married and
divorced some of them. Seemingly everything he did enraged popular opinion.
The voices raised against him were unreasonable, unconscionable, racist, and
intense.
Johnson was hounded where he traveled and ultimately forces ganged
up on him sufciently to have him prosecuted for violation of the Mann Act,
the law prohibiting the transporting of women across state lines for illicit
purposes. At one point while he was jailed, the white prisoners, estimated at
530 in number, chanted, Hang Johnson!5 And those were criminals. Lord
only knew how the so-called decent people felt.
Johnson ed the country, jumping bail, and when he nally lost the
heavyweight title on April 5, 1915, to Jess Willard, it was in Havana, Cuba.
He was not at his nest, having spent too much time on the run and imbibing
and too little time training. When Johnson was counted out in the 26th round
in the searing heat, he lay on the canvas, one arm seemingly shielding his eyes
from the sun. There was speculation he could have gotten up and continued,
but either gave up or was throwing the ght. But he may well have been worn
out and worn down.
The pitfalls of Johnsons career, from his gaudy style to his superiority
attitude, were what Louis managers wished to avoid. After Louis turned pro-
fessional and began winning and gaining attention, Johnson, who was still
living but had lost his fortune, endeavored to meet him and even sought to
convince Louis and his entourage that he should become his trainer. The last
thing Roxborough and Black wanted was to embrace Johnson and have him
in the inner circle. They rebuffed him. Louis management feared that any
48 Joe Louis

misstep would draw comparisons to Johnson, though Louis was polite to the
one-time champ and to that point the only African American heavyweight
champ.
Later, in his autobiography, Louis recounted his rst impression of the
man of whom he had heard so much. My biggest thrill up there [at training
camp in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey] had been to meet the last black heavy-
weight champion, Jack Johnson, Louis said. I liked him. He never men-
tioned the problems he was having and never asked for any money or anything.
He was an impressive-looking guy and a good talker. He told me I was going
to run into every kind of situation possible and he wanted me to keep my
head at all times.6
The commentary on that encounter was reported decades later and long
after Johnson died in a car crash in June of 1946, and maybe Louis was feeling
mellow. But when Johnson was still alive there was some tension between the
sides. Johnson sometimes predicted defeat for Louis in big ghts when Louis
prevailed, and that did not generate warmth.
Periodically, it seemed, a sports writer was hoping to goad Louis into
badmouthing Johnson, but he did not choose to take that bait, usually opting
for a live-and-let-live approach. Every mans got a right to his own mistakes,
Louis said. Aint no man that aint made none. When I got to be champ, half
the letters I got mentioned Jack Johnson, lot of them from old colored people.
They thought he disgraced the Negro, but I gure he did what he wanted to
do and that didnt affect me.7
Jack Johnsons life and career most closely paralleled Muhammad Alis,
among other heavyweight champions, but Ali did not come along until much
later, when it was routine for a black man to be the star of the heavyweight
division. Ali was vilied for changing his name from Cassius Clay, the name
he called his slave name, for changing his religion and joining the Black
Muslims, and for opposing the Vietnam War and becoming a conscientious
objector. There was more than enough on Alis plate without being vilied
for sexual escapades. But he was bold and brash, just like Johnson. He was
the best heavyweight of his time, just like Johnson. And he was a magnet for
criticism and hatred, just like Johnson.
With his showman ways, his love of the limelight and his disdain for
convention, Johnson would have been more at home in 21st century America
than he was in 20th century America.
What Joe Louis had in common with Jack Johnson was minimal. They
were both heavyweights and they were both black men, though Johnson was
dark-skinned and Louis was light-skinned. While Johnsons personality
demanded that he be out front gathering attention like a heat-seeking missile,
 6. Jack Johnson 49

Louis preferred to hang back. He tried to never say a controversial word. He

was a man of apparently immense sexual appetites and with no shortage of
women who wished to explore his rm muscles, but he was absolute in his
discretion of affairs with white women.
By the 1930s, as Louis rose through the heavyweight ranks, Jack Johnson
had been the only African American heavyweight champ. It was inevitable
that the two men be compared. Roxborough, Black and Blackburn understood
that when those comparisons were made that it was imperative that Louis be
viewed as everything Johnson was not. If Louis was ever to earn his way to
the top without promoters, matchmakers and boxing commissioners lining
up to stop him, he had to be the antiJohnson.
Louis had no choice. He was fortunate that his natural personality
inclined him in the same direction his handlers demanded. Jack Johnson was
still a vivid presence in boxing fans minds. He was still very much a live pres-
ence in the boxing world. It was a tricky and difcult assignment to both pay
Johnson deference for what he had achieved and put miles between him and
Louis in terms of personal style.
For all of his greatness as a ghter, which was acknowledged rst, it was
Louis gradually revealed character and demeanor, which became fully formed
and fully appreciated with the passage of time, that distinguished him as much
more than a sports hero. Not only did Louis have to relegate Johnson to the
past to succeed, but the nation had to mentally distance itself from Johnson
for Louis to succeed.
As for Johnson, the more time passed, the more his life was appreciated,
and the more readily the injustice that he suffered was recognized. On Broad-
way, his achievements were assessed in the play The Great White Hope that
opened in 1968 and also became a movie. He was elected to the International
Boxing Hall of Fame. In 2004 a book titled Unforgivable Blackness appeared
and became an in-depth documentary of Johnsons life lmed by the estimable
Ken Burns.
Johnson had not been a conscious pioneer. He had been out for himself,
No. 1, when he began his boxing career, and even as it progressed. Still, the
racial overtones of the time, holding the average black man down, infected
him and Johnson later said he believed it was his duty to uplift the black
race.8
Whether he did so or not is not easily answered. There were pluses and
minuses in his accomplishments and actions, but in no way did Jack Johnson
deserve the vilication he received.
 7
Going Pro

Joe Louis was still an amateur when John Roxborough assessed his poten-
tial, and the young mans new manager hoped to guide Louis through a pol-
ishing process before he turned pro. He wanted to delay his protgs
advancement just a little longer, perhaps like a fourth grader being held back
in school for a year to gain in condence and size so that it would pay off
later.
But that was just the issue with Louis. As cool as he thought it was win-
ning merchandise prizes worth $25 at rst, he wanted to be paid for his
sticuffs as soon as possible. His was a family in need in Depression Era
Detroit and you couldnt eat trinkets like clocks. Hard cash, as always, was
the principal currency of doing business, and in Louis family there was hardly
a surplus.
As generous as Roxborough was with Louis, feeding him, clothing him,
and providing a roof over his head, Louis wanted more. He wanted to earn
his way. He also spent enough time at the gym where he had to recognize
that he was better than many of the pugilists acting as professionals.
Roxborough, Julian Black and Jack Blackburn had established the rules,
almost like Joe Louis personal Ten Commandments, of how they wanted the
ghter to behave in public. Blackburn had been working with Louis on his
form, his style, his punching, teaching him how to better employ his left
hand to advantage, his rules of the ring. One day Louis just decided it was
time to make the move and that 54 amateur ghts for him were enough, espe-
cially with national championships in hand. In his mind, it was time to chase
the bucks.
As the spring of 1934 approached, Louis informed Roxborough, his pro-
tector, where his head was at. Mr. Roxborough, he said, I want the money.
Roxborough, someone who had been impatient about his own future when
he was a young man, could relate. That I could understand, Roxborough

50
 7. Going Pro 51

said. That was why I was in the numbers racket and I was never ashamed
of it.1
One story about his training that followed Louis was told as both proof
of his naivety and his devotion to Blackburn. Although Louis appeared to
learn from the rst and he and Blackburn hit it off immediately, Blackburn
tested Louis to see if he really would listen to him when he invoked his author-
ity. One day early in their relationship Blackburn told Louis he had to drink
two quarts of hot beef blood to build his strength.
Louis returned to the gym sometime later, all apologetic. He said he just
could not make himself do that and if that meant Blackburn wouldnt train
him, then so be it. Blackburn smiled, and said, no, that was all right, he
would manage without that booster. Although theirs would always technically
be a business partnership, it is clear that there were elements of a father-son
relationship between Blackburn and Louis.
Once Roxborough and Black committed to Blackburn as Louis trainer,
the entire operation was headquartered in Chicago. Louis was still only 19
and he was not really a full-edged heavyweight yet. He was too big for the
175-pound light-heavyweight division, but he was no 200-pounder. That
would come later.
As an amateur, Roxborough could take his time guiding Louis career,
waiting for his young ghter to mature. Once he turned pro, however, Louis
was on the path that would either lead to the heavyweight championship or
bust. He still didnt have to be rushed, but sometimes when a young heavy-
weight, especially an exciting one, moved into the public eye, pressures grew
to speed along the arc of his career. Forces bigger than the four men could
intervene and affect any carefully laid out game plans.
Joe Louis made his professional boxing debut on July 4, 1934, at Bacons
Arena in Chicago. His opponent, Jack Kracken, was more seasoned than many
handlers would have bargained for in selecting a prized propertys rookie ght
opponent. While in retrospect Kracken was not much of a threat, at the time
his experience made it seem so. Kracken was born in Lillehammer, Norway,
and his birth name was Emil Ecklund. His entire boxing career was com-
pressed into the years 1930 to 1934 and his lifetime record was 107.
Louis amateur career had begun with the wrong choice of foe and he
had been soundly whipped. There were hopes that ghting Kracken was not
an instant-replay mistake. Before the scheduled six-round bout, Izzy Klein,
a trainer of some top talent such as Barney Ross, remembered another manager
making the comment, Those guys [Louis handlers] must be nuts. Kracken
will kill that boy. Louis is in over his head.2
That would be one of the few times in his boxing career Louis would
52 Joe Louis

be underestimated. As was to be expected, Louis admitted later that he was

very nervous for his rst ght in the pros. I was scared, he said. This was
my rst ght for real money. The other guy was white and looked like hed
been around. He looked condent in the ring. But Chappie [Blackburn] told
me not to worry. He told me to hit him in the belly until I brought his guard
down, then go for the jaw. I did what he told me and it worked.3 That was
not the last time that Louis followed Blackburns advice to perfection.
One of the gospel philosophies of boxing is that if you kill the body,
the head will follow. The often underutilized strategy of employing body
punches rather than penetrating to the head and face regularly pays off.
For those who only saw Louis later in his career when he had become a con-
tender or the champion, there would have been surprise expressed at his reac-
tion to the victory. Louis jumped in the air in celebration after he stopped
Kracken.
This was a no-no for his management team. One reason Jack Johnson
had been so despised was his post-ght gloating over fallen white opponents.
Later in his career sports writers took note of how Louis didnt even smile after
demolishing an opponent in the ring. That trait led to Louis being described
as a cold-blooded hitter. Actually, after the bout with Kracken, Blackburn
ordered Louis to tone down his enthusiasm. Youre gonna knock out a lot of
guys before youre done, Blackburn said. You cant get carried away with it
every time. You got to take it in stride. Dont show your emotions.4
Louis slugged Kracken into submission in the rst round. The young man
from Detroit was 10 as a professional and it took less than three minutes. Still,
Louis team wondered why he didnt appear sharper. Turns out Louis, unbe-
knownst to them and contrary to any known plan for nutrition, had ingested
a dozen bananas before the ght. After that, everybody watched me like a hawk
before every ght, Louis said.5 Just so he didnt eat himself out of a victory.
The entire purse for Louis endeavors was $59. Rather than take the tra-
ditional manager and trainer cuts, Louis management team didnt even bother,
allowing him to keep the cash. They did this for a number of his early bouts,
all of which were low paying. Losing to Louis was the most famous and best-
remembered performance of Krackens pro career.
At the time $59 seemed like a ne payday for Louis. Well, when I got
that rst check I just couldnt believe it, Louis said. Fifty-nine dollars. It
looked pretty good to me for two minutes worth of work.6 He sent most of
the money home to his mother and used the remainder on incidentals like
hot dogs and hamburgers. He called it eating junk food and saved a little to
spend on a night of bowling. He also mused later that within a couple of
years he passed out $50 bills as tips.
 7. Going Pro 53

Once Louis was in the pro ranks his team wanted to keep him busy.
Eight days after Louis nished off Kracken he won his second ght, a third-
round technical knockout of Willie Davis, also in Chicago, 20. Before July
was through Louis went to 30 with a second-round technical knockout of
Larry Udell. In August he won twice more, for the rst time by decision over
eight rounds, against Jack Kranz, and again by knockout in the second round
over Buck Everett. Louis rst ve ghts were held in Chicago, numbers three,
four and ve at the Marigold Gardens Outdoor Arena. By his fth ght, the
bouts were scheduled for eight rounds.
As is common with all ghters at the start of their careers, no matter
who they are, there was limited coverage of Louis rst professional bouts.
Once he turned pro, though, Louis handlers kept him busy. There was limited
time for training.
Although the amounts of Louis early paydays (all turned over to him in
full without Roxborough and the others deducting a share) seem puny by
modern standards, in the 1930s, when the entire nation seemed to be struggling
to make a buck, the ghter was quite pleased with his take. Besides that $59
check for beating Kracken, Louis took home such amounts as $62, $101 and
$125 for his rst ghts.
When Louis stopped Alex Borchuk back in his hometown of Detroit on
September 11, it was a four-round technical knockout, although the ght had
been scheduled for 10 rounds. That meant by his sixth win Louis was ghting
in main events. Of course, with his punching power, Louis also was rarely
tested enough by opponents to go the full 10 rounds, particularly in the early
stages of his career.
After his rst handful of bouts Louis price went up. If he was going to
be a 10-round ghter, by golly, he was going to be paid like one, even in the
small venues he was helping to sell out. He collected $250, $300 and even
$450 for some of his next ghts as his name spread and he developed a Chicago
following.
As the good boy he had been raised to be, Louis did regularly send money
home to his mother. But not all of it. He kept enough to increase the level
of his own luxury beyond those hot dogs and hamburgers shared with his
long-time friend Freddie Guinyard. Louis had been born poor and the early
part of his life was spent in backwoods Alabama. Yet city life suited him, and
when it came to suits his taste ran to the ashy. He invested in nice suits and
then a new car, a Buick. A ve-passenger Buick had a list price of $925 for
the 1934 model and gas cost 10 cents a gallon, so Louis was making enough
money to indulge his motoring habits.
Except for the victory at the Naval Armory in Detroit, Louis remained
54 Joe Louis

a Chicago-based ghter, reeling off four straight wins at Arcadia Gardens.

He toppled Adolph Wiser, Art Sykes (a step up in class), Jack ODowd, and
Stanley Poreda (another ghter with a good reputation) to improve his record
to 100 by November of 1934.
Sykes was a tough ghter, but in the eighth round Louis leveled him
with a powerful right to the head. Sykes went down, was unconscious and
stayed that way for much longer than the count of 10 ofcially ending the
bout. Sykes received in-ring assistance from medical personnel, and was taken
to the hospital and admitted before he was revived.
The failure of Sykes to rise from the canvas bothered Louis and frightened
him. I was scared Id killed him, said Louis. This is one of the hazards of
the ring that ghters do not like to discuss. I dont know if I coulda handled
that. I think I might have quit.7
His one appearance in Detroit against Borchuk was a success, but Rox-
borough and the others did not bring him back there right away for a reason.
When Roxborough went to the ofces of the Michigan State Athletic Com-
mission before the Naval Armory ght, he found himself the object of a
strong-arm attempt to muscle in on Louis career. Commissioner Bingo Brown
and a group of white managers wanted to ease out the all-black management
team and take control of Louis. There were witnesses of this try to gain a piece
of Louis hide as he worked his way up the ladder. Roxborough resisted.
The story was relayed to Louis, who said years later, When Mr. Rox-
borough said, No way Bingo Brown said I couldnt ever ght again in Michi-
gan. Mr. Roxborough took the chance, said if thats the way they wanted it,
then it would have to be that way. I think about it now and get even madder.
Those white people couldnt stand to see a black on the rise, and if you were
moving up, they wanted a piece of you for free. Mr. Roxborough held his
ground and that gang backed down.8
Louis hometown embraced him for that Detroit bout and he worked to
defeat Borchuk, softening him up in the early rounds, then unleashing a
knockout attack in the fourth. That night I was the toast of Detroit and I
earned it, Louis said.9
Louiss team kept him busy, and he was not pressed seriously by most
opponents. There was some suggestion that Stanley Poreda, who was known
as the Polish Giant, might offer some competition. Poreda stood 6-foot-2
and weighed 210 pounds in his prime, not measurements thought to be gigan-
tic decades later, but with a 2811 mark he had some success in the ring. Just
not against Louis, who crushed Poreda in the rst round with repeated knock-
downs. Poreda took a nine count on the rst one and another nine count on
the second one. The third knockdown was the knock out. A Louis punch sent
 7. Going Pro 55

Poreda through the ropes, and the referee actually counted to 21, never mind
10, before he climbed back in the ring. Three strikes and youre out.
The Louis entourage returned to Chicago and that was as ne a place as
any town for a young ghter to be based. After the four straight triumphs at
Arcadia Gardens, Louis took on Charley Massera in a scheduled 10-rounder
at the coliseum on November 30. Massera was supposed to be a tougher chal-
lenge.
Massera, from Philadelphia, was regarded as a dangerous hitter at the
time. The Ring magazine ranked him eighth among heavyweights in the cal-
endar year ending 1933. Massera posted a 37-27-5 record during his years of
boxing, but he never progressed much once Louis knocked him out in three
rounds. That made Louis 110. Nat Fleischer, editor of The Ring magazine,
described the end after a body punching exchange: When the referee stepped
between them, Massera foolishly dropped his hands to his sides and as he did
so, Joe saw the opening, crashed over a short right to the body, another to
the jaw, and Charley sank to the ground, his head hanging out of the ring.
When he got back at the count of ve, he remained on his knees in which
position he was counted out.10
Much more potent was Louis next opponent on December 14, 1934. Lee
Ramage, a Californian who earned great respect in compiling a 49-14-9 career
record, met Louis at the Chicago Stadium. Ramage was a deft puncher and
it took eight rounds for Louis to solve his style and nish him off. While
Ramage was slickly boxing in the early rounds and Louis could not get to
him with hard shots, trainer Blackburn had a sage suggestion in the corner
between rounds. If Louis couldnt deliver the big hits, he should keep pound-
ing on Ramages arms that he was using for defensive purposes. The plan
worked. In the later rounds Ramages arms were so weary he could no longer
protect himself.
He was considered just as tough as I was, Louis said of the pre-ght
attention for the Ramage ght. Hed never been knocked out and he was
supposed to be very smart. They were right. He was smart. He knew all about
boxing. I knew my only salvation was to back him in a corner. Finally, I got
my chance.11
Louis paycheck had grown to $2,750 with the adulation he gained from
fans who watched him nish 1934 with a 120 mark.
Also during training for the Ramage bout, Louis made the acquaintance
of Marva Trotter. She would become his wife. One day at the gym, Louis,
who had as sharp an eye for a pretty lady as he did for the openings in his
opponents defense, spotted Marva in the crowd. Even in the midst of his
workout, Louis was attracted.
56 Joe Louis

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the most beautiful girl Id ever seen,
Louis reected years later. She was about ve feet, six inches tall and well
dressed. Pretty hair, pretty complexion, classy looking. Louis was told later
a friend of Marvas brought her to the gym to meet the next heavyweight
champion of the world, although they did not meet that day.12
Louis could not forget her, and when he decided to throw a party he
did enough research on the young woman who was just 18 to nd out her
name and get her invited. They did meet at the party and Louis learned that
Marva was originally from Oklahoma. She was ve when her family moved
to Chicago. Working as a stenographer, Marva took courses part-time at the
University of Chicago, but wanted to attend design school. It was a pleasant
meeting and Louis fully expected the relationship to blossom in the new year
of 1935, just as his own career was doing.
First, however, Louis made a triumphant return to Detroit to spend the
Christmas holiday with his family. His biggest expenditure was buying a new
house for his mother, Lillie. Its yours, ma, he said. All yours.13 He spent
lavishly on other gifts for his mother and siblings, buying them new clothes
and watches. A handsome man who wore his clothes well and was developing
a sense of style and fashion, Louis also invested in his own wardrobe, buying
wide-lapel suit jackets and wide brim hats. All of it combined to give him a
dashing appearance.
At the start of 1934, Louis was an amateur boxer of some renown, but
that was all. By the end of 1934, he was the ninth-ranked heavyweight con-
tender in the world, according to The Ring magazine. The Roxborough-Black-
Blackburn master plan was proceeding on a lickity-split schedule.
If the last six months of 1934 had been a whirlwind, with Louis living
up to every expectation and conquering every challenge, then 1935 promised
more of the same pace and bigger and bigger challenges. Yes, it seemed, as
they all had predicted, Joe Louis was going places. But also, as Blackburn said
when he realized that he was going to be training a colored boy for a shot
at the world heavyweight title, no one was going to make it easy for them to
fulll Louis and their goals.
 8
The Brown Bomber

Joe Louis had his glorious Christmas homecoming as the Big Man On
Campus in Detroit at the end of 1934, and he got to celebrate New Years
Eve, too, but within days after the start of the new calendar year he was back
in the ring, back to the intense grind and pace of training and ghting every
few weeks.
If there was a bit of a question-mark of how Louis would fare when he
turned pro in mid1934, there was no doubt about the accelerated pace of
development he was now on for the team that had full faith in him and saw
in him that potential to become the heavyweight champion of the world.
Louis began 1935 more or less how he ended 1934. On January 4 he
faced Patsy Perroni and claimed victory number 13 in a row. It was via
points, though, a full, 10-round decision instead of a knockout. That may
have reected the festive atmosphere Louis enjoyed in Detroit over the holi-
days, a little slackening off in training. But sometimes its also up to the other
guy, and the way he ghts, in determining if he gets knocked cold or merely
beaten.
The most notable thing about the Perroni ght was that Louis was back
in Detroit for the bout. Clearly, the hometown boycott of the greedy local
promoters had not held and he was not banned from Michigan. Louis was
already getting too big. The fans wanted to see him, and when it comes to
just about anything in boxing money talks. Sellouts govern common sense.
This bout took place in the Olympia Stadium, home of the Detroit Red
Wings National Hockey League team. Years later the stadium would be
renamed for one of the citys most popular athletes ever: Joe Louis Arena.
Louis improved to 140 by stopping Hans Birkie in the 10th round in
Pittsburgh on January 11 and then moved on to a rematch with Lee Ramage.
To that point Ramage had clearly been Louis best opponent and he still har-
bored his own hopes of moving up the heavyweight ladder. Also, this time

57
58 Joe Louis

the bout was scheduled for the West Coast, Ramages home territory, instead
of the Midwest.
Slated for 10 rounds at Wrigley Field, the minor-league ballpark with
the same name as the Chicago Cubs home stadium, and also owned by the
Wrigley chewing gum family, Louis whipped Ramage inside of two rounds.
The magnicent performance not only kept Louis unbeaten at 150, but
established a trademark of his career. Throughout his boxing years any time
Louis had difculty with a foe and met him in a rematch, Louis turned in a
superior performance. Either you got Joe Louis the rst time around or you
didnt get Joe Louis at all. Time and again Louis prevailed more easily, more
dominatingly, and fought better the second time around against an opponent.
At the very least it showed he was an ardent pupil, a man who learned from
experience.
In Louis-Ramage I, Ramage was the smoother, sharper boxer in the early
going, piling up a points lead. Louis power prevailed and he clocked him in

Joe Louis during one of his indoor workouts, his movements followed by a crowd of
onlookers (courtesy Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History).
 8. The Brown Bomber 59

the late going. Still, some boxing experts believed that Louis was still too
green for such a difcult West Coast road trip and that he would regret the
rematch. Instead, Louis showed his maturity.
In Louis-Ramage II, the California boxer could not repeat his earlier
showing. He managed some good shots in the second round and Louis lips
showed the wear, swelling slightly. But then Louis spied an opening, rushed
in and delivered a short left followed by a right uppercut and Ramage went
down. Ramage struggled to his knees after a ve count, and stood upright at
eight. However, he was still woozy and Louis moved in for the kill, pummeling
Ramage with a left hook to the jaw, and when he went down the second time
his cornermen threw a white towel into the ring before any mathematical
progression from the ref. Louis second knockout victory over Ramage at
Wrigley Field established him as one of the worlds leading heavyweights
because of the standing of his victim in world boxing, Nat Fleischer wrote.1
The ght ended with Ramage half-sitting with right knee bent and left
leg extended on the canvas, his left arm resting on his thigh and his right,
gloved, hand grasping for the ropes above his head. Ramages head was tilted
back and his mouth hung open. A spectacularly muscled Louis was herded
into a neutral corner, but there was no reason for the ref to bother counting
to 10.
As long as they were in California, the Louis team accepted an offer to
ght Don Red Barry in San Francisco. Louis knocked him out in the third
round for his 16th straight victory.
When a hot boxer comes along fans get excited, word of mouth spreads,
and expectations increase. Pressure grows on the ghter, too. If he doesnt
knock out every opponent people start to question his skill, to wonder if he
is the real deal after all, or has simply been built up based on exaggerated
reports. Louis found himself in this situation. He was now expected to KO
every man who stepped into the ring against him.
With few exceptions at the start of Louis career, his exploits received
minimal newspaper coverage. But after he had dispatched his rst dozen foes,
sports writers in the cities where he fought began to take notice. Louis returned
to Detroit and the Olympia for a bout against Natie Brown in the last couple
of days of March 1935. In a long career, Brown recorded a 40-30-10 mark
and was regarded as a difcult opponent because he was an excellent defensive
ghter.
The Brown ght came at a crucial time in Louis career. Roxborough,
Black and Blackburn huddled and evaluated what their charge had accom-
plished in a short time and they liked what they saw. Louis was popular in
Chicago, his home base. Louis was popular in Detroit, his hometown. And
60 Joe Louis

he had done well on the road. But they all agreed that just like theater and
Broadway, a ghter made it to the big time when he was a hit in New York.
Roxborough and the others were protective of Louis, they were proud
of Louis, and they were certain they had a future heavyweight champion on
their hands. But the behind the scenes political world of boxing was a slippery
and often evil one. As black men they faced difcult odds not only hanging
onto Louis and managing his career, but in steering him clear of any promot-
ers, gamblers or gangsters that might want him to x a ght, to throw one
for the betting odds. They had promised Louis in exchange for his early alle-
giance to them that they would never bow to that type of pressure and require
him to lose on purpose. There had already been that one end run in Michigan
where those in power sought to edge their way into control of Louis and had
been rebuffed.
Madison Square Garden was the Valhalla of the sport. A ghter who
made it to the Garden was at the pinnacle of boxing. Conversely, no matter
how big you were in the hinterlands, if you didnt ght in the Garden you
werent going to be seen as the biggest and baddest.
The Madison Square Garden at 26th Street and Madison Avenue between
1890 and 1925 was the rst building of that name to host big-time boxing
events. Heavyweight champs Jess Willard and Jack Dempsey fought there. A
new Garden opened in 1925 at Eighth Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets
and was the center of the boxing world until it was replaced by the current
Madison Square Garden in 1968.
Boxing promoter Tex Rickard was the power behind the creation of the
Garden on Eighth Avenue, and given the era it is no surprise it came to be
called The House That Tex Built since only a couple of years earlier the
new Yankee Stadium being constructed was unofcially christened The House
That Babe Ruth Built.
Rickard was a colorful gure. Rickard made a small fortune in the
Klondike gold elds, and as part of the late19th century Alaska Gold Rush,
ran a saloon in Nevada, built the Boston Garden, and also founded the New
York Rangers hockey team. By virtue of his position as Madison Square Gar-
den boxing promoter, he was the dominant gure in the sport. However, after
supervising the construction of his palace, Rickard died in 1929 from com-
plications following an appendectomy. That left a bit of a void in boxing
affairs, though whoever could seize control of the Garden schedule would
become the de facto biggest power broker in the sport.
Jimmy Johnston won the power struggle and emerged as head of the
Gardens boxing program. A comparative newcomer on the scene, Mike
Jacobs, made waves. Jacobs, a white promoter who had been hustling since
 8. The Brown Bomber 61

he was in elementary school, earned the trust of Louis and his handlers and
guided his career to its greatest success.
As a youngster, Jacobs, whose family needed any money he could bring
in, sold newspapers and candy to the passengers who rode on Coney Island
excursion boats. He was shrewd enough to recognize that disparate boat ticket
prices sold by competitors caught buyers off-guard. He ended up scalping
tickets for the rides and as he grew, his business grew. Jacobs became a guy
who could nd tickets to Broadway events and all types of entertainment
activities even if they were sold out.
While Rickard ran Garden boxing, Jacobs worked in partnership on
other matters. When Rickard died and Jacobs was frozen out of the Garden
boxing operations by Johnston, he began promoting his own ght cards at
the Hippodrome. The power resided with Johnston, though, until a fateful
development gave Jacobs the opening he sought.
During this time period, William Randolph Hearsts New York papers
were powerful players on the Manhattan scene. His wife Millicents pet charity
was the Milk Fund program that provided free milk for impoverished babies
starting in 1921 and continuing for decades. A key element in its fund-raising
was a cut of boxing match proceeds.
Working on the sly, and looking out for themselves, as well, three New
York sports writers who worked for Hearst newspapers, Damon Runyon, Ed
Frayne and Bill Farnsworth, made a deal with Jacobs to take over promotion
of the Milk Fund ghts, wresting them away from Madison Square Garden.
Working together they founded the Twentieth Century Sporting Club as a
direct competitor to the Garden.
Jacobs was the president and front man. The sports writers were supposed
to be silent partners and particulars are not known about how much they may
have beneted nancially from the change. Jacobs provided a bigger cut of
ticket sales to the Milk Fund. His newfound leverage also made him a for-
midable gure in boxing promotion and standing to dicker with Roxborough
and Black about Joe Louis future.
From the moment he laid eyes on Louis, hitched his own future to him,
and signed Blackburn as a trainer, Roxborough knew that one day the all-
black management team might run into a roadblock in guiding Louis to the
heavyweight title. The overriding stigma of Jack Johnsons reign still hung
over the atmosphere like smoke from a forest re. Although about 15 years
had passed since Johnson last held the title, no black man had been given a
chance as a challenger to capture the crown. Prejudice still ruled.
Jacobs was white. The entire Louis entourage was black. But Jacobs
mostly believed in green. And he now had the wherewithal to say that if Louis
62 Joe Louis

career was entrusted to him he would make sure he got his shot at the title if
he proved deserving. That meant if he kept winning. Both Louis and Jacobs
held up their ends of the bargain in ensuing years.
An ofcial deal was hammered out at the Frog Club, a night club pre-
dominantly for African Americans, in 1935. Although it was never completely
clear, it is probable that Nat Fleischer (who also did publicity work for Jacobs)
touted Louis to the boss and convinced him that it didnt matter if Louis was
black, he was still going to be a drawing card and something special in the
ght game.
After the linkage was made, both Louis and Jacobs careers ascended,
although the unexpected nearly intervened the rst time they worked together.
Rather than bring Louis to New York immediately, Jacobs brought New York
sports writers to him in Detroit for the Brown ght. It was like an offBroad-
way opening for a stage show that might still be tweaked.
In a grand gesture, both to the Louis team and to his New York con-
stituency, Jacobs rented a train car for 30 sports writers and with drinks and
food on the house (or at least on the rolling wheels) and carted them to Michi-
gan to unveil Louis. There was only one problem. Nobody told Brown that
he was supposed to be mere cannon fodder for Louis. Brown was a tough cus-
tomer with boxing skills and although he wasnt destined for greatness, he was
destined to become a hard-nosed ghter that many of the best sought to avoid
because he could make them look bad.
When it came to his showcase night, Louis could not rid himself of
Brown. The man with such vaunted power in his sts could not KO Brown.
He did enough to show off his own skills, though, to win a 10-round decision
and impress the cynical New York crowd. Louis was disappointed he wasnt
able to deck Brown, who ran most of the night, but the New York guys, who
had seen it all and were difcult to please, wrote positive accounts about his
work. Harry Markson, later the supervisor of Madison Square Garden boxing,
but then a writer, spoke glowingly of Louis. Even though he didnt KO
Brown, Louis was exciting and impressive, Markson said. You could see
this kid had it, the way you could the rst time youd seen Ray Robinson or
Willie Pep.2
Louis assessment of the new agreement with Jacobs at the time of the
Brown ght was summarized by the men surrounding him. Roxborough, he
said, was sky high about the deal, Black remained calm, and Blackburn trained
him even harder. On ght night, Louis said, I wanted to make a good impres-
sion, but I was nervous and overanxious. Natie Brown was what you call a
spoiler. He was trying to show me up and I could hardly get through his
guard. I had him down in the rst round, but he stuck it out for the limit.
 8. The Brown Bomber 63

He was clumsy and had an awkward style that would make anyone look bad.
I decisioned him in 10 rounds, but I didnt feel happy about it.3
In his autobiography, Louis said he did not formally meet Jacobs until
after the Brown ght at the Frog Club. At that session Jacobs told Louis, as
well as his team, what they all probably really already knew, that there was a
silent conspiracy among boxing ofcials to prevent another African American
from winning the heavyweight title. He believed that he could break that
cabal with Louis, but one of the rst things Louis would have to do was ght
the Italian Mountain Primo Carnera. Louis shrugged and said he would ght
anybody his management team approved.
At the time Carnera was a big name, as well as a big man at 6-foot-6
and something on the order of 270 pounds. Jacobs gured that with a little
bit more seasoning, a few more wins, and the right hype, it was time for Louis
to take on a bigger name foe in a big arena. Let me take care of it, kid, was
essentially what Jacobs pledged. Many have wondered how Jacobs ever gained
the nickname Uncle Mike because he was not everyones friendly uncle.
But perhaps they were looking at it the wrong way. Mike Jacobs was more
like the black sheep of the family uncle who could x things for you. No one
else ever confused Jacobs rst devotion as being to anything but money, but
he always abided by his word and his early promises to Louis. He never once
failed him when it came to making a fair match that showcased his abilities,
and he guided his career through whatever barriers Louis would have faced
to become the heavyweight champ, as if navigating between icebergs in the
Arctic Ocean.
No one ever suggested this was due to altruism either because Jacobs
beneted nancially whenever Louis beneted. But when it came to his deal-
ings on Louis behalf, he followed through completely on the plan rst dis-
cussed at the Frog Club. Some said that Jacobs never had more than a
handshake deal with Roxborough, but as suspicious as Roxborough was about
the threat of a white power broker taking control of Louis career, that seems
unlikely. Even those who suggest Roxborough never had any signed paperwork
committing Jacobs to a promotional deal said that Black did.
And Louis years later said that when he met Jacobs at the Frog Club in
the midst of a party celebrating his victory over Brown, it was so noisy that
they adjourned to the mens room to haggle over nal details and sign the
contracts. Louis made it clear papers were signed, which was only logical when
all of the men involved were dreaming about millions of dollars being at stake.
Even though Jacobs offered a cash advance as part of the deal, Louis said
his side turned him down in favor of a bigger percentage of the gate of upcom-
ing ghts. There would be a couple of other tune-up ghts before Jacobs
64 Joe Louis

could line up Carnera, and even Louis promptly grasped that was like an
orchestras vamp-till-ready, to keep him sharp. Jacobs impressed him, though,
as a man who thought big, who was going for the big casino.4
Uncle Mike was off to take care of the negotiations for the big match
against the big man. On April 12, 1935, Louis fought Roy Lazer in Chicago
and knocked him out in three rounds. On April 22, in Dayton, Ohio, Louis
fought Biff Bennett and knocked him out in one round. At that point, less
than a full year into his professional career, Louis was 190. He was ready for
the big-time, ready to meet Primo Carnera over 15 rounds at Yankee Sta-
dium.
By then the ghter who had been amateur and was known only by those
who appreciated Golden Gloves competition was being touted as one of the
great punchers of his time and as someone who possessed championship
potential. However, because he was a black man living in a racist society, the
coverage of Louis rise through the ranks of heavyweight boxers often bordered
on the bizarre. Reecting the times, Louis was frequently described in ani-
malist terms, as if he was not truly a human being because he had dark skin.
He had learned his lessons well from Jack Blackburn and the others about not
gloating, or even smiling, when he dispatched a white opponent, but instead
he was viewed as a merciless, almost savage killer, a powerful punching
machine rather than a man.
Whether the sports writers, almost all of whom were white excepting
those employed by the black press, such as the Chicago Defender or the Pitts-
burgh Courier were consciously racist, or simply unconsciously applying
terms they did not think much about, viewing their work in hindsight reveals
a stunning array of nicknames thrust upon Louis as he went about his efcient
business in the ring.
There is no ofcial list of terms used by newspapers to describe Louis,
but they almost always linked together some form of ferocity with a reference
to the color of his skin. So over time and many bouts in various cities and
publications, Louis was referred to as The Dark Destroyer, The Saffron
Sphinx, The Saffron Sandman, The Mocha Mauler, The Ebony Assas-
sin, The Sepia Slugger, and The Dusky Dynamiter. On and on it went,
including references to The Dusky Destroyer, Black Moses, The Detroit
Destroyer, The Alabama Assassin, The Mahogany Maimer, The
Ethiopian Explorer, The Brown Cobra, The Tawny Tiger Cat, The
Zooming Zulu, The Tan Tarzan of Thump, The Chocolate Chopper,
The African Avenger, and The Coffee Colored Kayo King. Sometimes
the efforts at alliteration were mind-boggling and certainly tongue-twisting.
Almost all of the time referred to the color of Louis skin to differentiate him
 8. The Brown Bomber 65

from white ghters. There was no television at the time, and the unusual
achievements of a black ghter were notable enough that they felt the read-
ership had to know he was black.
The name that stuck over time was The Brown Bomber. It apparently
was rst used in connection with Louis on his California sojourn to ght Lee
Ramage the second time. Commenting on the knockout he saw in the ring
when Ramage was nished off, promoter Scotty Montieth called Louis the
Brown Bomber in conversation. The phrase began appearing in newspapers
and was carried forth. In the end, all of the other names disappeared. Would
any journalist, in newspaper, on the air, or in an Internet column in 2012
casually refer to an athlete as The Brown Bomber? That is doubtful if they
wished to hang onto their job, or unless the athlete labeled himself, something
which is not that difcult to imagine for a modern self-promoting sports
gure.
Although he is little remembered for his work as a sports writer, Jack
London, the giant of literature around the turn of the 20th century because
of his famed works from Alaska and the Yukon describing the Gold Rush,
did spend time penning non-ction stories about sporting events. His coverage
of Jack Johnson, the rst African American heavyweight champion was so
outrageously racist, its a good thing for Londons legacy that his sports report-
ing is rarely read compared to his novels like Call of the Wild and White Fang.
When Johnson won the heavyweight crown from Tommy Burns in
December of 1908 in Australia, London was there and wrote, Jim Jeffries
must emerge from his alfalfa farm and remove the golden smile from Jack
Johnsons face. Jeff, its up to you. The White Man must be rescued.5
Expressing such outright racist sentiments in print in the 2000s would
have run London out of the journalism profession. Instead, at the time, slightly
more than 100 years ago, it reected the broader sentiments of many Americans
who couldnt abide the notion of a black man becoming heavyweight cham-
pion of the world. The residue of that sentiment still ran deeply through the
veins of many in 1935 with Joe Louis on the rise as the rst black man since
Johnson threatening to regain the coveted title. The nickname The Brown
Bomber was alliterative, like the others, addressed Louis skin color like the
others, and included a word calling to attention Louis punching power, like
the others.
Only this nickname was less inammatory. For many it was written, and
said, with admiration. And among those many were other blacks who came
to identify with Louis sts as powerful symbols of the black race. It is not
too brazen to say that each time Louis lashed out and struck a white man in
the face the punch connecting was about far more than a blow struck in a
66 Joe Louis

sporting contest. The Joe Louis phenomenon at the grassroots was young
when Mike Jacobs took control of his career, but it began to mushroom and
grow exponentially when Louis was matched with Primo Carnera.
This was probably the rst time that The Brown Bomber was truly
ghting on behalf of all those Americans with brown skin, black skin, dark
skin. It was less Joe Louis choice than his destiny.
 9
The Brown Bomber
Versus the Italian
Man Mountain

The rst time Joe Louis fought for his country was in his bout against
Italian Primo Carnera.
In a bit of foreshadowing for what would follow when Louis battled Max
Schmeling, he became a symbol of deance against Italian leader Benito Mus-
solini. The bellicose dictator was poised to invade and conquer Ethiopia,
which many American blacks considered an extension of their own allegiance.
Mussolini, the man later given the backhanded compliment of At least
he made the trains run on time as something deserving of praise as his rule
wrecked the nation, used Adolf Hitler as a role model in justifying his efforts
to expand Italian territory. On the surface, it made little sense for Italy to
attempt to conquer Ethiopia, but there was a background of history and
grudges that helped propel Mussolini. In 1896, Ethiopia had defeated Italy
in the decisive Battle of Adowa to save itself from falling under Italys spell.
Mussolini, a Fascist who rose to power in 1922, was jealous of European
powers which ruled colonies in Africa, and he felt by invading Ethiopia he
would not only avenge the defeat of 40 years earlier, but he would raise Italys
stature among other countries on the continent. As a by-product of subduing
Ethiopia, Italy would gain valuable mineral rights. Also, in December of 1934
an incident occurred on the border between Ethiopia and Somaliland that
enraged Mussolini. In the skirmish, 200 Italians were killed. However, world
opinion ran against Italy.
While heavyweight boxer Carnera had little to do with Mussolinis polit-
ical and global ambitions, by sheer weight of his success, he was someone
Italy could point to with pride. At least if the analysis did not cut too close
to the quick. History has proven Carnera to be a pitiable character whose

67
68 Joe Louis

nave nature was exploited by others who manipulated him, disregarded his
welfare, and ultimately abandoned him.
Mike Jacobs felt it was time to bring Joe Louis to New York as the next
stage of his development as a heavyweight contender. The deal was sealed for
Louis to meet Carnera on June 25, 1935, at Yankee Stadium. This was a major
step in Louis career. He was 190 and had pretty much demolished everyone
he faced. He needed to step up in class with a name opponent and at that
time Carnera had a name.
Carnera stood 6-foot-6 and weighed about 275 pounds. During that
era, more than 75 years ago, that basically qualied him for giant status. There
are photographs of Carnera where he is surrounded by other men and they
do not even come up to his shoulders. In those photos he also seems twice as
wide as they do. One of Carneras nicknames was The Ambling Alp, prob-
ably since his shoulders seemed as wide as a mountain range.
Carnera hailed from Sequals, Italy, the son of a stone cutter, and he made
his professional boxing debut in 1928 at age 21. After winning his rst six
bouts in his home country, Carneras handlers transported him to the United
States. Very carefully managed, Carnera won 17 ghts in a row. Intimidation
and size played a role. Later it was hinted that several of the bouts were xed.
Building Carnera into a ranked contender without risking him losing at
the wrong time was at the foundation of the plan. Eventually, Carnera would
have to meet someone with skills, but he had also come along when the heavy-
weight division was weak. Twice defeated by Gene Tunney, Jack Dempsey
had retired after dominating much of the 1920s. Then Tunney retired.
Ernie Schaaf was a respected ghter signed to meet Carnera in 1933. The
big man pummeled his foe and Schaaf died from the blows a couple of days
later. This enhanced Carneras image as being invincible and put him in line
for a shot at the heavyweight crown against the current belt holder Jack
Sharkey. On June 29 of that year Carnera stopped Sharkey to capture the
coveted title amid swirling rumors that the ght was xed.
Nonetheless, the gargantuan mauler from overseas had possession of the
heavyweight championship, the most prestigious individual title in sport. For
Carnera it was a personal miracle. He had grown up in poverty and despite
his size he was not known as an aggressive personality. For those who met
Carnera and craned their necks upward, it was also a fact that the foghorn
power of his voice could add to his intimidating countenance.
Growing up under the iron will of an uncle who he said worked him to
the bone and fed him little, Carnera said he had an awful childhood. He
eventually joined the circus and was shown off to the public as a strong man.
Later he dabbled in wrestling. Carnera was denitely ripe for opportunity
 9. The Brown Bomber Versus the Italian Man Mountain 69

when discovered by handlers that moved him to France because they saw in
his size great potential waiting to be harnessed.
Leon See, one of Carneras newfound benefactors, made the link with
American Jeff Dickson, who was based in France. When Dickson rst saw
Carnera he was stunned. Jesus, hes two heavyweights rolled into one, he
said. If he can put up a halfway decent show in the ring, he could be a terric
attraction.1
There was considerable doubt about Carneras boxing talents from the
start. He could ght a little bit, but he was denitely not a natural, and he
was denitely in the beginning, not a polished performer. But being extra
large made him a curiosity and the men taking charge of his career hoped
hard work would make up for what he had not yet learned.
After a handful of bouts, Carnera was matched against Young Stribling
in London. Stribling was a deft boxer who fought at numerous weights from
as low as the 118-pound bantamweight class to the heavyweight division. When
he faced Carnera he was basically a blown-up middleweight, weighing 160-
something. However, Stribling was faster than the big man and after more
than 200 ghts he had experience and speed on him.
The ght ended in a disqualication of Stribling and they met again.
This time Carnera knocked him out by hitting the smaller man on the back
of the head. While Stribling was pounded unconscious he was ruled the win-
ner, as Carnera was disqualied. That was the end of Carneras European
apprenticeship.
He made his American debut on March 23, 1930, knocking out Frank
Zaveta in Jacksonville, Florida, in the rst round of a scheduled 10-round
contest. Carnera toured the countryside after that, disposing of every virtually
unknown heavyweight put in front of him. Whatever his true skill level, what-
ever was going on behind the scenes (and there were suspicions not all of
Carneras bouts were on the up-and-up), he kept on winning.
Kansas City, Denver, Los Angeles, Emeryville in California, Portland in
Oregon, Detroit, Philadelphia, Omaha, Cleveland, Atlantic City, Newark,
Chicago and Boston, Carnera covered the bases. In Boston, however, he lost
a 10-round decision to Jim Maloney. Before that he had won 13 ghts in a
row on American soil. Most of the opponents were no-names, though one
victory came over George Trafton, that old Chicago Bear football player-
turned-ghter.
The loss to Maloney temporarily derailed the Carnera Express in the
U.S. It was time to pause, anyway. Carnera hadnt even gotten out of 1930
yet and he was on a ridiculous pace. At the end of November, Carnera returned
to Europe and took on Paulino Uzcudun, one of the periods legitimate con-
70 Joe Louis

tenders. Carnera faced the Spanish ghter in Barcelona just after Thanksgiv-
ing.
Just before that, when he returned to Italy, sailing by ship to Genoa,
Carnera discovered he had become a Somebody, a sporting hero beloved by
the masses. Although Mussolini did not himself indulge in the deication of
his countryman, high ofcials delegated by him did play a role in receptions
for Carnera. He was begged for autographs and mobbed by fans wherever he
went. He was a peasant boy made good and he was one of them, from humble
circumstances making his living the hard way during the Great Depression
that was dragging everyone down.
Although he is best remembered for ghting and losing to most of the
best boxers of his era, Uzcudun was a genuine threat to wipe the oor with
Carnera. He was the European Champion and when Carnera out-lasted him
over 10 rounds, it was a major triumph. Carnera then knocked out Reggie
Meen in London to wrap up the calendar year. He was ranked by some as
high as fourth in the world in the heavyweight division. Carneras rise had
been a swift one. His year of 1930 was a wonder.
The myth of Primo Carnera the great pugilist spread in 1931. He avenged
his loss to Maloney with a 10-round decision and by the end of the year he
was matched with Jack Sharkey. In less than two years Carnera had toured
America blasting out opponents, most of whom few had heard, and positioned
himself for a shot at the heavyweight title. It seemed too-good-to-be-true,
though just how good and how true Carneras rise, while suspected, was not
unveiled.
The ght was important for both men. Sharkey had been the heavyweight
champ and lost the ght for the vacant title on a disqualication for hitting
Max Schmeling with a low blow. He needed to best Carnera to get another
shot at the title and he did so. Sharkey knocked Carnera down in the fourth
round of the 15-round bout in Queens, New York, and it set up his title bout
against Schemling. Sharkey won the event by split decision to gain the title.
After the loss, Carnera went back to building his resume. It took until
1933 for Carnera to obtain a rematch against Sharkey. But when he did he
seized the crown with a sixth-round knockout based on a right uppercut to
the chin that demolished the champ. It was an astounding triumph, well
worth celebrating. From a hardscrabble existence in a tiny community in Italy,
Carnera had become the unlikely king of the world.
Unknown to him, Carneras management had quietly sold him out some-
where along the line to a mobster named Owney Madden, who was proud of
having killed a few foes as he gained control of some New York underworld
rackets. It is Madden and associates who are blamed for aiding Carneras wins
 9. The Brown Bomber Versus the Italian Man Mountain 71

through xes on his way to the top. Madden was a visible New York gure
since he owned the Cotton Club, the most famous nightclub in Harlem, and
he was eventually reported to have bought off many ghters scheduled to ght
Carnera.
After nishing off Sharkey and winning the title, Carnera did go home
to Italy for a bit. This time Mussolini, no doubt employing the philosophy
that it is always good to associate with a winner, greeted Carnera personally.
He even gave him a gift of a black shirt that was the uniform of the Fascists.
Carnera also adjourned to California and to Hollywood, where he
appeared in a couple of movies. It was reported that when a sports writer
asked Carnera what he thought of Hollywood he responded, Ill knock him
out in the second round. Whether he was quizzed at a time when he did not
know what Hollywood was or was joking was almost beside the point.2
After capturing the title Carnera fought some lucrative exhibitions and
defended the crown against Uzcudun and Tommy Loughran by early 1934.
Both of the ghts went the 15-round distance, to the judges scorecards, and
Carnera won both. The March 1, 1934, victory over Loughran in Miami was
probably one of the last great nights of Carneras life.
A little more than three months later, Carnera incurred one of the most
savage beatings in the history of heavyweight title ghts. Max Baer mercilessly
pummeled him, knocking Carnera down 11 times before stopping him by tech-
nical knockout in the 11th round. If Carnera had been protected by onerous
management and secret deals at any time, the protection had been lifted. Rarely
has one man absorbed so much punishment in a ght. Carnera was shorn of
his dignity punch by vicious punch, but the one thing he displayed was great
courage in rising to his feet each time Baer blasted him to the canvas.
It was impossible for Carnera to remain ignorant of the rumors that
hissed about his career, but it was also felt that he believed all of his ghts
were the real thing and that he was not directly involved with any of the gang-
sters operating behind the scenes who won money betting on him. By the
time he was matched with Louis, Carnera, one of the unlikeliest of heavy-
weight champions, had won four additional ghts. Carnera may have been
massacred in the Baer ght, but he still was a name gure among many pre-
tenders because he had once held the heavyweight title.
Facing Carnera made sense for Louis. He had to beat anyone with a
name to advance into a position to one day get his championship shot. In
fact, Carneras side was guaranteed 35 percent of the gate at Yankee Stadium
to Louis 18 percent. At the weigh-in, Louis supposedly took a gander at the
taller (by ve inches) and heavier (by 70 pounds) Carnera and said with regard
to his heritage, With those feet, Primo sure can cover a lot of grapes.3
72 Joe Louis

Until now Louis was known within the sport, but by taking his act to
New York and ghting an ex-champion, he was catapulted into the limelight
on a broad stage for the rst time. It has even been argued that from the
moment Louis signed to ght Carnera he became the best-known black man
in the nation. That was perhaps premature, but in any case, it was true soon
enough.
It must be remembered at that time preJesse Owens triumphs in the
Olympics there were no African American sports heroes. Baseball was a
closed door. Black jockeys had long before passed from the scene in the Ken-
tucky Derby. Segregation was rigid, an iron door barring entrance to partic-
ipation in most professional sports. Blacks did not get anywhere in politics
where they were disenfranchised from the vote in many states.
Bob Pastor, another heavyweight who later fought Louis, once was asked
about his association with black people. He didnt know any, hadnt grown
up with any, and hadnt seen any in most sports. It was an all-white country
at that time, said Pastor, speaking metaphorically, if not literally, though to
many individuals it might have seemed so. It was all white, everybody was
white, there was no black people around at all.4
Satchel Paige was the best-known ballplayer in the Negro Leagues, but
hadnt quite transcended into white society. Bill Bojangles Robinson was a
well-known entertainer, and so was Steppin Fetchit. Amos and Andy may
have been black on the radio air waves, but they were white men. Civil Rights
leader W.E.B. Du Bois was, among other things, the rst African American
to earn a doctorate from Harvard, though he did not quite attain the main-
stream fame of a Louis.
Fame was not an easy commodity to obtain for a black person in 1930s
America where segregation prevailed in many areas and many forms of
advancement were completely blocked. Feeling ran so high against any kind
of integration, even in so-called comparatively liberal northern states, that
when Louis for the rst time established what became a second home to him
for training in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, the Ku Klux Klan reportedly made
threats against his host. They were ignored, but the fact that the night riders
of the South were condent enough to make noise in New Jersey certainly
expressed the tenor of the times.
The international political climate intruded on the prelude to the Louis-
Carnera ght. Blacks who barely knew of the existence of Ethiopia saw Carn-
era as an agent of the aggressor Italian government and expressed resentment
towards him. Ethiopian Emperor Hailie Selassie was appealing to the worlds
conscience for help. Certainly Joe Louis did not ordinarily follow international
political developments. Much was made of Louis lack of schooling in his
 9. The Brown Bomber Versus the Italian Man Mountain 73

early years in Alabama and as a drop-out in Detroit, but later his handlers
quietly engaged a tutor to work on his writing, spelling, and speaking skills.
As his skills in the ring matured, so did Louis outside the ring.
Carnera was a known quantity to the knowledgeable ght fan, but Louis
not so much yet. The proximity of his ght camp in New Jersey, roughly an
hour away from New York City where the drumbeat for the ght built in the
numerous daily papers, made it easy for the curious to descend and watch
Louis spar. It was estimated that about 6,000 people turned up at his camp
one weekend. Louis denitely was making a name for himself.
It was at this training camp that a famous incident involving black stereo-
typing occurred. Editorial cartoons portraying Louis were rife with racist
images. He couldnt control what sports writers wrote and cartoonists doodled.
But on one occasion a photographer sought to snap pictures of Louis devour-
ing watermelon. He refused and staring back at the picture-taker said no,
Because I dont like watermelon.5 It was a b. Louis liked watermelon just
ne. He just didnt want to participate in such a demeaning stunt. That was
one thing he could control.
Some descriptions of what it was like to visit Pompton Lakes and watch
Louis spar became preoccupied with the scene more than the ghting. While
Louis trainer Jack Blackburn sent out an all points bulletin to gyms for tall
sparring partners so Louis could get used to jabbing up, others were less
focused on Louis task. If those thousands of fans who came to check out
Louis got hungry or thirsty they could purchase hot dogs or cold drinks. Ven-
dors actually sold souvenirs of the trip to New Jersey. The newspaper demands
on Louis increased exponentially over anything else he had ever faced.
Although many nicknames had been appended to Louis before the world
settled on The Brown Bomber, the arrival of the king-sized Carnera on the
ght scene gave other ink-stained wretches the opportunity to play with the
language. Besides The Ambling Alp, Carnera was also referred to as The
Merchant of Muscle and The Vast Venetian, among other listings. One
writer seemingly lost all control in describing Carnera as The Tall Tower of
Gorgonzola. Pretty cheesy.
At the weigh-in, Carnera made his mark on the scale at 260 1 2 pounds,
while Louis was measured at 196 pounds. Louis was just a young man and he
later admitted that when African Americans began tying him to Ethiopia and
making it seem as if a victory over Carnera was going to have international
repercussions, he didnt know what to make of all that. Blacks put a lot of
burdens on my shoulders, he said. I was only 21 and I didnt know if I could
carry that kind of weight. I didnt know how to handle acting for all my
people. I just wanted to ght.6
74 Joe Louis

When the two ghters stepped into the ring, announcer Harry Balogh
offered an unusual preamble to his introduction of the combatants. With a
nod to current events and Italys impending threat to Ethiopia, he offered a
plea for comportment.
Ladies and gentlemen, Balogh said, tonight we have gathered here to
watch a contest of athletic skill. We are Americans. That means we have come
from homes of many different faiths and that we represent a lot of different
nationalities. In America, we admire the athlete who can win by virtue of his
skill. Let me then ask you to join me in the sincere wish that regardless of
race, color or creed, the better man may emerge victorious. Thank you!7 In
other words, on behalf of management, Balogh implored the 64,000 or so
fans to not take sides in the Italian-Ethiopian political drama and start pound-
ing on one another. Stick to the sporting aspect of the event, he urged.
In retrospect it seems surprising that Louis was not the unanimous
favorite among writers. Anyone who saw Carnera picked apart by Baer should
have wondered if he could ever stand up to such punishment again. Louis
was young, in shape and talented. Doubters couldnt get past Carneras size,
experience, and the fact that he had held the title.
African Americans, naturally, supported Louis in great numbers. They
had literally taken a beating for centuries and with war looming between Italy,
a white country regarded as a bully, and the black country of Ethiopia, they
wanted Louis to provide a whupping to Italys emissary. American blacks were
just starting to get to know Louis, but in the pre-ght run-up in New York,
Louis toured Harlem, appeared on stage there at a club performing an act
with a comedian, and made sure to appear at the Cotton Club. At this fabulous
bastion of black entertainment, he met Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington and
Lena Horne. Later, Louis and Horne became a sizzling item, though mostly
out of the public eye.
Louis was on the cusp of being hailed as the biggest sports star and hero
for members of the American black community. With each ght more fans
were made, and he percolated to the forefront of their consciousness. When
ght time came, Jacobs, Louis, and his team were rewarded for the manner
in which Louis had been presented and for what he had achieved with his
sts. This was the biggest heavyweight title ght in some time and it was
good box ofce. Thousands of fans came from afar to New York to witness
the spectacle, and thousands of them were arriving from the big industrial
cities of the north that had been the destination work places of the displaced
Southern blacks. Besides the New York locals who scraped together the ticket
prices, ght fans streamed into town from Chicago and Detroit, where Louis
already had followings, and Pittsburgh and Cleveland. It was an occasion for
 9. The Brown Bomber Versus the Italian Man Mountain 75

black royalty to see and be seen and some took note that among those sitting
at ringside were Duke Ellington, Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.,
and Ralph Bunche. Bunche became a Nobel Prizewinning diplomat.
Also leading up to the Carnera ght, Louis manager, John Roxborough,
had to fend off Owney Madden, who sought a cut of Louis hide, and some-
how Roxy was able to do so. The most astute boxing writers also recognized
how critical success was to both ghters. They were at crossroads points and
the winner would be ascendant, more Louis than Carnera, who had already
been to the summit. Still, if he could defeat Louis, Carnera might yet get
another shot at the title. Nat Fleischer, The Ring magazine editor, said pro-
moter Mike Jacobs had a good view of the future. He realized that he and
his colleagues had a mint in the Bomber and that if Joe could get by Primo,
his fortune would be made.8
Although Louis had some experience on his resume, the Carnera bout
was his rst truly big ght. The hype was 10 times as much as he had seen.
The arena was the huge Yankee Stadium. More than 60,000 people showed
up. He was told he was the savior of his people. For someone that young,
that was indeed a lot to handle. A less focused athlete, no matter the level of
his physical skill, might have had his head turned and been too distracted to
give his best performance.
However, physical talent is not all it takes to become a champion. What
a man has upstairs in terms of smarts, instincts, and an ability to rise to the
occasion all play parts. Louis was well-equipped to become a champ. That
was the best night in all of my ghting, he later said. I couldnt believe that
crowd. If you was ever a raggedy kid from the country and you come into
something like that night, youd know. I dont thrill to things like other people.
I only feel good at certain things. I felt the best I ever felt that night.9
The insight offered by Louis was intriguing. Louis was able to control
his emotions in the ring, even after satisfying wins, because of his natural
tendencies to be subdued. It wasnt that difcult for him to adapt to Roxbor-
ough and Blacks orders because he leaned that way anyway.
The Louis strategy for the Carnera ght was to stay in close on the big
man and not permit him to wind up. Carnera was a powerful man, if not
artful in the ring, but he always had a punchers chance and with those big
mitts he could clock a guy. So in accordance with Blackburns instructions
Louis approached Carnera cautiously. If anything, the way things unfolded,
he gave him too much respect. In the rst round Carneras jab was revealed
as little more than a pawing gesture.
For the rst four rounds Louis stalked Carnera carefully, picking his
spots, landing some of his stinging jabs. There was a moment in the fth
76 Joe Louis

round when Louis astonished Carnera. The Italian had long been used to
throwing his weight around. He was always the stronger of the two parties
in the ring. However, when the men were emerging from a clinch, Louis lifted
Carnera off his feet and threw him aside. I should be doing this to you,
Carnera said.10 If he hadnt realized it before as Louis sharp punches penetrated
his defenses, Carnera had to understand then how much trouble he was in.
The end came in the sixth round with Louis swarming Carnera with
both hands. Once, twice, three times Carnera was sledge-hammered to the
canvas, and after the third knockdown referee Arthur Donovan declared the
ght over.
Louis pre-ght appearances in Harlem might not have been necessary,
but his post-ght arrival was. After the ght he was exhausted and all he
wanted to do was sleep. But Harlem glowed with joy, Louis fans snake dancing
in the streets, celebrating the victory of their hero over the big white man by
downing copious amounts of booze. Louis slipped into the Savoy Hotel totally
committed to hitting the sack. His public clamored to see him, but Louis
resisted. Finally, at 2:30 in the morning, with a malfunctioning microphone
set up to broadcast his words, he appeared before the cheering throng for a
few moments. It didnt matter what he said, the people merely wanted to view
him.
On this night, Louis was spectacular and his showing under the clear
night sky was electrifying. It can be argued that when Louis dismantled Carn-
era his future was written. The boxing world was taking a close look at the
soon-to-be heavyweight champion. That was for those who recognized the
best in Louis. Not everyone did.
One of the most memorably insulting passages ever written about Louis
was concocted in the description of the bouts ending by a sports writer named
Davis J. Walsh, employed by the International News Service. Decades earlier,
sports writers felt that Jack Johnsons habit of smiling down at his decked foes
was distasteful. Now Walsh took the opposite tact. Something sly and sinister,
and perhaps not quite human, came out of the African jungle last night to
strike down and utterly demolish a huge hulk that had been Primo Carnera,
the giant. And high above the clamor over the knockout Joe Louis, the strange,
wall-eyed, unblinking Negro, administered in the sixth round there rose a cry
that smote upon the ear drums and left them shivering. It was the primitive,
unnatural shriek of the Harlem belle, reacting to the emotions of centuries.11
Clearly, the chord struck in Walsh was the same thing touched in the
smarmy mutterings of white sports writers a generation earlier who used their
sharpened pencils to mock Johnson. Behind the words lay an unspoken fear.
Just maybe black men were equal to whites. Just maybe this Joe Louis guy
 9. The Brown Bomber Versus the Italian Man Mountain 77

(or Jack Johnson) was superior to the white boxers he knocked out. For some
like Walsh the notion was too much to bear and so he portrayed Louis as
something less than human. Louis was not only on his way to becoming
heavyweight champ, but also a champion of his people, and a symbol of great-
ness, equality, and heroism for them.
Nothing would ever be the same for Joe Louis after he knocked out
Primo Carnera in the sixth round. He was now a national, even international,
gure, a champion-in-waiting if allowed to ght for the title without his skin
color getting in the way. And nothing would ever be the same for Primo Carn-
era. He kept ghting into 1946, but less actively. The gangsters who silently
oversaw his career looted his earnings and left him broke. His career record
was 8814, though there are doubts about the legitimacy of many of his early
ghts.
Later that same year Carnera switched to professional wrestling. He was
a hit on that circuit and rassled 188 times, winning the vast majority of the
time, into the 1960s. He died in 1967 at age 60. At no time did Carnera ever
admit any awareness or belief that some of his boxing matches might have
been xed. His conscience was clear and his mind uncluttered by doubts.
Long into retirement when he wrote his autobiography, Louis said he
was never scared of Carnera, never believed that the giants size would thwart
him. At the ght weigh-in in a New York state ofce building, Louis said,
For all his big self, I wasnt the least bit intimidated, although Carnera kept
making faces at me, saying all kinds of silly things. He looked foolish to me.12
Of course, in the ring, it was Louis that made Carnera look foolish. He
never hurt me once, Louis said. I felt ready for any heavyweight in the
world Jimmy Braddock, Max Baer, anybody.13 Thats exactly what Mike
Jacobs, John Roxborough, Julian Black and Jack Blackburn felt, too. The
closer they got to the top, the road narrowed, and the choices of whom to
ght were limited. Only a handful of potential opponents on the scene could
advance Louis career now and help him attain the dream of gaining the heavy-
weight crown.
 10
Showdown with Killer Baer

They said Max Baer was a killer in the ring and Joe Louis better watch
out.
Louis signed to meet Baer on September 24, 1935, at Yankee Stadium.
The event was sold to the public as a battle between two punchers. Louis was
the hotshot of the moment, but with a 418 record and a reputation built
over the dead bodies of two unfortunates, Baer had considerable respect as a
legitimate foe for the Brown Bomber.
Baer was known for his hard punching and his bout with Frankie Camp-
bell on August 25, 1930, in San Francisco ended tragically. There was a messi-
ness to the ght that underscored what occurred. In the second round
Campbell landed a shot and Baer slipped to the canvas. Campbell believed
he had scored a knockdown and adjourned to a neutral corner.
While pausing there Campbell made the ill-advised choice to wave in
celebration to the crowd at Recreation Park. Unknown to him, because he
was showboating, the referee did not rule the contact a knockdown. So while
Campbell was under the impression that Baer was being watched and counted
over, Baer was actually scrambling to his feet. Enraged by the slip and Camp-
bells histrionics, Baer ran at Campbell, who was half-turned away, and
smashed him in the back of the head with a hard blow. That knocked Camp-
bell down. Worse, Campbell soon began complaining to his cornermen that
something in his head did not feel right. Yet he continued to ght.
Complicating matters, before the ght, Kid Herman, who had been
Baers handler, jumped ship and betrayed his friend by joining forces with
Campbell. As the bout went on Herman screamed at Baer and taunted him.
Baer took it to heart and became furious. This did not do Campbell much
good. Because Herman was out of reach on the other side of the ropes, Baer
released his fury on Campbell.
Campbell, who used the anglicized last name that his baseball-playing

78
 10. Showdown with Killer Baer 79

brother did not employ as Dolph Camilli, took a fearsome beating from Baers
bludgeoning sts. The fth round was the denouement and it was ugly. Baer
pounded away at Campbell, who rather than fall to the ground was trapped
partially upright along the ropes. That left him open to more and more pun-
ishment, and when he did eventually fall he dropped into unconsciousness
and did not rise.
Once his anger and passion were spent, Baer calmed and became com-
passionate and sympathetic when he viewed the sorry state that Campbell
was in. He waited by his side for a half hour before an ambulance carried
away the stricken opponent. Baer later visited Campbells bedside at the hos-
pital, keeping vigil with Campbells wife. However, Campbell passed away.
Baer broke down and cried at the news of Campbells death. Doctors
attending to Campbell made a point of saying that Baers unscrupulous blow
to the back of the head was not a factor in Campbells demise, but that more
damage was done from repeated punches to the jaw and that likely displaced
Campbells brain.
Still, when Campbell died authorities brought charges of manslaughter
against Baer. Distraught from the incident and reportedly suffering nightmares
for some time, this heaped more stress upon Baer. The California Boxing
Commission suspended him from ring activities within the states borders for
a year.
Compounding Baers image as a dangerous man in the ring was the pum-
meling he delivered to Ernie Schaaf in September of 1932. Schaaf had deci-
sioned Baer in Madison Square Garden in 1930 and Baer achieved vengeance
with a majority 10-round decision. It was what occurred later that affected
Baers reputation. Five months later Schaaf died after a ght against Primo
Carnera, but doctors said he had suffered considerable long-lasting damage
when he lost to Baer.
In some corners of the boxing universe Baer was blamed for two ring
deaths. In a sport looked upon as the closest thing to war, that was not all
bad because it might instill fear into opponents. But Baer did not relish the
image. In the movie Cinderella Man Baer is played as a boorish man given to
gloating about the power in his sts and his ability to destroy and pound a
man to death.
That seemed to be an extreme characterization. Baer was a member of
the Hollywood set. He was a wavy-haired, handsome man who dated starlets
and seemed more likely to act out his masculinity in the bedroom with babes.
The thunder in his sts certainly gave him condence when going up against
the best heavyweights, but he was not the brute of a killer he was cast as.
Even in the 1930s, as moviemakers shifted their focus from silent pictures
80 Joe Louis

to talkies, big-time athletes were in demand. They were already entertainers

in a sense displaying their talents to the public and they had name recognition.
Baer was a natural choice to try out for lms. He was good-looking, well-
known as a top heavyweight contender, and he was very much intrigued by
what the spotlight in Hollywood could do for him. Baer ended up making
20 movies during his lifetime, the rst one in 1933 called The Prize Fighter
and the Lady. Carnera was also in that movie, along with more accomplished
acting presences Walter Huston and Myrna Loy.
At a time when promoters often seized upon opponents representing dif-
ferent ethnic groups facing one another as a gimmick, Baer was listed as a
Jewish boxer. He was partJewish, but never disavowed that heritage, even if
no one would mistake him for an Orthodox believer. He wore a Star of David
symbol on his trunks when he fought. Eating ham may not have been kosher,
but indisputably Baer was a ham of a personality. Besides making movies, he
played the vaudeville circuit and later in life performed on TV variety shows.
His son Max, Jr., was a full-time actor and was known for playing Jethro on
The Beverly Hillbillies. Maxs brother Buddy also fought for the heavyweight
crown.
In 1933, around the time the 6-foor-2 older ghting Baer was baring his
chest in his rst movie, he faced Max Schmeling in the ring. Baer became
popular with the American Jewish community by defeating by technical
knockout the German known as dictator Adolf Hitlers favorite ghter at a
time when the Nazi leader was consolidating power and his antiJewish poli-
cies were taking hold. In a backdrop of the early awareness of what type of
world view Hitler was promulgating, Baer was inspired to continue displaying
the embroidered Star of David on his shorts when he fought.
The next year Baer won the heavyweight championship by decimating
Carnera. He knocked him down 11 times to capture the crown. It was as thor-
ough a beating as any heavyweight title-holder ever took. Baer held the title
for a year and lost it in one of the divisions greatest upsets of all time when
James Braddock, an 81 underdog, lifted the crown from Baers head. It was
a stunning result. Braddock had not long before been seen merely as cannon
fodder for prospects. Baer seemingly had overwhelmed lesser opponents.
But Hollywood Baer became distracted by the ner things in life, par-
tying too much, and did not train wisely. Braddock trained like a demon for
what he recognized as the biggest chance of his life. Baer advertised his fool-
ishness and how lightly he took Braddock by joking around at training sessions
and at the weigh-in. The deadly serious Braddock won a unanimous decision
in Long Island City, New York, on June 13, 1935.
Baer was accustomed to his anvil blows paying dividends. Braddock was
 10. Showdown with Killer Baer 81

no defensive genius, but by comparison Valentines Day is short on heart.

Braddock had been battered by life and he stood up to Baers tangible blows
with equal courage. He returned re just enough to sway the judges.
By the time a match was made with up-and-coming Joe Louis, Baer was
after redemption. He sought to regain the heavyweight title, and to get another
shot, he had to wade through the other contenders. No one loomed as a larger
obstacle than Louis. Baer was only 26, still in his prime years as a ghter, and
should have loomed as a serious threat to Louis.
Baer liked the high life, but he had not come from privilege. His father
was a butcher and he worked in the family business. It was said that when he
was in his teens he built his strength by swinging a meat ax at a dozen hogs
or calves per day and then hoisting the meat on his shoulders to move into
refrigeration.
That hard work laid a foundation for him, but as he moved up the boxing
ladder and met ne looking women and sampled the champagne lifestyle, he
tended to avoid the hard training necessary to stay in top shape. He could
get by with raw power against some contenders, but Louis was a different sort
of challenge. At the weigh-in the numbers conrmed a certain group of appar-
ent advantages for Baer. He was an inch taller than Louis at about 6' 3". He
weighed 211 to Louis 199. His reach of 81 1 2 inches was ve-and-a-half inches
longer. Baer also had more experience.
Baers match against Louis was intensely promoted by Mike Jacobs. Louis,
at 21, still relished long-distance running and hard training. He had a hunger
and ambition in him that was unfullled. He was chasing the heavyweight
championship of the world and at that point in his life nothing could distract
him.
Not even getting married a few hours before the ght. Almost insanely,
against the wishes of his handlers, in the lead-up to one of the most important
bouts of his career, Louis insisted on marrying Marva Trotter, the woman he
had once spied in his training camp. The ceremony took place even as the
under-card was playing out before the crowd jamming Yankee Stadium a few
blocks from the apartment house where he stayed in Harlem.
As Jacobs was banking a $1 million gate, 1,000 curious Louis supporters
who probably did not have the cash for a ticket to the main event gathered
in the street, hoping for a glimpse of Louis and his bride. Trotter was only
19, though a mature woman for her age, when she married Louis at 381 Edge-
combe Avenue. With only a few witnesses, the ceremony was performed by
the Rev. Walter Trotter, Marvas brother.
Rarely is there a juxtaposition of two such widely disparate events in the
life of a leading American sports gure within such a short period of time.
82 Joe Louis

Usually, personal business takes a back seat to professional business. It would

have been more commonplace for Louis to fulll his appointment in the ring
with Baer and then fulll his date with Trotter. But he was the one who
insisted on the order of events. This way his honeymoon could begin imme-
diately after the bout.
At the apartment building, Louis put on a white shirt and a business
suit and then realized he had forgotten a tie. He insisted that the crowd out-
doors was merely waiting for him to appear for his ght and did not know
he was getting married. Given the way gossip travels, that was probably nave
of him.
Many of the formalities associated with that joyous milestone in young
peoples lives were ignored. No cake, no music. Julian Black served as Louis
best man and his coterie of boxing mentors was present. The maid of honor
was Trotters sister Novella. Once the ceremony was completed there was no
lingering. Louis estimated they were out of the apartment 15 minutes after
he said I do.
The ceremony was a quick one and when given permission to kiss the
bride, Louis did so, but then he was immediately hustled away to the stadium
where he could change into boxing trunks. From a lovey-dovey mood, Louis
had to transfer his focus to the potentially dangerous foe awaiting him with
sts curled.
Baer had done his job promoting the ght with showmanship, and that
helped hype the gate, but it was later reported that when ght night arrived
he suffered a panic attack and almost refused to come out of his dressing
room. Suddenly, the idea of going one-on-one with Joe Louis did not seem
so appealing for a ghter who had shirked his training.
The source of this insider information was former heavyweight champ
Jack Dempsey, serving as a Baer cornerman. He later revealed he had to plead,
cajole and threaten Baer to get him to move from the locker room to the ring.
Baer, he said, wanted to run for the hills and not risk a beating. So much for
the future image of killer Max. Dempseys tale bordered on the surreal.
Baer, who had goofed off in training, had suffered a genuine hand injury
in workouts that could have been employed as grounds for postponing the
ght if he had thought of it a day or two earlier. When he ipped out in his
dressing room he said he could only ght one-handed and that Louis might
kill him. I dont care if theyre both broken, Dempsey said. Youre not quit-
ting now. Neither man would be able to stand the humiliation. I let him
know in very direct language that he had to get out there and ght, Dempsey
revealed long after the ght. No choice.1
Stage fright does not become ghters. They convince themselves that
 10. Showdown with Killer Baer 83

they are invincible and survive on that raw belief, and as a byproduct they
convince boxing fans that they have the heart of a lion. If a boxing crowd
sniffs out fear it worries the ght is xed. They lose all respect for a boxer if
they sense he is scared. It is one thing to be beaten to a pulp while putting
up resistance. That is seen as noble. It is quite another to appear cowardly.
That will ruin a ghter for life. Fighters know fear, Dempsey said in a
moment of candor. Its like a lump in your chest. But you learn how to live
with it. You dont talk about it and you try not to show it.2
As always during the 1930s, any time Louis, the African American con-
tender, fought a white heavyweight, it was pointed out in the press. There
was no racial animosity between Louis and Baer. Louis looked at Baer as just
another guy in his way on his journey to the heavyweight crown. It was difcult
to tell exactly what Baer thought given his colorful, joking antics leading up
to ght night, but he seemed more self-absorbed than conscious of Louis.
The combatants did not make a big deal about race, but the sports writers
always made note of it in their reports in case any boxing fans missed the fact
that Baer was white and Louis was black.
Maybe Baer had reached an Oh, my God, what have I done moment?
in his dressing room during the period of quiet before he trudged to the ring
to face Louis, but Louis did not waste time introducing himself once the bell
rang. When I climbed into the ring I spotted Marva at ringside, Louis said.
I wanted this to be a quick ght. I wanted to start being a married man as
soon as possible, but I put all those thoughts out of my mind and concentrated
on Baer.3
Years later Louis said that when Baer moved to the middle of the ring
in the rst round he looked petried. Trainer Jack Blackburn advised Louis
to jab and keep Baer off balance as he sounded him out, but Louis slipped in
a powerful right uppercut and later said that when that punch landed, he rec-
ognized immediately he had Baer. It was only a matter of time.
Although that is a bold statement to make based on such brief observation
early in the ght, Louis proved correct. This September match was scheduled
for 15 rounds, but Louis pulverized Baer, taking him out in the fourth round.
There was plenty of time for Baer to go look at falling autumn leaves.
A wire service account of the destruction said observers saw [Louis]
mow down the once magnicent Max Baer with a punching blast as deadly
as machine gun re. Mercilessly, methodically, never wasting a blow and rarely
slackening a punching pace that has had few equals in heavyweight history,
Louis knocked out the former champion in the fourth round of a 15-round
match that revived all the glamour of the prize ring in a near-million-dollar
spectacle at Yankee Stadium.4
84 Joe Louis

Louis knocked Baer down three times, twice in the third round when
he was saved by the bell. When Baer was counted out in the fourth he rose
as far as one knee. There were suggestions Baer was able to stand again and
ght on, but refused to do so. Baers own words damned him on that count
when he said, I could have struggled up once more, but when I get executed,
people are going to have to pay more than $25 a seat to watch it.5
Grantland Rice, the nationally syndicated columnist and preeminent
sports columnist of his era, reported from ringside in his The Sportlight
column, writing, Max Baer left the primrose path, wandered into the jungle
and came near losing his life. He happened to run across a jungle cat by the
name of Joe Louis, the greatest ghter of his generation, and, just before the
nish of the fourth round, Baer nished his ring career on his knees, with
spurting blood streaming from mouth and nose, the worst beaten and the
most badly battered heavyweight that ever came to the end of the road.6
During this period of Louis rise through the ranks of heavyweights,
sports writers were getting used to him and getting used to the idea that a
black man might be the best ghter in the world. But quite often the writers
employed jungle analogies to sum up Louis performances, making sure readers
understood that he was a black man who most certainly owed his ancestry to
darkest Africa. Dead-pan, sleepy-eyed Joe Louis, with the half-lidded look
of the jungle cobra, shufing out to his nights work, took charge of the job
from the rst move, Rice continued.7 Rice referred to Louis as being from
jungle country or Baer making his misstep into the jungle several additional
times in his story. At one point Louis, previously compared to a snake, was
compared to a leopard.
More extreme than Rice in his summation of Louis as being straight
from the jungle and exaggerating offensively was the prose by another promi-
nent sports writer, Paul Gallico, who among other accomplishments in life
wrote the dramatic novel, The Poseidon Adventure. On Louis, Gallico said,
Louis, the magnicent animal. He lives like an animal, untouched by exter-
nals. He eats. He sleeps. He ghts. He is as tawny as an animal and he has
an animals concentration to his prey. Eyes, nostrils, mouth all butt forward
to the prey.8
Perhaps Rice believed that no one could absorb such a beating and con-
tinue in the ring, but his pronouncement that Baer had fought his last was
considerably off base, even if Baers wife also expected him to retire. He did
no such thing. He laid off until the following June and then embarked on a
19-ght winning streak. Baer continued boxing six more years, until 1941,
before he retired with a 6813 mark. He never again fought for the heavy-
weight crown, however.
 10. Showdown with Killer Baer 85

When Louis domination of Baer was complete, with his beaten foe rest-
ing on one knee in the ring and the ght declared over, he was thrilled. Louis
had made a statement of reckoning to the rest of the heavyweight division.
He was coming and everyone else better get out of the way or be trampled.
Id knocked out my second ex-heavyweight champion, Louis said. Ive
always considered the Baer ght my greatest. Ive never had better hand speed.
I felt so good I knew I could have fought for two or three days. When I
knocked out Max Baer, I knew in my head that this was the turning point.
All my ghts had meant nothing until Baer. I said to myself, Maybe I can
go all the way.9
Dempsey was no happier with Baer after the ght than he was beforehand
in the privacy of the dressing room. He praised Louis and he disparaged Baer.
Louis is good, theres no doubt about that, Dempsey said. It will take a
really great ghter to beat him and theres no one around now capable of
turning the trick. Baer is all washed up. I told him he ought to quit. He
simply hasnt got it anymore. At the nish he was knocked absolutely senseless.
He didnt know where he was until we dragged him back to the corner.10
As was starting to happen with regularity, Joe Louis black fans in Harlem
turned off their radios and celebrated in the streets, dancing until dawn,
according to one report. The account was written with both a breathless and
patronizing style racist in word choice.
Delirious screechings arose from Harlem, the largest Negro city in the
world, the story went. The brown panther man from Detroit stood all but
canonized in the eyes of his wildly enthusiastic racial brethren. His feats
seemed to shed some white light of glory and triumph down on the thousands
of shining black and brown faces that, distorted with excitement and gaiety
jammed all the thoroughfares for many blocks above the Harlem River. Joe
Louis wins! Joe Louis wins!11
Now Joe Louis had the condence to match his skills. Also, by this time
Louis celebrity had grown to tremendous proportions within the American
black community. When he won a big ght such as the Baer match, his sup-
porters ooded the streets, dancing and partying with joy. This was especially
true and common in Harlem, the capital of black America. Joe Louis was
their guy. He was the Man who took it to the Man. With Louis ascension
his popularity would only grow.
 11
An Eye for the Ladies

Joe Louis had what some people describe as bedroom eyes. He may
have been soft-spoken, he may have been shy as a boy, and he may not have
been glib, but he had a powerful aura that attracted women. For all the time,
energy, money and effort they knew they would have to invest and for all of
the obstacles they knew they would have to face to guide the young black
ghter to the heavyweight championship, they did not want to be derailed
by the condemnation Jack Johnson attracted by mingling with white women.
Louis was much less of an outgoing personality than Johnson, anyway.
His natural inclination was to avoid amboyance. When he responded to
reporters questions his natural tone of voice was soft, not bombastic. It was
not in him to brag, boast and draw the spotlight to himself with loud procla-
mations. To a very large extent early in his career, Louis let his sts do his
talking for him.
However, Louis was very much of a sexual being. He was easily attracted
to the fair sex, found little reason to hold back when women irted with
him as so many did and he had a roving eye. While Louis seemed to
embrace the idea of marriage, there was never any point in his life (at least
until nearing the end of it) that monogamy came easily to him, or was even
much sought-after.
Louis not only liked a pretty face and a pretty body, but he seemed to
have no resistance to whoever came along. Although his team worked hard
to promote a clean, All-American reputation for him as a good boy who loved
his mama, in reality Louis could be swayed by anything in skirts. The one
major difference between Louis and Johnson a monumental difference
was that Louis with few exceptions was discreet. He did not aunt his con-
quests. He had no desire to gossip about his dates or his bedroom partners.
He worked hard to keep his relationships secret and out of the public eye.
If Louis had any interest in girls as a youngster in Alabama, he did not

86
 11. An Eye for the Ladies 87

report on that. He didnt admit it to anyone who recorded it, anyway. Detroit
was another matter. From the time he was 14 he hooked up with a young lady
named Bennie Franklin. They were a low-key couple for some time.
When Louis and his friends sought avenues of entertainment they spent
hours at the movies, sometimes with only one guy buying a ticket and then
waiting until an usher was not around and then opening an exit door for
others to spill inside in a group. They then splurged on candy, drinks and
whatever was offered behind the concession stands.
Oh, and the girls, Louis said. I always loved beautiful girls and I had
me one, too, a real pretty girl named Bennie Franklin. She was the only girl-
friend I had in Detroit from the time I was 14 till I was practically married.
Now I wont say there wasnt a little fooling around here and there, but Bennie
was special. In fact, she was too special.1
By that Louis meant that Franklin, who also had roots in Alabama, was
a step-daughter of one of his sisters. Although he was knowledgeable enough
to recognize that their relationship did not count as incest, he was sensitive
about the family connection to want to keep it secret from his relatives. She
was a small, brown-skinned beauty with long, shiny black hair, Louis said.
She was kind, sweet and smart. The two of us would sneak around to the
movies, and Id visit her practically every chance I got. No one noticed because
it looked like I was going to see my older sister.2
In their teens Louis and Franklin went to amusement parks and on pic-
nics, as well as the movies, and right up until the moment he married Marva
Trotter, Louis hung out with Franklin. In his autobiography Louis said he
regretted breaking her heart. She was astonished that he had found another
when he informed her. I wish I had broke up with her in a nicer, kinder
way, Louis said more 40 years later.3
Louis had been infatuated with the attractive Trotter from the moment
he saw her at his ght camp. At the time she was only 18. By the time they
married she was 19 and he was 21. Louis handlers liked the idea of him getting
married. It demonstrated a certain maturity and they thought it was great for
Louis image with the public.
If Louis was ever faithful to Trotter for more than 10 minutes, it was
doubtful. Marriage appealed to him. He loved Trotter. But to Louis that
didnt mean she was the only sh in the sea. Louis was handsome and muscular
and he bared a good percentage of his body when he performed in his sport.
All of that contributed to his sexual appeal to women in general, women who
just decided they wanted a piece of him, or women he got to know well. He
had no governor on his actions to hold him back. He was ready for action if
the woman was.
88 Joe Louis

Louis was lucky he was not the heavyweight king in modern times with
cell phone cameras and the Internet prepared to disseminate any photograph
of him going somewhere he wasnt supposed to go, or going somewhere with
someone he shouldnt be with. Louis would have been found out much more
easily these days.
Trotter was pursued by Louis. At the time she was a secretary taking
courses at the University of Chicago. She was mature for her age, but still
nave in the sense that she misread her husband. She thought she was enough
for Joe Louis, not only in the bedroom, but in life. Once he captured the
heavyweight title, Trotter believed, Louis would give up boxing and retire to
a quiet life with her and whatever number of kids they had. It was a colossal
misjudgment. Louis was never going to be all hers. He already belonged to
the world and he had not yet approached the peak of his fame.
Leading up to his rst bout with Max Schmeling, Louis and Blackburn
set up training camp at his favorite Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, location, but
it was more circus than serious workout camp. In deance of most common
sense rules of boxing, Louis brought his wife to camp and she stayed at the
Stanley Hotel only two blocks, away. Insatiable in his desire for her, Louis
made constant visits to her abode. However, Louis also was not above bedding
any other woman who happened to wink at him while visiting training camp.
Blackburn and his other handlers prevailed upon Louis to ask Trotter to
return to New York City until the ght. She did. But that didnt mean Louis
calmed down. He started making side trips to Atlantic City and had encounters
with other babes. He was young, vigorous and full of himself and if he didnt
think that way there were plenty of pretty, sexy women around to tell him so.
Trotter seemed to enjoy being Mrs. Joe Louis. They were the most promi-
nent African American couple in the country, and when they walked down
the street in Harlem, especially once Louis victories grew in stature and he
became the champ, they were like royalty. Fans trailed them on the sidewalks.
It was heady stuff. For the most part, at least for some time, Trotter seemed
oblivious to Louis straying.
Eventually, Louis, who was mostly an absentee father to his children and
a roaming husband, performed disappearing acts with his old friends like
Freddie Guinyard. They jumped in the car at a moments notice and began
driving to parts unknown even to them. It was a lark. They went gallivanting
around to different cities, spending time with women, just having a grand
time. Indeed, once they were gone for so long with no ight plan led, a low-
key search was begun for them. Word traveled slower in the 1930s. It didnt
even seem that Louis was working to avoid being found, just that he was too
busy having fun to stop until he ran out of money.
 11. An Eye for the Ladies 89

Joe was never a constant husband, said Louis friend Truman Gibson,
choosing a rather curious way to describe his pals marital status. Especially
in the early years when hed be away so much. Other women were always
slipping him pieces of paper with their names and phone numbers on them
and chasing after him. Of course, we all know Joe couldnt run too fast.4
Trotter also liked the lifestyle being married to a heavyweight contender,
and then the champ, brought her. Louis made a fortune for his title defenses
by the standards of the day, but he was a spendthrift. He always picked up
the check when he was out for the evening and he gave away money by the
hundreds and thousands of dollars at a time to anyone who had a sob story,
to those he knew well, to those he just met. Trotter probably never came close
to understanding how freely Louis dispensed the money he earned in the ring.
He did buy her a classy place to live, an apartment building that she spent
considerable effort on making a home out of the place with her decorating
and design talents.
While he is certainly not remembered for his connection to horses, Louis
actually had a great fondness for riding and participated in the rst United
States Negro Horse Show in 1938. He was good enough as a show horse rider
to take a third place and win prize money. Through Louis, Trotter developed
an interest and spent weeks taking lessons. Louis purchased a farm where he
kept horses.
As time went on, though, Trotter wised up to Louis philandering.
Through a combination of his own carelessness and then her sleuthing, more
than once she caught him with another woman. Louis most foolish trans-
gression was bringing a woman to the farm when he thought Trotter wasnt
around, only to have her show up and remind him that they were hosting a
rather large dinner party there that night.
At other times Trotter creatively confronted Louis in public, once show-
ing up at an event where he was scheduled to receive an honor and literally
elbowing aside the date Louis brought and accepting the award for him. Louis
more or less showed remorse on these occasions, demonstrated by buying her
gifts, but he never changed his habits. He loved Marva, but that didnt mean
he was going to be an every-day, homebody husband.
Louis moved in circles of the wealthy and famous and inevitably came
into contact with women who were likewise described. He had numerous
one-night stands with women he met everywhere and anywhere, but he knew
the Hollywood set, as well, and that led him to some trysts that were quite
daring for the era and that above all, for both parties sake, had to be kept
quiet.
Although the white women rule was paramount on the list Louis team
One of heavyweight champion Joe Louis hobbies was riding horses. He competed in
some equestrian events and owned horses that he kept on a 477-acre farm in Michigan
(Special Collections, Detroit Public Library).

wished him to adhere to, he had affairs with Sonja Henie, who rst gained
notoriety of her Olympic gure skating prowess and then acted in Hollywood,
and also with Lana Turner. It was very much in all of their interests to stay
quiet about any liaisons.
Henie, who was born in 1912, was a child prodigy in the gure skating
world, and like Louis, one of the most famous athletes of her time. She won
the Norwegian senior championships for the rst time when she was only 10.
Henie was not quite 16 when she made her Winter Olympic debut in St.
Moritz, Switzerland, in 1928. She captured the gold medal there, again in
1932 in Lake Placid, and still again in 1936 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Henie
also won nine world championships.
After the 1936 Olympics, as Louis was rising to prominence, Henie
 11. An Eye for the Ladies 91

turned pro and began making a living in ice shows. Then she shifted to
moviemaking in Hollywood, where she crossed paths with Louis. Henies
entre to movies was skating in them. She became a regular at Fox Studios
and at the tail end of the Depression era Henie made as much as $2 million
a year. Henie was way ahead of the curve in marketing, endorsing everything
from jewelry to dolls for little girls.
In 1939, Henie appeared on the cover of Time magazine and that was
after her amateur skating career was over. Awkwardly, given the way Germany
treated Norway, and Joe Louis own involvement with the United States Army,
at one point Henie appeared to have an ill-advised connection to Adolf Hitler.
She was once seriously criticized for offering a Heil Hitler salute in 1936. After
Henie won gold for the third time in the Winter Olympics that year, she had
lunch with Hitler, who presented her with an autographed picture that
included a personalized inscription.
Louis once (much later) described Henie, who was originally from Oslo,
with almost a brotherly appreciation, although that was not their relationship.
She was a pug-nosed blonde with a bright blue eyes and one of the best
sports Ive ever known, he said. Then he added a little bit more to indicate
the relationship went beyond platonic. We had a nice thing going, but she
was a smart woman and so we kept everything undercover.5 Henie was only
57 when she died in 1959 while traveling on an airplane.
The Louis-Turner affair was a torrid one, but apparently of limited dura-
tion. That may have been for many reasons. Their lives did not regularly
intersect. They may have satiated their curiosity. Also, Louis romantic life
was quite entangled. Not only was he married to Marva, but he was in the
middle of a steamy romantic relationship with Lena Horne, too.
Turner was one of the goddesses of the American screen world and was
married seven times. A spectacular blonde beauty, Turner was discovered by
MGM when she was only 16. Always in demand, Turner appeared in such
well-known lms as The Postman Always Rings Twice, The Bad And The Beau-
tiful, and Peyton Place. She has been described as renowned as a femme fatale
and was the love interest leading lady in many lms. Nominated for an Acad-
emy Award for best actress, Turner played opposite many well-known leading
men, including Clark Gable. Turners eye-turning physique and the Holly-
wood attire she donned gained her the nickname The Sweater Girl.
Although she did not like the nickname, there is little doubt her physical
attributes earned her the appreciation of many movie-going males. Turner
passed away at age 74 in 1995.
By far the most complex of Louis affairs with well-known actresses was
his much lengthier off-and-on connection with Horne, who like him was also
92 Joe Louis

considered African American royalty. Horne was beautiful, a famous singer

whose success crossed over into white America. Horne also fell in love with
Louis and wanted him to leave Trotter and marry her. Louis said he came
close to doing so. If he had, it would have been understood by his public
because Horne was not a white woman and she seemed to come from his
social strata.
Horne fell for Louis long before she knew him. She was one of the many
rabid fans who was devoted to him because of his brilliance in the ring and
who came under his spell via radio when he fought. Horne was eloquent in
her description of what Louis meant to the American black community and
how he carried the hopes of millions on his shoulders. It was therefore incred-
ibly devastating when he lost to Max Schmeling in their rst ght.
Already well-known for her pipes, Horne had a singing engagement in
Cincinnati on the night of that ght. She was performing with a band and
they all listened to the bout. I was near hysteria toward the end of the ght,
Horne said, when he was being so badly beaten and some of the men in the
band were crying. Louis, she said, carried so many of our hopes, maybe
even dreams of vengeance. Horne could not contain her emotions and had
tears running down her face as she sang. Her mother chastised her for it, say-
ing, Why, you dont even know the man. Horne grew angry at her mothers
indifference, yelling, I dont care. He belongs to all of us.6
She was right. A little bit later on Horne wanted Louis all to herself. She
fell for him completely and almost fell apart over him because he wouldnt be
true to her. Horne was light-skinned, with dark hair, and a sex symbol as well
as a torch singer and Louis would have been the envy of many men if the
knowledge of their coupling became well-known. They were such big stars
in their own right and it made a certain kind of sense that they would gravitate
toward one another. They rst met at either the Cotton Club in Harlem,
where the bold Horne began working as a 16-year-old, or when her father, a
racketeer named Teddy Horne, brought her to Louis New Jersey training
camp once.
Unlike Turner and Henie, Horne was not given to keeping her feelings
under wraps. She wrote a love letter to Louis that he imprudently saved and
it was discovered by Marva. Trotter used the letter as a galvanizing reason to
split up with Louis. Although she dumped his clothing out on the street, they
reconciled, but only for the moment. A divorce court case began, they reunited,
but still ultimately divorced. When they were together Trotter bore two chil-
dren, son Joe Louis Barrow, Jr., and daughter Jacqueline.
Horne was most admired as a singer, but she also appeared in numerous
movies. In her remarkably long life (from 1917 to 2010), Horne was often a
 11. An Eye for the Ladies 93

ery, demanding, commanding presence. She campaigned vigorously for Civil

Rights and was outspoken when snubbed because of the color of her skin.
On any short list of the greatest American nightclub performers, Horne would
have to be mentioned. Although Horne wanted Louis to herself and Louis
was tempted to marry her there is no reason to believe that he would have
been monogamous with her either.
Louis did not exactly harbor a liberal outlook when it came to marriage.
He had clear ideas what he wanted in a wife and he just as clearly felt he was
not conned by many boundaries. He once told Marva, All you have to do
is just be beautiful, gracious, a good mother and a good wife. Just be my doll-
baby.7 It is impossible to picture Lena Horne as such a cooperative shrinking
violet, and it was not any easier for Trotter, who eschewed the public eye.
Trotter had to accept a large amount of humiliation from Louis. She
caught him cheating on her enough times. She caught him in public with
other women. Multiply those occasions by many, many other times where she
heard whispers or merely held suspicions and her tolerance level was exceeded.
She still loved Louis, but she got sick of his ways. He may have been loving
and attentive when he was with her and showered her with gifts, but that
wasnt enough. He was Joe Louis, the most important man in black America.
There were standards to uphold when she was out with him in public and
pressures to deal with. Trotter did not want to have to cope with his indeli-
ties, as well.
Eventually you tire of it, the crowds knocking your hat off and pushing
you out of the way to reach him, she said. Fame is the most difcult thing
that can happen to a relationship. Your life is just not your own. You always
have to be up and on the scene.8
Louis and Trotter were divorced in March of 1945. Although he gave
away great sums of money, Louis always provided for his wifes needs, spending
lavishly on her, even if sometimes the most expensive of gifts were offered as
apologies. But Trotter wanted love more than money. Joe thinks I ought to
be happy because Ive got all the material things any woman could want, she
said. But its no fun being alone all the time.9
For his part, Louis said he brought Trotter many fancy gifts out of a
guilty conscience. Like many women who are attered when a man buys
something special for them, she would say, You shouldnt have. However,
Louis admitted, he had to in order to assuage his own guilt, whether she knew
or not.
Louis didnt divorce Trotter to marry Horne, as she had hoped. But there
was a high-voltage attraction between Louis and Horne. They got together,
left one another, but as soon as they saw each other they got the hots for each
94 Joe Louis

other again. Throughout their relationship Louis was more open about seeing
Horne, though he did so under the guise of friendship when he visited her
on a movie set, or they were photographed in public. He gave her a mink
coat as a gift, though, and he did confess to certain friends that Horne was
much more than a pal.
They were quizzed about their connections by newspaper reporters.
Horne said, Sergeant Louis and I have been friends for several years and to
me, like 50 million others, hes a symbol of greatness. I can certainly admire
him and be in his company without hopping off to the altar.10
Once, when Louis believed Horne was seriously involved with another
man, he thought it was OK to see her just to talk. But when they saw one
another sparks ew. She was more beautiful than shed ever been. Nice and
sweet, but Lord she had a lthy mouth. Could cuss better than any sailor
wished he could. We started talking and talking. Next thing I knew we were
getting real serious. We were planning all kinds of places and ways we could
see each other.11
After Louis and Trotter reconciled from her initial divorce ling, but
before their actual divorce, Louis was on the West Coast, visiting Hollywood.
Marva had only recently given birth to the couples rst child. Horne was in
California making a movie. But so was Lana Turner. Both Horne and Turner
were sending word that they wanted Louis to come be with them. By this
time I really felt I was in love with Lena, but I was feeling like a dog, Louis
said. I wanted to marry Lena, but I didnt want to leave Marva.12 At the
time Louis solved his dilemma by ignoring entreaties from both Horne and
Turner and staying with Trotter.
Louis and Horne had a messy falling out that nished their relationship.
Horne was scheduled to score a golf match that Louis was involved with to
benet the U.S.O., but changed her mind, saying she was on her way to Ari-
zona for a different gig to entertain the troops. They began arguing and an
angry Louis peeled off a gold ID bracelet Horne had once given to him as a
gift and let it fall from his arm into her suitcase.
Well, then Lena started cursing me like nobody ever had, Louis said.
Before I knew it, I hit her with a left hook and knocked her on the bed.
Then I jumped on her and started choking her. The thing, thank god, that
saved her, was that her aunt was in the apartment. Lena was screaming and
her aunt ran in and started trying to pull me off.13
The aunt threatened to call the police and that penetrated Louis
anger-addled brain. When he calmed, Louis was very frightened that he
had almost killed Horne and was shocked by his own behavior. He could
compare the raw emotions he felt when Horne got to him to nothing else he
 11. An Eye for the Ladies 95

had ever felt. When Louis said he telephoned Horne to apologize she hung
up on him.
That was the end of their tempestuous time together. It was remarkable
that word of their erce encounter did not leak out. And fortunate for Louis
since his carefully crafted image as a good guy would have been destroyed
along with his reputation and he may well have gone to jail. This was an aber-
ration in Joe Louis behavior and it could have cost him dearly.
I had never known such a feeling, Louis said. What the hell made
me do something like that? Im not that kind of person. Passion can mess you
up.14 Louis confessed this sordid story in his 1977 autobiography, but Horne
did not conrm it, even then. She admitted to just one aspect of it her
ability to swear like a sailor. At the time she blamed his co-authors who had
probably concocted lies to help book sales.15
Louis stuck with Trotter, divorced her, and then they remarried. A second
divorce, this one nal, followed as Louis neared the end of his boxing career.
 12
Working His Way to the Top

Joe Louis battered Primo Carnera and blitzed Max Baer. He was now a
legitimate, generally perceived genuine contender for the world heavyweight
championship. In-between his match with Baer that he didnt sweat enough
to worry about getting married on the same day, and the one with Carnera,
Louis had wiped out King Levinsky in the rst round of a scheduled 10-round
ght on August 7, 1935.
Although Louis triumphs over Carnera and Baer were considered more
signicant because of their high standing, his demolition of Levinsky was also
illustrative. Levinsky was a top-ten heavyweight, but what was so striking
about his bout with Louis was just how frightened the sh seller from the
Jewish ghetto in Chicago appeared to be.
Levinsky battled many of the best heavyweights around, from Baer and
Carnera, from Jack Sharkey to Tommy Loughran. He even fought an exhi-
bition with Jack Dempsey. In a long career he compiled a record of 75-36-
7. But probably the worst night of his boxing life was his brief appearance in
the ring against Louis. He was later accused of freezing from fear and indeed
Levinsky showed none of the skill, endurance and bravery he exhibited in
other ghts.
This may be a case of Louis reputation preceding him. He was unde-
feated, he was knocking everyone out, and he reduced Levinsky to just another
wannabe with a two-sted attack that ended the ght quickly. King may have
only been a king in his own mind, but he was closer to royalty ranking than
he displayed versus Louis.
Whatever got to Levinsky, he was clearly scared of Louis during the
last run-up to the trip to the ring. Promoter Mike Jacobs did a routine
stop-in to Levinskys dressing room at Comiskey Park and was so alarmed
about what he saw that he demanded that the starting time for the main event
be moved a half hour earlier. He was worried that Levinsky would ee into

96
 12. Working His Way to the Top 97

the night. When boxing commission ofcials asked why the change, Jacobs
looked upward to the clear sky and made the deadpan comment, Its gonna
rain.1
To Jacobs relief he had his two opponents in the ring when the bell
sounded. Louis knocked Levinsky down twice and the ght was over 2 min-
utes, 21 seconds into the rst round. The Kingsh was a dead mackerel and
he embarrassed himself by being quoted at the scene by pleading with the
referee to stop things. Dont let him hit me again, Levinsky said. Please
dont let him hit me again.2
It was a payday for Louis. He made $53,000 for the short outing. Louis
had also bet his handlers that he would nish off Levinsky inside of a round
and if he did fulll the prognosis they would have to stop drinking for six
months. It was trainer Jack Blackburn he was most concerned about. Black-
burn had been guilty of some heinous sins when under the inuence of drink.
The genesis of the bet was an uncomfortable walk that Blackburn took accom-
panying Louis into the ring. Blackburn said he didnt feel very well and cited
the reason that he had had too much to drink lately.
By the time Louis pulverized Carnera, Levinsky and Baer, there was not
a ght fan in the country who did not believe that he was going to become
the heavyweight champ sooner or later. It did seem only a matter of time.
Under careful management, Louis had been guided into prominence. He was
getting closer to making all of their dreams come true.
Louis had been scrupulous in at least publicly following all of the rules
laid out for him by managers John Roxborough and Julian Black. He did not
lord it over fallen opponents. He had not been seen in the company of white
women. He projected the image of a polite, self-effacing, yet condent athlete
who was stable through marriage.
Although in 1935 there were no other mainstream African American ath-
letes of prominence (track star Jesse Owens would grab the nations attention
a year later and the best players in Negro Leagues baseball competition were
not universally known) the country was getting used to the idea of Joe Louis,
a black man, beating up on white opponents. They could tolerate him because
they saw him as a pretty nice guy, a humble man, and as someone who was
physically clearly superior to the white opponents he nished off.
There had been some other changes in Louis life, too. His handlers got
him a tutor and Louis learned some of the school lessons he had skipped
earlier in life through poor instruction, his own lack of interest and because
he dropped out as a teen.
When reporters rst interviewed Louis after his ghts he sometimes
mumbled his answers and he kept them very short. He offered no insights
98 Joe Louis

and he didnt trust the fast-talking sports writers who quizzed him about his
skills.
Louis was uneducated, but not stupid. He was deft at avoiding any verbal
traps laid for him by clever talkers. He had a very strong sense of self. He
believed in his abilities and he was not a show-off. He did his job in spectacular
fashion and those who loved boxing thirsted for a new and worthy champion
after the up-and-down state of the heavyweight division following the stardom
of Dempsey and Gene Tunney.
In every possible way that they could, Roxborough and Black burnished
Louis image. It was no publicity trick that he bought his mother Lillie a
new house with his boxing earnings, but the duo made sure that Louis
largesse was not kept secret. It was widely reported that mom gave Louis a
Bible when he left home and that he dutifully read it. Did he really? Its
not clear how much time Louis spent on reading the religious words, but it
didnt matter so much to his handlers if the world believed he was a student
of the Word. Years later, in his autobiography, Louis said he made himself
read some of the Bible every day. He did not say how long he kept up this
routine.
Public relations and marketing were the name of the game to Roxborough
and Black and Jacobs, even in the 1930s. They wanted to make Louis as
socially acceptable to the prejudiced as was possible, win over those in neutral
territory, and didnt mind at all that he was considered the greatest hero on
the planet to the black community.
The background men wanted to build Louis into a popular New York
gure. New York was the center of the universe as far as they were concerned.
The biggest city in the land was the place where everyone from the hinterlands
came to make it big. It was true for the ght game, as well as on the Broadway
stage. New York was the media capital of the world, which meant newspapers
and magazines at the time, with a nod to radio.
To that end, Louis, who was by nature no more of a song and dance man
than Franklin Delano Roosevelt, performed at the Harlem Opera House. He
appeared onstage with a comedian named Dusty Fletcher. Fletcher made most
of the jokes. Louis was his straight man, which everyone thought should have
come naturally to him since he was always poker-faced after a ght. Louis
skipped rope and punched the speed bag to the accompaniment of the song
Anchors Aweigh. It was like a light workout in front of a crowd of people,
only on a stage, not in his usual training camp. As the wind-up to his act,
Louis knocked the speed bag into the crowd.
The African Americans in the audience ate it up. Louis was getting bigger
all of the time in the entertainment world, though this was not his medium.
 12. Working His Way to the Top 99

Louis was much like the white baseball stars who dabbled in vaudeville in the
off-season.
The more men Louis knocked out, the more people wanted to be around
him. He was amazed that famous people he had only read about in the news-
papers thought it was a pretty special thing to meet him. Can you imagine
people I always admired were seeking me out? Louis said. Bill Bojangles
Robinson, the dancer, took me around one night.3 He met Duke Ellington,
Cab Calloway, and all of the other biggest names among African American
entertainers. Gradually, Louis name got mentioned with theirs. It is difcult
for the sports fan of the 2000s to imagine, but Louis was the only black sports
star on the American scene that most white Americans were familiar with
unless they were extremely dedicated and serious baseball fans. Those in the
know recognized Satchel Paige and some other black baseball stars, but it was
years before they were celebrated in everyday American life.
There were various clues that Louis tripped over to inform and remind
him of just how big he was getting to be in the black community. One Christ-
mas he went to church with his mother and was stunned at the topic of the
sermon. The Reverend J.H. Maston preached a powerful sermon that day,
Louis said, and it was about and around me. He talked about how God gave
certain people gifts and that these gifts were given to help other men. My gift
was ghting and through my ghting I was to uplift the spirit of my race.4
What a remarkable thing for a young man to hear in his house of worship.
The good reverend announced to the congregation that Louis was one of
Gods chosen people and he had a responsibility to show the world that the
black man was tired of being pushed around. I thought to myself, Jesus
Christ, am I all that? Louis asked himself. After that I thought many times
of my responsibilities and I worried. I just wanted to ght and make some
money and have some fun with pretty girls. Now I knew there was more.5
That sermon heaped considerable pressure on Louis shoulders. As he
became a more thoughtful and mature man he seemed to welcome it, though
at rst certainly only in the context of his broader ambitions in the ring. Louis
was growing on many fronts and expanding his interests, too. He was always
going to be attracted to a pretty girl and that would never change. Monogamy
was not in his makeup, and an otherwise good man who proved his generosity
and character in so many other ways was beset by this character aw. He was
hardly tormented by it, but that was one aspect of Louis way of life that was
not going to be altered.
From the time the once poor boy began making money, however, he was
generous to a fault with his gifts. He might give a sister a car. He paid college
tuition for another sister. But he gave money away to strangers on the streets
100 Joe Louis

and that big heart and tendency to give big was established early and never
waned.
Louis was a big baseball fan he loved the Detroit Tigers and if prac-
tical he would have played more often. Once, on a return visit to Detroit he
saw many of his old friends doing nothing in the neighborhood. He ended
up funding the Brown Bomber Softball Team primarily for them, but he also
suited up when he got the chance.
The ghter bankrolled the team and sent it off touring on the road in a
bus. When he could play with the club he did. Other times he coached rst
base. Roxborough, Black and Blackburn felt it was an unnecessary risk to
dabble at softball. He might be injured. Louis said they were right to worry
because he did eventually hurt an ankle, but hanging around the softball team
gave him pleasure.
After disposing of Baer, Louis and his crew were angling for a shot at
the heavyweight title soon. Team Louis believed in keeping their man busy
and as Jacobs kept working to position Louis for a chance to win the crown,
he took on more bouts to stay sharp. A couple of months after Louis pummeled
Baer he met Paulino Uzcudun at Madison Square Garden before 19,945 fans
in a scheduled 15-round ght. At that time some important bouts were sched-
uled for the championship distance even though no title was at stake.
Uzcudun, of Basque heritage from Spain, had challenged Carnera for
the heavyweight title, but lost. Nicknamed The Basque Woodchopper and
regarded as a solid ghter, his lifetime record was 50-17-3. Uzcudun was a
sound defensive ghter and when he faced Louis on December 13, 1935, many
in the crowd thought his main goal was to stay upright and preserve his record
of never having been knocked out.
To that end Uzcudun seemed overly cautious, although some of those
scoring gave Uzcudun the rst round. For Louis, Uzcudun was a puzzle that
had to be solved while exposing himself to the least amount of danger. Louis
was patient, trying to penetrate Uzcuduns awkward style where he bent for-
ward in a crouch with a cross-arms style and his face protected. Louis jabbed
and moved, jabbed and moved, all the while studying Uzcuduns unorthodox
methods. It took a few rounds for Louis to gure out his best approach, but
when Louis saw his opening and slammed Uzcudun with a strong right, he
knocked two of his opponents teeth through his lower lip. After the ght,
trainer Whitey Brimstein, who worked in Uzcuduns corner, told me that he
never saw anybody hit a man as hard as I hit Uzcudun that night, Louis said.
I was ready for the world.6
The United Press account of the bout began, Terror spread among the
heavyweights again today in the wake of Joe Louis latest conquest his
 12. Working His Way to the Top 101

knockout of rugged old Paulino Uzcudun, iron man of the ring, who was
hammered into helplessness by the destructive sts of the 21-year-old Negro.
Uzcudun had never been knocked down in 69 ghts until the blow from
Louis right hand decked him, a right which landed with such impact it
ripped open a gash in the Basques face large enough to thrust a nger
through.7 Uzcudun rose on shaky legs at a count of eight, but Louis landed
three straight haymakers to nish him off.
Louis may have been ready for the world, but he had to settle for Charley
Retzlaff, originally a North Dakota farmer who relocated to Minnesota. Ret-
zlaff was nicknamed The Duluth Dynamiter, and he was a hard enough
hitting puncher that Louis cornermen warned him to be careful around Ret-
zlaff s sts. There proved to be nothing to worry about, though, when Louis
nished off Retzlaff in the rst round of their January 17, 1936, bout at Chicago
Stadium.
Retzlaff did not play defense. He came out to slug with Louis and it
took only one minute for Louis to analyze his opponents style. Boom, down
went Retzlaff from a left hook. Abruptly, Louis was in command and Retzlaff,
although on his feet by a seven count, was not steady on his legs. Retzlaff was
game, but his pins were looking for a reason to fold. Louis provided it when
he trapped Retzlaff on the ropes and belted him with lefts and rights and
nally one more big right to end things.
Louis was 240. His team wanted to mop up the heavyweight ranks
so there would be no one who could make a claim on a title bout before
Louis. Just as Louis continued to prove his mettle by besting ex-champions
like Carnera and Baer, there was one more ex-champ hanging around,
still active, still hoping for another chance to win the heavyweight champi-
onship.
German Max Schmeling was aging. Roxborough and Black felt his best
days were behind him. From their standpoint there was no reason not to ght
Schmeling as one of the nal steps prepping for the big moment when Louis
obtained his opportunity to ght for the most valuable and prestigious indi-
vidual title in sport. There was every reason to believe that Louis could handle
Schmeling easily. What occurred next was totally unanticipated. Unforeseen
at the time were swiftly changing world developments creating a political cli-
mate that would impose their will on the ght.
Not only was Louis encounter with Schmeling terribly important to his
future as a boxer, but the bout morphed into something far more important
than a sporting event for the principals and the nations they represented. By
the time Joe Louis and Max Schmeling squared off in the ring on June 19,
1936, their title ght had become a symbol of a mini-war as a real shooting
102 Joe Louis

war loomed, and the combatants were categorized as symbols of two diverging
ways of life.
The irony was dense. Joe Louis, a black man, became a representative
of an America that treated African Americans as inferiors. He was chosen to
defend the land of the free and the home of the brave from a man who rep-
resented what soon was revealed to be one of the ugliest and most evil empires
in world history. The opponents were boxers merely seeking a crack at the
heavyweight crown, but circumstances threw them into much broader roles
on the world stage.
 13
Max Schmeling

Given the length of his birth name, it is no wonder that everyone knew
him as Max. The protagonist in two major dramas in Joe Louis career was
born Maximillian Adolph Otto Siegfried Schmeling on September 28, 1905.
The German heavyweight ghter was the best European boxer of his time.
He was considerably older than Louis and made his pro debut in
Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, on February 8, 1924. Louis had not yet
turned 10 years old at the time.
The story goes that Schmeling became enamored of boxing when his
father brought him to a theater to watch a lm of the Jack Dempsey-Georges
Carpentier July 2, 1921, title ght, but thats not how Schmeling tells it.
Boxing was practically an underground sport in Germany in the years imme-
diately after World War I. The public paid it little attention. But Schmeling
was smitten with the sport after watching that heavyweight-bout lm and
returned to watch it several times in the same week. In his autobiography he
says that he took his father to see the lm after he had already seen it a few
times and reports that his mother said his constant talk about the ght and
his own fresh ambitions in the sport started to get on everyones nerves.1
Dempsey became Schmelings sporting hero, and he decided he would
grow up to be just like Dempsey. He did his best and later sparred two rounds
with the aging Dempsey in an exhibition. Schmeling later told sports writers
that Dempsey had whispered to him that he was someday going to be cham-
pion of the world. He beamed with pride at those words, and some years later
when he was ghting out of New York Schmeling got to know Dempsey
better and reminded him about what he had said.
Thats what I told all the young boxers I met back then, Dempsey
said.2 Schmeling could laugh about the comment then, but originally it had
the desired effect of giving him some condence. It was a courteous thing for
Dempsey to do and he had nothing to lose by encouraging young ghters

103
104 Joe Louis

with such statements, and once in a while, as in Schmelings case, he would

be proven correct. Actually, with his thick head of black hair, his thick eye-
brows and sturdy build, Schmeling looked quite a bit like Dempsey, and on
occasion he was mistaken for him in public.
That relationship with Dempsey lay in the future, but only days after
he repeatedly viewed the Dempsey-Carpentier lm, Schmeling acquired some
boxing gloves and began his career.
Then, and throughout the 20th century, with few exceptions, the best
heavyweight boxers were to be found in the United States, not overseas. If a
man wanted to get somewhere in his profession and he weighed more than the
light-heavyweight limit of 175 pounds (or later the 190-pound limit of cruiser-
weight), he pretty much had to campaign in North America to build his resume
and reputation. It didnt matter if he was undefeated, the Missouri mantra of
being the Show-me State prevailed when it came to big-time boxing. The only
way to get recognition and be taken seriously as a contender for the heavyweight
crown was to ght in front of the critical United States audience.
Initially, Schmeling gained his seasoning close to home, competing in
his rst 17 matches in Germany. By the time he embarked for a bout in Bel-
gium, he had a 14-2-1 record. Schmeling scored a draw in Brussels and then
it was back to the comfort of Germany, site of his next eight ghts. Schmeling
had a bout in Poland and then resumed his busy schedule in Germany once
more, clicking off 17 additional ghts on home ground.
As he progressed, Schmeling said that he gained wisdom, as well as expe-
rience. He applied his brainpower to guring out ghters whom he had never
seen box before. Also, by hooking up with and marrying the actress Anny
Ondra, his social horizons expanded. Schmeling became friendly with
painters, singers, sculptors, actors and actresses. He posed in the nude for two
sculptors taken with his muscular physique and got to know Marlene Dietrich.
The more cerebral arts set was fascinated with Schmeling, who represented
success in the realm of the physical. In his own way Schmeling brought boxing
into the mainstream of German society as his own career advanced.
This was the Berlin and Germany between the world wars, as it groped
for an identity and sought pleasures and outlets in a wide variety of forms.
Schmeling penned his autobiography in the late 1970s and reected on the
capital city of the time period.
As I look back from the distance of a half a century to Berlin ... I see a
city of enormous energy, a hectic lust for life as if the whole world knew that
it stood before an approaching catastrophe, Schmeling said. Berlin was an
open city, a city of cafes and bars, revue and dance palaces. Everything hap-
pened in public and no four walls could contain it.3
 13. Max Schmeling 105

In late 1928 Schmeling traveled by sea to the United States for his rst
ght across the ocean. He was European heavyweight champion and was dis-
turbed to discover that meant nothing to New Yorkers. He was short on con-
tacts, was unable to get a ght, and was running low on money when he
linked up with the man who became the guiding force in his career.
Thus began a partnership with American manager Joe Jacobs, who had
the New York and American connections to get Schmeling bouts and to help
improve his reputation. Jacobs was a transplant from Hungary to New York,
of Jewish heritage, and excelled at the art of the deal, something Schmeling
sorely needed assistance with at the time. On November 23 of that year
Schmeling made his American debut and knocked out Joe Monte in eight
rounds of a scheduled 10-rounder to raise his record to 38-4-3.
Schmeling probably shouldnt even have been in the ring. He was suf-
fering from a fever from some u-like condition, but he was desperate for a
bout and felt as if he would miss out on a big chance if he postponed. For
a second I saw his [Montes] unprotected chin in front of me, Schmeling
said. With my last strength I let go with a short right. Joe Monte suddenly
collapsed as if his legs had been ripped out from under him.4
While Schmelings overall record was impressive, it took more than num-
bers to make an impact on the boxing scene in the U.S. Schmeling picked off
a couple more wins in New Jersey and New York and then on January 2, 1929,
he elevated his prole with a technical knockout of Johnny Risko in the ninth
round of a scheduled 15-rounder. In that bout Schmeling displayed the thun-
der in his right hand by knocking down Risko four times, in the rst, seventh,
eighth, and ninth rounds. The Ring magazine then a young publication but
steadily growing in inuence until in future years it became known as the
Bible of Boxing chose the contest as its Fight of the Year.
Schmelings record was 41-4-3 and his showing retroactively gave luster
to the wins accumulated in Europe. Paulino Uzcudun, closer to his prime
years than when he engaged Louis later on, was Schmelings next foe and the
Basque boxer carried Schmeling through all 15 rounds. Max won on points
despite injuring his powerful right hand in the fth round. The Uzcudun
ght was huge for Schmeling. It was billed as an elimination bout to ght for
the crown. Jacobs had worked wonders in maneuvering Schmeling into posi-
tion for advancement.
Jacobs was also shrewd enough to obtain exposure for Schmeling outside
of the ring. He sent him to any and all off beat events to build name recog-
nition. He counted on Schmelings right hand taking care of the boxing busi-
ness and he took care of the public relations business. Schmeling was pretty
much on a nationwide tour. One thing he excelled at was mingling with
106 Joe Louis

movie types because he already had friends of an artistic nature. Once invi-
tations were wangled to exclusive Hollywood parties, Schmeling made the
most of it in saying hello at the least to stars such as Douglas Fairbanks and
Gloria Swanson, Clara Bow and Mary Pickford. Elsewhere, he crowned a
beauty queen in Chicago. That made little sense, but it was good PR.
At this point Schmeling had achieved the goal that caused him to set sail
for America. He was on the radar screen in the sport, world-ranked, and now
positioned for a shot at the vacant heavyweight title. He was matched with
Jack Sharkey on June 26, 1930, at the Madison Square Garden Bowl on Long
Island, with the winner destined to walk away as the new title-holder.
Sharkey was not his foes real name, but adapted from Joseph Paul
Cukoschay. He was Lithuanian by heritage, but was born in Binghamton,
New York. Sharkey had a good resume, with wins over Harry Wills, Young
Stribling, Tommy Loughran and Mike McTigue, but he was not a large heavy-
weight and he was not a consistent one. He was dangerous and gutsy, but
could be had by a lucky punch. He sometimes seemed off for an entire night
in the ring. Sharkey nearly had Dempsey knocked out, but when the champ
hit him with what Sharkey claimed was a low blow, he forgot the cardinal
rule of the ring to protect oneself at all times. Instead of focusing on Dempsey,
Sharkey complained to the referee that no foul was called. While he was voic-
ing his displeasure, Dempsey decked him and ended the ght.
For whatever motivation, Sharkey chose to be antagonistic to Schmeling.
He adopted the Muhammad Ali strategy of later decades of taunting his oppo-
nent, perhaps trying to distract him. Schmeling did not verbally retaliate, but
basically ignored Sharkey.
First, Ill cut his face to ribbons, Sharkey said leading up to the bout,
and then around the seventh round Ill knock him out. What does he have
going for him other than his resemblance to Jack Dempsey?5 That wasnt a
bad line really. But Sharkey did not stop there, saying that Schmeling didnt
even deserve a shot at the title. He pokes his nose into our country and gets
a title shot just like that. If our leading boxers demanded that when we were
coming up, we would have been slapped right down, and with good reason.
This German comes over here, and expects that, with two ridiculous elimi-
nation bouts, he has earned the right to face me.6
The June 12, 1930, bout was scheduled for the championship distance
of 15 rounds, but it ended in an unsatisfactory manner in the fourth round
when Sharkey was disqualied for delivering a low blow. The decision and
the title were handed to Schmeling. It is the only time that a ghter has
won the heavyweight title by disqualication (Evander Holyeld retained the
title in June of 1997 when foe Mike Tyson was disqualied for biting him on
 13. Max Schmeling 107

the ear). The New York State Athletic Commission and the National Boxing
Association recognized Schmeling as the champion.
It was an awful way to win the heavyweight title. While ofcials were
expressing disgust with Sharkeys low blow, Schmeling was writhing on the
canvas in pain as if he had been knocked out. So he gained the crown lying
on his back. It was not a satisfying ending for the 80,000 fans who bought
tickets to obtain entrance to Yankee Stadium. Nor was it satisfying for Schmel-
ing. Initially he actually tried to reject the title, though his handlers told him
it was his whether he wanted it or not.
Both Sharkey and Schmeling were depressed, not the usual post-ght
emotional situation. In the dressing room I was examined by the ring physi-
cian, who conrmed the damage of the low blow, Schmeling said. This was
announced over the loudspeaker, which unleashed a new round of boos and
whistles. Even Sharkey himself didnt protest. After I had more or less come
around, I realized that I had realized the goal that I had always wanted, but in
a way that could only make me new enemies.... My crown was without glory.7
Almost immediately, Schmelings handlers began to work on him about
accepting the title with grace. To them it was crazy talk he would consider
giving up the heavyweight championship because he didnt like the way he
won it. Their answer to him was to lay low, recover from the ght physically,
and then go out and defend the title with honor to prove that he was the
rightful owner of the crown. No one was pleased with the result not that
Schmeling won but how the ght was settled, so there was no question that
there would be a rematch between him and Sharkey.
First, however, Schmeling signed up for a defense in Cleveland against
Young Stribling on July 3, 1931. Born in Georgia, Stribling was nicknamed
King of the Canebrakes. Turning professional at 17 in 1921, Stribling was
an almost hyperactively frequent ghter who competed in 289 ghts. He won
256, lost 16 and had 14 draws. He had enough power in his sts to score 125
knockouts.
Stribling came from a family of acrobats who appeared on vaudeville
stages all over the world. The clan nally settled down sufciently for him to
play high school basketball, in which he excelled. When he decided his future
lay in boxing his mother trained him and his father managed him. It was all
in the family business, which they had been used to operating. Stribling
became a professional ghter while in high school and totaled about 75 bouts
before graduation.
The family rented a bus and Stribling went on the road ghting exhibi-
tions. These were often all-comer bouts with $10 at stake if a local could best
the young boxer. Few could. It was a colorful, off beat life. Stribling married
108 Joe Louis

by age 21, and he died tragically from injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident
at 28 in 1933.
Before that Stribling fought as often as some people took out the garbage,
about once a week, and included were some very serious opponents, such as
Schmeling. Stribling was no pushover for Schmeling. It is claimed that in all
of those ghts, in all of those rounds, Stribling was never stopped, except one
time. His bout with Schmeling concluded with him on the losing end of a
technical knockout in the 15th round. That win solidied Schmelings hold
on the title and gave it legitimacy in his own mind.
Schmeling said he gained a grasp of Young Striblings daredevil nature
in the weeks leading up to the bout when daily for a period of time Stribling
buzzed his foes training camp in a small airplane.
The match was not an easy one for Schmeling, a self-described slow
starter. Stribling seemed aware of this and pressured the champ hard in the
rst round. More alarmingly for Schmeling after he repelled Striblings charge,
the title-holder said he kept getting thumbed in the eye and couldnt see his
opponent. On the advice of his corner, Schmeling retaliated with the same
method and the thumb-sticking hostilities ceased.
Schmeling felt in control of the ght from the seventh round on, but
could not put Stribling on the canvas. I came at him with combinations that
drove him all over the ring, Schmeling said. And while his legs buckled a
number of times, Stribling refused to go down. Then came the bell for the
15th round. Determined to end the ght, I hit Stribling with a devastating
left hook to the chin. As if paralyzed, his arms dropped and he fell slowly to
the canvas. He managed to rise by nine, but then staggered and fell back on
the ropes. There were 20 seconds left in the ght when Striblings father threw
in the towel to end the ght.8
It was a proud moment for Schmeling. He had vindication. He was in
against a tough foe and proved his mettle. He defended the title with his sts,
not through an ofcials ruling. This was a tremendous milestone in Schmel-
ings life and it was even more important than he could have imagined, because
soon after he did meet Sharkey in a rematch with unhappy results for him.
Schmeling-Sharkey II took place on June 21, 1932, at the Madison Square
Garden Bowl. It went the 15-round distance and although most experts at
ringside felt Schmeling was the victor, the split decision went to Sharkey.
Schmeling was no longer heavyweight champ. When the ofcial announce-
ment was made in the ring that Sharkey was the new world title-holder,
Schmeling was shocked. I couldnt believe my ears, he said.9 Schmeling said
he was dazed, tearful, and completely stunned and had to force himself to
march across the ring to congratulate Sharkey.
 13. Max Schmeling 109

It was at this moment that Joe Jacobs, Schmelings manager, uttered one
of the most famous phrases in sport, one that stuck in the lexicon, and is still
repeated, though the source of the original comment is probably not known
to the person saying it. We wuz robbed! Jacobs proclaimed.10
It was one of those bad decisions where everyone else watching a ght
believes they saw a different outcome than what was ofcially ruled. Former
champ Gene Tunney told Schmeling that he won. New York Mayor Jimmy
Walker sought him out to console him and said he believed he won the ght.
Jacobs ran around telling anyone who would listen that the ght had been
stolen from Schmeling. Nonetheless, the result stood, and Schmeling was the
ex-champ. That meant he had to rebuild his reputation, rejuvenate his stature,
and as the title bout went elsewhere, prove his ability all over again.
A resurgence did not come so easily for a dejected Schmeling. He did
not ght again for three months and then stopped Mickey Walker. A good
win. However, his next showing did him some harm in public perception.
Schmeling met Max Baer on June 8, 1933. Clearly, the winner was going to
rise in the ratings. In front of 53,000 fans at Yankee Stadium, Schmeling was
stopped by technical knockout in the 10th round of the 15-rounder.
Worse, Schmeling lost again to Steve Hamas and in Spain was entangled
in a draw with Uzcudun. Schmelings rep took a beating more than his face
did. In his previous ve ghts his record was 1-3-1. That is a ne number if
a team is playing a zone offense, but not if it represents wins, losses and draws.
Schmelings career was on the ropes. People were saying he was washed up,
that he had suddenly got old.
Distressed, but not ready to retire, not ready to give up, Schmeling
redoubled his training efforts and dedication and embarked on a series of
wins, gaining revenge over some of those who had just taken advantage of
him. Schmeling rst won ghts back in Germany over the new crop of con-
tenders, Walter Neusel and Hamas. Then he bested Uzcudun on points in 12
rounds, this time in his own country instead of Uzcuduns.
Victories over Henry Thomas, Ben Foord and Steve Dudas restored some
of Schmelings credibility. The vulnerability shown during Schmelings ve-
ght mediocre stretch, however, stuck in the minds of John Roxborough,
Julian Black and Jack Blackburn, Louis backers. They felt their man could
easily handle an aging Schmeling and could gain in stature because Schmeling
had a sound 48-7-4 record and was the former champion.
Schmeling rated as the seemingly perfect opponent for Louis. He was a
step up in class, he had a name, but he did not seem terribly dangerous. And
Louis wanted to eliminate any other contender who might loom as competi-
tion for him to attain a title bout.
110 Joe Louis

Schmeling was back in America when Louis met Uzcudun. While every-
one raved about the force of Louis knockout, Schmeling tried to contain a
secret smile. When questioned after the ght about how he might do against
Louis now that their bout was a sure thing, Schmeling came away from the
overwhelming Louis performance not frightened one bit.
Periodically, he let slip a view of what transpired that was different from
everyone elses. Speaking in accented English, Schmeling said, I zee zome-
thing.11 He said it more than once and what he saw, this little sly observation
revealed later, was that Louis dropped his right at inopportune times and if
a man could stand up to Louis punishment, a well-timed punch could cause
tremendous damage.
Schmeling came away with this view at a time when the rest of the boxing
world was pronouncing Louis as super human. This knowledge that he pos-
sessed was what sustained Schmeling as he trained for the big ght and his
showdown with the man that everyone believed would become the next heavy-
weight champion by walking right over Schmeling.
 14
Schmeling, Hitler
and the Nazis

The difference between Max Schmeling of 1928 when he rst sailed to

the United States and Max Schmeling of 1936 when he signed to ght Joe
Louis was twofold. In-between Schmeling won and briey held the heavy-
weight title. The other major difference was his seemingly budding relation-
ship with Adolf Hitler and the changing status of Germany in world opinion.
When Schmeling began his professional boxing career almost no one in
Germany cared about the sport. By the time he won the heavyweight cham-
pionship in 1930, however, Germany was more enthusiastic about embracing
him because he had become a worldwide name and his success represented
reected glory.
That lasted only so long since he held the title only briey, but as Schmel-
ing once again rose in the rankings to become a serious contender and prepared
for his bout with Louis, internal changes in the country affected how the
world saw him.
Hitlers strident extremism and his consolidation of power was a hallmark
of 1920s and 1930s Germany, reeling from the aftereffects of World War I and
harsh sanctions placed on the country by the victors, including the United
States. Hitler and his emblematic swastika became ubiquitous beginning in
1922. Year by year, step by step, appealing to the worst instincts of the masses
seeking someone to blame for ongoing poverty, unemployment and ination,
Hitlers power expanded.
His political party was ofcially called the National Socialist German
Workers Party and for short they were referred to as the Nazis. In the infamous
Beer Hall Putsch of 1922 in Munich, Hitler sought to overthrow the govern-
ment. Instead, he was arrested and sent to prison. While in jail he wrote his
memoir, Mein Kampf, which spelled out his own brand of extremism.
Once released, Hitler put on a full-court press to take over Germany by

111
112 Joe Louis

any means. He was a vigorous, inammatory, and emotional speaker who

swept up listeners in his causes of nationalism, antiSemitism, and antiCom-
munism, and found receptive audiences when he railed against the Treaty of
Versailles, the post-war document that was so onerous to Germans.
In 1933, the Reichstag parliament building erupted in a blaze. Although
it is now universally believed that Hitler had the re set himself, at the time
he blamed Communists for the conagration and used that as a pretext to
speak ever more loudly against them. By 1933, Hitlers gathering strength was
too powerful to ignore and he was appointed chancellor. He used the legiti-
macy of that ofce as a jumping off point to assume complete authority. Hitler
replaced the Weimar Republic with his Third Reich and became a dictator
who ruled by tyranny and violence.
For the most part the rest of the world turned a blind eye. Other war
weary countries either didnt care or didnt want to know what Hitler was up
to in Germany. No one imagined that he would become one of the greatest
evil forces in world history. No one had the stomach for intervention and no
one understood Hitlers grand expansionist ideas.
Only the most politically attuned gures inside the nation comprehended
the nature of his destructiveness, the violence he at rst subtly, and then with
an iron hand, began propagating on German Jews as he systematically stripped
them of their rights and property.
By the time Schmeling was ready to meet Louis in June of 1936, enough
evidence had been accumulated for the world to see what type of leader Hitler
was and was becoming, but there was little in the way of protest of his actions.
All the while, Hitler was turning German manufacturing production into a
war machine and rearming a military that had been stripped of its might after
World War I.
Schmeling had always been popular with New York sports writers. He
was genial, engaged them in friendly banter, and was cooperative. The writers
liked Max and he showed he was better than the average European ghter,
someone who was denitely in the mix among the best heavyweights.
But when Schmeling returned to New York to prepare for his 1936 ght
against Louis, the climate had changed. Although antiGerman feeling was
not running high as of yet, and the writers who already knew Schmeling did
not closely identify him with Hitler, he did face questions about the new
regime. And Jewish organizations in the city and Jewish writers were skeptical
about his politics. This was all at a minimum, but it was percolating near the
surface of Schmelings give-and-take during the publicity building to the
ght.
It was not a siege of negative publicity given the limits of Americans
 14. Schmeling, Hitler and the Nazis 113

comparative naivety about Nazi Germany at the time, but some articles did
refer to Schmeling as a Nazi puppet. Also, many close watchers of the boxing
world felt Schmeling was simply over the hill.
Years later, when he reected on the rise of Hitler and his wickedness,
Schmeling marveled at his own blindness. He said he was immersed in his
own career and did not get involved in politics, indeed barely noticed when
Hitler became chancellor and had no conception of what it meant for the
future of the country. While his friends informed him about demonstrations
in the streets in favor of Hitler, only a few miles away where he lived on the
other side of town, nothing of the sort was happening.
After the fact people spoke of an awareness of history in the making,
but it wasnt like that at all, Schmeling said. Surviving newsreels give the
impression of a city and a people wild with excitement and change. But in
reality the celebrations were limited to the inner city and a few neighborhoods
controlled by National Socialists. Still, you could sense that something new
had begun, a bustling energy had come over the country, new condence,
new hope. But it wasnt as if the country had been divided into two opposing
camps followers and opponents of the regime. We were so used to frequent
changes in the government ... that no one viewed Hitlers appointment as a
nal chapter.1
Schmeling said that he met Hitler for the rst time near the end of April,
less than two months before his rst bout with Louis. He was eating dinner
with some auto racing friends when an SS ofcer arrived at the restaurant
with a message for him. Schmeling was being summoned to the reich chan-
cellory for an audience with Hitler.
Schmeling was deposited into an empty room, but was swiftly joined by
Hitler and some of the other high-ranking Nazis, Joseph Goebbels and Her-
man Goering, as well as other cabinet ofcials. Hitler genially welcomed him
and they spoke for about 20 minutes. At the end of the meeting, Schmeling
said Hitler told him, Ive heard that youre going to America. If anyone over
there asks how its going in Germany, you can reassure the doomsayers that
everything is moving along quite peaceably. Hitler added that if Schmeling
ever needed anything not to hesitate to contact him.2
It may not have been clear to Schmeling immediately, but it was later
when he reviewed the session, that Hitler wanted him to be a public relations
gure for the regime on his visit to the U.S. Reassure everybody that things
were OK. If Schmeling says it, it must be true, had to be the hierarchys think-
ing. Schmeling said he couldnt help but feel a little attered. Lets face it,
one can also be bribed by small favors.3 In addition, he noted, in his years-
long career, as owner of the European title and the world heavyweight crown,
114 Joe Louis

previous government ofcials had completely ignored him. Hitler made time
for tea with other athletes and artists. For the rst time Schmeling was made
to feel by ofcialdom that he had done something special on par with other
countrymen in the arts or sports. Schmeling admitted that having the head
of state provide such personal attention was heady stuff.
The same year Hitler rose to chancellor, Schmeling and actress Anny
Ondra married. In the early stages of their marriage Schmeling received con-
siderable criticism because of suggestions he was pointlessly going on as a
ghter when he had nothing left. There were also rumors of him having an
affair with another actress. Both distractions passed and Schmeling and Ondra
remained married for 54 years.
Hitler seemed entranced by their union and taken with the attractive
Ondra. He worked to charm her and invited the Schmelings to various out-
ings. Once, the couple accompanied Hitler to a dinner at the home of the
publisher of the Nazi partys main newspaper, and as they drove along Hitler
pointed out the sights and highlights of the landscape in Bavaria.
Once, soon after, Schmeling did take advantage of Hitlers promise to
help him out if he was in need. Back in Berlin Schmeling was stunned by a
piece of mail from the government that brusquely informed him that he had
been accused of a currency violation and was being sentenced to six months
in jail and a 10,000-mark ne. The root of the matter was Schmelings pur-
chase of some gold bars and stock from an American he knew and then
depositing them in a safe deposit box.
Schmeling did not realize he had done anything wrong, but some gov-
ernment ofcials released the ndings to newspapers and he was embarrassed
by the to-do. Schmeling called Hitler for aid and after he visited him the
angry chancellor picked up the phone and made the entire matter go away
instantly. Schmeling heard Hitlers side of the call that included the phrase,
There will be no discussion. Take care of the matter immediately.4 And
that was that. Poof, the problem disappeared. At this moment Schmeling
could not help but think about how nice it was to have friends in high places.
Hitler extracted some assistance from Schmeling as well. One way Ger-
many wanted to show off to the world that it had bounced back from the
devastation of World War I was by making a splash in hosting the 1936 Winter
Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the Summer Olympics in Berlin.
Although ofcial commentary from the administration of President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt about what was taking place in Germany was
extraordinarily restrained, there were enough rumblings of discrimination that
Avery Brundage, who would later become head of the International Olympic
Committee, but then was the chief of the U.S. Olympic Committee, wanted
 14. Schmeling, Hitler and the Nazis 115

to know what was going on. He was concerned, he said, about how Jewish
and African American athletes would be treated. Hitler enlisted Schmeling
to deliver a letter of reassurance from the German government to Brundage
when he returned to the United States.
Beyond acting as messenger, Schmeling personally assured Brundage that
blacks and Jews would be treated equitably in Germany. Later, he wondered
if he had been too reassuring because he had no authority to speak so forcefully
on behalf of Hitler and could do nothing to assure that those athletes would
be well-treated. At that point the U.S. Olympic Committee was considering
boycotting the games in Berlin, but in a close vote decided to participate after
hearing about the letter. In actuality, Hitler did clean up his act and his
administrations during the games, putting his plans for extermination of Jews
on hold. His purpose in hosting the games in the rst place was to garner
good will. So if he had to live with sham policies for a couple of weeks, it
was no big deal. There was plenty of time later on and there would be time
bought in showing off Germans athletic prowess and its capabilities as a
perfect host to the rest of the world.
For a time leading up to the Louis ght, the German press spouted racist
dogma about him, dismissing him as a jungle creature and as stupid, but as the
ght and the Olympics drew near, the disparagement ceased. Schmeling said he
never insulted Louis in such a manner and he also never joined the Nazi party,
although other prominent Germans of the period were pressured to do so.
Schmeling was in an awkward position. He was going to risk his repu-
tation against a black man, supposedly his inferior. In the United States his
affairs were handled by a Jewish man, supposedly his inferior. He did not
adorn his clothing with a swastika or carry such a ag. While admittedly
pleased to be invited into the inner circle in the halls of government, if only
socially, he seemed to be a man willing to go along to get along rather than
a true believer in Hitlers cause.
He left Germany with limited fanfare for New York by ship for the nal
training sessions, with well wishes from German ofcials who knew when he
was departing. In the 1930s, well before the age of the Internet and other con-
venient electronic devices, reporters greeted arriving vessels in major city har-
bors to glean news as quickly as they could before their subjects went through
customs.
A gaggle of sports writers and photographers swarmed Schmelings ship.
He posed for pictures with his arms around manager Joe Jacobs and promoter
Mike Jacobs, both of whom were Jewish, and smiled broadly. He submitted
to two hours of questioning from the writers. On the passage across the
Atlantic Ocean, Schmeling ran 12 miles a day on the decks.
116 Joe Louis

It was clear from the beginning of the conversation with the writers that
there were going to be political overtones to Schmelings return to the United
States and his participation in the ght with Louis. Schmeling was asked if
Hitler saw him off and he replied, Why should he? Hes a politician and Im
a sportsman.5 While that might have been an oversimplied, disingenuous
answer, it was also true and accurate. But it illustrated the perception among
others that Schmeling was pals with the dictator.
In the midst of all the chit-chat Schmeling predicted he had sailed the
ocean blue for the purpose of defeating Louis. I guarantee you, he said, if
Louis makes the same mistakes with me that he did with Baer, I shall knock
him out.6
For his part, Louis, a burgeoning American celebrity, had already been
embroiled in a ght that brought political issues to the forefront. When Louis
battered Primo Carnera it was supposedly as much about defeating Italy and
a symbolic stand for Ethiopia. Louis was not really thinking about defending
democracy from the Nazis at this time. But there was a groundswell of fan
support from people who might not typically back a black ghter because of
the beginnings of suspicion of and distrust of Germans.
It was not going to be merely two heavyweights in the ring. Although
the full extent of Adolf Hitlers intentions would not be revealed for a few
years, and World War II also lay in the future, the symbolism was emerging.
As much as they tried to defuse and ignore such labeling, the ght was going
to be between Joe Louis American and Max Schmeling German.
 15
Louis-Schmeling I

By the time the bout with Max Schmeling rolled around there was every
indication in the worried Joe Louis training camp at Lakewood, New Jersey,
that the protg was believing every word being written and said about him
suggesting he was an invincible ghter, a superman of a boxer.
For the rst time in his professional life, Louis was not listening as hard
to trainer Jack Blackburn as he should have been. For the rst time he was
not working out as religiously as he always had. Camp was becoming too
much like summer camp for Blackburns taste. The key to success in the
boxing world is to take every opponent seriously, to prepare for the underdogs
as energetically as the champions.
Of all things, Louis was distracted by the game of golf, a sport he had
recently taken up as a hobby, but which began dominating his thoughts and
interfering with his workouts. Blackburn frowned on golf. One reason was
the amount of mental energy Louis poured into it. He repeatedly told Louis
to cool it because playing golf also developed different muscles than throwing
punches. But Louis did not heed his admonitions.
Golf was a kind of new toy for Louis. Ed Sullivan, later a household
name in American homes because of his television variety show, was then a
writer for the New York Daily News sports department. Just before Louis
began training for his Charley Retzlaff bout, Sullivan and Louis became friends
and it was Sullivan who introduced the ghter to golf. They were both
obsessed with the game to the point Sullivan and Louis would whip out their
putters and alternate shots inside Louis apartment.
One other benet of Louis growing fame, though it could also be per-
ceived as a distraction, was his invitation to make a movie in Hollywood
before the Schmeling ght. He spent some time in California lming The
Spirit of Youth. Everyone from Marva to managers John Roxborough and
Julian Black, kept Louis company in Los Angeles.

117
118 Joe Louis

Louis had always loved watching movies, and although he got to play
a character something like himself in the lm a boy who washed dishes
who grew up to become a world champion he took note of the working
conditions for other blacks in Hollywood among those trying to be pro-
fessional actors. Black women certainly werent playing any heroine roles
in those days, Louis said. If you were a black actress who was good-
looking, you were lucky if you got the role of the maid. Many times you had
to be big, fat, talk with a heavy Southern accent, bug your eyes, and act stu-
pid.1
Typical of Louis, where there were sexy young women he was the focus
of irting. And typical of Louis, even though his wife was on the trip, too,
he didnt resist. He jokingly called himself the example of the real weaker sex
because he was no match for all these feminine wiles. I didnt resist one pretty
girl who had a sparkle in her eye, Louis said.2 This is when Louis made the
acquaintance of Sonja Henie.
Leading up to the Schmeling bout also, Louis turned 22 and held a big
birthday bash. Everyone from friends and relatives to Nat Fleischer, editor of
The Ring magazine, and other boxers such as Tony Canzoneri, Tommy
Loughran and reigning heavyweight champ James J. Braddock were in atten-
dance. There was a little byplay between Louis and Braddock. The winner of
the Louis-Schmeling ght was almost guaranteed the next chance to ght for
the belt against Braddock.
Braddock knew that it was likely his best payday would come against
the increasingly popular Louis, and he took advantage of their proximity to
not only wish Louis a happy birthday, but to needle him slightly. OK, Joe,
you must be running from me, Braddock said. I mean Im the champion
and all. Now here I am coming to you.3 Louis assured Braddock that as soon
as he beat Schmeling he could sign to ght him for the crown.
By most accounts, Schmeling was an 81 underdog against Louis for
their 1936 ght at Yankee Stadium. Most boxing observers felt that Schmeling
was past his prime at 30, going on 31, and that Louis was too rugged, too
strong, and on an unstoppable train to the top. Later, Louis admitted he took
Schmeling lightly in the lead-up to the ght. I didnt give the German a sec-
ond thought, Louis said. He was washed up and had never been much. I
was a big shot, the best in boxing, and everybody knew it, especially me. I
didnt even want to train. I just wanted to have a good time.4
About as bad as the golf was in the mind of Blackburn was the fact that
Marva, Louis wife, accompanied him to training camp. In a famous line in
the movie Rocky, trainer Burgess Meredith harshly directs a comment at his
ghter Rocky Balboa, saying, Women weaken legs. There always has been
 15. Louis-Schmeling I 119

such a feeling, a superstition, that wives and girlfriends are no good for boxers
in training. Better that they should refrain from sex, so the appearance of
Mrs. Louis at training camp made Blackburn growl and scowl.
After a short stay, Blackburn got his way and was able to persuade Marva
to leave. He still had his hands full with Louis, however, both because of golf
and female camp followers. Louis was not one to pass up a night in the sack
with any babe who crossed his path and many were willing.
Years later, when he wrote his memoirs, Louis said he was too full of
himself at the time. Now I look at me in May, 1936, Louis said from the
vantage point of four decades later. I look back and get mad at myself. I
think Im Mr. Big Shit. I know Im going to win anything I want. My record
speaks for itself. I married a fabulous woman, I bought a beautiful home for
my mother, Im sending my sister Vunice to Howard University to study
teaching, women are running me crazy, big, important people are my friends.
Shit! I cant go wrong. I got the money, I got the power.5
Still, Blackburn felt the golf was the worst evil for Louis preparations.
Louis spent hours in the summer sun being drained by the heat. While he
was a good golfer to a point he had a penchant for being suckered into big
money games by superior players and routinely lost large sums of money. This
went on for the rest of his life. The period in New Jersey while training for
Schmeling was only a sneak preview of that weakness.
With 2020 hindsight and self-recrimination after the ght, Louis said
of his behavior at the Jersey camp, I acted like a little boy.6
This was uncharacteristic of Louis. For the rst time in his ascent all of
the praise and attention seemed to feed his ego and sidetrack him from taking
care of business as he had so scrupulously done before all his previous bouts
and on the run that made him 240 leading into the Schmeling ght. By his
own admission Louis acted foolishly before the match with Schmeling.
Schmeling was deadly serious, aware that this was likely his last chance on
the big stage if he didnt win.
Yet Louis did not shirk training altogether. When he was a young man
he relished his early morning runs. He came to camp weighing 216 pounds,
his walking around weight, and worked hard enough to drop to a t 204. He
ran six miles a day, but he cut sparring from six rounds to three some days
because of golf games with sports writers. They should have been suspicious
that Louis had time for them. But they also probably believed their own hype
that Schmeling was not a foe to particularly worry about.
Blackburn, whom Louis still referred to as Chappie, was the voice of
reason, but his was not a voice that Louis was listening to intently. Instead,
he was tuning him out on occasion. Blackburn warned Louis that Schmeling
120 Joe Louis

had a dangerous right hand, but Louis reacted more or less like Yeah, yeah,
yeah. Louis felt he was in perfect peak form for the ght ve days ahead
of time. While Roxborough and Black wanted to take him away for some
deep sea shing so he could relax and escape the crowds that always surrounded
him, Louis instead went golng one more time.
The weigh-in took place in New York at the Hippodrome on a rainy
day. Schmeling weighed in at 192 pounds and Louis at 196. Louis frequently
reposed before big ghts in New York at an apartment at 381 Edgecombe
Avenue. It was a popular residence for several major African American per-
sonalities.
Although Adolf Hitlers reign was in its early days, enough word of his
prejudices and hatred of Jews had ltered out of Germany that American Jews
began lobbying against Schmelings appearance. New York is one of the largest
enclaves of Jewish people in the world and even in the 1930s, years before
creation of the state of Israel, they had some political clout. Jewish organiza-
tions began a campaign trying to convince fans not to buy tickets because
Schmeling was a representative of Nazi Germany. The whole thing made me
uneasy, Louis said.7
The ght was postponed briey because of rain, but on the new date it
was also cloudy, damp, and there were occasional ashes of lightning. Come
ght time the air was clear enough, but the threatening weather held the
crowd down to around 40,000, about half of what might have been expected.
Was it the weather or the Jewish boycott, or a combination of the two? What-
ever the reason for the lower turnout, the gate fell far short of the rare $1 mil-
lion level that was anticipated by Mike Jacobs.
While Louis had been goong off, trainer Blackburn had been as focused
on preparation as ever. The strategy he devised for his ghter was built around
jabbing and probing in the early going to feel Schmeling out and to tire him
out. Keep that left jab icking in the older mans face and pick your spots
with the overhand right. For the most part Louis followed instructions, but
when he unleashed a left hook that he rmly believed in, he was surprised
that Schmeling was able to counter over it. This was the weakness that Schmel-
ing had spied in Louis ght against Paulino Uzcudun when he mysteriously
said, I zee zomething. Louis was dropping his protection when he threw
the punch and while Schmeling had to seize the opening swiftly, he felt it was
possible to breach Louis defenses this way.
Louis thought he had developed the advantage and was setting Schmeling
up for a nishing hook. He had already cut Schmeling under the right eye
with one of those fearsome left hooks, and in the fourth round he thought
he saw the same kind of opportunity. But when Louis threw the hook this
 15. Louis-Schmeling I 121

time Schmeling responded with a perfectly placed right that dropped Louis
to the canvas.
This unexpected development brought the roaring crowd to its feet, par-
tially in surprise and partially in response to the sudden shift in momentum.
Louis, who at that point in his career had never been down as a pro, fell over
backwards from the blow. The smart move for a ghter who has been staggered
enough to be knocked down is to clear his head by waiting to rise to his feet
and use up much of the 10 seconds allotted. Its typical for ghters to rejoin
the battle after eight seconds.
But this was new territory for Louis. He was not only shocked that he
had gone down, he was embarrassed and he jumped to his feet immediately.
It was a mighty hit and its effect was signicant on Louis, not something that
could be shaken off in a few seconds. He was hurting. I couldnt believe it,
said Louis. I staggered right to my feet, but my eyes were blurred and my
mind was blurred and I saw everything blurred from then on.8 In an ill-
advised move, since he was not used to being in such a position, Louis was
up at the count of four.
Schmeling sensed the trouble Louis was in and chased him promptly.
Louis was able to gain a clinch and forestall additional punishment. He had
hit the deck with just 20 seconds remaining in the round and was able to
fend off Schmeling long enough for the bell to ring. Louis retreated to his
corner hopeful that Blackburn had a remedy for the big punch. It was too
late for Blackburn to work magic, though. Perhaps Louis had left his best
shot on the fourth hole when he was playing golf instead of in the fourth
round. The best that Blackburn could do was soak him with water to revive
him and then implore him to keep his hands up and to protect himself.
But this was only the beginning of the beating Schmeling was about to
administer as he turned the ght around. It was Schmeling on Louis like a
tiger, pouncing like a jungle cat, in the fth round. The pressure was telling.
Schmeling did not give Louis either time or space to recover. Another big
right hand wobbled Louis in the fth round, though he did not go down this
time.
To some degree the crowd swung its support behind Schmeling, sensing
an upset. Among Louis friends and family at ringside, come to watch the
usual Louis pugilistic artistry, they instead were viewing a vivisection by a
seasoned pro tearing apart their loved one. Freddie Guinyard drew the unen-
viable task of escorting Louis mother, Lillie Barrow, out of the area as she
cried. Marva sat at ringside watching her husbands beating and she was also
in tears.
Louis last line of defense was Blackburn. Blackburn employed every
122 Joe Louis

trick he knew to revive Louis, to rejuvenate Louis, and try to shift him into
being enough of a counter-attacker and mover so as to avoid more punishment
and ght back strongly. Louis was game and gutsy in this signicant test of
his fortitude and will, but Schmelings best punches had sapped him. Although
Louis swung with all he had and landed a fair share of rights to Schmelings
body, he was simultaneously being drained of energy. Some of Louis
attempted body punches his focus trying to wear down Schmeling were
below the belt and referee Arthur Donovan subtracted points from his score,
twice giving rounds to Schmeling for the low blows.
Fighting for his dignity and his future, as well as his reputation, Louis
did strike Schmeling with big rights and Schmeling did seem to tire a bit.
But when Louis sought to seize the moment with another left hook in the
12th round, once again Schmeling exploded a right hand to Louis jaw and
the impact drove Louis backwards into the ropes. Louis was almost helpless
and Schmeling moved in to nish him off. Right after right smashed into
Louis head until he could no longer stand up and plummeted to the canvas.
Donovan stood above Louis counting him out at 2 minutes, 29 seconds of
the three-minute round. The winner by knockout was Schmeling in a stunning
upset.
I heard the counting as if it came from far away, Louis said later. But
I was sleepy and it didnt mean nothing to me. If I tried to get up, it was
instinct. I didnt know what was happening. I just wanted to lay there and
sleep.9 After 10 seconds passed the result was ofcial and Louis could sleep
as long as he wanted to because it was no longer any concern of Schmeling,
Donovan, or the 40,000 fans.
In some minds, Schmeling had accomplished the impossible. He had
made the powerful Joe Louis look mortal. Astonishment reigned on press row
and some writers almost immediately began writing Louis off for good. The
headline on syndicated columnist Grantland Rices piece read, German Hits
Louis Often and Easily Defeats Him. The sub-head read, Ring Myth of
Superman Is Exploded as Schmeling Wins. Rices lead read this way: The
atom has been taken apart. The myth of the superman has been exploded
completely.10
Rice pointed to the fourth round knockdown via Schmelings right hand
as the key moment in establishing his command over Louis, and the scribe
said of Louis that he hit the oor and bounced like a 200-pound rubber
ball. And Rice called the result the greatest upset in heavyweight history.11
There was no such thing as computer punch counts in those days, but
Schmelings repeated pummeling of Louis with his sledgehammer right hand
is what stuck in the minds of writers and also stuck in the head of Louis. To
 15. Louis-Schmeling I 123

Rice, after the fourth round, Louis was able to stay on his feet and ght back
only through ingrained training instinct.
From the fourth round through the 12th, when Louis toppled for good,
Rice said, Louis took one of the worst beatings I have ever seen in any ring.12
Joe Williams, renowned sports columnist for the New York World
Telegram, concurred with Rices surprise and with the severity of Louis beating
in his own dispatch from ringside. Some day the sphinx will talk, the pyr-
amids will crumble, the oceans will stand still, and very likely the scientists
will be able to explain the phenomenon, Williams penned. Something
loosely akin to this was recorded when Max Schmeling knocked out Joe Louis
in 12 rounds under a frowning sky at Yankee Stadium last night. And so today
you will read that the greatest upset in ring history took place, that the impos-
sible happened, that the condemned man electrocuted the warden.13
Schmelings phenomenal performance completely transformed his career.
From being perceived as a fall guy on the way down, he ipped things around
and he was now seen as the near-certain No. 1 contender for Braddocks title.
At home in Germany, Schmeling had been an admired athlete, someone who
succeeded at a sport that few attempted. But besting Louis elevated his stature.
It didnt hurt any that Louis was a black man and the hierarchy of German
governments cornerstone policies revolved around boosting white Germans
as a superior race over dark-skinned people, but the magnicence and thor-
oughness of Schmelings triumph was broader based. He truly had represented
his nation superbly.
It was intriguing that many ght observers felt that the bout belonged
to Schmeling once he plastered Louis in the fourth round because he could
not tell. Schmeling recognized that Louis was a great ghter and he did not
promptly realize that his blow was so damaging because Louis kept ghting
back with great courage and determination. Schmeling had waded in on Louis
and took hard lefts to his own face for the trouble. His left eye was closed by
Louis sts and Schmeling could not see clearly when he landed his haymaker.
With all this, he said, I hadnt noticed how hard Louis had been hit by
me. He was in such incredible shape that he showed no effect and seemed to
continue the ght with the same sharpness and intensity as before.14
Schmeling and his trainer, Max Machon, both recognized the signicance
of the punch, although they did not understand how badly Louis had been
hurt. To them, the importance was conrmation of their ght plan, that
Schmeling could sneak his right hand over Louis defense and catch his foe
with big punches.
After Schmeling polished off Louis in the 12th, it wasnt until he watched
the lm again that he remembered raising his arms in the air in triumph.
124 Joe Louis

Braddock climbed into the ring, congratulated Schmeling and told him he
now deserved a shot at his title. At least as satisfying was a visit to his dressing
room by Jack Blackburn, the vanquished second meeting the victor. You
were great Max, Blackburn said.15
Leaving Yankee Stadium, the car transporting Schmeling to his hotel
passed through Harlem. Where before Louis fans partied in the streets to cel-
ebrate his wins, this night they were rioting instead, pounding on cars being
driven by white men. This was the night when Lena Horne broke into tears
in the middle of her act because Louis lost and she didnt know him yet.
Schmelings hotel room was lled with owers. He had won no title this
night, but something almost as difcult to acquire respect.
Schmeling was awake all night. He was able to call long distance and
reach his wife, Anny, who asked when he was coming home. Schmeling
returned to German soil on June 26. His mode of transportation was not by
the usual ship this time, but by an air ship that was supposed to be a herald
of the future. Schmeling secured passage to Europe on the Hindenburg.
The disastrous wreck of the Hindenburg lay ahead, but Joe Louis career
experienced a disaster of similar proportions. Once he had completed his obli-
gation for the ght, Louis family informed him that two days earlier his step-
father had suffered a stroke. The close relations did not want the illness on
the ghters mind when he stepped into the ring. So he got that bad news
immediately after he absorbed his defeat. Louis went to his step-fathers bed-
side. Paralyzed by the stroke, Pat Brooks died soon after. Louis, who consid-
ered the man to be his real father, cried at the loss. He was doing his share
of mourning, both for the lost step-father and the lost undefeated record.
Initially, Louis did not want to go out in public. He did not want to be
seen by the same people who adored him. He felt he had let down the entire
black race and his face wore the welts and scars of his beating. Louis could
barely look in the mirror, never mind show his face to the masses. He hunkered
down in a Harlem apartment for three days. Marva treated his physical
wounds, the puffy face and swollen jaw, with compresses. When Blackburn
asked him if he wanted to watch the ght replay, Louis declined. No, he
said. I saw the ght.15 He had seen it up close and personal, from too good
of a vantage point, actually. It was not an experience he wanted to relive. The
physical damage would not take long to heal. The psychological damage was
a question-mark.
If African Americans were disappointed so dramatically by Louis loss,
sports writers in the Deep South who at best merely tolerated Louis because
of his dark skin quickly pounced on his failure. O.B. Keeler, who wrote for
the Atlanta Journal, had always been borderline insulting when describing
 15. Louis-Schmeling I 125

Louis and reached new depths at this moment. He termed Louis The Pet
Pickaninny, and said Louis was just another good boxer who had been built
up.16
Suddenly, Schmeling was a German hero of international proportions.
There was reected glory to be had here and Hitler seized the moment to
associate himself with the victor. Any good news for Germany was considered
to be good news for Hitlers regime. The German chancellor sent a telegram
of congratulations to Schmeling in New York and sent owers to Schmelings
wife Anny in Germany.
When Schmeling returned to his country, Hitler summoned him to a
celebratory lunch and Schmeling brought his mother as well as his wife. Pro-
moter Mike Jacobs, who did not foresee the outcome and thought Louis
would make short work of Schmeling, had given the visitor from overseas the
European lm rights to the bout. Combined with footage of the two men
training, and Schmelings immensely popular victory, the lm made for a
full-length movie and Schmeling made good money from its distribution,
particularly in Germany.
There were some sports writers who believed that Louis would never get
over the defeat. They thought he would be perpetually demoralized and never
recover sufciently to become champion. If they had over-praised Louis before,
they underestimated him now.
It took courage to stand up to Schmelings heavy blows, to continue bat-
tling when the cause was lost. If Louis was truly a special ghter as all had
proclaimed, then he had it within him to recoup and recover. The mark of a
great champion is often how he responds to adversity. For the rst time in
his professional career, Louis was in that position. He could give up or he
could respond to the seemingly dismal circumstances and rebuild.
The world waited. Louis handlers didnt wait long at all to begin repair-
ing the damage. Once Louis was ready to exit New York, he and Blackburn
took a train to Chicago. It was in private moments like this together, the man
who also shared the nickname Chappie with his protg also showed he was
a friend.
Everything happens for the best, Blackburn said at a time when it was
difcult for Louis to picture how anything good could come out of this deba-
cle. Thisll make you a better ghter. Itll learn you that you cant take a
thing lightly when you walk into the ring. He took advantage of a mistake
you made. Well, youre young and you make mistakes. All you got to do is
learn from your mistakes and not make them again. Youre better than him
and youll be ready for him and youll beat him when you get him again.17
It was soothing talk and it was accurate. Blackburn knew his man. He
126 Joe Louis

knew Louis had the right stuff and wasnt going to give up, but rather rebound
with determination, and just as importantly, with knowledge earned the hard
way.
Better times were coming. Blackburn was sure of it. Louis had to be
convinced of it. It may have been that on the occasion of what he called the
worst night of his life and the most embarrassing and devastating defeat in
his life, Louis matured into manhood.
 16
Joe Bounces Back

Bruised and battered, puffy-faced and sad, Joe Louis woke up as a dif-
ferent man on the morning of June 20, 1936. It was as if Humpty Dumpty
had taken a great fall, but Louis had a team of supporters from wife Marva
and trainer Jack Blackburn, to co-managers John Roxborough and Julian
Black behind him to make sure all of the pieces got put back together again,
and he came out of his disappointing experience stronger than ever.
One shattering loss can ruin a boxer. But that is not an automatic thing.
One of the great things an undefeated ghter has going for him is an aura of
invincibility. A beating such as Louis took wipes that out. It is possible to
rebuild, however, if the boxer is of singular fortitude and is adaptable enough
to learn from defeat.
A very distinctive characteristic that became apparent as Joe Louis career
wore on, but which was not yet known, was that each time he fought an
opponent for the second time Louis got better. If it was a close ght the rst
time it was not likely to be a close a ght the second time. Same thing for
him with defeat, or near defeat; Louis would assess and analyze and x his
mistakes.
Up until Max Schmeling beat the stufng out of Louis he was on a fast
track to a shot at the heavyweight title. Now it seemed Schmeling had replaced
him as the No. 1 contender and earned a shot at James J. Braddocks cham-
pionship ahead of Louis.
One thing was working in Louis favor, though. Braddock, nicknamed
Cinderella Man, was a spectacular underdog who had endured hardship
and poverty simply trying to feed his family and recover from tough losses
that had all but nished his boxing career before he stunned the universe by
capturing the heavyweight title from an underachieving and under-trained
Max Baer in a 15-round decision at Long Island City on January 13, 1935.
Braddock was in no hurry to defend the crown against contenders who

127
128 Joe Louis

might lift it from his head. Instead, he milked the championship as if it was
a generous cow, going for all it was worth, making money for appearances,
ghting exhibitions and making up for the harsh period of not-so-long-ago
when his family was on welfare. Braddock wanted to enjoy the benets of his
remarkable triumph for as long as possible and then wanted to make as much
money as possible for any defense of the title.
These delaying tactics by Braddock and his camp gave Louis time to
rebuild his own resume as a frustrated Schmeling sat around idle at home in
Germany.
Louis handlers bought into the if-you-fall-off-a-bicycle, get-right-back-
on-it school. They did not waste time. Almost as soon as Louis physically
recovered, they matched him with former heavyweight champ Jack Sharkey.
They did not want Louis sitting around brooding. So the ght was set for
just two months after the Schmeling loss at Yankee Stadium. This was a critical
ght for both men. If Sharkey lost he was pretty much nished near the top
of the rankings. If Louis lost it might mean the same, although he was still
young. Louis needed a good showing to demonstrate that Schmeling had not
beaten him gun-shy.
Louis had the motivation he needed, but he also spurred his preparations
along by blaming himself for the letdown against Schmeling. He understood
that he probably blew the ght with lackadaisical training and by being too
cocky. He wasnt going to make that error again. He knew he needed to show
well for ght observers and fans to regain belief in him and he needed to put
on a good show for his own condence.
Still only 25 ghts into his hurry-up career, Louis understood how the
boxing world worked. Everyone had viewed him as invincible. Well, those
days were gone. He could still improve, but he had more proving to do now.
I had to be resold to the public, Louis said. It was like I had climbed
up a steep ight of stairs and fallen halfway down. I wanted a return match
with Schmeling as soon as possible. I could taste the blood, but my managers
said no.1 Of course Schmeling had nothing to gain from a rematch. He had
already done yeoman work to score the upset and seemed to be perfectly posi-
tioned to ght Braddock. He didnt need another Louis ght for anything
except the payday. And the prestige of winning the heavyweight title out-
weighed the amount of money he might earn for meeting Louis again. From
his standpoint, any rematch was pointless and only deected him from his
real goal.
Mike Jacobs was the promoter, and he devised a plan for Louis to work
his way back into the picture. Sharkey owned a 37-12-3 record. He was past
his prime but was a name, and if he could manage a win over Louis his career
 16. Joe Bounces Back 129

might be rejuvenated. Sharkey had retired, but was lured back because a vic-
tory over Louis could change everything for him.
Sharkey was 33 years old and for someone fresh out of retirement he
seemed notably unimpressed by Louis. The newspapers leading up to the
weigh-in were full of bravado attributed to Sharkey indicating that he could
defeat any black ghter. Sharkey was quoted as saying he had an Indian
sign,2 whatever that meant, that would enable him to beat any African Amer-
ican ghter, saying it as if it was a curse of some kind acquired from a medicine
man. It sounded cockamamie.
There were some expectations of tensions between the men surfacing at
the weigh-in, but nothing happened. There was a minor polite hello exchange
and that was it. Sharkey weighed 197 1 4 pounds and Louis weighed in at 199 3 4.
The hostilities were scheduled for 10 rounds, but Louis was t and angry
and he wiped out Sharkey in the third round. The loss sent Sharkey back into
retirement. It was a good win for Louis. Sharkeys name was respected and
the win was precisely what Louis needed to follow up his devastating defeat.
The Rings Nat Fleischer called the ght Sharkeys last stand. He was deter-
mined. He came through with a quick rally, but the infuriated Louis was at
him in a ash and the rally quickly ended. In went Joe. He disregarded
Sharkeys rush. He met him with a stinging left to the face.... Jack went down
for a third time, face forward, his body striking the lower ring strand.3
Louis made new friends and rekindled old relationships with his dom-
ination of Sharkey. The United Press account of the event noted how impres-
sive Louis was in defeating his third ex-heavyweight champ after Primo
Carnera and Max Baer. Another turn of boxings wheel of fortune whirled
Joe Louis back into the select circle of heavyweight challengers today, the only
man in his division ready to meet all comers, the reports lead read. Louis,
the stigma of his Schmeling defeat only a hazy memory, swiftly smashed down
Jack Sharkey, a hollow shell of the once magnicent boxer.4
Most importantly for the witnesses, as Fleischer summed up, they saw
Louis rebound from his defeat with no apparent lingering effect. ...the crowd
went home thoroughly convinced that the knockout of the Bomber in the
only setback he had suffered since starting his professional career ... had not
affected Joe Louis as a ghter. They were satised that he could still reach the
top.5
That was the critical impression Louis wanted to leave, and having some-
one as inuential as Nat Fleischer notice and conclude that fact was important
for the mission of the night. Equally important, the same message got through
to Louis management team.
It was like learning to walk again. Louis was taking baby steps to reha-
130 Joe Louis

bilitate his image. He could never make everyone forget the loss to Schmeling,
but he had to overcome it. Roxborough and Black huddled and came up with
a strategy similar to the one they followed when Louis was just starting out.
They wanted him to stay busy, to take ghts often, and keep piling up the
wins.
On September 22, 1936, Louis stopped Al Ettore in the fth round of
a scheduled 15-rounder. Considerable attention was paid to this ght. Sports
writers who had written Louis off following the loss to Schmeling were
intrigued after his demolition of Sharkey. Ettore was next in line. After this
one, the United Press seemingly forgot all about Schmeling: Joe Louis once
again is Americas ranking challenger for the heavyweight title. Safely past Al
Ettore, Philadelphias highly touted blond tiger man, Louis is back where he
was before he met Max Schmeling.6 That was a sunny assessment, but the
fact that anyone would write such a comment showed Louis was denitely
making strides to regain his prior stature. Last nights crowd turned out to
see how Louis would stack up against a rugged ghter of his own age, a young-
ster who simply exuded condence and whose boasting had made many believe
he really had a chance to upset the Brown Bomber. They saw Joe take the test
in his stride.7 Ettore may have shown promise up until then, but was never
a serious factor in the heavyweight division afterwards.
Even the famed Grantland Rice dragged himself to Philadelphia to take
another gander at Louis, whom he had proclaimed nished after the Schmeling
defeat. Rice did not seem quite so convinced of that prior conclusion after
Louis stopped Ettore.
A Joe Louis who looked 200 percent different from the dazed and bewil-
dered ghter who lost to Max Schmeling, stopped Al Ettore of Philadelphia
in the fth round, Rice wrote. Louis looked to be far keener and sharper
than against the German a few months ago. If he [Louis] had used his right
against Schmeling as he did against Ettore, there might have been a different
story.8
On October 9 Louis knocked out Jorge Brescia in the third round of a
scheduled 10-rounder. Next, he blasted out Eddie Simms in the rst round
of a scheduled 10-round ght and then overpowered Steve Ketchel with a
second-round knockout on January 11, 1937. Louis had won ve ghts in a
hurry, upping his record to 291. He had not only fought in New York, but
gone on the road to Philadelphia, back to New York, then to Cleveland and
Buffalo. Louis was taking care of business with ruthless ferocity. He still loved
Marva. He still loved women. And he still loved golf. But he did not allow
for anybody or anything to interrupt his training again.
Chappie and Chappie were working together again, all of the moving
 16. Joe Bounces Back 131

parts synchronized and in harmony. Louis won back the faith of his handlers
and won back the faith of his public. Mike Jacobs certainly did his part to
supply opponents and venues for Louis to stay occupied and regain universal
respect.
Louis needed time and wins. Braddock was the sole proprietor of the
heavyweight crown things were not then as they became much later in the
century with the title divided up into pieces by competing governing author-
ities that each recognized a different ghter. The heavyweight division revolved
around Braddock and that was an amazing thing in itself, given how he had
been perceived only a short time before the Baer ght. He was seen as washed
up, a one-time scrapper who was injury prone, who always seemed to have
something go wrong when he got a big chance to advance his career. Braddock
was completely written off.
Braddock and his loyal manager, Joe Gould, who stood by him in the
worst of times, even when the Depression almost completely ruined both
men, controlled the heavyweight division, and not a soul could blame Brad-
dock for squeezing as much money for his future and familys security out of
his reign. Although he had fought with the heart of a lion to defeat Baer, not
many ght people felt Braddock would successfully defend the crown whether
he fought Schmeling, as expected, or Louis.
The behind-the-scenes workings of boxing have long been rife with
shenanigans, secret deals, and strange developments which make little sense
to the average boxing fan. Once Schmeling demolished Louis it seemed clear
that he would catapult into position as the man Braddock must ght when
he defended the title.
In the 1930s it was not uncommon for a heavyweight champ to do what
Braddock was doing, however. It was expected that title defenses would come
at a spare pace and that the champ, whose hard work had earned him the dis-
tinction of holding the coveted crown, would be able to gain some recognition,
fame, and fortune from his time at the top.
Schmeling was impatient. He thought he had done what needed to be
done when he clobbered Louis and he wanted his shot at the title. There were
occasional suggestions that he keep busy with some minor ghts while Brad-
dock paraded around America soaking up adulation and money, but Schmel-
ing refused to ght anyone else.
Concurrent with Braddocks delaying tactic in coming to an agreement
with Schmeling were the changing currents in international politics. The more
Adolf Hitler solidied power and the more his repugnant his policies became,
the more word spread across the Atlantic Ocean about some of the nasty
things he was up to despite his regime trying to hush them up.
132 Joe Louis

Gradually, a groundswell of American opinion was forming against the

German government and as a by-product, against Schmeling, as well. Schmel-
ing had spent considerable time in the United States and especially New York
as he advanced his career. He was friendly with many of the sports writers
and when he knocked out Louis, fans in New York had cheered him. But now
every day that passed seemed to make him more unpopular.
Louis kept up a relentless pace and Schmeling sat around worried in
Germany, waiting to hear that his manager, Joe Jacobs, had made the long-
awaited match with Braddock for the title. Finally, Schmeling, concerned
that things were moving so slowly, jumped on another ship and sailed back
to the United States.
In the summer of 1936, Germany was tossing the biggest party it had
ever thrown. Berlin was hosting the Summer Olympics and Hitler very much
wanted to make a good impression on the world. He backed off from his
racist and violent programs while the world came to visit and instead hoped
that his well-trained, well-prepared sportsmen would demonstrate Aryan supe-
riority.
Instead, this became the Olympics forever remembered as the games of
Jesse Owens, the African American sprinter and jumper from Ohio State Uni-
versity who won four gold medals in the long jump, 100 meters, 200 meters
and relay, for an unprecedented haul of rewards. Hitler had been greeting and
congratulating gold-medal winners, but made himself scarce when Owens
won. This was permanently catalogued famously as a snub of Owens. Over-
night, however, Owens had become an American sporting hero and took his
place alongside Joe Louis as one of the two most famous black men in the nation.
Owens, like Louis, had been born into poverty in Alabama and with his
family later moved north for better opportunity. Over time, since they were
a club of two, naturally enough Louis and Owens became friends, and
remained so for the remainder of their lives.
Schmeling was in Berlin for the opening of the Olympics, but left for
the United States with the games underway under the assumption that a deal
was being nalized for him to ght Braddock. A plan was being hatched for
the two to meet, but Braddock asked the New York State Athletic Commission
to postpone the ght because he was suffering from arthritis in his always-
troublesome right hand.
This delay boosted Mike Jacobs scheme to propel the active and now-
impressive Louis back into the top spot as the most deserving challenger for
Braddocks crown. When Schmeling returned to New York he found much
public sentiment being generated against Germany, Hitler, and the Nazi party.
No longer was he so warmly embraced.
 16. Joe Bounces Back 133

There was a growing recognition that a Braddock-Louis ght would

command a bigger gate than Braddock-Schmeling and produce much more
revenue. Braddocks manager, Joe Gould, thinking of a sly way to make a
buck, proposed a Louis-Braddock exhibition, but when he suggested this to
Roxborough in a meeting he also asked for a 50 percent stake in Louis con-
tract. Roxborough bluntly rejected that idea.
As the nationalism being spouted in Germany spread, a gnawing worry
began to take hold among boxing ofcials in the United States. Mike Jacobs,
Madison Square Garden and the New York State Athletic Commission envi-
sioned a scenario where Schmeling won the title from Braddock and then dis-
appeared in Europe. He would carry the crown with him, out of their reach
and sight, and not even appear in the U.S. again or ght American boxers,
in essence hoarding the title indenitely under the sway of the Nazis.
That background fear also played into Jacobs hands and his plans. While
Schmeling smoldered and sweated, Jacobs played politics. He also had the
power to make certain things happen that would enrich several of the inter-
ested parties. Jacobs held pow-wows in quiet places while Louis kept on
punching his way past fresh opponents in public ones.
On January 29, 1937, Louis met Bob Pastor in Madison Square Garden
for a 10-round ght. In a bit of a surprise, Pastor, who ran like a rabbit for
most of the night, escaped without being knocked out. Louis won by unan-
imous decision, though he was irritated by Pastors tactics. Running was not
the entire repertoire of unusual tactics employed against Louis that night.
Garden boxing chief Jimmy Johnston was trying to hold onto his match-
maker job at the most prestigious ght venue in the world, but Mike Jacobs
was encroaching and trying to take over the position (he eventually succeeded).
Johnston felt the key to his own future was a Louis loss, so shortly before
Louis left his dressing room for the ring Johnston and some henchmen burst
in and made the sham accusation that Louis was using quick-drying cement
in his gloves. Roxborough was outraged and shouted Johnston and his men
down with the threat that he was going to call off the ght. The troublemakers
backed away and there was no proof Louis was really distracted from his
assignment.
Johnston ordered Pastor to dance and run away from Louis and stay on
his feet. Pastor survived and landed enough jabs to fool some observers into
thinking he had won the ght. Louis wanted a great showing and wanted to
knock out Pastor, but he had never met anyone with a style quite the same.
Pastor rarely stood and fought, and always tried to stay out of range of Louis
lethal overhand right and left hook.
I felt like a goddamn fool trying to chase this mosquito, Louis said
134 Joe Louis

afterwards. Chappie kept telling me to try and trap him in a corner. Impos-
sible. I never fought anyone like him. I was clumsy. When I reached out to
give him a good punch, I might just graze him. He must have run 12 miles
that night.9
After that ridiculous bout, Louis halted Natie Brown, the second time
he engaged the cute ghter, in the fourth round of a scheduled 10-rounder
in Kansas City. That ght took place on February 17, 1937. In the eight months
since Louis fell to Schmeling, he had won seven ghts and raised his record
to 311.
Enough time had passed to give Mike Jacobs time to outmaneuver Joe
Jacobs. Even if Schmeling thought he had won the right to ght for Braddocks
title, he had lost that seemingly guaranteed opportunity in a smoke-lled
room. Mike Jacobs struck a startling deal with Joe Gould to convince him to
break the contract signed to ght Schmeling and instead ght Louis. All of
those concerned knew that a Louis-Braddock ght would provide more money
all around. There was enough doubt that Braddock could fend off Louis, so
Gould wanted an insurance policy to guarantee that he and his guy could still
have cash ow even if Braddock lost.
Remarkably, as part of the deal to ght Louis, in case Louis won, Mike
Jacobs guaranteed Joe Gould and Braddock 10 percent of his net prots for
the next decade for all of the heavyweight title ghts he promoted. That was
the sweetener that clinched the agreement.
Paid either $500,000 or half the live gate and radio revenue for this ght,
Braddock stood to gain nancially regardless of the result. If he won, he was
still heavyweight champion with all of the glamour and fortune that label
brought. If he lost, he still shared in the prots of Jacobs-promoted heavy-
weight deals until he was long into retirement.
It was quite the arrangement for Braddock, fullled the dream for Louis,
and shut out Schmeling temporarily, no matter how loudly he cursed and
complained.
 17
And the New Heavyweight
Champion of the World

The thing about boxing is that you only get two men in the ring ghting
at once. It is not tag-team wrestling. So although heavyweight champ James
J. Braddock signed separate contracts to ght Max Schmeling and Joe Louis,
he was only going to ght one of them at a time.
Once the Mike Jacobs ploy worked offering the best nancial terms,
Schmeling was out of luck. Although he went to court to stop the Braddock-
Louis bout and the court ned Jacobs, it had no impact on the ght schedule.
Schmeling was shut out and for the moment out of the picture. No one ever
said the boxing world was fair. Schmeling was shunted aside and not as many
boxing people stood up for him as might have if he were not associated with
the Nazi regime in peoples minds.
Louis had recovered from his beating, won seven ghts in a row, and the
ght New Yorkers and Americans wanted to see was a Braddock-Louis show-
down. Everyone liked Jimmy Braddock and everyone admired Joe Louis.
Besides, they both were Americans and the heavyweight title was not going
to be shipped overseas regardless of who won. It was going to stay right there
in the United States.
The date, June 22, 1937, and the place, Comiskey Park, home of the
Chicago White Sox, were set. It was a ne pairing. Braddock was the underdog
champ, a man who through force of will and grit had rejuvenated a moribund
career. He had suffered in his sport, been down and out during the Depression
and he, his wife and children, had barely survived the depths of poverty. He
scrambled to keep a roof over the familys head, hustling to put enough food
on the table.
Braddock represented one of the sports most uplifting tales. It was
remarkable how far he had traveled in a short time, from the welfare rolls to
Broadway, from being destitute to being on the top of the world. Braddock

135
136 Joe Louis

was an overgrown light-heavyweight, barely even big enough to be considered

a heavyweight. He was a symbol for those wearing threadbare clothing, eating
soup for dinner, and standing in lines begging for work. He had been through
the most discouraging of times, so when the average Joe saw him he could
think there was hope for him, as well.
Like so many of them, wrote his biographer Jeremy Schaap, he had
been devastated by a system that he assumed was stable. Like so many of
them, he had been forced to ask for help. The decline in his personal fortunes
mirrored the national collapse.1
Cinderella was the fairy tale character whose foot tted the glass slipper
carried by the rich prince who rescued her from poverty. Damon Runyon,
the famous New York newspaper columnist, is the one who dubbed Braddock
Cinderella Man. Braddocks life pretty much paralleled the ctional cir-
cumstances.
Braddock was born in New York Citys Hell Kitchen neighborhood in
1905, but he lived much of his life in northern New Jersey, across the bridge.
He was a Jersey City guy and he was a rough, tough ghter being guided to
the light-heavyweight title by manager Joe Gould when he ran into a series
of unfortunate injuries that are regular byproducts of his sport. Braddocks
main problem was that he kept breaking his hand and then taking ghts any-
way for money at less than full strength.
His stock dropped rapidly and the Depression nearly killed him. Brad-
dock showed up for work on the docks each morning, hoping to be one of
the men picked to make a days pay. Sometimes he was chosen, sometimes
not. The dock work actually turned out to be benecial, building up Brad-
docks strength, so when Gould was nally able to land him a ght, Braddock
was tter than anyone supposed. It was supposed to be a hallelujah payday.
Those who manage young prospects who they believe can become con-
tenders try to maneuver them through the mineeld of early opponents, step-
ping up gradually in class, and with luck timing matches so that their boy
can ght a name on his way down. Joe Louis had already beaten three ex-
heavyweight champs. The handlers of a ghter named Corn Grifn were in
the market for just such a bout for their young buck. Braddock, they were
assured, was a has-been, a ghter out of shape. For one thing, Braddock took
the ght on only two days notice. That was the catch, take it or leave it.
Braddock was going to give his best, but had no illusions. He knew he could
make enough from the ght to keep the gas and electric companies at bay
and to buy milk for his youngest child.
So the match was signed and Braddock, to the surprise of all, made the
most of his last chance and knocked out Grifn in three rounds in Long Island
 17. And the New Heavyweight Champion of the World 137

City, New York. The unexpected win reignited Braddocks career. He told
Gould, I did that on hash, Joe. Wait till you see what I can do on steak.2
A few months later, when he had trained and taken his tness to a new
level, as well as dined better, Braddock handled John Henry Lewis in 10
rounds. Then he bested Art Lasky in 15 rounds. Braddocks replenished rep-
utation provided him with a shot at Max Baers heavyweight title. Baer com-
pletely overlooked Braddock, who fought gamely and courageously and
wrested the crown from him in an unlikely upset. It was unfathomable how
far Braddock had come in such a short time.
Although the bout went the distance, there seemed little doubt that
Braddock won. When the decision was announced, Braddock looked down
from the ring to Gould at ringside and said, We did it. We did it.3
For the rst time in a long time Braddock made some decent money,
$31,244. He promptly went down to the relief ofce (as the welfare agency
was called then) and paid back the cash he was given when broke. Then Brad-
dock fattened his bank account by ghting exhibitions for two years, avoiding
any genuine defense of the crown until the deal was sealed with Louis.
Actually the rst thing Braddock did was go to a pet store to buy his
kids a turtle. When he went off to ght Baer he was leaving from his own
home, not some fancy nearby hotel, and when his children asked where he
was going, he said he was going to get the title. The kids thought he said
he was headed out to get a turtle, so he felt he had better not come home
empty-handed.4
No black man had fought for the heavyweight title since Jack Johnson
lost it in 1915, but little protest seemed to attend this match-up because of
race. Louis was the preferred contender over Schmeling. Not that there was
any shortage of general racist observation in the sporting press. Bill Corum,
a New York columnist, authored a stunning paragraph about Louis that read
this way: There isnt an ounce of killer in him. Not the slightest zest for
ghting. Hes a big, superbly built Negro youth who was born to listen to
jazz music, eat a lot of fried chicken, play ball with the gang on the corner
and never do a lick of heavy work he could escape. The chances are he came
by all those inclinations quite naturally.5. One had to wonder what Corums
sources were for such outrageous comments other than his own suppositions.
Whether he actually wrote the story that appeared in Boxing News under
his name, dictated it to someone, or allowed a sports writer to pen it for him,
leading up to the Louis bout Braddock stood up for himself in print: I can
still hit and I can still box, he said. Corn Grifn found out about the punch-
ing. Maxie Baer and John Henry Lewis found out about the boxing, and in
a short time Joe Louis will nd out about both.6.
138 Joe Louis

Schmeling refused to give up his claim on ghting Braddock until the

last minute. He returned to the United States and set up a training camp in
Upstate New York. It was almost pathetic in its silliness. He may have worked
out hard, but Schmeling-Braddock was a faux ght. It didnt exist and wasnt
going to happen. Some ght fans actually bought tickets, but their money
was refunded. Louis and Braddock were busy in Chicago on June 22, 1937.
The Madison Square Garden Bowl on Long Island didnt even turn on the
lights for the alleged Schmeling-Braddock bout that night.
Somewhere between 45,000 and 65,000 fans (depending on who did
the writing, though it was probably closer to the lower gure) got the right
address and attended the Louis-Braddock bout in Chicago, including former
heavyweight champs Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney. On their walk in the
dim light to the ring, Louis, in step with trainer Jack Blackburn, was told,
Chappie, you gonna be champ tonight.7
Louis paid a high price being battered around the ring by Schmeling.
He was now as dedicated to his trainer as he had been when he rst turned
pro, and he devoured every word of advice Blackburn uttered. They were on
the cusp of something great. His moment had come and he was ready for
James J. Braddock.
Speaking of pre-ght preparation, Louis said, The next few months
Chappie and I were almost one person. He was completely devoted to his task
and I was just as blindly devoted to mine. If he had told me to jump off the
Empire State Building during this period, I would have done it. I had total
faith in him, especially after the Schmeling defeat. Chappie wasnt drinking
and I wasnt fooling around.8 Louis probably didnt even read the results of
major golf tournament in the newspaper that summer, never mind pick up a
club.
Louis went on a 30-day exhibition training tour by train and lived with
his handlers and sparring partners, killing the dead time by playing cards and
playing music. His main respite was playing records and grooving to tunes
by Duke Ellington. That was even before settling into a stationary training
camp at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, the resort town just north of the Illinois-
Wisconsin state line.
Jack Johnson was still alive and whatever his motive, he tried to sell his
services to Braddock to provide advice and all of the so-called secrets he knew
that would help the champ defeat Louis. Perhaps Johnson wanted to maintain
his status as the only African American heavyweight champ. Perhaps he was
just looking to remain in the spotlight. Or perhaps he just needed some
money. He didnt get the job.
Nat Fleischer was an interested observer as Braddock rst postponed the
 17. And the New Heavyweight Champion of the World 139

bout with Schmeling complaining of arthritis. Then he said he couldnt ght

because of an injured thumb. Then Gould made the lucrative deal to cut
Schmeling out. Shenanigans aside, it made sense, The Ring editor said. In
Louis, Jimmy knew he had one ghter with whom a fortune could be
obtained.9
Any time there is competition one side wins and one side loses. Upsets
happen every day in sports. Thats why they play the games. Although Joe
Louis was heavily favored over him, Jimmy Braddock had to look no farther
back in history than Louis loss to Schmeling or his own victory over Baer to
be buoyed and reminded that this was all true.
When Braddock was quizzed by the press leading up to the bout he did
not seem nervous or intimidated by Louis. Its just another ght to me,
Braddock said.10 That could hardly be the truth because he was putting his
coveted prize on the line and risking the title for the rst time. It should have
been no real surprise that Braddock said something like that. He had been
the underdog in every ght he had been in for some time, but won all of
them. People cheered for him, but they didnt risk their bankrolls betting on
him. Same thing this time.
Somewhat more bizarrely in the time-honored tradition of April Fools
jokes, the NEA (Newspaper Enterprise Association) service wrote a ctional
story about a bout that never happened between Louis and Braddock date-
lined Stamford, Connecticut. James J. Braddock knocked out Joe Louis
last night in a savage bout fought secretly in an old barn near here. A small,
select gathering of 500 millionaire sportsmen witnessed the affair, paying
$1,000 apiece for the privilege. The battle was fought on a winner-take-
all-basis. The story reported that the ght ended in the 13th round. For
those who made it all of the way to the end of the story, it signed off with
the phrase, Its April Fools Day.11 It didnt say much for what most thought
of Braddocks chances if it took a made-up article like that to give him the
win.
Unlike occasions when Louis fought at Yankee Stadium and could spend
ght day at a nearby apartment, he remained at his training camp right
through the day of the bout. He woke at about 10 A.M., ate a hearty breakfast
and entertained his entourage with some playful shadow boxing and fancy
footwork that he likened to a poor imitation of Bill Bojangles Robinsons
skills.
Then the group went by car to a train station in Zion, Illinois, and took
that mode of transportation into Chicago for the midday weigh-in. Louis
registered 197 1 4 pounds on the scale and Braddock 197. Limited chatter
between the ghters was polite. Braddock facetiously had a record titled You
140 Joe Louis

Cant Take That Away from Me delivered to Louis at Lake Geneva. It wasnt
a bad gag.
The ghters had been placed in the same corridor at Comiskey Park and
their dressing areas were separated by only a wooden partition. It was all busi-
ness in Louis private area. The time for instruction was past, but Blackburn
kept up a steady stream of reminders, basic advice such as Keep your hands
up and Dont get careless.12 Nothing too complicated. Presumably Louis
was in his own zone by then, anyway.
Louis was slow to leave his dressing room and in a rare departure from
form, Braddock, the champion, preceded him into the ring. He got tired of
waiting for Louis to appear, it seemed. He also seemed unwilling to wait for
Louis to mount an attack when the bell rang for the rst time. Braddock
charged across the ring and swung big at Louis head, though he missed. After
that there was a feeling-out process with minor exchanges until Braddock
unleashed a sneaky right hand that hit Louis ush on the jaw and dropped
him to the canvas for a shocking knockdown.
The crowd screamed in surprise, awed by the blow. They had not
expected to see Louis deposited on the seat of his pants. Louis bounded up
so quickly that referee Tommy Thomas did not even start a count. It
took me off my feet, but it didnt hurt me all that much, Louis said. I was
surprised by it and I didnt know what to think, but I could think. I wasnt
jarred out of my senses like in the Schmeling ght and I jumped right to my
feet.13
Any time a boxer goes down in a big-time ght the crowd is energized.
There is borderline pandemonium. The same type of excitement seizes those
broadcasting the bout. So the entire country was frenzied when Louis went
down. He did not lose his head, however, and immediately fought back. It
was the high point of the ght for Braddock, though he did use his jab to
good effect and pick his spots well in the rst ve rounds.
As the three-minute rounds passed, Braddock faced a new problem. He
had not been engaged in a real bout in two years, so he had not been tested
beyond exhibitions. His stamina was fading. Louis began to impose his will
in the sixth. After some exchanges, Braddock was left with a badly cut mouth
because of a split lip. Braddocks face was so bloody that his manager and
friend Joe Gould informed his man that he was going to ask the ofcial to
step in. But Braddock refused to go along. He didnt want his reign to end
while sitting on the stool in his corner.
In a famous exchange, Gould said, Thats it, Jim. Im going to have the
referee stop the ght. To which Braddock replied, The hell you are. Gould
said, Its time. And Braddock said, If you do, Joe, Ill never speak to you
 17. And the New Heavyweight Champion of the World 141

again. So Braddock went out for the seventh to accept more punishment and
dream of a punchers chance that he could catch Louis.14
Braddock tried to be the aggressor in the seventh no running for Brad-
dock but Louis landed the better punches and the way Braddock seemed
wobbly on his legs it was clear Louis was draining the starch out of him. More
and more of Louis rights were landing and Braddock got shakier.
The end came in the eighth round. Although Braddocks cornermen
soaked up his blood in the one-minute intermission between rounds and tried
to cool his brow, it was all for naught. As soon as the round began Louis
caught up to the champ again and peppered him with rights. Then he landed
a left hook followed by a right to the side of the head that dropped Braddock
to the ground. Braddock fell at in the middle of the ring and Thomas counted
to 10 standing over him, even as he made an effort to stand after ve seconds.
The contest was over at 1 minute, 10 seconds of the eighth.
It was an extraordinary moment in American sport. An African American
man was the new holder of the heavyweight championship. Joe Louis was the
possessor of the most prestigious individual title in sport. It had taken many
years, but a black man followed in the footsteps of Jack Johnson. And Louis
victory was hailed far more than assaulted. No one doubted that Louis had
won the ght fair and square. Everyone who knew the sport (except for Max
Schmeling) recognized that the best ghter now held the biggest title. At that
point in the 20th century, Louis, at 23, was also the youngest heavyweight
champ of all time.
When Braddock could not continue, the announcement that sang
through the in-ring microphone was the sweetest of all possible lyrics for
Louis. The winner and new heavyweight champion Joe Louis!
Braddock explained what happened as best he could and recognized it
was a missed opportunity when he put Louis on the canvas in the rst and
was unavailable to follow up. Braddock believed that for the rest of his life.
If Id hit him a good one after I knocked him down Id have had him, Brad-
dock said. But I didnt. Joe was always in trouble with punches to his head,
but he was always getting out of trouble. He was smart enough to keep covered
up.15
The occasion should have been one of unadulterated for joy for Louis,
and certainly his fans around the country celebrated with fervor. But when
asked the simplest of questions, how it felt to be the world champion, Louis
almost snarled. Dont nobody call me champ till I beat that Schmeling, he
said.16 He actually pronounced it Smelling, though naturally, not as an
insult.
Just as Schmeling had felt unfullled because he won the title on a foul
142 Joe Louis

in his bout with Jack Sharkey, Louis could not fully accept the glory that was
due him in beating Braddock and improving his record to 321 because of
the blemish on his record from the Schmeling loss. He would not sleep well
until he avenged it.
In the dressing room, Jack Blackburn, who understood the vagaries of
the ght game much better than his young ghter, felt the satisfaction of
training a man to victory in a heavyweight title bout. Certainly there had to
have been a bit of extra satisfaction since his man was an African American.
Blackburn told Louis he was taking the right glove off his st and keeping it
as a souvenir because he had earned it. Louis didnt disagree with that.
On the streets, on the way home, thousands of black residents of Chicago
greeted and feted Louis. It represented a fresh burst of adulation. Everyone
felt Joe Louis had vindicated himself by winning the title except Joe Louis.
He was the champ and that felt good. But he needed victory over Schmeling
to be at peace, no matter what anybody else said.
 18
Being the Champ

Joe Louis never pretended that beating James J. Braddock to lift the
heavyweight crown was going to be easy, or was easy. After only a few hours
of sleep, he woke at 6 oclock the morning after the bout because his hands
were throbbing. Everyone always said that Braddock was a hard-headed dude.
They meant stubborn. Louis learned it was for real.
To remedy the pain Louis soaked his hands in hot water, not once, but
several times, and then adjourned to a Mike Jacobsorganized press confer-
ence. Everyone wanted to hear from the new champ. Louis presence was
greeted with applause at the Morrison Hotel in Chicago, but more striking
was the heap of telegrams of congratulations from all over the country. And
even more surprisingly, Louis was being presented with offers to appear in
movies, on the radio, and on the stage. It was estimated by Louis and others
that the offers were valued at $500,000 if he accepted everything.
This was symbolically signicant because, in case anyone forgot, Louis
was a black man. He had just usurped the prized sporting title from a white
man. Rather than being vilied as Jack Johnson had, he was being feted and
rewarded. It was nave to believe that racism had suddenly abated in the
United States, but something was different. It seems that the careful managing
by John Roxborough and Julian Black in portraying Louis to the public in a
certain way had been as wise as they believed. The American people as a
whole liked Joe Louis.
To a degree. Not all coverage of the ght made it seem as if Louis had
achieved much of anything. Braddock was a popular champion and had been
a boxing and life underdog for years. He was portrayed as a fallen hero. Noth-
ing to quarrel about there. He had been game and spirited and fought the
best he could. There were still members of the press, though, who could not
get past the fact that Louis did not show emotion in the ring. To those writers
he was a cold-blooded killer, inicting cruelty with his sts. Given that it

143
144 Joe Louis

was a boxing match, it was an odd way of looking at things. The nature of
boxing is that two men throw punches and the best man wins. It was almost
as if these sports writers wanted Louis to smile as he worked. Of course when
Jack Johnson did that, he was vilied. The white press was still getting accus-
tomed to Joe Louis the man.
There are always some writers in the press corps with better vision than
others and the well-respected scribe Dan Parker understood the situation better
than most. How wrong everyone has been about Louis, he wrote. They called
him dumb. They said he was a sucker for a right. They questioned his cour-
ageall after a lucky combination enabled Schmeling to score a knockout over
him a year ago. I think it was lucky for Mr. Schmeling he wasnt in there Tuesday
night instead of Mr. Braddock.1 Parker may have been generous in saying that
only a lucky group of punches stretched out Louis against Schmeling. Even
Louis never asserted that. Louis blew that ght in training and Schmeling was
brilliant in his preparation. The rest of what Parker wrote was indisputably true.
There was no immediate outcry that some Great White Hope would
have to be found to avenge the white race against a marauding black man.
Not everybody in the country was going to invite Louis to dinner, but some
kind of progress was being made.
The single most amazing thing that happened to Louis in the immediate
aftermath of his capturing the heavyweight championship had nothing to do
with boxing at all. He got word from authorities in Alabama that his natural
father, Munroe Barrow, was actually alive and residing in a mental institution.
Louis had long before gotten used to the idea of Pat Brooks as his father. So
did his mother, who was technically a bigamist if Munroe Barrow was alive.
Louis had not seen his birth father since 1915 and everyone in the family had
presumed his death ages earlier.
When one of Louis siblings traveled to Alabama and conrmed that the
man inside the institution was really their father, Louis began paying for his
care, and the next year, when the elder Barrow died, Louis paid for his funeral.
But he never visited the man and there was no reunion. To Louis, Munroe
Barrow was an estranged and insane stranger, not his dad.
As a side note to the Comiskey Park bout, Jacobs was always in the busi-
ness of making the most money possible from a promotion. But Louis had
quietly asked him to scale down his price range. Not everyone could pay ring-
side prices of $50 and many of his fans were poor. Louis made it a standing
request of Jacobs to price some cheap seats at $5 to $10, and for the Comiskey
bout, in a large baseball stadium, the bargain tickets were $3.50. Louis wanted
black people to get the chance to see him ght live, not always be stuck with
hearing about his exploits on the radio.
 18. Being the Champ 145

Everyone in the Louis camp felt the champ needed a vacation. So Louis
went off to play softball with the team he founded for his friends, touring the
Midwest for games. Sometimes he played a little bit. Sometimes he just
coached. But Louis loved baseball and this was the rough equivalent. Rather
than tour making thousands of dollars performing boxing exhibitions, Louis
preferred hanging out with his friends having fun for a little while. Instead
of making money, Louis was spending money, a habit he never broke in his
life. The team probably cost him $50,000 to run and Louis always emptied
his pockets of cash when eating out with friends, passing beggars on the street,
or being hit up for money more discreetly by those he knew, or those he just
met. Louis was literally a meal ticket for many regularly, and many others by
happenstance.
Louis had always responded well to a busy ght regimen. Roxborough
and Black also believed that the boxing world was not ready to maintain its
support for an inactive black champion who squirreled away the crown while
he gallivanted around ghting exhibitions and padding his bank account as
Braddock had done. Jack Dempsey had done the same. But if Louis just
parked the championship belt without risk, the public might turn on him,
his managers felt. So Louis signed a new ve-year contract with Jacobs with
a commitment to ght four times a year.
Max Schmeling couldnt have been more ticked off if his house had been
robbed. He felt he deserved the shot against Braddock and he had plenty of
support for that argument. He wanted to ght Louis for the title now. Cer-
tainly, after his impressive victory he wasnt afraid of the new champ. Now
that he owned the title Louis felt that gaining revenge for his only loss would
legitimize his reign, so he wanted to ght Schmeling in his rst defense.
But just because logic suggests a match should be easy to make, just
because the combatants want to make the match, doesnt mean that the match
will be made. It is the same today. There is always some peripheral matter
that can come into play when scheduling a big ght. In the case of Louis-
Schmeling II, Jacobs said he tried to negotiate a deal, but that Schmeling
wanted too much money, too large a share of the gate, against the champ.
Louis was indeed the title-holder, but Schmeling did not want to undersell
his worth. He gured he was 10 against Louis so that should count for some-
thing.
Not as much as he thought, though. The talking ceased and Louis agreed
to make his rst title defense versus Tommy Farr at Yankee Stadium on August
30, 1937. If Schmeling wanted to scout Louis he could buy a ticket.
Farr was from Wales and is still considered one of Great Britains best
heavyweights. He engaged in 126 bouts and won 81 of them against 30 losses
146 Joe Louis

and 13 draws. He had two bouts ruled no contest. Farr was no soft touch and
he was admired for his fearlessness, a reputation that was only enhanced after
he met Louis as a signicant underdog.
Schmeling had hoped to ght Farr as a tune-up for Louis, but Jacobs
swooped in with a better offer of $60,000 and 25 percent of the movie and
radio rights. Farr decided a trip to New York was worth his while. Farr was
a miner, a tough guy, and he was unappable when Louis sought to take him
out. His strategy was to crowd Louis and prevent the champ from getting
good leverage with his jab. It was an intelligent plan and at times Farr per-
plexed Louis.
Farrs credibility going into the ght was limited. He was not a big name
on the U.S. side of the Atlantic Ocean and Jacobs could only sell 30,000 tick-
ets, leaving plenty of empty seats at the stadium. The pre-ght hype didnt
help much, either, since sports writers told anyone who would listen that Farr
was going to be easy prey and would be knocked out. Although Louis clearly
scored better and won a unanimous decision on points, those who skipped
the contest missed a pretty good ght. Louis was tested.
Not only did Farr avoid a knockout, he was not knocked down. However,
Louis still punished him, drawing blood from cuts on his face as early as the
third round and exploiting them the rest of the night. The Associated Press
scored the ght eight rounds for Louis, ve for Farr and two even. It was a
very respectable showing for Farr, but ultimately he was just another Louis
victim as Joe raised his record to 331.
When Louis was examined after the ght it was obvious that his bruised
right hand was injured sufciently to warrant the use of a cast for a couple of
weeks. While it was not broken it was harmed as the result of a punch that
broke Farrs nose.
Only days later, while Louis was nursing his aching hand, Jacobs
announced that the long-awaited Schmeling-Louis second ght was on.
Schmeling capitulated for less money than he originally sought. Jacobs had
the upper hand and threatened to cut Schmeling out of the picture altogether
and conduct an elimination tournament to name a new No. 1 contender. But
Schmeling and Louis would still have to wait a while longer. The ght was
announced for June of 1939, nine months from the Farr bout. During that
era, mega ghts were only held outdoors in ballparks or football stadiums to
accommodate the anticipated crowds. There were no really large indoor arenas
the way there are in the 2000s with domed stadiums. The outdoor ghts had
to be scheduled for the summer. It was already September. Louis couldnt
even train, and Jacobs wasnt going to either risk an autumn bout or rush
things.
The way Joe Louis looked in his prime as heavyweight champion. With 25 title
defenses spread over 12 years between 1937 and 1949, Louis held the title longer than
any other man (Special Collections, Detroit Public Library).

The schedule gave Louis time to heal completely and squeeze in a couple
of more defenses against less-threatening foes. For Louis second defense,
Jacobs rounded up Nathan Mann, who had been born Natalie Menchetti in
New Haven, Connecticut, and was a year younger than Louis. Mann was a
5-foot-10 bruiser, but did not gure to give Louis the same competition as
Farr had when they met on February 23, 1938, after Louis enjoyed a several
months rest.
148 Joe Louis

Like all title ghts, this was scheduled for 15 rounds, but Mann did not
make it out of the third. Madison Square Garden was the site and 19,490
turned out to watch what the United Press called Mann slaughter.2 This
was after Louis, who had the inconvenient habit of starting slow, was on the
receiving end of several good, right-hand shots thrown by Mann. That three
minutes represented Manns moment of glory. After that Louis was in charge.
Mann recklessly assumed he could hit Louis as he pleased. Louis proved
he was mistaken. Louis combinations took over and he knocked Mann down
three times by the third before he was counted out on a fourth knockdown.
Rights, lefts, Mann was introduced to everything in Louis weapons arsenal.
The United Press observer concurred, Louis could not have been more effec-
tive if he had carried an axe in one hand and a blackjack in the other.3 During
the Louis onslaught, Manns nose bled and he was once knocked half way
through the ropes. In the second round a Louis right connecting with the side
of Manns head knocked the challenger sidewise rst and then down. He took
a nine-count. That was the prelude to the conclusion in the third.
Louis impressed the usual boxing observers and syndicated writer Bob
Considine thought he looked magnicent. All of the merciless cruelty that
brought him to the top of the ght game came back to the sts and heart of
Louis Wednesday night when he knocked out the young Connecticut heavy-
weight after 1 minute and 56 seconds of the third round. One again the mer-
ciless stalker, Louis, leaner and meaner than the night he destroyed Primo
Carnera, oored his game foe four times before Mann, giddy and gory from
punches, was counted out by referee Arthur Donovan. The Negro has regained
the old re that was sadly lacking when Max pinned his ears back two summers
ago.4
After wiping out Mann, Louis still had ve months to wait before he
could get his chance against Schmeling, and so to ll the time his handlers
scheduled another defense, April 1 against Harry Thomas of Eagle Bend, Min-
nesota. Schmeling had knocked Thomas down seven times in a December
1937 ght in Madison Square Garden. Thomas was a space-ller for Louis
and a yardstick of sorts.
Thomas, who retired in 1939 with a 41-13-2 record, met Louis at Chicago
Stadium in a scheduled 15-rounder. Any challenger given hope by Louis occa-
sional rst-round carelessness watched in awe as Louis eliminated that prob-
lem. He was on Thomas from the rst bell, dominating him with his jab and
pushing him around with the periodic right hand that gave the challenger a
headache.
One Louis right hand to the head near the end of the third round spun
Thomas completely around and left him with blurry vision. Thomas was
 18. Being the Champ 149

sinking to the canvas in his own corner when his manager, Nate Lewis, reached
through the ropes and placed a stool under Thomas as if the round had ended
rather than there still being seconds on the clock. Louis stood at center ring
surprised by the goings-on. Referee Davey Miller began to admonish Lewis,
who pointed at the timekeeper just as the bell rang.
In the post-ght discussion Lewis explained that he thought the round
had ended and he had just not heard it because of the crowd noise. Thomas
was subject to being disqualied because of his corners action, but Miller let
the action continue. He may have done Thomas a favor if he had halted it
because Louis knocked the challenger down four times in the fourth round
before the ght ended in the fth. Having been beaten up by both Schmeling
and Louis, Thomas had an expert eye view to compare the two men. Boy,
can that Louis hit!5 Thomas said with some difculty through damaged lips
from the blows he took when the bout was over.
Inevitably, Thomas was asked who would win between Schmeling and
Louis when they met with the title at stake. Joe Louis will knock out Max
Schmeling when they meet again, Thomas said. I am willing to bet every
penny that I got in my purse ($4,699) last night that Louis will knock out
Schmeling.6 As far as is generally known, no one checked back with Thomas
months later to see if he followed through with his betting claim.
Louis had already defended the heavyweight title three times in 10 months
and his record was 351. He was bugged by that 1 on the chart, but he
couldnt erase it. He was more anxious than ever to avenge it. Farr, Mann and
Thomas had been disposed of and nothing lay between April and the June
date with Schmeling but time and training. Right around this time I felt
perfect, Louis said, absolutely perfect. I was nally the ghting machine
Chappie had promised to make me.7
Louis couldnt wait for the rematch with Schmeling.
 19
Louis-Schmeling II

Max Schmeling was well-liked in the United States as an individual.

Sports writers enjoyed his personality and conversations. He was also admired
because he had won the heavyweight championship and because he had
knocked out the formidable Joe Louis.
But Schmelings image and reputation were no longer in his own hands
and he could do nothing to control world events and the powerful political
currents shaking his home country of Germany like a massive earthquake.
Although Adolf Hitler still was putting on an act for the international
community, pretending that he harbored no plans of expansionism and he
still cared what others thought to enough of a degree that he kept his diabolical
plans to wipe out his nations Jewish population a secret, hints, reports, and
stories ltered beyond the Third Reichs borders.
More and more to Americans, Schmeling became identied with a repug-
nant regime. He was caught in the middle, seen as a favored son bringing
glory to his country by Hitler, and seen as a sympathizer and tool of an admin-
istration that was gaining enemies by the day to Americans.
The United States was Schmelings second home. He had been traveling
back and forth between Germany and the U.S. for years. The U.S. was the
scene of his greatest boxing triumphs. His manager, Joe Jacobs, was based in
the U.S. If Schmeling was surprised by his reception when he arrived in May
of 1938 by ship after crossing the Atlantic once more, he shouldnt have been.
It did not help any that Schmeling had been quoted in German news-
papers making inammatory racial statements indicating a prejudice against
blacks. He denied making them and said the quotes were fabricated, but they
followed him to the United States.
The black man will always be afraid of me, Schmeling was reported
as saying (there was some supposition that Hitlers propaganda minister Joseph
Goebbels made up the comments). He is inferior. He also said, I am a

150
 19. Louis-Schmeling II 151

ghter, not a politician. I am no superman in any way. That sounded more

like him. Schmeling was in no position to complain about Nazi comments
attributed to him and in less of a position to defect, even if it occurred to
him at the time, though it was only 1938 and World War II had not begun.
His wife and mother did not accompany him to the states and he would not
abandon them.1
Before the rst Louis ght Schmeling was asked if Hitler personally gave
him a send-off to the U.S. and he said no, that there was no reason for the
countrys leader to do so. This time Schmeling did receive a hearty, party
sendoff before he sailed.
Schmeling was greeted by protestors waving signs calling him a Nazi
and saying he should not be allowed into the U.S. Even Louis took note.
Man, did he catch hell, the champion said.2
By 1938, Schmeling was not under any illusion that Hitler was going to
be the kind of leader he, his family and friends, wanted to see running Germany.
On his own and through his actress wife, Schmeling was tight with the artistic
set and they were free thinkers who despaired as they saw Hitlers so-called
enemies being forced out of jobs and being rounded up and never seen again.
In our sphere we came to know this regimes other face soon enough,
Schmeling said in his autobiography. Each of us had at least one person we
were close to who had been forced to leave the country. Others had been
forced out of a profession or simply made to live in fear. And we all knew
or at least knew of persons who had already been arrested.3
By the time Schmeling left for the second Louis bout, he was viewed
skeptically by some in the Nazi hierarchy. Schmeling had never become a
member of the party and he had refused a specic honor that Hitler wished
to grant him. He had delicately avoided accepting an award called The Dag-
ger of Honor knowing it identied him with the leadership. There was risk
in turning down the offering, too, but Schmeling did so. Against his will, on
both sides of the ocean, Schmeling was being drawn more and more into a
political world he wished to duck. It was like running in quicksand.
Schmeling never forgot his tumultuous reception at the docks before the
second Louis ght. The posters that they held over their heads called me an
Aryan Show Horse and a representative of the master race, while they shook
their sts at me, Schmeling said of the protestors. At his hotel there were
other protestors with signs, too, including one reading, Boycott Nazi Schmel-
ing.4 It got worse. When Schmeling went for a walk in Manhattan, on streets
he knew well and had always been hailed fondly on, strangers instead raised
their right arms and gave him sarcastic Heil, Hitler Nazi salutes. Some
friends lobbied him to stay in the United States permanently.
152 Joe Louis

For the previous 10 years New York had practically been my home,
Schmeling said, so of course I was bothered and hurt by all of this. There
was Hitler, who was lling the world with hate and fear. Among the demon-
strators were surely many who had been forced to emigrate. No one wanted
to see him win, Schmeling said, because, he admitted, I was a showpiece for
the Nazis. During his training time in the U.S. Schmeling received thou-
sands of hate letters signed Heil Hitler.5
It was very apparent that this was going to be one of the most unusual
boxing matches of all time with out-of-the-ring international repercussions
seemingly of greater signicance than the simple matter of who won and who
lost. Even after he retreated from New York City to his training camp upstate
in the Adirondack Mountains, Schmeling was stalked by sign-waving pick-
eters.
Louis had had a taste of this once before, drafted as an African American
to uphold the honor of Ethiopia when it was about to be overrun by Italy
when he fought Primo Carnera. The magnitude of this match was so much
greater. Louis was being drafted by all Americans to represent the countrys
ideals, not just his race. Given the amount of prejudice still prevalent in the
United States, given the depths of hatred still rooted in the Deep South and
tentacles that reached elsewhere, the irony could not have been denser.
Until this moment Joe Louis had been a celebrity by virtue of being the
worlds heavyweight champion. Now he was assigned the task of using his
sts to ght for the honor of the nation and to uphold its pride and dignity,
as well as the principles it had been founded upon. Louis was morphing into
a hero character.
After he won the title, but before Louis was lined up for another go-
around with Schmeling, he attended a Washington, D.C., dinner at the invi-
tation of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Louis arrived by private car sent
from the White House. In a meeting with FDR the president reached out
and squeezed Louis biceps, saying, Joe, were depending on those muscles
for America.6 The United States was years from being involved in a shooting
war in Europe, but likely FDR saw the inevitably of the future clash.
Let me tell you, that was a thrill, Louis said. Now, even more, I knew
I had to get Schmeling good. I had my own personal reasons and the whole
damned country was depending on me.7 Some doubted that FDR ever had
that exchange with Louis, but it was reported in many publications and Louis
recounted it in detail in his autobiography.
Louis was not unaware of the political hubbub, the amount of abuse
being heaped upon Schmeling and how Americans were taking sides based
more upon his citizenship than his skin color. Some might not have liked
 19. Louis-Schmeling II 153

being aligned with an African American, but almost all Americans were sus-
picious of Hitler and even if Louis was a Negro he was their Negro and thus
the lesser of evils. That was one way of looking at it if you didnt like black
people. Louis had his own legions of fans, in the black community and among
all boxing fans. He earned those with his talent, personality and demeanor,
making friends as he rose through the ranks of contenders, and by the way
he handled himself as champion. Louis had been around long enough for the
public to get to know him and know what he was like. Even before he plunged
his nation into war Hitler made it easy for people to despise him with his
beliefs of the inferiority of blacks and Jews and other minorities set as a cor-
nerstone of his platform.
Democracy versus Nazism was a backdrop for the ght, but Louis
retained his single-minded focus and motivation. Schmeling had beat him
badly and cost him his only defeat. The only way to clean the slate was to
return the beating. More than anything, symbol of his race, representative of
his country, all aside, Louis wanted to redeem himself in his own eyes. He
couldnt avoid being drawn into comments about the broader issues, however,
when he was constantly peppered with questions from sports writers about
the topic. I ght for America against the challenge of a foreign invader, Max
Schmeling, Louis said on the radio, although it didnt really sound like him.
The second part of the statement did. This isnt just one man against another,
or Joe Louis boxing Max Schmeling. It is the good old USA versus Germany.8
Rather remarkably, the interview drew a response from the German govern-
ment, alleging that Louis was trying to exploit the ght for racial propaganda
reasons. That was a comment that made a lot of Americans blink.
Louis prepared in deadly earnest at his Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, train-
ing camp. He did not play golf. He left Marva at home. He did not take fun
trips to New York or Atlantic City. Being in top form for Schmeling was the
main thing on his mind. Trainer Jack Blackburn and his assistant, Mannie
Seamon, plotted carefully to bring Louis to a ne peak at just the right
moment. Once he was in training camp, removed from the exterior noise of
the political din, it became easier for Louis to narrow his focus and look at
the Schmeling bout the way he had approached 36 others it was a ght.
In late May, Louis, Blackburn and the others in his entourage went on
a eld trip from camp to Long Island City where they watched Henry Arm-
strong and Barney Ross ght for the welterweight title. Although this was
surely rst-rate entertainment, there was a broader educational purpose to
the mission. Blackburn wanted Louis to watch Armstrong implement his style
and possibly learn some tactics from it.
Last time Chappie fought just the way Schmeling wanted him to,
154 Joe Louis

Blackburn said. The time itll be different. Chappies going to learn from
Armstrong. Hes going to set a fast pace right from the start, work inside
Schmelings defense and batter away at his body. Hell start caving in after
three or four rounds, then Chappiell get down to real business and nish
him.9 There was the game plan.
At about this time Louis was making the acquaintanceship of a new
sports writer on the scene, one who would become one of the best. Jimmy
Cannon got an exclusive with Louis the night before he broke camp as they
ate dinner together. Cannon told Louis he saw him winning by knockout in
the sixth round. Louis retorted, It goes in one, he said, and he held up and
wagged a single nger to emphasize his point.10
It would have been easy enough for Louis to get distracted in his prepa-
rations for the Schmeling ght, not only because of the hype surrounding the
bout, not only because of the political issues swirling, but because Louis
training camp was nearly overwhelmed by the curious. Never mind the pre-
vious type of indulgences Louis had engaged in with golf and women, the
sheer numbers of spectators who showed up hot to see him throw a punch at
a heavy bag was staggering. One day 9,000 fans ooded the complex.
Probably the biggest gathering ever to see any boxer work out any-
where, one historian noted. People gazed upon Louis from trees, fences,
roofs and cars.11 Some of those observers did not gaze at Louis with fondness
in their eyes they wore their beliefs on their sleeves, displaying Nazi
swastikas. Louis was told that Schmelings trainer and Schmeling made
disparaging remarks about blacks and went strutting around in a Nazi uni-
form, especially after public sessions. The papers said Max was yelling about
being a member of a superior race and making some general insults about my
race. But Max never talked that shit to me.12
Although the ght took place about 75 years ago, the observation that
9,000 fans turning out on a single day for a workout being the largest ever
might still hold true. Louis had American fans on his side, rooting for him.
But that didnt mean they all thought he was going to win. The division of
opinion was dramatic in the newspapers. Some writers felt Louis was a more
complete ghter than he had been the rst time he fought Schmeling and had
turned in no clunkers in his following bouts over the next two years, and so
would gain revenge. Others believed that Schmeling had Louis number and
that Louis did not have it within him to adapt, to learn and change. There
was a kind of gross underestimation of his ability as an athlete among those
skeptics. Those writers looked at Louis and saw all muscle, brawn and natural
talent and gave him no credit for brain power. Grantland Rice was one of the
offenders who implied that Louis was too stupid to adjust.
 19. Louis-Schmeling II 155

Its not clear just how those sports writers could explain away Louis
ability to win the title from James J. Braddock and defend it three times with-
out experiencing growth and maturity.
Hed won, but Id looked over those lms, Louis said. For 10 rounds
I was going around with my hands down. He should have had me out long
before. Now, I know Max looked at those lms, too. If it took him all that
time to knock me out, he was making some big mistakes also.13 Sounds a lot
like a man who had thought the entire matter through with great care, studied
what he had done wrong, and was prepared to correct his mistakes.
Fight day, June 22, 1938, two years after their rst bout, nally arrived.
Louis indicated he got a good rest the night before, sleeping in until 9 A.M.,
when he was awakened by a handler. At midday the combatants met in New
York City for the weigh-in. Louis and Schmeling nodded at one another as
they stepped on the scales, but did not talk. Louis weighed 198 3 4 pounds and
Schmeling weighed 193 3 4.
As he normally did before New York ghts in the Bronx at Yankee Sta-
dium, Louis retreated to an apartment in Harlem. This one belonged to a
friend named Freddie Wilson. In the afternoon, Louis, Wilson and Blackburn
took a walk and Wilson asked the champ how he was feeling, only to be star-
tled when Louis said, Im scared. That was not the response expected. Then
Louis elaborated. Im scared I might kill Schmeling tonight.14
The automobile ride to the stadium was quiet and Louis got to his dress-
ing room plenty early. He was so early that he took a two-hour nap, an action
that many other boxers couldnt have contemplated because of nerves. Black-
burn was Louis wake-up call and he began taping the champs hands an hour
before the ght in mid-evening. Mike Jacobs, who like Louis had come from
poverty and long believed that Louis was going to make him a millionaire,
stopped in for what passed for a pep-talk. Murder that bum and dont make
an asshole out of me, Jacobs said. Louis replied, Dont worry about a thing.
I aint going back to Ford and you aint gonna go back to selling lemon drops
on the Staten Island Ferry.15
Both Louis and Schmeling were wrapped in a cocoon of New York police
ofcers as they made their way to the ring to hear referee Arthur Donovans
nal pre-ght instructions. Outside the arena there were antiMax pickets
and the AntiNazi League demonstrated. Inside, not even the police escort
prevented Schmeling from being pelted by debris such as paper cups and cig-
arette packs and his ears couldnt drown out the boos or the catcalls.
By that time more people had turned against Schmeling. With the world
title at stake and a black man as the foe, this bout had become important to
Hitler and his administration. The Nazi regime had sent Arno Helmuth from
156 Joe Louis

Berlin to broadcast from ringside. But Helmuth had been blabbing hysterical
comments in the week leading up to the ght, badmouthing New Yorks Jew
governor (Herbert Lehman), the ghts Jew promoter (Mike Jacobs) and
hinting that the ofcials were going to steal the ght for the U.S. African
Auxiliary, as he called black Americans.16 Emotions were inamed even more
when it was revealed on the eve of the ght that Hitler had sent Schmeling a
good luck telegram.
On a pleasant night with a slight breeze, more than 70,000 fans paid
more than $1 million to witness a ght that had been hyped as The Battle
of the Century and which The Ring magazine did name Fight of the
Decade.
It may have been all of that because of the way the world scrutinized the
proceedings, but it was also the round of the year, too, because thats all it
lasted, one round. When the bell rang to start the ght, it was almost over.
Louis did not waste much time or motion setting Schmeling up with wicked
jabs that he icked over and over into the challengers face. Schmeling barely
had time to set himself with Louis constantly in his face pressuring.
Schmeling nally got off one of his patented rights that had so grievously
harmed Louis in their rst match, but Louis escaped easily. He did land his
second try, but it did no damage and instead of reeling backwards, Louis
pounced and hit Schmeling with a terric right to the jaw that sent him ying
backwards into the ropes. Schmeling grabbed the ropes to prevent tumbling
to the ground and covered up sufciently so that Louis could not repeat his
blow to the head. Instead, Louis immediately focused his attack on the body.
Turning his body halfway to the side while seeking to avoid Louis feroc-
ity, Schmeling was hit with a brutal punch that caused him to shout out in
pain. Later, looking for an excuse, an explanation, or anything to salvage dig-
nity, Schmelings corner claimed that it was an illegal kidney punch. Louis
said it was Schmelings fault that he turned when the punch was on the way,
coming by special delivery. I just hit him, thats all, Louis said. I hit him
right in the ribs and I guess maybe it was a lucky punch. But man, did he
scream. I thought it was a lady at ringside crying. He just screamed, thats
all.17
Donovan separated Louis from Schmeling briey, as he still grasped the
ropes to prevent collapse. But the few seconds of rest did not help much.
Louis charged back in swinging for the head and the nish, and when he
struck Schmeling with a huge right hand on the side of the head the challenger
pitched sideways at on the canvas. Schmeling was up at a three count, only
to take more punishment and suffer another knockdown.
The ghters had been informed that unlike other venues, New York did
 19. Louis-Schmeling II 157

not recognize seconds throwing a towel into the ring to concede for their
ghter. By this point, a distraught Machon had clearly forgotten that admo-
nition and threw a towel onto the canvas, signaling the end for Schmeling.
Donovan scooped up the towel and threw it right back, ignoring Machon
altogether as he continued to ofciate.
Schmeling jumped right back up and Louis dished out more, scoring
with a left hook, followed by a right to the jaw, blasting Schmeling to the
ground for the third time in the round. This time he did not get up. The her-
alded bout was over at 2 minutes, 4 seconds of the rst round. It was a savage
and thorough beating.
Still at ringside, Louis said, I waited two years for my revenge and now
I got it.18 True to his own feeling that he was not the real heavyweight cham-
pion until he paid back Schmeling, Louis also said, Im sure enough champion
now.19
No one in Germany heard Louis say that on the radio. Before the result
was even nal the plug was pulled on Helmuths broadcast. His ght descrip-
tion took an abrupt detour into Richard Wagner music because the Nazi pow-
ers that were did not want the nation to hear about the downfall of a hero
taking a devastating licking from a black man.
In an era when Americans are bombarded by technological choices, from
dozens of cable TV channels, to music, messages, and news reports on their
cell phones, it is difcult to image a country where just about everybody and
everyone who was not inside Yankee Stadium as a rst-hand witness to the
ght was sitting in place listening to the scheduled 15-round ght on the
radio. It was estimated that at a time when the United States population was
130 million that 70 million (some say more, but that may have included babes
in mothers arms) of them were tuned in to the broadcast.
Just in the way that FDR was a radio president with his reside chats,
Louis was a radio heavyweight champ, with Americans especially black
Americans glued to the radio whenever he fought. The radio made listening
to a Louis ght a community experience, not a solitary one. You listened with
your family in the living room. You listened at a neighbors house if you had
no radio. You went to some public place to listen if you either couldnt afford
your own radio, or had no other access to one.
On the family peanut farm in Plains, Georgia, the black eld hands who
worked for Earl Carter asked him if they could come close enough to the
house that night to listen to the radio report of the ght and he welcomed
them. According to the memory of Jimmy Carter, Earls son, and the future
president of the United States, that night the guests listened to the ght
quietly, showing no emotion, politely thanked his father (who had been root-
158 Joe Louis

ing for Schmeling), made their way across a dirt road and to their own home
area and then erupted in celebration.
At that point, said Jimmy Carter, pandemonium broke loose inside
that house, as our black neighbors shouted and yelled in celebration of the
Louis victory. But all the curious, accepted proprieties of a racially segregated
society had been carefully observed.20
Everyone stopped and listened to the ght, said Ferdie Pacheco (later
Muhammad Alis ring doctor) of that particular Louis ght. Even the street-
cars stopped.21
If they did indeed stop, they didnt start running again in Harlem anytime
soon. Once the decision was in, the coronation of Louis complete, the people
of New York Citys African American section took over the streets in raucous
celebration, singing and dancing, emotions of joy unleashed. Louis once again
had struck a blow for their race against The Man. Even under all that pressure,
Joe Louis had done it for them. Of course, Louis had done it for him, but
the byproduct was doing it for one and all. He had a wide wingspan that
could shelter many.
There was never a Harlem like there was last night, one newspaper on
the scene reported after the ght. If you take a dozen Christmases, a score
of New Years Eves, a bushel of July Fourths and maybe, just maybe, youd
get a faint glimpse of the idea.22
While Louis found vindication and was feted not only in Harlem, in
black neighborhoods in other major U.S. cities, and throughout the sporting
world, Schmeling was taken to Polyclinic Hospital. He remained there for 10
days before being taken by ambulance to the Bremen, the regular ship Schmel-
ing sailed upon between the two countries.
On behalf of Schmeling, some Germans sought to le an ofcial protest
with the New York State Athletic Commission that he was stopped by an
illegal kidney punch. The German ambassador, Hans Dieckhoff, journeyed
from Washington, D.C., to probe the matter directly with Schmeling as he
lay in bed. Schmeling discouraged the idea of an appeal. Back home the Nazi
Propaganda Ministry played up that angle and also suggested that someone
had slipped lead into Louis gloves. Louis said that he had nowhere else to hit
Schmeling based on the way he turned, and even weak and in the hospital,
Schmeling agreed with that assessment, saying it was partially his fault because
he shifted his body in the manner he had.
Nat Fleischer, Ring magazine editor, and a friend to both ghters, chimed
in loudly with his thoughts. The headline on his ringside report read Max
Fouled? Bunk! Fleischer said that Louis proved his absolute superiority in
scoring the quick knockout. It wasnt a matter of luck, he said. It wasnt
 19. Louis-Schmeling II 159

any injury suffered by the challenger that brought about his downfall. Nor
was it a foul punch that caused his rout. Make no mistake about that.23
However, in some quarters that impression lingered, an idea that another
writer sought to put to rest in the same issue of The Ring magazine, couching
the brouhaha under the general heading of the trend for ghters of that period
to suddenly whine too much when they were beaten. Schmeling opened his
eyes and started to squawk, said New York newsman Daniel M. Daniel. He
had been fouled. After a while, he decided he hadnt been fouled. Not inten-
tionally. It was an accident. There are thousands of persons in this country
and abroad who believe Louis won with a foul kidney punch. Schmeling was
not beat by a punch to the kidneys. A wallop to the jaw put him in position
to go out. [Schmeling] must have known that any claim of foul he might
utter would cast aspersions on the great triumph of his opponent, a clean,
gentlemanly ghter.24
Louis had done his job mopping up the heavyweight division. His record
was 361 and he was on a 12-ght winning streak. He was the heavyweight
champion of the world with four defenses on his resume. He was the victor
in the ght of the century and he had simultaneously defended his own and
his countrys honor. Everyone agreed he deserved a vacation.
 20
Bigger Than Ever

Years after Joe Louis battered Max Schmeling on behalf of all Americans,
comedian and social activist Dick Gregory, who was not quite six years old
at the time, talked about growing up listening to Louis exploits on the radio
so often it was like a regularly scheduled show.
For black Americans of a certain age, the 1930s and 1940s, when Louis
reigned as heavyweight champ represented an awakening in pride. Gregory,
originally from St. Louis, offered one of the most telling comments about
what Louis victory over Schmeling meant It was the rst time a black man
had become the great white hope, he said.1
It was an insightful summary of the moment. But the moment didnt
really stop there. Louis remained an active champion, boxing regularly, his
fame and reputation growing by the title defense. No one believed that the
United States was a fair and just society on racial matters at that time, but
by dint of his accomplishments Louis grew steadily in esteem. It might be
said that until Louis bested Schmeling he was the most famous black man in
the United States. After Louis defeated Schmeling, he was one of the most
famous men in the United States. Period.
A 1989 retrospective lm about Louis career reached out to various well-
known African Americans, including Gregory, and they gushed about what
it was like, how important it was, what a sense of pride they felt, when Louis
was the heavyweight champ and what it meant to them each time he defended
the crown. It was really something, the poet Maya Angelou said, to realize
some black womens son was the strongest man in the world. When she
uttered that sentence on lm, Angelou punctuated the comment with a sat-
isfying chuckle.2
New York Congressman Charles Rangel called Louis the epitome of
racial pride.3 And while comedian Bill Cosby felt that was true, there was
also a lot of concern for Louis because, what if he lost? What did it mean if

160
 20. Bigger Than Ever 161

he lost? His broad shoulders kept aloft the hopes of millions. He couldnt
lose. You could feel hearts trembling because if Joe Louis loses our whole
race would be down, Cosby said. When he won? Everybody rushed out to
the street. They had this release.4
Oh, boy, it was something to be Joe Louis back then. He couldnt walk
down the street without being mobbed. Crowds followed him when he
stretched his long stride alone or with Marva. He always dressed well, couldnt
be seen in public without a dazzling suit on. By one estimate, Louis owned
25 pairs of shoes, 30 suits that had cost $100 apiece, and complemented them
with brightly colored socks. Once, when he wanted to take leftovers home
from his mothers house he loved her fried chicken Louis hesitated. It
would be unseemly for him to be seen walking down the street carrying some
old box or brown paper bag with grease stains seeping through. So Marva
wrapped up the chicken in a fancy box and tied a ribbon on it to make it
appear Louis was toting home a present.

Smiling Joe Louis. Louis had much to enjoy as the heavyweight champion who was
a symbol of power and someone to admire for other American blacks, and the earner
of six-gure paydays when he defended his crown (Special Collections, Detroit Public
Library).
162 Joe Louis

Louis was making six-gure paydays. He could buy anything he wanted,

travel to Hollywood and hang out, go to Las Vegas and gamble, buy nice
dresses and jewelry for Marva, give money to his family. He could afford it.
He bought himself a black Buick, show horses, 80 Hereford cows, 100 Poland
China hogs and a 477-acre farm in Spring Hill, Michigan. It was conspicuous
consumption, and author Gerald Astor said it made perfect sense given that
Louis was the son of a poor sharecropper.
The joy of glittering materialism and ostentatious spending was as nat-
ural as his table gluttony, Astor wrote.5 While he didnt drink, Louis enjoyed
hanging out with friends in night clubs. Billy Rowe, a black sportswriter who
became a friend, said, When Joe would walk into a place the price of every-
thing went up right away. People would gure he could make the money, that
he had the money, why shouldnt he pay it out? And he would invite it. So
he would never look at a check, just put his hand in his pocket and pay.6
If someone on the street begged for a $5 bill Louis gave him a twenty.
No problem. Louis had empathy for the needy and he wanted to be liked. If
you hit him just right hed fund your dreams. Living large was part of being
the heavyweight champion of the world. It wasnt sexy or slick to set aside
money in a rainy-day account.
On any given day Louis emptied his pockets with gifts to casual acquain-
tances or panhandlers. Then he would turn to his companion and ask for a
few bucks, or drop in on Mike Jacobs ofce, and hit him up for a loan much
bigger than that. One difference was that Louis never kept track of where his
money went and Jacobs did. Louis knew hed never see his money again. Jacobs
expected to be repaid. Louis also lavished his money on women. He had
friends who would x him up with dancers, show girls, and he would disappear
for a day at a time with the new babe at the Hotel Theresa. In a general sense
Louis was protected in Harlem, except for the high prices he paid for things.
The heavyweight champ couldnt be seen as stingy and by nature Louis
was generous anyway. It was never clear if trainer Jack Blackburn or managers
John Roxborough and Julian Black, the men who guided his career and truly
cared for him, tried to force Louis to save money. Eventually, they all had
their own woes that had to be dealt with and Louis out-lasted them all in his
long ring career. Unlike many athletes who make foolish big-money deals,
are swindled or cheated, Louis ran through his money as if it was water spilling
from a spigot that was never turned off. Nobody cheated him of his money,
Marva said later. He just spent it.7
Louis also kept earning it. After some play time postSchmeling, Louis
got back in the gym and began training for his next defense, set for January
25, 1939, at Madison Square Garden against John Henry Lewis. Lewis was
 20. Bigger Than Ever 163

the light-heavyweight champion from 1935 to 1939, and like Louis, an African
American. He was managed by Gus Greenlee, who was known to his local
police department in Pittsburgh for his gambling involvements, but to black
sports fans for his long-time commitment and connection to the Negro
Leagues baseball operation. Greenlee owned the Pittsburgh Crawfords and
the popular Crawford Grill in Pittsburgh while also giving scholarship money
to young black teenagers so they could pay for college.
Louis did not really want to ght Lewis and John Roxborough told Mike
Jacobs that. Jacobs said Lewis was going around saying he could beat the
champ, though, so it might make an OK match. It will be a lousy ght,
Roxborough said. These two are too friendly for it to be otherwise. Lewis
cant hurt Joe and Joe wont hurt John Henry. Roxborough said when Louis
was informed that Jacobs was making the match he didnt like it. I dont
wanna ght John Henry, Louis said. Hes my best friend. Whats Uncle
Mike up to that he wants me to toss punches at my pal? Louis was appealed
to on the grounds that Lewis needed the money.8
Lewis was nearing the end of his career and eventually retired with a
record of 109 wins, 9 losses and 6 draws. He was losing vision in one eye
when he signed to ght Louis, a risky proposition at best, and was really
granted the title shot as a favor so he could collect that one more decent
payday. Lewis was only a minimal threat to Louis at most, and Louis did not
want to hurt his friend. One thing that distinguished the encounter it was
the rst time two African Americans fought for the heavyweight champi-
onship.
Almost as an act of generosity Louis nished off Lewis in the rst round
of their scheduled 15-round bout. He said he didnt want to hurt him too
badly, but that didnt prevent Louis from knocking Lewis through the ropes
on one knockdown and defensively dominating so thoroughly that Lewis
never landed a serious blow. The ght was never close and the sports writers
asked Louis why he did so much damage to a friend. Louis replied that he
didnt, that by wiping out Lewis in a single round it prevented him from
taking a beating for 15 rounds. So you see, I was kind to him, Louis said.9
The sports writers had a slightly different denition of kindness. Maybe
there should be a law against letting any of the current heavyweights loose in
the same ring with Joe Louis, a New York writer said. That would be only
humane. He should retire until some steel-ribbed, hard-hitting youngster
happens along. John Henry is a boxing stylist, one of the best around with
speed of foot to back it, but what good are those stic theories when a guy
knows you cant hurt him and proceeds to smack you over? Louis is a ghter,
not a fancy man, and when hes hitting he doesnt bunt.10
164 Joe Louis

Jack Roper was not such a man with a washboard stomach and the for-
titude to match. Louis made him the victim in his sixth defense of the title
on April 17 of 1939, keeping to a busy schedule. Roper, like Lewis, was an
active ghter who put together a lifetime mark of 63-43-10. The bout was
fought in Los Angeles, providing Louis with a fresh audience, and 35,000
residents were intrigued enough to show up at Wrigley Field. It was the rst
time in a decade that a heavyweight had defended in California.
Roper, 36, was about as well known as a studio electrician as he was a
heavyweight contender, and Louis wasted no time ridding the stage of him,
though that came after Roper had his one second of glory with a sweeping
left hook that connected with Louis jaw. Roper lasted just 2 minutes, 20 sec-
onds with the champ, who shook the challenger to the core with a perfect
right to the jaw. Roper dropped and didnt get up by a 10 count.
I was conscious as I went down, Roper said after the ght, but my
legs seemed paralyzed, and after I hit the oor I tried to get up, but my muscles
just wouldnt work. It took a champion to knock me out for the rst time
since I started ghting in 1923. Ive lost ghts by technical knockouts, but
never on the oor. But I landed one left hook that I know he felt it.11 Maybe
so, but Roper was asked less about his one serious blow than to sum up gen-
erally what happened. I zigged when I should have zagged, he said.12
There seemed to be a new, better-than-ever model of Joe Louis on the
loose in the ring since he disposed of Schmeling. Part of it was that he was
ghting guys who werent as good as he was, or even in his class (though part
of that was that there were not many guys in his class). Since the Tommy Farr
ght, which went the distance, Louis had been on a scorched earth swing
through his opponents. Roper represented his third straight rst-round KO.
Fans love a knockout king, but they also like to get their moneys worth and
Louis was making it tough on them. Fans had to learn they better come early
for the under-card and not get caught going out for popcorn before a Louis
ght or they wouldnt make it back to their seats in time to see the main
event.
It had been nearly two years since Louis won the heavyweight crown and
he already had six defenses on his record. He was 381 and was not yet 25.
It appeared Louis was in for a long reign.
By triumphing over Schmeling and by defending his title often, Louis
kept his name in the public eye. If at one time a heavily-muscled black man
with sts of thunder would have seemed menacing to American whites of a
certain stripe, Louis was now a familiar face on the national scene. If you
thought of boxing, you thought of Joe Louis. It was that simple. He was the
best and everyone knew it.
 20. Bigger Than Ever 165

Joe Louis was the most famous black in the United States during his heyday, but after
1936 when he won four Olympic gold medals, Jesse Owens (right) rivaled him for
attention. The two men became close friends for the rest of their lives (Special Col-
lections, Detroit Public Library).

That status made Louis an almost surreal celebrity in African American

eyes, though for the rst time, concurrent with Louis capture of the title,
there was a second black athlete that rose from obscurity and poverty to
become almost as famous. Jesse Owens was the most famous track man in the
country, winner of four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics, and another black
man who had taught Adolf Hitler a lesson that a mans superiority did not
relate to the color of his skin.
Louis and Owens became close friends, a lifelong friendship. They shared
condences and they dined out with their wives. They were of similar tem-
perament. They both recognized the injustices visited upon American blacks
and the prejudices that prevailed and did harm to their countrymen. They
had much in common. Both were born in Alabama. Both had fathers that
were sharecroppers who moved the family north for better opportunity. Both
were the grandsons of slaves.
166 Joe Louis

While Louis was counseled not to smile too much when he beat up white
men, Owens smiled broadly when he out-ran them. Also, Owens attended
college, at Ohio State, while Louis dropped out of school as a teenager.
Owens spectacular effort in winning four gold medals in Berlin in the
Summer Games of 1936 in the 100 meters, 200 meters, long jump and
relay provided him with fame throughout the United States, but in the
1930s, and for much longer, track and eld was a purely amateur sport. Unlike
Louis, who could make hundreds of thousands of dollars with his sts every
time he signed a contract, Owens couldnt make a penny with his feet if he
wished to continue competing in track.
Relinquishing his amateurism soon after the Olympics because he had
to make a living, Owens was pushed out of his sport too soon. He thought
his name would be as golden as his awards, and while it was in some circles,
those were not nancially benecial ones. Owens was working at a gas station
in Cleveland the year before he won Olympic gold and his prospects werent
much better the year after.
Owens was already a recognized star because in a single day at the Big
Ten championships of 1935 he set three world records and tied another. When
Joe Louis came to Ohio the two men met for the rst time later that year at
a hotel where Louis was staying. The meeting was originally a little awkward
because Louis was already a big star and Owens had admired him from afar,
much like one of the many thousands of other Joe Louis fans.
When they settled down to talk in Cleveland, though, they realized
they had much in common and Louis demeanor calmed Owens. When Louis
and Owens went out to eat at a lunch counter their presence attracted such
a mob of fans seeking autographs from both of them that the local police
thought they needed backup to control a riot. The men began spending time
together, but Louis had money to spend, while Owens was nearly always
broke.
Antiquated Amateur Athletic Union rules that remained in effect for sev-
eral more decades pretty much ensured that any athlete not being supported
by a college scholarship had to be either independently rich or live on a shoe-
string. That summer, Owens was charged with violating amateurism rules
for being paid $159 as an Ohio State legislative page, more than the going
rate, and he was temporarily suspended by the AAU.
Owens was a naturally upbeat person. Rather than complain about living
in a segregated society he was sure that things would change soon. He had
faith in ignorant whites to adapt and grow and mature. When white folks
see that we dance as well as they, when they see that we eat and drink the
same things, and laugh and cry over the same things, they begin to realize we
 20. Bigger Than Ever 167

are human beings, Owens said. All this bleating about downtrodden doesnt
do any good.13
In 1935, when Louis and Owens were rst getting to know one another,
Louis was far better known. They had both attracted the autograph seekers
that rst time because they were in Cleveland, Owens stronghold, but when
they got together elsewhere Louis garnered most of the attention. After Owens
gold-medal haul in 1936 their celebrity was more on par.
It was later, when his accomplishments and good name werent worthy
enough to land him a good job, that Owens had to ght off bitterness. Louis,
meanwhile, merely had to ght off every contender put in front of him. There
was no reason to think that his dominating knockout streak would end any
time soon when it was announced that a New Jersey bar owner with a bulging
belly named Tony Galento would be his next foe.
 21
Two-Ton Tony and
Tons of Others

By the time Joe Louis nished off John Henry Lewis some sports writers
were beginning to call his frequent defenses of the heavyweight title The
Bum of the Month Club. It was an unkind analysis of boxers willing to put
their lives and reputations on the line against Louis. If they were not a col-
lection of famed ghters, but who was available and who might be respectable,
Two Ton Tony Galento t right in the mix.
To some Galento seemed like a cartoon character come to life. He stood
5-foot-8 and weighed about 235 pounds. Instead of a sculpted physique, he
had a round one. Rather than being respectful of Louis and his accomplish-
ments, Galento belittled them, and he boasted as loudly as one could without
a megaphone that he could whip Louis butt.
He was a New Jersey bar owner and more looked the part of that role
in life than heavyweight contender. Galento made people laugh with his brag-
gadocio and in some ways he represented the Every Man on the street, a work-
ing stiff who also knocked other guys stiff when they met him in the ring.
His brawling style was suitable to being a bouncer at his own bar. He did not
ght elegantly as Louis sometimes did. Writer A.J. Liebling called boxing the
Sweet Science. As practiced by Louis, it was. As practiced by Galento it
might as well have been a different sport. It was easy to envision Galento as
being a movie tough, a bodyguard protecting some underworld kingpin.
Galento was not a shy man and he was willing to promote himself in
just about any way possible. He once fought a 550-pound bear and also a
kangaroo, and he wrestled an octopus. Some wags gured wrestling an eight-
arm octopus was what it was going to be like when Galento fought Louis. It
would seem as if Louis was throwing punches with eight arms when Galento
was in the ring with him.
Although the idea came to him long before Fourth of July eating contests

168
 21. Two-Ton Tony and Tons of Others 169

became a staple of Americas birthday celebration on Coney Island, Galento

once ate 52 hot dogs at a sitting. Sitting was where he should have stayed
after indulging, but he ridiculously climbed into the ring to box. It was said
Galentos belly, ample under any circumstances, bulged out in extra large
fashion that night.
Galento was six bouts from the end of his 112-ght career (80 wins) when
he signed to ght Louis for the heavyweight crown on June 28, 1939. Just
days before the ght was set at Yankee Stadium a rst-person story written
by Galento appeared in Liberty magazine. In it he predicted he would clobber
Louis and lift the title. Mike Jacobs had to love Galento because he was great
box ofce. He stirred things up and got fans thinking. First he made them
laugh. Then he made them fall in love with him. And then he convinced a
few of them that he might actually win. He was great theater and whether
you really thought he had a punchers chance against Louis or not, it was
worth the price of a ticket to go see what happened.
In the magazine article Galento did not waste words or space getting to
the point. The story led with this sentence: I will knock out Joe Louis and
become the next heavyweight champion of the world. The headline was less
subtle. I Will Mash Joe Louis, it read. Going into detail, Galento predicted
he would knock Louis down early in the ght and nish him off within ve
rounds. He even predicted the precise punch and its landing spot a right
cross to the jaw.1
Galento was built like a jeep and he did pack a huge wallop in his sts.
That power, he said, is what was going to provide the advantage now that he
had the chance he had long coveted to gain the title. Perhaps you think I
am bragging (heavens no!), Galento said, trying to annoy Joe as I had to do
to get this match, or just talking for publicity. If so, you are mistaken. Ive
waited a long time to get Louis. Ive studied him ever since he rst came up,
and I know I can beat him. I can punch harder than Joe. I can take it Louis
cannot. I have never been knocked off my feet in more than 10 years of ght-
ing.2
Not everyone on the ght scene was taking Galento seriously and he was
well aware of that. He read the newspapers and remembered what writers
wrote, such as the ones that referred to him as a fat, beer-soaked clown.
Not Galentos favorite prose. I am not a clown and though I like beer, I have
cut down on it and have trained very seriously for this ght.3
Over the years Galento did indulge in beer. He told people he trained
on spaghetti and meatballs and did his road work at night because he fought
at night. His most memorable quote stemming from the Louis match was,
Ill moider the bum.4 Galento uttered the phrase so often it caught on with
170 Joe Louis

the public. He was even in newsreels, posing with a beer barrel, saying Ill
moider the bum. He actually had been saying it for years before ghts, but
his audience had expanded exponentially for this bout and it was fresh to the
newcomers.
Later in the life Galento actually did play the type of thug he resembled
in the movie On the Waterfront. Everyone agreed it was perfect casting.
Galento just had a better sense of humor than those types of guys. If his body
structure hadnt more resembled a bowling ball with muscles Galento likely
would have welcomed playing Tarzan. He loved the loincloth-wearing jungle
character and often mimicked the Tarzan yell of the movies.
Galento quit school at age 10 and made some money by carrying ice. He
was once late for a bout because he had delivered about two tons of ice. So
the nickname Two Ton came not from his weight, but from his day job. I
had two tons of ice to deliver on my way here, Galento reported to his man-
ager.5
About the 52 hot dogs. Galento won a bet, raced to the arena for a ght,
but when he tried to t into his usual pair of boxing trunks the waistband
was too tight. It was seamlessly adjusted and Galento won the bout on a third-
round knockout. The guy was a laugh riot, an American original. For the
most part people enjoyed being around Tony Galento because he was a card.
Although Galentos general pre-ght brashness was not too offensive, he
did cross the line by making late-night phone calls to Louis at his Pompton
Lakes, New Jersey, training camp. Why on earth the champ bothered to come
to the phone makes little sense, but it was reported later that Galento did not
use the occasions to become phone pals. Instead, he insulted Louis, called
him names, made racial slurs, and even talked dirty about Marva, Louis wife.
If Louis indeed came to the phone more than once it had to be to let Galento
provide him with additional motivation, though Louis seemed to think of
Galento as just some weirdo he was assigned to ght. Theres no harm in
him, Louis said. Hes just full of wind, like the barbers cat.6 As unlikely
as it seemed, the two men became friends later in life after Galento apologized
for those phone calls, and Louis even sometimes visited Galento at the Orange,
New Jersey saloon. But that was sometime later.
Galento just didnt look like a professional ghter. His squat build and
balding head and otherwise hairy body didnt square with the image of a sleek
boxer. His looks led Louis to describe him as That funny little fat guy.7
Maybe that wasnt the most complimentary of comments, but it was pretty
accurate if you counted funny as meaning hah-hah funny.
Galento built himself up sufciently that 35,000 ticket buyers believed
he had a punchers chance against Louis, unless they all turned out at Yankee
 21. Two-Ton Tony and Tons of Others 171

Stadium to watch Louis moider the bum. Not even during the ring intro-
ductions and instructions before the rst bell did Galento cease his relentless
chatter. Louis was known for his stone face in the ring and Galento wanted
to upset him and psych him out. In the ring he told Louis what he was going
to do to his wife after the ght.
Galento actually got off to a good start. He nailed Louis with a righty-
lefty combination that knocked him off balance. Galento fought in a crouch,
making him difcult to reach, though he bore straight in on Louis. Galento
was no ballerina in the ring, either, so he did not move side to side well.
Known as a bleeder, or a ghter who was susceptible to being cut,
Galentos face became Louis target board in the second round. Sure enough
Galento was bleeding from cuts before the end of the second three-minute
stanza. At one point Louis nearly had Galento out. But Galento was not easy
to get rid of, and although he was taking considerable punishment, he fought
back and he caught Louis ush in the face with a left hook and dropped him
to the canvas. It was the champ, not the challenger, who was on the ground.
Galentos power was on display to the astonished world then and he had
backed up much of his big talk. But he could not follow up, even though
Louis was groggy and relying on his instincts, as well as possibly his anger.
Louis fended off Galentos charges and quickly regained control. Galento went
to his corner elated and in the fourth round abandoned any appearance of
strategy. He went after Louis hard, but the champ had recovered, and using
superior hand speed and movement, he once again began to pick apart
Galento.
Galento had his chance and missed it. Louis had the upper hand both
hands and subsequently tore him apart, ripping into the challenger with
lefts and rights that bloodied and dazed him. Referee Arthur Donovan stopped
the ght before the fourth rounds three minutes were up.
It was an embarrassing moment for Louis when he was dumped on his
butt, and a close call, as well, but he churned up Galentos face as if it was a
hunk of meat. The United Press lead on its ght story read, Tony Galento,
as a game a guy as ever bled for a lost cause, chewed the bitter fruit of defeat
today and passed his plate back for another helping of the same dish.8
Still, Donovan said afterwards that Louis, in his estimation, had been
affected by Galentos big shot. When Galento knocked Louis down, I could
see that the champion was badly hurt, Donovan said, even though he jumped
to his feet without a count. If Tony could have landed another left hook, he
would have won the title.9
One mark of a champion, however, is his ability to react to adversity,
to take the punishment (which Galento had said he couldnt) and rebound
172 Joe Louis

from it. And the difference between Louis and Galentos skill as ghters was
that Louis had the killer instinct and the hand speed to follow up and nish
off a man in trouble, while Galento couldnt catch up to Louis.
Sitting for a long time in his dressing room contemplating what hap-
pened, Galento was battered and bruised, but not mentally beaten. He com-
plained to trainer Whitey Brimstein that his corner men didnt let him ght
his ght and added, I wouldve knocked that mug cold!10 Brimstein may or
may not have reminded Galento that no one had been stopping him from
doing that except the mug, Joe Louis. Whatever he really believed, Galento
dined out for decades on the fact that he had once knocked the great Joe
Louis down in a ght for the title.
Louis admitted that Galento hit him hard and knocked him off balance
and that his eyes glazed over. He also said he found it difcult to believe
Galento survived the huge smash that Louis struck him with in the second
that lifted him off the oor and tossed him in the air.
I won, but it was a funny kind of ght, Louis said. A lot of people
were pulling for Tony. He had a special appeal to a lot of white people. I
knew people liked me and were cheering for me, but at the same time, how
much did they want to let a black man get ahead?11
Louis stayed ahead. He kept on defending the title, kept up a busy pace,
taking on anyone Mike Jacobs suggested he ght. The next opponent was
Bob Pastor, for a second time, in Detroit. Louis trademark was always
improving his performance when he met a man for the second time and this
was also true with Pastor. About two months after Louis demolished Galento,
he stopped Pastor in 11 rounds in an event that oddly was scheduled for 20
rounds.
In their rst match in January of 1937 Pastor had run from Louis as if
he was competing in the Olympic 100-meter dash, not a ght. This time
Pastor seemingly had lost some speed. Louis knocked him down ve times in
the rst two rounds before Pastor managed to stay out of reach for a while.
When the end came in the 11th, Pastor was so dazed by Louis punches that
he did not hear referee Sam Hennessey count him out. I knew I was in there
for a 20-round ght, Louis said. I wasnt in any hurry after I hit him so
much there at the start.12
The next bout, against Arturo Godoy of Chile, was not a snap, however.
Jacobs had to nd some fresh faces for Louis to punch. Scheduled for February
9, 1940, Louis was carried the distance for the rst time since the Tommy
Farr contest in 1937. Godoy was a 101 underdog, but he did not go away
easily. The ght went the 15-round distance and Louis retained the title at
Madison Square Garden on a split decision. The result occasioned some boos
 21. Two-Ton Tony and Tons of Others 173

and complaints from those who felt Godoy did enough to take the heavyweight
title from the champ. Most peculiarly, at one point before the results were
reported, Godoy leaned over and kissed the startled Louis on the forehead.
Godoy was lucky Louis didnt knock him cold then.
The ofcial viewers were very split. Referee Arthur Donovan saw the
ght 10 rounds to 5 for Louis. One judge saw it 104, with one even, for
Louis. But another judge had it 105 for Godoy. It was an unusual disparity.
The Associated Press card had it 10-4-1 for Louis, as well.
More discerning observers believed that Godoy spent too much time
keeping his distance from Louis in order to avoid being smacked than engaging
in the type of combat a challenger must display to take a champs crown.
Strangely, in the 14th round, Godoy came out of his corner mimicking a
gorilla by dropping his arms to his sides and dancing around briey before
seemingly committing to crawling around for a round.
A day later Louis indicated it was Godoys style that protected him,
bending into a crouch and seemingly focusing much more on defense than
offense. Godoys crouch was compared to Galentos. Yeah, but Galento
fought, Louis said. He stood up and he fought.13
The result was close enough and controversial enough that it was
inevitable Louis and Godoy would meet in a rematch. First, Louis took a
breather by overpowering Iowan Johnny Paychek in another defense. Paychek
may have had a cool name, but there were some who questioned whether he
earned his paycheck when Louis pulverized him on March 29, 1940, at Madi-
son Square Garden. Louis knocked Paychek down three times in the rst
round and ended the ght in the second.
One writer said Paychek landed only one punch on Louis and summed
up the night with this: Joe Louis sang Johnny Paychek sound to sleep with
ve punches tonight without even mussing his hair ... knocked him stiffer
than a frozen frankfurter in 44 seconds of the second heat to dance out of the
ring with his title as safe as money in the bank.14
Louis record stood at 421 as he prepared for the second time around
against Godoy. Godoy, who was the South American heavyweight champion
and looking to add more geography to his title, brazenly followed in the foot-
steps of Galento by also penning a prediction story that was headlined, How
I Mean to Beat Joe Louis.
In the piece Godoy said he was going to knock Louis slap happy and
belittled his punching power because in the fth round of their rst contest
Louis belted him on the chin and it didnt hurt very much. It was the most
shocking punch Louis ever landed, for it shocked two people, him and me!
Godoy wrote. It was shocking to me that the punch, landing as it did with
174 Joe Louis

all that Louis could possibly put into it, merely jarred me and that was all! I
wasnt even dazed!15
Well, if Godoy wanted to be dazed, Louis obliged him the second time
out. Again scheduled for the championship distance of 15 rounds, Louis made
sure the result was not left to judges this time. He solved Godoys off beat
defense, penetrating with blows from both hands that ripped into the chal-
lengers face and drew streams of blood. By the time referee Billy Cavanaugh
stopped the contest in the eighth round Godoy could not see because his eyes
were swollen shut. He was better off that way, not being able to look in the
mirror, because Louis carved cuts into him that were lled with rivers of blood.
Whether it was a bum of the month club or not, Louis did conduct a
national tour when he put the title at risk. Name that city and he was liable
to show up to punch out some unfortunate pretender who thought he was a

One of the staples of any boxers training his hitting the speed bag, the leather bag
that dangles from a hook and rhythmically responds to a punchers quick bursts. Joe
Louis could make the speed bag sing (courtesy Charles H. Wright Museum of African-
American History).
 21. Two-Ton Tony and Tons of Others 175

contender. In December of 1940, the victim was Al McCoy, at the Boston

Garden. McCoy lasted into the fth round. The ght ended with McCoy sit-
ting on his stool for the start of the sixth, talked into sitting down by his sec-
onds rather than taking more punishment, which he argued for. McCoy, who
weighed 21 pounds less than Louis, worked hard to stay out of his way. It
was a lousy ght, Louis said of his showing.16
Louis attributed his lack of sharpness to being on vacation and not
defending the title for six months. So he signed to meet Red Burman six
weeks later in Madison Square Garden. Burman, who was from Baltimore,
compiled a 78-22-2 record in his career, but the night he met Louis for the
title was not one of his best. He probably wished Louis was still on vacation.
By the fth round, when Louis ended matters, he had been busting Bur-
man regularly. The wallop that ended the ght at 2 minutes, 49 seconds of
the round was actually a body punch, a sizzling right hook to the belly that
keeled Burman over and was so forceful he could not rise from the canvas. I
had to hit him the hardest I ever hit a man, Louis said. Thats a good, tough
boy.17
Mike Jacobs kept lining up the opponents and whether by knockout or
superior boxing, (mostly by knockout) Louis took them out. Next came Gus
Dorazio, victimized in the second round of the scheduled 15-rounder in
Philadelphia. Abe Simon went down next in the 13th round of a scheduled
20-round bout in Detroit. Tony Musto fell in the ninth round in St. Louis.
The sports world had become so used to Louis being the heavyweight cham-
pion, and seemingly untouchable in the role, that when the Musto ght was
announced, one newspaper ran this headline, Musto will be Bombers Next
Victim in April.18 He was. Then Louis went on to meet a more impressive
opponent.
Louis was 481 when he encountered his next foe on May 23, 1941, at
Grifth Stadium, home of the Washington Senators, in the District of Colum-
bia. The opponent was Buddy Baer, younger brother of Max. Baer stood 6-
foot-6 1 2 and compiled a lifetime record of 517. He packed TNT in his sts
and among his victories he counted a knockout over Tony Galento, which as
Louis knew was not something easy to accomplish.
While Baer had the tools to create mayhem, Louis took him apart in the
ring. Baer, an 81 underdog, did not come out for the start of the seventh
round in a ght that ended controversially from Baers perspective. Baer landed
the ghts rst punch in the rst round and then shocked the 23,000-plus
fans on hand by knocking Louis clean out of the ring. Louis landed in press
row, but was up quickly and back in the ring, snarling his determination to
avenge the dramatic knockdown.
176 Joe Louis

As I saw him coming back into the ring, I said, My God, what have I
done? Baer said much later.19 Yet the hard-hitting Baer opened a cut over
Louis left eye, too. The combination of those two developments clearly made
Louis aware that his title was at risk regardless of what the odds said.
As he had done several times in his career, Louis bounced back from
trouble. Louis became the master of the exchanges and he was whaling away
almost unimpeded at the end of the sixth round. Just before the round ended
Louis smashed Baer in the jaw with a right that knocked the challenger down.
He was literally saved by the bell, but not for long, since he never rose higher
than a sitting position on his stool. Baers seconds protested the result, alleging
that Louis hit Baer after the bell rang. Referee Arthur Donovan denied the
claim and then later wrote a newspaper article emphasizing his decision.
After the ght sports writers asked Louis if the sight of his own blood
had angered him and he answered in a droll way, Well, it didnt do Buddy
any good.20
After the Baer victory, Louis had defended the heavyweight championship
17 times and had owned the crown for four years. He had grown on the job,
too, learning to converse and joke around a little with sports writers, as
opposed to the beginning of his pro career when he was too shy to do much
besides mumble answers.
Louis had followed the rules of behavior issued by co-managers John
Roxborough and Julian Black and emphasized by trainer Jack Blackburn, and
as a result he was never perceived as the second coming of Jack Johnson.
Where Johnson was hated, Louis was appreciated by most white Americans.
Johnson had his detractors even in the black community when he was
the champ, cavorting with white women and angering whites with his gloat-
ing. Not Louis. He was beloved in the black community. He was a legend.
When Louis fought, and he fought often, the event halted most daily, routine
tasks in black neighborhoods, from Harlem to Chicagos South Side, to
Detroit and St. Louis. Nothing was more important than listening to Louis
bouts as he defended his title and he defended the black race, and so millions
and millions, boxing fans or not, sports fans or not, tuned in on the radio.
Eddie Macon, who became a pro football player, said his father had a
ritual when Louis fought, taking him to the corner grocery store in Stockton,
California, where he grew up. The man who owned the store put a radio in
his upstairs window and played it loudly so those gathered below could hear.
The rst time I went, Macon said, Max Schmeling knocked out Joe Louis
and the black community was sick for a year. Then, when Louis won the
rematch, we celebrated because we had a champion again.21
It was a similar story for Eddie Bell, another future pro football player,
 21. Two-Ton Tony and Tons of Others 177

who grew up in Philadelphia. It didnt matter where you lived in the nation,
if you were black, Joe Louis belonged to you. He was like everyones big
brother. When Joe Louis fought, Bell said, that was one time we could
stay up late, to listen to the ghts. And when he won we ran out into the
streets and cheered.22
All Louis had to do was walk down the street to see how much he was
revered. And all he had to do was open his mail and read what fans said about
him to know that he was a symbol not only to members of his race, but to
everyone in the country. Heck, all he had to do was turn on the radio during
the day, or just before bed, and he was liable to hear a song being sung about
him and his successes.
When he was a boy, the man who became Malcolm X and a leader of
the Black Muslim movement in America in the 1960s wanted to be a boxer
just like Joe Louis. Every Negro boy old enough to walk wanted to be the
next Brown Bomber, he said.23
Why not? Joe Louis was invincible. Joe Louis was every black persons
savior. Widely reported over the years, though questionable in reality, a story
was often told that a North Carolina black man convicted of murder and on
his way to his execution cried out, Save me, Joe Louis! Joe Louis, black
people felt, could do anything. An African American who could get away
with beating up white men and get rich doing it must have magical powers
when the rest of black America was mistreated and had almost no real rights
at all.
 22
The Tough Guy
from Pittsburgh

When Joe Louis heavyweight title defense against Billy Conn was
announced to the world, some felt they were the ones being victimized by a
con. Conn was the light-heavyweight champion and the divisions limit was
175 pounds. Louis fought at about 200 pounds.
As if it wasnt a daunting enough task to take on Louis, the dominating
heavyweight king, Conn, it was envisioned, might be giving away 25 pounds
in the ring, too. But Conn was after the Big Boy title and in May of 1941 he
surrendered the light-heavy crown in order to take on Louis on June 18, the
next month.
By that time Louis had swept past just about any worthy heavyweight
contender at least once and Conn seemed as credible an opponent as anyone
out there who was of genuine heavyweight size. Conn was popular, had a
public following, and was a respected ghter.
Although Conn was a world champion, he recognized that there was
always going to be a difference in public perception between the light-
heavyweight crown and the heavyweight crown.
The heavyweight title was the big enchilada, the prize that brought
greater fame and respect, and was, if used correctly, a gateway to riches, not
only in title bouts, but through boxing exhibitions and by making appear-
ances.
If you walked down the street as heavyweight champ everyone would
recognize you almost no matter where you went. When Conn walked down
the street in his hometown of Pittsburgh he was feted like the king of the
world, but in New York, Chicago, Detroit, not so much. In some ways one
could compare being heavyweight champ to being the World Series winner
and the light-heavyweight champ to being the champion of AAA baseball. It
wasnt fair, but the gap was there.

178
 22. The Tough Guy from Pittsburgh 179

Conn was Irish to the core and Pittsburgh to his toes. His nickname was
The Pittsburgh Kid and he was 23 when he agreed to meet Louis in the
ring. Louis was 27 and had gained an aura of invincibility by seizing the
crown from James J. Braddock and demolishing Max Schmeling in the geopo-
litical war otherwise known as their rematch. Then he had built on his rep-
utation by ghting often and eliminating all other pretenders to the throne.
It might be said that Louis had become the New York Yankees of the ring.
Everyone plotted his demise, but he was tough enough, resourceful enough
and good enough to fend off all challengers.
While Conn stood 6-foot-1 1 2, same as Louis, he was naturally a smaller
man. His reach was shorter, his chest smaller, his biceps smaller and his
weight, no matter how much of his beloved wife Mary Louises cooking he
devoured, was not going to grow much beyond that light-heavyweight cap.
He had a passionate following, especially among his Irish brethren, and to
them he might as well have been a leprechaun, a living four-leaf clover. The
loyal rooters of Billy Conn favored green in their wardrobes right down to a
green bowler for many of them. He was their guy and he represented the old
country which their parents had left behind to come to the U.S. Conn made
them proud when he claimed one world title. Now he was after the big one
and they couldnt think of anything more exciting in their world, even a St.
Patricks Day parade in Manhattan. Heck, if Billy won, theyd throw their
own parade.
Conns father, William, was a policeman at rst, but became a steamtter
and the work was steady. He was a hot tempered man who engaged in sticuffs
regularly not in sanctioned bouts. William made sure his three sons learned
the art of self-defense, but none of them took to it quite as passionately as
Billy. Professional boxing beckoned and he turned pro before he was 17 years
old in 1934. He made 50 cents for his debut, but thought he was supposed
to make $2.50, so he felt cheated. He lost the ght, too.
In 1935, still a novice, Conn had his rst encounter with Joe Louis. Not
that Louis would remember him. Conn was hired to hold Louis spit bucket
in his corner during a Detroit ght. It was not glamorous work, but the ring-
side view paid off with $20 at the urging of Louis.
For the rst two years of his career Conn stayed active in six-rounders
primarily, winning most of his ghts, but occasionally losing. In 1936 he won
a tough split decision from Fritzie Zivic and that put a name on his list of
conquests. A young punk who moves like a greyhound and jabs better than
Barney Ross, Zivic said.1
Conn could box and he had speed. He was not especially known for
packing dynamite in his sts. He routinely fought 10, 12, even 15-rounders
180 Joe Louis

that went to the judges. His record is littered with decisions, split decisions
and majority decisions from late 1936 on. Conn won a lot of bouts on points,
whereas Louis was a one-man wrecking crew, knocking down big men and
watching referees stand over them and count them out.
The Pittsburgh Kid also acquired a reputation as a ghter who could
take a punch. Solly Krieger battled Conn three times between 1937 and 1939
and lost three 12-round decisions. Krieger believed he dished out sufcient
punishment to topple Conn, but he couldnt do it. At one point Krieger pre-
dicted that within a few years I wouldnt be surprised if he lifted Joe Louis
heavyweight crown.2
In January and February of 1939, Conn met Fred Apostoli and bested
him twice, going the distance both times and winning unanimous decisions.
They were big, attention-getting wins, wars, too, and at times Conn was in
trouble and had to ght his way out of danger to impose his will and grab
the victory. The action-packed contests added to Conns allure with the fans.
The New York newspapermen who liked to think of themselves as kingmakers
in the sport took to Conn and praised him. They labeled him an emerging
star.
The rst ght was close enough that many believed if it had been sched-
uled for longer than 10 rounds, Apostoli would have won. The second match
was set for 15 rounds. Early in the second bout Apostoli and Conn butted
heads and Conn began bleeding profusely. He blamed Apostoli for the contact
and protested to the referee, who ignored him. Then Conn was thumbed in
the eye and became enraged.
Listen, you dago bastard, keep your thumb out of my eye, Conn yelled.
Listen, you Irish sonofabitch, quit been and come on and ght, Apostoli
responded.3 A lot of blood was spilled as the ght went on with some back
and forth, but with Conn gradually taking over.
Compared to the cheap payday from his pro debut, Conn was building
up his bank account. Not with the shares of the gate that Louis could grasp,
but for the second Apostoli ght Conn was paid more than $10,000. To him
that was a very big deal and he said, I had heard there was that much money
in the world, but I was always puzzled just how to get it. Now I know.4
It was not long after defeating Apostoli twice that Conn gained the chance
to ght for the light-heavyweight title against Melio Bettina on July 13, 1939.
Some governing authorities recognized Bettina, from Beacon, New York, as
the champ. Others considered the title vacant. The bout attracted more than
15,000 fans to Madison Square Garden and Conn captured a unanimous deci-
sion by scores of 105, 87 and 96 in an extremely hot environment. Conn
had won a world championship.
 22. The Tough Guy from Pittsburgh 181

Conn reeled off nine more wins in a row before signing to face Louis.
Almost from the moment he won the light-heavyweight crown he was asked
when he was going to ght Louis. Conn had been a middleweight, at the 160-
pound level, and excelled at 175. Did he really have the body of a heavyweight?
The world was about to nd out.
There was no evidence that Conn had any fear of Louis and his vaunted
punching power. More than a year before he agreed to meet Louis, he made
brash comments about how he might fare against him. Conn said that some
ghter was going to come along and make a million dollars beating Louis and
he gured he was the guy to do it.
As the ght date approached Louis admitted feeling discomfort about
the likely weight disparity between the two men. He wanted to ght a man
who looked like and weighed in as a heavyweight. He had visions of weighing
in at 202 pounds with Conn at 172 or less, which would have been a huge
weight spread. This would make me feel like I was a bully taking advantage
of a smaller man, Louis said.5
A theme the sports writers built up and focused on was how quick Conn
was with his hands and on his feet. Louis was frequently asked if he would
be able to catch the smaller man to punch him. Louis uttered one of the most
famous lines in boxing history, and indeed, in all sports history, to analyze
the situation: He can run, but he cant hide.6
The utterance was an example of Louis more polished articulation, a
phrase that everyone remembered and repeated. More than 70 years later it
is still in use, something that has become a clich of sorts because it has been
said so many times. But Louis was the originator.
Conn had come a long way from his earliest days as a high school dropout
who hooked his future to trainer Johnny Ray, a man who came to be like a
second father to him. Ray was one of those training wizards who understood
the intricacies of the Sweet Science and could teach them. He had one major
aw he drank way too much. Nothing Conn said could disabuse him of
abusing the bottle, but Ray knew the ght game, loved Conn like a son and
always protected his interests. Conn never committed to any boxing devel-
opment or offer without Rays blessing.
The ghter, who was no abstainer either, recognized Rays fault, but
lived with it and trusted him implicitly. If anyone else criticized Rays drink-
ing, Conn had a ready response: Johnny Ray knew more about boxing drunk
than anybody else did sober.
Conn had bigger personal problems than Rays sobriety as he prepared
to battle Louis. Conn had tested his mettle against bigger men in recent
months and beaten Bob Pastor, Al McCoy and Lee Savold. He showed he
182 Joe Louis

could t in with the heavyweights. Of course, those guys didnt compare to

Louis, but it was legitimate preparation. As the days dwindled to the show-
down with Louis, Conns mother, Maggie, with whom he was very close, was
hospitalized and dying of cancer. He visited her as often as he could and in
his nal bedside chat before the bout the scene that emerged was as melodra-
matic as anything Hollywood put on the screen. The sad truth was this was
real life. Conn said, I gotta go now, but the next time you see me, Ill be the
heavyweight champion of the world. To which Maggie Conn replied, No
son, the next time I see you Ill be in Paradise.7
Louis was the most active champion ever. The owner of the heavyweight
crown for more than four years at that point, Louis was probably overworked.
The theory of his management team that the public would not accept an
African American champion who didnt regularly defend his title may have
been true, but promoter Mike Jacobs likely took things too far. Conn marked
Louis 18th title defense.
Worse for Louis was that once he got it in his head that he was going to
look gargantuan next to Conn, he over-trained, trying to shed a few extra
pounds. The reality was that Louis should not have let any such idea bother
him and just gure it was Conns problem if he was too small to withstand
Louis blows. But rather than rest the day before the ght, Louis said he
trained as usual and he ticked off trainer Jack Blackburn by doing so.
Chappie was mad as hell, Louis said. I dieted and drank as little water
as possible. I made it to the weigh-in without any breakfast. I felt like shit.
I had no pep, and as soon as I got to Edgecombe Avenue my chef, Bill Bottoms,
had a good meal ready for me. Steak, black-eyed peas, and salad. He knew I
needed pumping up.8
The ofcial weights for the bout later than night at the Polo Grounds
before nearly 55,000 fans read 199 1 2 for Louis and 174 for Conn. It is often
said in boxing and other sports that a good big man will overpower a good
little man, but nothing is 100 percent certain once competition begins.
Louis was a 31 favorite, somewhat short odds compared to recent title
bouts because this ght promised to be a better match than any of Louis
other defenses of the last year or more. Conns Irish supporters did not let
him down. They showed up in force and were loud. He was buttressed by
trainloads of his Pittsburgh backers, come to cheer for their own.
While virtually nobody engages in making sports predictions a couple
of years in advance because it makes little sense and is of little interest, sports
writer Jack Miley, the one who dubbed Louis tour of the heavyweight division
The Bum of the Month Club, did pen a remarkable comment in 1939, two
years before the Louis-Conn bout. He was so enamored of Conns skills that
 22. The Tough Guy from Pittsburgh 183

he felt he would become the heavyweight champ one day and that he would
take the crown from Louis, not some other foe who appeared. By 1941, Louis
will be even more jaded from ghting all the bums, Miley wrote. And Conn
will astound with his fearlessness, his speed. Heigh-ho, it is written in the
cards, mates.9
Miley outshone Nostradamus in his ability to look into the future because
what he foresaw was pretty much what transpired. Indeed, Conn did not fear
Louis. Pretty much nothing scared Conn. From the start of the scheduled 15-
rounder Conn employed his speed to try to stay clear of Louis big overhand
right and powerful left hook. His hand speed enabled him to inltrate Louis
defense with some short stuff. The rst three minutes represented a feeling-
out round, but Louis landed the more telling blows. At one point Louis clipped
Conn on the head and while he did go down to the canvas, referee Eddie
Josephs did not rule a knockdown.
Conn did a fair amount of probing in the second round and learned he
could reach Louis with left hands. He scored with those punches, but Louis
scored with bigger blows.
Action in the third round was more wide open. Conn took more chances
and landed better punches than he had and than Louis did. The crowd was
energized as the duo traded exchanges in tight to the head and body. Conn
knocked Louis into the ropes near the end of the stanza. It was more of the
same for Conn in the fourth. He managed to reach Louis mid-section and
connected to Louis jaw, as well. The champion missed wildly on several occa-
sions, testament to Conns quickness.
By the fth, Louis drew blood from a cut on Conns face and he added
a second slash in the sixth. While Conn seemed in no way hesitant, the bigger
man did well in these two rounds. Yet momentum began to shift in the seventh
round. Conn kept penetrating and hitting Louis in the belly and periodically
on the jaw. Louis rhythm seemed shaken and while ordinarily a very accurate
puncher he missed frequently.
By the eighth, the spectators recognized something unusual was afoot.
The light-heavyweight champ seemed capable of dethroning the heavyweight
champion. Conn moved in and struck with big shots to the head. Repeatedly,
his left hand found Louis face and chin. Through the ninth, Conn continued
to get the best of the exchanges as what began as a murmur in the crowd
spread to a roar. The action was plentiful and the on-stage drama played out
in a way few expected. The Irishman from Pittsburgh was shoving around
the Brown Bomber.
Louis rallied in the 10th, blasting Conn with both sts. But Conn was
strong enough to trade with the champ and t enough to take Louis hardest
184 Joe Louis

hits and remain standing. More tellingly, he didnt go down, set the tempo
and forced Louis to submit to his game plan. Rounds 11 and 12 were critical.
It might be argued that the bout was even after the rst 10, but in those two
late rounds rather than wilt, Conn continued to pile up points.
By the middle rounds, Conn had engaged in a different type of exchange
with Louis, boldly saying, Youve got a ght on your hands tonight, Joe.
And Louis answered, I know it.10
Left, right, left, right, Conn landed big punches to Louis head and body
and kept him offguard in the 11th. In the 12th, there was more fury, more
back-and-forth, but Conn seemed to get the best of trading. The general
belief going into the 13th round was that Conn led on the scorecards and if
he could ght a smart ght for the remaining few rounds, he would score the
upset and become the new heavyweight champion.
To this point, Conn had executed a brilliant game plan. He boxed the
way he wanted to, kept Louis off of him, avoided most of Louis power punches
and stayed nimble. The one thing Conn wished to avoid was going toe-to-
toe and slugging it out. Almost no one in the universe would have suggested
such an idea, and after a dozen rounds those in the know sagely observed how
wise Conn had been not to mix it up with the champ more than necessary.
Bravo, exclaimed the strategists. This was the way to grab the title.
Reposing in his corner during the 60 seconds between the 12th and 13th
round, Conn and Johnny Ray conducted a conversation that alarmed the
trainer. Conn said, This is easy, I can take this son of a bitch out this round.
That was the ever-cocky Conn speaking with his gut feeling. Ray saw things
differently. Why alter what was working? No, no, Billy, stick and run, Ray
said. You got the ght won. Stay away kiddo. Just stick and run.11 It was
sound advice, but Conn was known for his stubbornness. Not even Ray knew
if it was just Conn talk, or if going after the exhausted Louis for the kill was
his true intention.
To the crowd, although bleeding from some cuts, Conn looked pretty
fresh. Louis, who was usually a very composed, efcient athlete, seemed out
of synch and weary. If Conn or Ray had shared Conns idea on the loudspeaker,
a fair amount of fans would have vociferously endorsed the idea. A smaller
percentage, less emotional, more analytical, would have recommended against
such a notion on the grounds of recklessness. You dont tug on supermans
cape.
In the champs corner, neither Louis nor Blackburn was the kind of man
to panic. But they were aware of reality and they seemed pretty sure Louis
was in need of a knockout to retain his title. Louis was not blind to the nights
developments. Billy Conn was like a mosquito, Louis said. Hed sting and
 22. The Tough Guy from Pittsburgh 185

move. I kept after him, though, but I couldnt catch him. Conn was just too
fast, too much speed for me. First two rounds I gave it to him. Thought I
had him and the ght would be over soon. But that tough Irishman stood up
to my sts.12
Louis admitted he was very fatigued between the eighth and 12th rounds
when Conn piled up points. But Ray would have been surprised to hear that
Louis always believed Conn was going to come after him at some point and
stand in and throw haymakers. He just sensed it and Louis said that after
studying Conn for 12 rounds he hoped he would do just that, and he felt he
had the answer for Conns thrusts in his own arsenal.
I had been studying him all night and I knew if he started to throw the
long left hook, I had him, Louis said. At the end of the 12th, Chappie said,
Youre losing on points. You got to knock him out.13
Anyone with an all-seeing eye and ear who was able to listen in on both
corners might have sensed what was coming in what became one of the most
dramatic rounds in boxing history, but no one had that capability.
If Ray owned elastic arms he would have reached halfway across the ring
and grabbed Conn the moment he settled himself into an upright stance in
the center of the battleeld, prepared to goad Louis and nish him off. Louis
was game and inwardly overjoyed that the dancer had become a stationary
target. Conn began throwing bombs and landed some. They were big enough
punches to slow Louis.
The inside exchanges went on for a bit and then Louis spied his opening.
In an instant, with the killer instinct that it takes to be the heavyweight cham-
pion of the world, Louis snaked out a stunning right hand over Conns out-
stretched left and sent the challenger reeling into the ropes with wobbly legs.
It took 12 rounds for Conn to construct the building blocks of his invincibility
in his mind and about ve seconds for it to ooze away, just like his dream.
Louis pounced and unable to protect himself, Conn absorbed, 10, 15, 20
straight blows, rights and lefts. Then he tumbled to the canvas on his back.
Conn made it no closer to regaining his feet than sitting on his butt. It was
over. Joe Louis was still champion of the world, winner by knockout with
two seconds left in the 13th.
The esteemed Nat Fleischer at The Ring magazine said it was Conns
cockiness that did him in. It was an uphill battle in which Billy came along
at an amazing rate of speed to take the play away from the champion, accord-
ing to Fleischer, and had he been able to continue to the end of the 15th,
the odds were in his favor that he would have annexed the title. He was too
game for his own good.14
In the privacy of his dressing room, in the presence only of his seconds,
186 Joe Louis

Conn cried freely, mourning the close call, devastated by a loss he thought he
should have won. When sports writers reached him Conn was more of his
jocular, outgoing self, the man they were used to seeing in public. When they
asked how the ght got away from him, he said, Ill bet its the rst time a
fella ever lost a ght because he had too much guts. I thought I had him and
I simply couldnt do anything else but go out after him. Whats the sense of
being Irish if you cant be dumb?15
Conn had fought bravely, indeed shown guts and talent, and people
appreciated that he had made the toughest man in the universe look human.
He did not win the big prize, but Conn did something more difcult by mak-
ing the ght game view him with the utmost respect and by contributing to
history as the near-victor in one of the sports classic bouts. To some it was
a reenactment of the famous Biblical bout, David versus Goliath. Although
Goliath did win this match-up, the courage of the underdog stood out.
For Louis, Conn represented perhaps his most difcult of the 18 successful
defenses since winning the title. He made mistakes, both in preparation and
in the ring, but when his opponent made the biggest mistake of all, he cap-
italized and once again proved that he was a dominant champion who could
even win on an off night. No, Louis wasnt just ghting so-called bums. If
fans didnt recognize it before the ght, they realized afterwards that Conn
was one of the best opponents Louis could have faced. Beating good men is
what makes you the best, Louis said.16
The ght was good business the rst time (Louis was paid $153,000), it
was aesthetically pleasing, and the talk of the nation, so there was no reason
anyone could see not to have a rematch soon. Pretty soon a reason did surface.
It was not long before a different sort of confrontation focused minds and
attention. World War II already raging in Europe with Germany seemingly
bent on complete geographic domination of the continent, and in Asia, where
Japan appeared to be carrying out a similar plan did, within months, engulf
the United States.
It would be a long time before Joe Louis and Billy Conn met in a boxing
ring again. There were other battles to ght.
 23
Youre in the Army Now

For a change, Joe Louis, Billy Conn, the boxing public, and boxing of-
cials were in agreement about the next move for the heavyweight championship.
The Louis-Conn bout just whetted appetites for more. Everyone wanted to
see a rematch and the principals seemed ready, willing, and able to do it all
again, too. And still, something interfered to prevent an immediate rematch.
From the moment he laid eyes on her, Conn was infatuated with Mary
Louise Smith. She was only a teen and her father was the wealthy Pittsburgh
businessman Jimmy Smith, known as Greeneld Jimmy. While Greeneld
Jimmy was an admirer of Billy Conn the ghter, that didnt mean he wanted
his daughter involved with a pug. For quite some time he didnt have to worry
about that because Mary Louise was only friendly with Conn. But as time
passed their relationship blossomed and they began thinking of one another
in a different way, as in the boy-girl type thing.
There never was going to be a thaw on that front as far as Greeneld
Jimmy was concerned. But the guy and doll were committed, even if they
preferred his approval. They married without it, but it didnt remove the sneer
from Greeneld Jimmys face any time he was in the same room as Conn.
When the couple had a baby boy they were certain Greeneld Jimmy
would attend his christening, especially since this was his rst grandchild. A
mutual friend between Conn and Greeneld Jimmy suggested it was time to
make peace and that Conns father-in-law was prepared to holster the blade
if Conn went to his home. To suggest that things took a sour turn would be
serious understatement. An argument broke out in the kitchen, punches were
exchanged, and Conn fared about the same as he had against Louis.
Conn broke his hand, had to be treated at a hospital, and blew a $125,000
payday because the rematch with Louis was off. New York tabloids went crazy
over the incident as only they can with type size about equal to the height of
the Empire State Building. The scribes were more sympathetic to Conn when

187
188 Joe Louis

he was defeated by Louis than when he was ordered to keep his left hand in
a cast for six weeks after the apparent defeat by Greeneld Jimmy. I guess
the only place he wanted to bury the hatchet was in my skull, said Conn
after breaking his silence over the matter when sports writers nally caught
up to the story.1
Conns trainer, Johnny Ray, was incensed at Greeneld Jimmy. He
blamed Conns father-in-law for upsetting him before the rst Louis bout,
disrupting his sleep, and therefore being at fault for the loss. That was ques-
tionable. But his lament this time rang all too true. I didnt even get a per-
centage from that Smith scrap, Ray said of what was labeled The Battle of
the Pantry by some newspapers.2
As a result, for the time being, at least, Billy Conn exited from Joe Louis
life. There was always someone else to ght, even if fans werent as excited
about the options. There was nothing to be done, however. Neither Louis
nor Conn was ducking out and politics didnt interfere, only circumstances
beyond their control. An early version of Family Feud had wiped out the
potential big gate and Conns big chance.
Instead of the big money rematch with Conn, Louis signed to put the
title on the line next against Lou Nova at the Polo Grounds on September
29, 1941. In the context of the times, long before such things were fashionable,
even in California where Nova hailed from, he seemed off-beat and a little
peculiar to the average American. Nova practiced yoga and said he possessed
a cosmic punch that would help him KO Louis. A self-proclaimed Man of
Destiny, Nova said the cosmic punch stemmed from his seventh vertebra,
the center of balance.3 The general response was, If you say so, Lou.
Louis was pretty much a grounded guy and he didnt think much of
Novas outer space lingo, or the secret weapon it supposedly described. He
can cosmic punch me all he wants, Louis said, but he better do it fast because
the good, old, left-right combination punch is gonna be hard for him to han-
dle.4 Louis didnt have fancy names for his blows, but they had served him
ne so far.
Well, it was different, but neither yoga nor yogurt would have saved
Nova. Louis smoked him like lox. The champ stopped the challenger in the
sixth round of the scheduled 15 for his 19th title defense. He also made
$200,000 in raising his record to 511.
Before even the very active Louis could ght again, the world pretty
much went to hell. On December 7, 1941, the day that will live in infamy in
U.S. history, the Japanese mounted a sneak attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii
on a sleepy morning. The assault that horried and infuriated Americans cat-
apulted the country into World War II.
 23. Youre in the Army Now 189

Although President Franklin D. Roosevelt and done his best to prepare

the nation for war, there were isolationists of inuence who had thwarted
some of his budgetary requests that would have helped build the Armed Forces,
and many in Congress had worn blinders in the belief America could steer
clear of the march of the Nazis in Europe and the aggression of the Japanese
in Asia. That was not to be, and as the year turned to 1942 the United States
was fully engaged in the terrible two-front conict that dragged on until 1945.
Louis had his next defense, a rematch of a previous win, against Buddy
Baer, the brother of previously conquered Max, on January 9, 1942. The big
picture had changed, and although Conn was healing, the nation was preoc-
cupied with its own defense, not the defense of the heavyweight title. No one
realized that the next stage of Joe Louis life was dawning and that he would
emerge from World War II as an American hero, although not in the same
manner as winners of the Purple Heart or Congressional Medal of Honor did.
Louis was of draft age and shape and there was every chance he was going
to be called up not long into the conict. Louis was asked about his military
plans. Im anxious to do anything the government wants me to do, Louis
said. When he met with soldiers, even before his own path was set, he said,
We all have to do our bit.5
Decades later, much would be made of the contrasting positions taken
by two very different heavyweight champions, Joe Louis during World War
II, and Muhammad Ali during the Vietnam War. Louis was a self-described
patriot who supported his countrys stance on everything to do with the war,
even if he was aware of the level of discrimination that remained within the
ranks of the Army and Navy. Ali became a conscientious objector, saying he
had no quarrel with the Vietcong, and that it was against his religion to go
to war. Conservative opinion would cite one man as right and the other as
wrong. The reality was that Louis and Ali lived in different times and their
wars were pretty much apples and oranges, as well.
Even conscientious objectors during World War II basically agreed with
the cause of ghting for democracy in the face of Fascism and fanaticism.
Public opinion was completely splintered about whether Vietnam was a just
war.
Louis was the right man in the right role for his times. He was very much
a believer that the United States was the best country in the world, even
though he was very conscious of its aws, especially with regard to fellow
blacks.
After nishing off Nova, and with a Conn rematch on the back burner,
the next time Louis defended the crown against Baer, he was not only ghting
for himself, he was literally ghting for the country. In a gesture that stunned
190 Joe Louis

the cynical press, Louis announced that when he battled Baer he was going
to donate his entire purse to the U.S. Navy Relief Society. In essence, he was
going to risk his title for free. That was unheard of and unprecedented.
Suddenly, Louis won a legion of new fans impressed with his offer. In a
famous comment offered in the New York Daily News, sportswriter Jimmy
Powers wrote, The more I think of it, the greater guy I see in this Joe Louis.6
Baer had shown potential throughout his career, but probably wasnt the
equal of his brother Max in the ring. This Baer served as a Louis tune-up
before the Conn ght and lost by disqualication in the seventh round. I
guess I took about every punch Louis had in our rst ght, Baer said. I feel
much stronger now and theres nothing bothering me. I expect to hit Joe just
as hard and often as I can and one of us is going to get knocked out. This
time itll be Louis.7
Louis dismantled him inside a round, and in The Ring Nat Fleischer
called Louis performance one of his greatest, even though Baer outweighed
him by 50 pounds and stood ve inches taller. Not even in the second ght
with Max Schmeling ... did the Detroit Destroyer show as much as he did
against Buddy. Joe had everything. He was magnicent. He was a whirlwind
on attack, a master on the defense, a terror with his devastating punches.
Whang! Bang! Zoom! The punches came ying from all angles at a mile a
minute rate only two seconds after the bell had sent the rival gladiators on
their way and before poor Buddy could catch his breath.8
A few days after the bout, Louis, John Roxborough, Julian Black and
Mike Jacobs made a public show of donating $89,092 from their earnings to
the Navy Relief Society. Not only was this unique in heavyweight boxing
annals, it was a courageous decision on Louis part for two other reasons. The
rst was that the Navy was known for its discrimination against blacks. Even
in war-time African Americans were given only the lowliest of jobs aboard
ship and some black leaders protested Louis choice of charity in this instance.
He considered the U.S. military to be the greater cause at the time. The other
reason this was a particularly generous move on Louis part was that he was
in debt and needed every dollar he could get. While Louis was one of the
biggest wage earners in the country, he was also just about the biggest spend-
thrift. He had already begun a cycle that would dominate the following
decades of his life once the Internal Revenue Service jumped upon him for
back taxes. The man who grandly dispensed $100 bills to the needy was in
reality one of them in a complex way.
It was before the Baer ght that trainer Jack Blackburn began showing
signs of physical weakness. His health began to decline. Blackburn had lived
hard, not only as a ghter, but serving time in jail, and his fondness and
 23. Youre in the Army Now 191

apparent addiction to alcohol was no secret to his favorite pupil. Moments

before the Baer bout, Chappie told Louis as they were about to climb the few
stairs to their corner, My hearts bad. I dont think I can climb those stairs.
Concerned as he was, Louis had a ready answer. You dont have to climb
them but once Chappie.9 Right he was. Louis felled Baer within the rst
round. It was much easier for Blackburn to climb down the stairs.
Baer lasted 2 minutes, 56 seconds before biting the canvas, pretty much
what the spectators at Madison Square Garden paid to see. By the time Louis
signed for another defense of the title, his 21st, March 27, 1942, again at the
Garden, he was in the Army.
In-between his KO of Baer and the delivery of the donation to Navy
Relief, Louis enlisted at Camp Upton on Long Island. His arrival was orches-
trated for the press and he was ofcially going from making six gures per
ght to the rock bottom Army privates salary of $21 a month.
Although Louis showing up for induction into the Army was big news,
there was nothing much out of the ordinary about his sign-up and processing,
and that precisely was the point. Louis joined up to be treated the same as
everyone else. Thinking like that was pretty much unrealistic, however,
because he was one of the most famous men in America and denitely the
most famous black man in the country, Jesse Owens notwithstanding.
A different type of person might have tried to elude service altogether,
or seek out a rank seemingly betting his status. Indeed, Louis was offered
the chance to become an ofcer, but declined, choosing to enter the Army as
an enlisted man. It was consistent with his character and true to his nature.
He didnt want to take on a responsibility he didnt feel qualied for and his
instincts of going into the Army as a private and choosing not to enjoy special
treatment in training appealed to his followers.
Joe Louis was Joe Louis, easily recognizable, of elevated stature. Not so
the estimated one million other black Americans who served in uniform during
World War II. They were not treated as well, either by the military or the
general public. Many had their wills tested and enthusiasm for service tested
because of discrimination. They were defending a country that did not treat
them as equals, putting their lives on the line for the freedom offered by the
United States. Yet even in uniform on military bases they were treated shabbily,
especially those situated below the MasonDixon Line.
Although Louis did not covet rank, the Army was not so obtuse as to
shunt him aside and bury his celebrity. He became a morale ofcer, in the
coming years deployed throughout the world to visit with troops at different
fronts, to buck up spirits. It was an enlightened and wise use of Louis tal-
ents.
192 Joe Louis

Just how the Army was going to use Louis was not yet set in cement
when he was training for Baer, but he did make an appearance at a Navy
Relief fund-raising dinner. Before the event a friend urged Louis to jot down
a few ideas in case he was called upon to speak. Louis naively said no one was
going to ask him to talk. Wrong. Louis was asked to say a few words. He
uttered only a few words off the cuff, but they proved to be memorable.
The United States, Louis said, was going to win the war. We cant lose
because were on Gods side, he said. The friend initially told Louis he got
it backwards, that he should have said, We cant lose because Gods on our
side. The guy teased Louis, saying he was a dummy. However, Louis phrasing
made people think. The public decided it very much liked the way Louis put
things. The comment got widespread attention, to such a degree that some
newspaper people began saying Louis had named the war. Whos the dummy
now? Louis replied to his friend.10
The rst blush of reaction was one thing, but the groundswell of belief
and enthusiasm touched off by Louis comment mushroomed. Carl Byoir,
who is regarded as one of the early developers of the art of public relations,
was so inspired by Louis that he wrote a poem about the heavyweight champs
comment.
It was a lengthy poem and read in part: And you have named the war.
This is Gods War.11
After knocking out Buddy Baer, Louis committed to meeting Abe Simon
for a second time. He had already bested Simon once, in 1941 in Detroit, but
this bout was also for a worthy cause. When Louis stopped Simon in six
rounds he donated $64,980 to the Army Emergency Relief Fund. It was hard
not to be a Joe Louis fan when he was giving so much and risking so much
for so little in return. Louis had always been excessively criticized by sports
writers of the Deep South. Even if they could not nd it within themselves
to praise Louis and like him, now they did refrain from prose that belittled
him. Even former critics, who had not believed in Louis in his early years in
the ght game and who dismissed him with stereotypical descriptions, apply-
ing one of the cuckoo nicknames or just too quickly misjudged his intelligence,
came around. Not only was Louis apparently invincible in the ring, in the
midst of the longest run of all time as heavyweight champion, he stood for
something.
Paul Gallico, later known as a novelist but then a New York sports
writer, had been one of those early-to-judge scribes on Louis case. He
began writing favorably about Louis, suggesting that Louis the man had
come a long way. Somewhere on the long, hard row from rags to riches,
Joe Louis found his soul, Gallico wrote.12 More likely, Louis had been
 23. Youre in the Army Now 193

well aware of his soul all along, but writers like Gallico had just discovered
that he had a soul.
As tough as Louis was with his sts, and as stout of heart as he was, the
Army realized that when it came to shooting off ries and the like, he was
not very different from any other man. Joe Louis had a reputation. He was
admired by millions. He was famous. He wielded inuence. The Army
decided that Louis could best serve his country not by ghting in the front
lines, but as someone who could boost morale on the home front and on those
front lines. His one-liner sealed it. After Louis little speech, the Army man-
ufactured posters that featured a picture of Louis wearing a helmet and wield-
ing a bayonet and including the words, Pvt. Joe Louis says Were going
to do our part ... and well win because were on Gods side.13
Although Louis was willing to continue training and ghting as the
heavyweight champ and plans were formulated for another Conn bout, the
Army stepped in and said no more. After the Simon ght, with Louis record
standing at 531, his boxing career was on hold. The heavyweight champi-
onship was frozen, as well. It was deemed that Louis was more valuable for
the war effort in other ways than punching out other Americans. Ironically,
in 1938, long before war broke out, when the appeasers of Hitler were still
arguing that all he wished to do was rebuild Germany, Louis had had an audi-
ence with FDR. Over the years the essence of that conversation that has sur-
vived went like this: Lean over Joe, so I can feel your muscles, the president
said. Joe, we need muscles like yours to beat Germany.14 At that point in
his life a few years before the war the only German Louis was interested in
beating was Max Schmeling.
Interestingly, in 1940, Louis publicly and outspokenly supported Wendell
Wilkie, the Republican candidate for president opposing Roosevelt. Louis
even campaigned. It was a rarity for Louis to take any kind of public political
stance. But he said he was doing so because he believed a Wilkie administra-
tion would offer a better shake to African Americans. Although Wilkie was
thrashed by FDR as thoroughly as Louis manhandled most of his opponents,
Louis and the Republican candidate remained friends.
While attitudes were changing in the United States towards blacks at the
outbreak of World War II, the Armed Forces were still segregated and in high
places there was denitely an awareness that issues might arise. The Army
appointed Truman Gibson, a friend and attorney for Louis at various times
in their lives, inside the War Department as a Washington, D.C.based liaison
to the blacks in the service. The phrase did not exist at the time, but Louis
had Gibson on speed-dial of a sort. Louis had carte blanche to pick up any
phone, anywhere he was, on a base, overseas, and if he saw things that seemed
194 Joe Louis

discriminatory to report them. He expected, with good reason, to get a swift

response.
Louis had not chosen to take a higher rank to benet himself in the
Army, but again, consistent with his nature, behind the scenes during the war
he was a very active advocate. Louis may not have been a man who called for
demonstrations, or who screamed from rooftops, but he recognized injustice
when he saw it and made it his mission to x problems through his connec-
tions. Sometimes he found problems. Sometimes the problems found him.
Even before Louis joined the Army and assumed his special role, he had
become an advocate for black Americans in certain ways. By the mid1930s,
he was a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People (NAACP). He supported the Detroit Urban League. He urged ght
promoters, mostly Mike Jacobs, to price tickets to his bouts inexpensively
enough so that his black fans who were not of means could afford them. Even
Joe Louis ran into some difculties in the South when he wanted to eat in
certain restaurants and was turned away. He knew discrimination was still
very much out there in the American heartland. He couldnt x everything,
but if he encountered a problem in the Army he did have a shot at providing
an answer.
Once scheduled to ght an exhibition for a group of soldiers, Louis real-
ized that all of the best seats were going to white men and that blacks had to
sit in the back. He refused to go on unless the situation was remedied. While
stationed at Fort Riley in Kansas, Louis became aware that many seemingly
qualied African American soldiers were being denied the chance to attend
Ofcer Candidate School. One of them was Jackie Robinson, later the man
who broke baseballs color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Louis reported
the situation to Gibson and those men were accepted into the program. That
was not the only time Louis assisted Robinson and their friendship grew.
On another occasion Louis informed Gibson that this United States out-
post not only had separate buses for black and white soldiers on the base, but
even separate bus stations. Word got back to Fort Riley that was a no-no. At
another base in Alabama, Louis, who was with Sugar Ray Robinson, the future
middleweight champion of the world, sat down on a whites-only bench.
Robinson met Louis for the rst time some years before when Louis was ght-
ing in Detroit. He ingratiated himself with the older man by carrying his bag
around. This time they became ensnared in a conict with military policemen
over the seating. Once again it took a phone call to Washington to smooth
things over.
Sailors called Louis a nigger, and an ofcer, in his presence, derided a
black jeep driver for being late by summing up that all niggers were per-
 23. Youre in the Army Now 195

petually late. Louis got the ofcer removed from his assignment. On a startling
occasion, MPs arrested Louis for making a phone call from a whites-only pay
phone. When the situation could be handled without Gibsons intervention,
Louis took control on his own by complaining to the bases commanding
ofcer. Other times Gibson intervened.
Yes, Louis country needed him in the service as a morale builder, but
everywhere he went, it seemed, his people, black Americans, needed him even
more. What was most impressive was how he continuously rose to the occa-
sion. He was no longer the shy teenager from Alabama and Detroit starting
out in the world. He was a mature man, one of the most distinguished sporting
gures anywhere. He had become more assertive in places outside of the box-
ing ring.
Louis had reached an exalted place in American society. He was a black
man who could speak for blacks when he chose to and he was a black man
who could speak for the country when necessary. He had not single-handedly
cured discrimination, but perhaps it could be said that he narrowed chasms
of misunderstandings into more manageable ditch-width misunderstandings.
It took broad enough shoulders to accomplish even that.
Much later, Joe Louis Barrow, Jr., Louis son, who mostly grew up with
his mother Marva, and was not a fan of prize-ghting, wrote a book about
his famous dad and examined his role in the Civil Rights movement during
his time in the Army and afterwards. Barrow indicated his father probably
called Gibson once a week with complaints during his service time. And after
the war years, and in his own later years, Louis did not depart from character
and turn into a ery orator or a street demonstrator, but continued to deal
with discrimination when he confronted it.
Louis was well aware that many blacks thought he didnt do all he could
for the Civil Rights movement, Barrow said. But he also knew his limita-
tions. Some folks shout, some holler, some march and some dont, he
explained without animosity toward those who belittled him. They do it
their way; I do it mine. I got nothing to be ashamed of. I stand for right and
work for it hard because I know what it means not to have the rights what
God give us.15
The Army deployed Louis non-stop for perhaps 100,000 miles during
his service. He was supposed to be ghting enemies like the Germans and
the Japanese by speaking out against tyranny and for democracy as he visited
with between four million and ve million troops in a wide array of countries,
including bases all over the U.S., plus Alaska. Less visibly to the average Amer-
ican, he also fought against bigotry. As part of his work entertaining the
troops, Louis boxed between 70 and 100 exhibitions during his service years,
196 Joe Louis

while also rising to the rank of sergeant. He was a real trouper and soldier,
said Nat Fleischer, a morale builder and lifter of the highest order.16
Throughout it all he made friends just by being Joe Louis, displaying
the personality that came naturally to him, even as he was idolized by many
of those he spent time with. You dont know what war is until you visit one
of the hospitals with tough cases such as I saw in Naples, Louis said, and
then you just cant do enough for those boys who went through hell.17
 24
A Young Man
Named Robinson

The elevation of Joe Louis into American hero status across ethnic
boundaries was solidied during World War II. Willingly, accommodatingly,
helpfully, Louis enlisted in the U.S. Army, raised money for the cause and
traveled thousands upon thousands of miles to boost troop morale. After more
than a decade as a popular sporting gure known to everyone in the land for
his sticuffs, Louis was no longer quite as reticent in public, and he was in
more of an activist mode.
Never one to make waves in the spotlight, whenever Louis saw injustice
as it was applied to African Americans, he aggressively sought a x. Another
type of man might have worked to turn the bright lights of the media on his
accomplishments or causes, but Louis always worked through channels to get
things done.
After years of prize ghting, after years of holding the prestigious heavy-
weight title, and after defending Americas honor in the ring when called
upon as a symbol against Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, Louis had earned
a certain amount of political capital. He was not a political man, but he had
gained wisdom in the way things worked. Just by being Joe Louis he had
developed a huge following, a devoted following, and as importantly as any-
thing else, a large cadre of true believers.
Louis was known as a straight shooter, as an honest man, as a patriot.
In a time period when parents still told their children that all they had was
their good name, Louis had his good name. In a sometimes unseemly pro-
fession, no scent of scandal had attached itself to Joe Louis. When needed to
rise to the occasion in the ring, he had done so. When called upon to help
his country in the best and most useful ways that he could, he was front and
center, a volunteer, not someone dragged into doing his duty.
What an extraordinary accomplishment that was to gain the condence

197
198 Joe Louis

of the nation. When Louis arrived on the boxing scene he was told by his
own handlers that he might not be able to ever ght for the heavyweight title
because of the color of his skin. Emerging as the most famous black man in
the United States, and perhaps the world, Louis was a transitional gure.
Through his sporting accomplishments and his basic decency, Louis
became the hero of African Americans. But he bridged the racial divide in
American society more seamlessly and more thoroughly than any black Amer-
ican had done before. There were always going to be ignorant bigots, but
Louis was accepted by mainstream America in a way that no other black man
had been. He was admired for what he accomplished in his specialty, but
against all odds Louis was admired for what he said and did outside of the
ring, as well.
The rst two actions Louis took after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor
and World War II engulfed the United States, earned him universal praise.
Immediately he volunteered to ght a fund-raising bout for the Navy Relief
Society. He offered to donate 100 percent of his purse. Then Louis enlisted
in the Army as a private. Other famous American gures went into the service
as ofcers. Louis accepted the rank of the humble private, the lowest rank in
the hierarchy.
While in the Army Louis gained the acquaintance of the black athlete
who would succeed him as the most inuential in America. Jackie Robinson,
who in 1947 would join the Brooklyn Dodgers and become the rst black
Major League baseball player since the 19th century, was temperamentally the
opposite of Louis. Robinson sizzled beneath the surface. His method of right-
ing wrongs was to use either his stinging tongue or his sts. The ery Robinson
accepted no slights. Robinsons refusal to acquiesce to the racism in the U.S.
Army nearly got him court-martialed and imprisoned due to an incident with
a driver when he refused to move to the back of a military bus.
Robinson had attended UCLA, where he was a multi-sport star. But
that did nothing for him in the Army. He stated his application to Ofcer
Candidate School languish for months at Fort Riley, Kansas. It was Louis
who jump-started the process to get black men promoted through his contact
with Truman Gibson, an advisor to the War Department. Gibsons job was
to act as a go-between who could smooth relations between the Army and its
disgruntled black troops. Gibson asked Louis to be his eyes and ears and all
it took was a phone call from Louis to Washington to get things going. Louis
possessed atypical clout for a private.
Robinson had completed basic training at Fort Riley, and even excelled
as a marksman. But he was one of many black soldiers who were being held
back from attempts to become ofcers. When Louis showed up at Fort Riley,
 24. A Young Man Named Robinson 199

Robinson had already been on the base for some time. They found one another
and in their spare time began playing rounds of golf.
Almost the rst person I met at Fort Riley was a guy named Jackie
Robinson, Louis recalled years later. He was a helluva guy. He was just like
he turned out to be on the baseball eld. He wouldnt take [crap] from any-
body or anything. I remember him saying he was just as good as anybody
else. Mind you, he would never say better than anyone else, but just as good
white, black, or green. If there would be anybody Id have liked to be like in
this world, Id have to say it would be Jackie Robinson. And Jackie showed
me a lot of respect. He told me I was his idol.1
Louis always came off as someone who was happy in his own skin, so it
was interesting to hear his comment about wanting to be like Robinson. What
he no doubt meant was the ability to be more forceful and outspoken. That
was not his way and he knew it. Louis never tried to pretend to be something
he was not, but it is fascinating that at least this once he lamented not being
a different type of person.
At the time Robinson was playing for the bases football team, but he
was shut out of competing for the baseball team. Louis intervention with the
base commanding ofcer remedied that. There was a lot of racism in the
service.... That made me real mad. I knew I had inuence,2 Louis said.
During one of these golf sessions Robinson told Louis about the more
pressing problem he and 19 others (all of whom had attended college) faced
regarding the ofcer training school. Louis phoned Gibson and Gibson came
to Kansas to investigate. Gibson ended the months-long delay that sent the
group, including Robinson, into Ofcer Candidate School.
Gibson later spoke of a more hushed-up incident. He said that during
ofcer training a white ofcer called another individual a stupid nigger son
of a bitch. Although the disparaging remark was not directed at him, Robin-
son jumped in. A brief exchange of obscenities resulted in Robinson beating
up the man. Gibson said that Louis presentation of very expensive gifts, in
other words, a bribe, is the only thing that allowed Robinson to nish ofcer
training school.3 Louis efforts began his friendship with Robinson. Robinson,
thanks to Louis intervention, came out of the training as a second lieuten-
ant.
The most publicized incident that plagued Robinson during his Army
career took place at Fort Hood in Texas. He sat down on a bus next to a
woman whom he described as the wife of another black ofcer that he knew.
The woman was black, but light-skinned and was mistaken for Caucasian.
The bus driver stopped the vehicle and ordered Robinson to the back of the
bus. Robinson wouldnt move and a heated argument followed.
200 Joe Louis

The driver continued the route, but upon arrival at the depot, he sum-
moned MPs, who arrested Robinson. Robinson was referred to as that nigger
lieutenant4 and he ferociously shouted back not to call him that and give
him the respect due an ofcer. That defused nothing. Robinson faced three
charges at a court-martial. However, between the time Robinson was arrested
and he faced the military court, Louis had swung into action. He contacted
Gibson and somehow the story was picked up and highly publicized in the
black press across the country. The NAACP got involved and charged that
Robinson was being set up.
Certain allegations were dropped, a court proceeding took place, but
with watered down issues being considered. In the end Robinson was simply
able to leave the Army. Although there is no doubt that the Louis-Gibson
pipeline was inuential in easing the pressure on Robinson, it was not some-
thing overly publicized at the time. Nor did Louis want it to be.
In the rst half of the 1940s, compared to Joe Louis, Jackie Robinson
was an unknown. He had been a star college athlete at UCLA and he had
played some baseball not everyone even thought it was his best sport. After
World War II ended, when Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey embarked
on his search for what he considered the perfect candidate to break Major
League baseballs color barrier and settled on Robinson, then with the Kansas
City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues, for the role, Robinson exploded into
Americans consciousness.
Eventually, Robinsons fame and the credit given him as a barrier breaker
enabled him to eclipse Louis on the national scene. His baseball star was
ascendant as Louis boxing stardom was on the downswing. Both men were
pioneers. Both men used sport as their vehicle. Louis came rst and helped
pave the way for Robinson. But he was a name in an individual sport, which
over time declined in popularity. Robinson helped integrate a team sport and
one that remains in the forefront of sports fans rooting interests today.
Baseball was indisputably the most popular sport in the United States
in 1942 and one Robinson biographer noted, Robinson was being compared
to Frederick Douglass, George Washington Carver, and Joe Louis, with some
writers concluding that this man would do more for his people than any of
the others.6
Some years later, author James Baldwin, who was also an African Amer-
ican, wrote of Robinsons Major League baseball debut, Back in the Thirties
and Forties Joe Louis was the only hero that we ever had. When he won a
ght everybody in Harlem was up in heaven. On that April day the large con-
tingent of blacks in the crowd of nearly 40,000 had another hero to be up
in heaven about, another hero to stand beside Joe Louis.5
 24. A Young Man Named Robinson 201

From the vantage point of the 2000s, it is difcult for younger people
to envision how thoroughly African Americans were outcast from daily life
in the rst half of the 20th century. That included newspaper and radio cov-
erage. Historians looking back at the 1930s suggest that even before Louis
became heavyweight champion, making his name known worldwide, and by
merely becoming a contender, he had increased his visibility a million-fold.
He immediately became the most prominent black in America. Louis took
Harlem by storm.7
Rickey had thoroughly scouted Robinson and he knew the nature of his
players volatile temper. In exchange for the chance to integrate the big leagues,
Rickey made Robinson promise that he had to turn the other cheek to the
inevitable insults that would accompany his breakthrough for a two-year
period. Robinson agreed.
Beyond that Rickey invited Louis, Bill Bojangles Robinson, and Paul
Robeson, prominent African Americans in the world of sport and entertain-
ment, to talk with Robinson about what his ascension would mean and how
closely scrutinized his behavior would be by white America. We didnt need
to say anything to Jackie, Louis said. Hed been in the Army. He knew just
what to look for. He knew hed have to be strong and take the [crap], or hed
close the door for black people in baseball for Lord knows how many more
years.8
There was an irony in this. Louis was coaching Robinson on how to suc-
ceed himself as Americas most iconic black athlete. When Louis rose to promi-
nence and for several years after many times he was barely even described
in human terms. He was always an animalistic gure in the ring and newspaper
cartoons exaggerated his features and demeanor.
Now Louis was the role model for Robinson. Louis had not only tamed
the heavyweight division, he had tamed the sports reporters. Whereas once
most of the writers viewed him as a caricature, now they admired him as a
man. He had been around at the top of the sport for so long he out-lasted
some of them and changed the minds of others.
Baseball ranked much higher in the public estimation than boxing. It
was called the National Pastime and for years sports writers in the black press,
working for such outts as the Pittsburgh Courier or the Chicago Defender,
had lobbied the sport to open access to African American players. It had been
a long struggle and Robinson was one man who recognized that without Joe
Louis help (in the Army and beyond) that he might never have been able to
fulll his own destiny.
I have said many times before that I only hope I can do half as much
for my people as he has done, Robinson wrote. Hes been an inspiration to
202 Joe Louis

us all. Joe has made it easy for me and the other fellows in baseball. I imagine
that Mr. Rickey said to himself when considering the idea, Joe Louis has
proven that a Negro can take honors and remain dignied.9
Sam Lacy, one of the best-read and best sports writers toiling in the black
press for the Baltimore Afro-American, once assessed the dual impact of Louis
and Robinson from the perspective of a parent. He said he hoped his son
would blend the traits of the two trailblazers. Id want him to combine the
wisdom of Joe Louis with the courage of Jackie Robinson, said Lacy. Id
hope for him to have Jackies ability to hold his head high in adversity, the
willingness to withstand the butts and digs and meanness of those who envy
him.10
Robinson, who had much to be thankful of directly due to Louis during
their overlapping time in the Army, paid homage to him for the ghters
impact on the American scene that Robinson encountered after World War
II. Im sure if it wasnt for Joe Louis the color line in baseball would not have
been broken for another 10 years, Robinson said.11
Louis had not retired from boxing when he joined the Army. He was on
hiatus. By the time he was discharged and a real ght was arranged, it was
more than two and a half years since Louis met Simon in the benet bout,
and the heavyweight champ had not been in serious training since. Likewise,
the heavyweight championship was in suspended animation while Louis served
his country.
At age 30, Louis was ready to return to his primary business. Waiting
for his second chance was Billy Conn, a rematch made in heaven that took
ve years to make. Besides a war and Louis role in it for the Army, the champ
had become a father, he had become a friend to Robinson, who in some ways
very soon would come to represent a kind of passing of the torch for African
Americans, and those both close to Louis and only connected to him from
the sport would undergo dramatic changes, too.
 25
After the War

Joe Louis emerged from World War II with elevated standing on the
American scene. Before the war he was a prominent sports gure. After the
war he was a prominent man. As the heavyweight champion of the world
Louis was already one of the best-known sports gures anywhere. But for the
most part, he was still seen merely as a boxer. After the war he was recognized
as an American hero.
A man who excelled in a profession where he was routinely praised for
his killer instinct gained exalted status without killing anyone. In a time of
peace, Louis was seen as a killer in the ring because of the power in his sts,
an athlete who was the toughest man in the universe and one who slaugh-
tered, murdered, destroyed other men. Those were analogies, not literal
interpretations of his boxing prowess.
When he was in uniform, Louis neither slaughtered, nor destroyed. An
athlete once dismissed for his soft-spoken, short answers to sports writers
questions served his country by speaking loudly. Sometimes it was at large
rallies where he uttered his famous comment about being on Gods side.
Sometimes it was in front of gatherings of troops. World War II was far more
than a few-year intermission in Louis boxing career, however. Much around
him had changed or was changing.
Most signicant was the loss of trainer and mentor Jack Blackburn. The
man who polished Louis style, who guided him from his rst minutes as a
professional to the heavyweight title and beyond, was not in the champs
corner for his charity bout with Abe Simon in March of 1942. Assistant trainer
Mannie Seamon took over because Blackburn was in fading health.
Blackburn was hospitalized in Chicago, suffering from pneumonia, and
Louis visited him before returning to Fort Dix in New Jersey. Almost as soon
as he got back, however, Louis received a telegram from friend Freddie Guin-
yard. The message was brief: Chappies Dead. Blackburn had recovered

203
204 Joe Louis

sufciently to be released, but soon after going home he suffered a heart attack
and passed away on April 24, less than a month after Louis bout with Simon.
When Louis received the news of Blackburns death he broke down crying.1
The funeral took place in Chicago, and after the Army granted him two
weeks leave, Louis served as a pallbearer, as expected (others included Cab
Calloway, Bill Bojangles Robinson, John Roxborough and Julian Black) as
an estimated 10,000 people turned out to pay their respects. Although Black-
burn was a prominent man in the boxing world, it is likely that much of the
outpouring was a tribute to his connection with Louis and that many came
primarily to catch a glimpse of the champ. Chappie was buried at Lincoln
Cemetery, and when the dirt went down on that cofn, I knew my life would
never be the same again, Louis said.2
Throughout the 1940s, Louis and Marva had their share of disagreements
and near-break-ups. It eventually came to light that Louis had a number of
affairs while he was in uniform and some rumors even broke into gossip
columns suggesting he had his next wife lined up as soon as his divorce was
nal. Ultimately, divorce proceedings did come. On March 28, 1945, Marva
led for a legal resolution of their difcult relationship on grounds of desertion.
Louis did not ght the divorce.
Joe thinks I ought to be happy because Ive got all of the material things
any woman could want, Marva said at the time. But its no fun being alone
all the time.3
Actually, prevailing opinion, especially in the black community, was that
Marva should have been happy being the wife of the most famous black man
in the world. During the war, daughter Jacqueline was born (she was named
after Jack Blackburn). Whatever press commentary there was about Joe and
Marva splitting up, it favored Louis perspective, not Marvas. Much to every-
ones surprise, however, after Louis was discharged from the Army, and with
a full-court press in the way of gifts and attention, Louis and Marva got re-
married in July of 1946. Clearly, Marva must have believed that Louis had
changed his ways, that he was going to be more of a stay-at-home husband,
and certainly that he was not going to continue as a philanderer. She was
wrong on every expectation. Louis did not change at all.
However, during Louis-Marva II, the couple had another child. Son Joe
Louis Barrow, Jr., was born in 1947. Also during this tumultuous period, his
managerial team dissolved. Roxborough had been arrested in Michigan and
was sent to prison for his involvement in numbers running. To avoid tarnishing
Louis reputation, Roxborough backed away from his pupil.
Then Black did the same, perhaps because he just didnt want to be the
main front man with Blackburn and Roxborough out of the picture, though
 25. After the War 205

its not completely clear just how much Louis wanted him to fulll that role,
either. Blacks 10-year contract as co-manager of Louis was up and Louis did
not want to pay him a 25-percent rate to stay on, especially since he owed
$81,000 in back taxes at the time. The problem only grew and every thousand
bucks Louis could save served to his advantage. Seamon stepped up as full-
time trainer, but Louis actually gave Marva a 25 percent interest in his career
as manager and hired Marshall Miles, an old friend, for a 10 percent interest.
None of the trio that had guided Louis to the title and done its best to
protect and safeguard his public image was involved in Louis career anymore.
If this all seemed unsettling to Louis, he had moved on from his World War
II service with a more favorable public face than ever and he could ruminate
that at the least he had things better than his old nemesis Max Schmeling.
In the 1930s, when Schmeling haunted Louis as the only boxer to defeat
him, he was viewed as much as a representative of Germanys hateful Nazi
policies as he was seen as a professional athlete. Now, in the 1940s, Louis was
viewed as an outspoken proponent of the American way of life to such a
degree that his fame among non-boxing fans was as high as it was among ght
fans.
During the war, Louis was employed by the United States as a propa-
gandizing morale gure because of his popularity. During the war, Schmeling,
who had once dined with and taken tea with dictator Adolf Hitler, was thrust
into uniform and sent to the front lines with a paratroop unit. Losing to Louis
in their rematch had diminished whatever clout Schmeling possessed and he
was on the outs with the German government to the point where someone
who didnt like him was able to get him posted someplace he might be killed.
By the time the United States entered the war, Schmeling was 36, hardly
a prime age for a foot soldier. Schmeling was not anxious for any military
service, but was conscripted he thought to provide physical tness train-
ing to recruits. Once on site he was impressed into the training program,
promptly hurt a knee and was in a clinic for six weeks. Schmeling said he was
never given any actual combat training, just thrown in with a group, taken
to Greece and mixed in with a team of paratroopers. When he jumped out
of the plane he re-injured the knee.
As he limped along, Schmeling said he was given charge of a British pris-
oner. The man recognized him and said he was a friend of English boxer
Tommy Farr. Then Schmeling said he got dysentery. He was miserable, but
not wounded. Yet somehow word leaked to the West that Schmeling had been
killed. All of this took place before the U.S. entered the war. When the pub-
licity surfaced that Schmeling was dead, the German government trotted him
out in order to prove that Western reporting was irresponsible. Instead,
206 Joe Louis

Schmeling caused a sensation with his responses to American reporters, rst

saying he hoped there would be no war with the U.S. and that contrary to
reports he had seen no British atrocities, something the Germans were claim-
ing. The Nazi government, which had arranged the press conference, was
infuriated and Schmeling was put on trial by the military for speaking his
mind.
Schmeling said he was suddenly discharged in 1943 after three and a half
years in uniform and after spending only two days at the front. In the United
States, Schmeling was seen not only as a representative of a defeated power,
but as someone whose own image had been tarnished. He had seemed too
cozy with the losing side, even if he had not engaged in any Nazi-inspired
crimes, and was never a member of the party. Although Schmeling and Louis
would never meet in the ring for a rubber match, their paths were fated to
cross again, but much later in life.
Louis last ght dated to early 1942 against Abe Simon and he carried a
531 lifetime record into the post-war phase of his career. On November 11,
1944, while still in the Army, Louis engaged in a ght against Johnny Davis
at the Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo. Historians have sometimes debated
what to make of this appearance. The ght was only scheduled for four rounds,
so it certainly seems like it was an exhibition. However, some record-keeping
sources count it on Louis record as a victory after he stopped Davis (who had
only a 33 mark) in the rst round. Apparently, the only reason this ght is
discussed as being anything beyond an exhibition is because the New York
State Athletic Commission called it a title defense. It seems absurd on the
face of it because title ghts were scheduled for 15 rounds and only beginners
in their rst ghts, or those participating in exhibitions, get involved in four-
rounders. It is at best an oddity with a victory declared for Louis. If Louis
had lost, the bout might have screwed up the boxing world for a time.
After Louis left the Army his rst order of real sticuff business was the
very long-awaited rematch with Billy Conn. They signed to meet on June 19,
1946. Five years had passed since the thrilling, surprising, and entertaining
rst meeting between the two men. Five years that seemed like an eternity
had gone by on the calendar and no one could truly predict how rust might
affect either combatant. There was little question, though, that this was the
right ght for Louis and the right ght for boxing to put itself back on the
map of the American sporting scene after the war-time hiatus.
Like Louis, Conn went into the Army when hostilities broke out, and
he also was paid $21 a month as a private instead of taking home a six-gure
payday from a rematch. He also was enlisted to ght exhibitions and entertain
soldiers as a respite from combat and he and Louis saw each other in London
 25. After the War 207

during the war. But when he was a civilian once again there was no doubt
that Conn had his eye on Louis. The rematch was announced for Yankee Sta-
dium in June, six months after the public unveiling of the idea. Plenty of
time for a buildup for promoter Mike Jacobs and plenty of time for the two
principals to round into form for their big test. Ringside seats were $100.
Conns preliminary training camp was set up in Hot Springs, Arkansas,
supposedly at the order of mobster Owney Madden, who apparently wanted
the entertainment where he was hanging out. Those three years in the Army
didnt help my ring condition any, Conn said, dismissing his mid1940s exhi-
bitions.4
Both men had work to do to regain their pre-war form. There was noth-
ing like putting Conn in front of Louis to focus his attention (though he did
slip into the bad habit of playing golf too often again during training). I
knew I had to shape up for the ght with Conn, Louis said. Conn was as
hungry as I was and in our last ght he could have been the champion. Those
exhibition bouts in the Army were just fun and games. I needed some heavy
training. As far as I was concerned, I hadnt fought in 46 months.5
Conn was 28 and Louis was 32. Flat, muscled bellies were harder to
come by, but both men looked pretty t at the weigh-in. Conn weighed in
182 (he had come down considerably from the start of training) and Louis
weighed 207. There was still a 25-pound disparity.
At one point when Conn and Louis ran into one another after the rst
ght, Conn said, I had your ass beat. I could have won the title, been the
champion six months, then Id let you win it back. Louis, as he always seemed
to manage, came up with a pithy reply that summarized the situation perfectly,
and in this case also stung. How were you gonna keep the title for six months
when you couldnt keep it for 12 rounds?6
Conn certainly aimed to keep the heavyweight crown longer than that this
time. But Louis had already held onto it for nine years and had grown quite
attached to it. Conn would need his sts, his stamina, and perhaps a crowbar
to pry the heavyweight title belt from around Louis waist. He had 15 three-
minute rounds to make his case. One thing all should have kept in mind is
that Louis always, always, performed better against a foe the second time.
The crowd was 45,266 and the gate produced just shy of $2 million for
the long-talked-about rematch. For the rst ght Conn was lighter on his feet
and quicker with his jab. He out-boxed Louis and that was his strategy for
the second ght, too, as made sense. Everyone knew that he couldnt slug
with the Brown Bomber, no one better than Conn himself, who carried around
the memory of his demise in the rst bout in 1941 like a 10-ton weight on his
shoulders.
208 Joe Louis

For the rst seven rounds Conn periodically attempted to stick and move
(his game), but he wasnt as fast as he had been, the war years sapping more
of his speed than it did of Louis agility. Louis style was to stalk, and he did,
but Conn did not make the ghts pace as he had the rst time and what he
offered was largely ineffective. The same punches that penetrated Louis
defenses ve years earlier did not make it past his gloves this time. There was
little that Conn could accomplish, only trying to dish out more of the same
and hope it took some kind of a toll (though there was no evidence it would),
or that he would land the lucky punch that all boxers dream of to nish off
a foe.
The one-shot deal, though, came from the other side. In the eighth
round Louis was able to briey pin Conn in a neutral corner. He slammed
him with a body punch that brought a grimace. Conn was able to escape the
trap in the corner, but Louis left opened a cut over Conns left eye. The next
time Louis landed a left, Conn was off balance and open to a follow-up smash.
The Louis right did its job, cracking Conn on the chin and dropping him to
the canvas. Conn never did get the license plate of that truck. The counting
by referee Eddie Josephs stopped at 2 minutes, 18 seconds of the eighth.
Conn did not rise at 10, either. Once Josephs signaled the end, the chal-
lenger had to be dragged to his corner by his helpers. For all of the hype,
which had percolated on a back burner for ve years, the ght was far from
the classic of the rst one. Age and inactivity had dimmed Conns skills. Louis
was still Louis, not as purely athletically talented as he had been, but after a
remarkable 22 title defenses, he was still the king.
It took quite a bit of hard work for Louis to trim down and step into
the ring in rst-rate shape. Only he and trainer Seamon knew the extent to
which his elbows pained him because he had once again indulged in too much
golf. It was a long grind from the sulphur baths and steam baths at West
Baden to the eighth round of the Conn bout at the Yankee Stadium, but the
payoff wallops were good to see, Seamon said.7
Now that he had worked out sufciently to regain heavyweight cham-
pionship form, Louis wanted to return to his pre-war pace and ght often.
As much as anything else he needed the money. Always lurking in the back-
ground (and pretty close to the foreground) for Louis, coloring every decision
he made, were the demands of the Internal Revenue Service for back taxes.
Louis years of generosity, years of being a big spender, and years without
making investments or stashing savings caught up to him.
Being slow to pay off was a problem growing in magnitude for Louis,
too. He couldnt seem to get ahead, even with six-gure purses. He couldnt
eradicate the debt, rein in his spending sufciently, and so interest kept mount-
 25. After the War 209

ing. The only way Louis knew how to make a living was through the power
in his sts. He had to keep using them to make a buck.
Unfortunately for Louis there were no other big-time challengers on the
horizon immediately after World War II. The lingering take-care-of-business
rematch with Conn demonstrated that there was no need of, or demand for,
a third bout. So Louis signed on to meet Tami Mauriello, also at Yankee Sta-
dium, on September 18, 1946.
Although there were no contenders with the type of drawing power of
Conn, Mike Jacobs could always promote using Louis brand name. He was
not only popular as a ghter and had the nations goodwill because of his
actions during World War II, he was an American institution. Even though
Louis was still the heavyweight champ, those who thought about it had to
realize he couldnt continue forever in that role. Age was creeping up on the
Brown Bomber.
Mauriello was of Italian extraction from the Bronx and he held the nick-
name of Meatball. How attering this was supposed to be was unknown.
Since there were really no other heavyweights oating around in the ranks
that Louis had not yet defeated he actually requested Mauriello as his next
opponent. This was a good news-bad news opportunity for Mauriello. The
good news was that he had the chance to win the heavyweight title. The bad
news was that he had to go through Joe Louis to get it. Odds-makers gave
him no better than an 81 chance to succeed, which improved on the opening
odds of 121.
Mauriello, who weighed 198 1 2 pounds compared to Louis 211 1 2, told the
world that he was condent and that not only would he raid his savings
account for a bet, but that his family members were going to bet on him, too.
Ive just got to beat Louis, Mauriello said. All of my relatives and friends
are betting on me. Theyll be ruined if I dont win.8
It was unknown if newspaper sleuths checked the bankruptcy court after
the ght to check up on those close to Mauriellos nancial fortunes, but
Louis, as pledged, wiped out the contender in less than one round, 2 minutes,
9 seconds into the event. The victory marked his 23rd defense of the heavy-
weight title. There were 38,494 ticket-buying witnesses, and if any of them
were late to their seats they missed the entire championship show.
Louis received $103,000 for the ght, but even before new manager Mar-
shall Miles could grab a piece of it and bank it, the champ asked Jacobs to
fork over the cash and he invested $43,000 in the Rheum Boogie Caf in
Chicago. It was part of Louis plan of trying to nd other ways to make money
outside of the ring, though he did so often without expert advice and paid
for it.
210 Joe Louis

Also more about fund-raising than boxing was Louis tour of South
America to ght exhibitions, although he wasnt a huge hit. In addition, the
champ opened the Joe Louis Restaurant and Bar on 125th Street in Harlem.
Other expenditures went into the launching of Joe Louis Punch, a soft drink,
a vocational school in Chicago and an insurance company. Many came under
the umbrella of Joe Louis Enterprises. He was certainly trying to boost his
nancial fortunes to pay off the IRS. The problem was that sooner or later
all of them, even the Harlem restaurant, which did well at rst, failed.
Upon sober reection it was clear to Louis that these investments were
not going to maintain him in the style of luxury living to which he had grown
accustomed. Nor were they going to bail him out of his money troubles with
the government. There were no indications in either the Conn bout and cer-
tainly not in the Mauriello ght that Louis was fading. He seemed perfectly
capable of relying on his sts to continue his reign as the heavyweight champ
indenitely. At the least he believed he could keep taking on and eliminating
challengers for the money.
 26
End Days of a
Brilliant Career

After his powerful sts disposed of Billy Conn and Tami Mauriello, there
was little indication that Joe Louis wouldnt be able to handle Jersey Joe Wal-
cott with the same ease. Everyone agreed that Jersey Joe was a nice man whod
had some bad luck in the ght game, but he still seemed like just another one
of the many heavyweights for Louis to swat aside as he extended his reign.
Jersey Joe was known more as a boxer than a puncher, but had run across
enough opponents who solved his style that no one in the boxing game
believed he was invincible.
Walcott, who was born Arnold Cream, was as hungry as the next man
for a shot at the heavyweight crown. Like so many other boxers he had chosen
the profession as a way out of poverty. Born in 1914 in Pennsauken, New
Jersey, Walcott, one of 12 children, was about the same age as Louis. At times
when he was young his family did not have enough food so meals were
skipped. Nothing came easy to Walcott. He quit school to work when he was
15 after his father died.
When Walcott began ghting, it was decided that Arnold Cream didnt
sound like a rough-and-tumble boxer, so Walcott took the name of a prior
welterweight champion. His early inuential trainer was Jack Blackburn, the
same man who mentored Louis later as he rose to heavyweight champ.
Married, and trying to raise a family, Walcott could not devote his atten-
tion 100 percent to the ring. He had to work outside jobs, too, sometimes on
an ice and coal truck. He was also struck by typhoid fever and the illness
sidelined him from the sport for a while. As in his youth, Walcott was once
again living on the edge, struggling nancially. He had success in the ring in
New Jersey and gained some respect, but earned no big paydays.
Walcott eventually lost contact with Blackburn, who had been hired to
take care of Louis, but in 1936, two years after the two men last met, Blackburn

211
212 Joe Louis

searched him out and offered him a job as a Louis sparring partner. Louis was
preparing for his rst bout with Max Schmeling and the pay was $25 a round,
with at least one round guaranteed each day he was in camp in Lakewood,
New Jersey. It promised to be more satisfying work for Walcott than delivering
ice or coal.
To some extent, what happens in training camp stays in training camp.
But sometimes the other extreme takes hold too much gossip emerging
from the secrecy, where the truth may be a casualty. Walcott was not long for
Louis camp. He claimed he knocked Louis down in sparring and was red
after the rst day. Louis adherents say he knocked Walcott down and he quit.
A biography of Walcott says that he told a grandson that he knocked Louis
down two days running and then was red.1
More than 10 years passed before Louis and Walcott signed to ght
for real. Louis was the most active heavyweight champion in history. Typi-
cally, he fought every few months. But after he chilled out the division
with his domination of Conn and Mauriello he departed from his pre-
dictable schedule. Louis took the title on the road, ghting exhibitions
everywhere from Hawaii to Mexico, throughout Central and South Amer-
ica. His normal fee was $10,000 per appearance and he cleared more than
$150,000 from his road show. It was a solid chunk of change, but not enough
for Louis needs. Not only did he travel with a large entourage, footing the
bill, but the ever-present IRS was after his purse money whenever he cashed
a check.
Any payday that registered in the thousands of dollars was a blessing for
Walcott, who said he worked at every lthy job from cleaning cesspools on
up to earn a living. And I never did a wrong thing.2 Meaning he stayed on
the right side of the law despite occasions when he was desperate.
It later came out that when Louis was probed by a doctor leading up to
the ght there was, for the rst time, suspicion voiced that he had lost some
of his reex speed. Such a diagnosis might lead a boxer to consider retiring,
sooner rather than later. Whether Louis dismissed this opinion or not, he did
not believe he was in any position to give up boxing. Years into his successful
career, and reign as title-holder, he needed money as urgently as when he
began in the sport.
Originally, Louis planned to ght Walcott over 10 rounds in a non-title
ght on November 14, but unable to nd anyone else who deserved a title
shot, this bout was upgraded.
Louis weighed in at 211 pounds to Walcotts 194 1 2. Whether it was embar-
rassment or some other reason, Louis had been uncomfortable with his weight
in the days leading up to the bout felt it was going to be too high so he
 26. End Days of a Brilliant Career 213

fasted and dried out, two counterproductive moves for stamina. Trainer Man-
nie Seamon was very unhappy with his charge when he learned what he had
done.
When he stepped into the ring at Madison Square Garden, Louis, who
had two inches in height over the challenger, appeared to be nely tuned, his
stomach hard. Bookmakers made Louis an 81 favorite and the general view
was that Louis would stop Walcott quicker, perhaps in ve rounds. Thats
how Louis saw the action unfolding, expressing his desire to get things over
with quick.3
The referee assigned to the bout was the estimable Arthur Donovan,
who ended up being the third man in the ring 20 times in Louis bouts. Dono-
van, enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame, was the son of a
prominent early boxer named Mike Donovan and the father of football Hall
of Famer Arthur Donovan, Jr., a defensive tackle with the Baltimore Colts.
Walcotts side protested the appointment of Donovan as ref, delicately seeking
to work around the issue of whether a man whose job it was to be impartial
could be prejudiced in favor of Louis out of familiarity.
It is not that I question Donovans honesty or ability, said Walcott
manager Joe Webster. Rather, it is because I feel, and I suspect that most of
the boxing fans share the feeling, that Donovan has worked in too many of
Louis bouts and a change would be welcome.4
The New York State Athletic Commission, under chairman Eddie Eagan,
did make a change, subbing another famed referee, Ruby Goldstein, in for
Donovan. What Goldstein and the other 18,000-plus witnesses in the Garden
saw that night shocked them. Joe Louis, idol of millions, looked as if had
suddenly aged 10 years. Jersey Joe Walcott, the underdog in the view of mil-
lions, seemed to dominate the ght. There was little question he set the pace.
From the opening bell Walcott was the superior aggressor. He boxed and
moved. He punched and connected. Walcotts style ummoxed Louis. Before
the rst round ended Walcott dropped Louis to the oor with a well-timed
right-hand blow to the head. Louis was up at the count of two, seemingly
determined to prove that Walcotts success was a uke.
Louis seemed tangled in his own limbs as he frustratingly couldnt
unwind and clip Walcott with his heavy artillery. He scored, but not consis-
tently. Then in the fourth round Walcott scored a second knockdown. The
Garden was buzzing, astonished at the manner in which Walcott seemed in
command. By the fth round Louis was also dripping blood from his nose.
As the rounds played out, Louis exchanges grew sharper, and Walcott
employed a strategy of staying outside more. Walcott frequently backed up,
but after a while Louis refused to come to him and waited for the challenger
214 Joe Louis

to move back in. Their exchanges evened out and Louis belted Walcotts body.
Walcott pummeled Louis face, causing swelling.
When the bell ended after 15 rounds Louis appeared dispirited, in no
way resembling the recently overwhelming champion. He attempted to climb
out of the ring before the decision was announced, but his seconds grabbed
him, informing him he would be disqualied if he did so. One eye shut,
cheeks swollen, Louis looked beaten. However, when the ofcials scores were
read he prevailed. Two judges voted for Louis, 8-6-1 and 96, while Goldstein
backed Walcott, 7-6-2 on his scorecard.
Goldstein raised Louis hand and proclaimed that he was still heavyweight
champion of the world, but the New York fans, usually so kind to Louis,
booed the split decision. Almost immediately, Webster protested again, this
time the result, requesting that the commission conduct a review a few days
hence.
When the ght ended, the boxers embraced in the ring. Louis said, Im
sorry, to Walcott and some took that to mean he was apologizing for the bad
decision, Walcott among them. Louis said later he was apologizing for his
own bad performance. I won, Louis said, but I was disgusted with myself.
It was a bad ght. I always said I wasnt the man I was before.5 Walcott
believed he was the winner of the ght and said so. I thought I had won nine
rounds, he said in his dressing room at the Garden.6
A couple of days after the Friday night ght, the commission upheld the
verdict, but ordered a rematch that Louis had already agreed to for June of
1948, this time at Yankee Stadium in anticipation of a $1 million gate because
of Walcotts new-found stature.
Public opinion was on Walcotts side after the disputed result. While it
was to be expected that Walcott and his manager, Webster, said he had won
on points, less expected was a poll of 40 ringside sports writers who favored
Walcott by a 2416 margin.
Louis 24th defense of the title was not as convincing as most of his oth-
ers.
Louis did some hard thinking and announced that his next title ght
was going to be his last. He admitted he made a mistake in dropping four
pounds in two days prior to the Walcott bout. Louis also said he injured his
right hand in the fth round and thought it was broken, although it turned
out to be merely badly bruised. He considered the Walcott ght a bad day
and less than proof that he was slipping. Yet he did think that age 34 the next
summer he would be ready to bid boxing farewell.
After that the next ght I have will be in a bar room, Louis joked. Ive
had enough. Ive been around a long time.7
 26. End Days of a Brilliant Career 215

He had. Louis had owned the heavyweight title since June 22, 1937. No
one had come close to that record. Neither had anyone come close to his 24
defenses. One more and then he would leave the sport that had carried him
from being an unknown poor boy in Alabama and then Detroit and trans-
formed him into a famous and admired American whose name was known
in every household. Given his track record Louis had every reason to believe
that a second match-up with Walcott would unfold the way so many of his
other second meetings with boxers went. When it came to adapting and
adjusting, and learning from rst impressions, Louis was denitely the king.
For Louis, it was a matter of pride. He wanted to beat Walcott decisively.
Walcott genuinely thought he had won the rst encounter and relished a sec-
ond chance at the crown.
However, the second bout did not turn out terribly pleasing for
fans. Louis wanted to make Walcott come to him and Walcott knew that
was Louis strategy, so he kept his distance. Action was hard to come by
for the rst nine rounds. Things were so stagnant that in the 10th round
referee Frank Fullam urged both men to ght. Louis took him up on the
idea and in the 11th he saw his opening. He blasted Walcott with one right
and three lefts and put him on the canvas. Walcott was counted out at 2
minutes, 56 seconds of the round. Joe Louis by knockout in his nal ght!
It was poetic.
There were no boos when Louis hand was raised in victory this time.
The cheers were for me and I loved every minute of it, he said.8
On the night of June 25, 1948, Louis had no intention of ghting again.
He was sincere about this. The win was sweet and an appropriate punctuation
mark to his great career, although members of the press did not all give him
a warm sendoff.
Moths uttered frantically about the ring under the great lights, car-
oming crazily off the head and shoulders of both Joe Louis and Jersey Joe
Walcott, wrote New York Times columnist Arthur Daley. For 10 dreary
rounds the moths did about as much damage to the contestants as the ghters
did to each other. If this were not the worst ght ever staged, it came mighty
close to it, a grotesque parody of the Manly Art of Modied Murder. The
challenger wouldnt ght. The champion couldnt.9
When he actually voluntarily relinquished the title, Louis had held the
heavyweight championship for a still-record 12 years.
Although Louis owed big money to the IRS the actual dollar amount
seemed to be a shifting target he felt by parlaying his name into success in
other businesses he could still live the high life he enjoyed and pay off his
debt. That was his ambition on the night he knocked out Jersey Joe in their
216 Joe Louis

second ght. Louis was walking away from life as heavyweight champ and
hopefully walking into a new life as an entrepreneur.
For starters, Louis was put on the payroll of the Twentieth Century
Sporting Club for $25,000 a year he considered it to be a pension of sorts.
Then, with the aid of his old friend and attorney Truman Gibson, Louis made
a deal with another boxing promotional entity the newly formed Interna-
tional Boxing Club to arrange a heavyweight elimination tournament to
choose his successor as heavyweight champ since the title was now vacant
with his retirement.
These activities would keep Louis in the sport where he was famous and
would provide an income. But the dollars coming in were insignicant com-
pared to his debt. He could never catch up with the IRS. An audit showed
he owed more money than previously believed, that he had been victimized
by bad advice, and the government agency informed Louis that he owed more
than $500,000. The only way Louis could ever hope to satisfy the government
was to make more money and the only profession he knew that could provide
him with six-gure paydays was boxing.
Louis had surrendered the heavyweight crown, the most lucrative title
in boxing. But he still had his unenviable record to stand on and his name
and reputation. He knew all too well that what he no longer had was the
speed and sharpness of his youth. Most boxers are somewhat delusional (and
Louis was no exception), but he had a more accurate sense of self than most.
He may not have admitted it publicly (though he sometimes did), but when
Louis did not ght well he recognized it. He knew that he should stay retired,
but also felt cornered. He had little choice his best way to raise money was
to ght.
Before the end of 1949, in November, Louis returned to the ring against
Johnny Shkor. Then in September of 1950, Louis made a true comeback. The
ghter who emerged as the new heavyweight champ following Louis was
Ezzard Charles, aka The Cincinnati Cobra. Regarded more as a slick-boxing
light-heavyweight, Charles fought as a heavyweight at under 190 pounds.
Charles gained the heavyweight crown by besting Walcott in a 15-round ght.
Charles was a small man compared to Louis. He didnt have the ex-
champs punching power, and to some he was judged as a caretaker of the
title rather than the genuine article. When Louis announced he was coming
out of retirement, Charles welcomed the challenge in order to add legitimacy
to his crown. As a young black ghter, Charles considered Louis to be his
idol and role model. That did not matter now. This was business.
Many believed that Louis could emerge from two years of inactivity and
win back the crown. His personality, his record, his history, had such a hold
 26. End Days of a Brilliant Career 217

on boxing fans that they failed to see what he had recognized on his own,
that there had been a serious deterioration in his skills. Still, maybe he had
enough left in the tank to pull this sucker off.
For much of his reign, Louis weighed between 198 pounds and 202. In
his post-war defenses his weight began inching up, though it pretty much
stayed under 210. For Charles, however, he weighed in at 218 pounds. This
was a sign that Louis had had trouble shedding weight in training. It was
bound to slow him down a little bit, and he was slowing down anyway.
Charles was younger, faster, and more accurate with his punches. Louis
didnt seem to ever hurt him and he ran Louis to exhaustion, winning the vast
majority of the 15 rounds. Some even said he didnt pursue a sure knockout
in the 15th, with Louis ready to go, because Charles respected him too much.
While Louis ended the bout on his feet he was wobbly and his face was cut
up. Charles retained the heavyweight title.
More than ever Louis fans urged him to retire. He thought that way,
too, but he still faced the same problem. The IRS kept knocking on the door
and Louis didnt have the ready cash to shut them out. Instead of immediately
trying to rebuild his reputation for another shot at the title, Louis mostly
retreated from New York and took on opponents that were not as highly
thought of as a Charles or Walcott.
To stay trim, to add to his ever-shaky bank account, and to refurbish
his reputation, Louis fought and beat Cesar Brion, Freddie Beshore, Omelio
Agramonte, Andy Walker, Agramonte again, Lee Savold (the British heavy-
weight champ), Brion again and Jimmy Bivins. He ran off eight straight vic-
tories and his record stood at 662.
Meanwhile, demonstrating just how extraordinary it was that Louis had
held control of the heavyweight title for so long, the belt was changing hands
rapidly. Charles had won the title from Walcott and defended against him.
He then made two more defenses and lost the title to Walcott. Walcott was
37 years and 168 days old when he won the crown, the oldest man in history
to do so until George Foreman came along in 1994. Walcott and Charles con-
tinued their wars and Walcott made a successful title defense against the
Cincinnati foe.
While all of this was going on Louis, blitzing everyone in the next tier
of opponents, needed a win over someone important in the division to gain
another crack at the crown. The up-and-comer everyone was talking about
was a slugger out of Brockton, Massachusetts, named Rocky Marciano.
Marciano was not a stylish boxer, but he possessed incredible knockout
power. He battered his foes to the ground and stepped right over them as he
climbed the ladder. When he was growing up and became a follower of boxing,
218 Joe Louis

the man he most admired and appreciated was Joe Louis. It didnt matter that
Marciano was white, either. Louis was the best there was and he wanted to
be the best, too.
On October 26, 1951, Marciano, the young Italian Stallion, met the vet-
eran Joe Louis, the Brown Bomber, in a scheduled 10-rounder at Madison
Square Garden. It was a $300,000 check for Louis. The winner just might
get a shot at the title. Marciano was an in-his-prime 28. Louis was 37, well
past his prime. For Louis, it was like the Titanic hitting the iceberg in the
middle of the night. He was a long time picking up the pieces. Bleeding and
fatigued, Louis was stopped in the eighth round.
It was apparent that his career was nished. Marciano, who cried because
of the beating he handed to his hero, would soon be champ and became the
only heavyweight title-holder to retire undefeated. Louis was 663 and there
was no pretense about him being just one ght away from regaining the crown.
Not only did Marciano shed tears, he made his way to Louis dressing
room to say, Im sorry, Joe. Sugar Ray Robinson was there with his friend
and he cried, as well. Not Louis. Whats the use of crying? he said. The
better man won. Thats all.10
At one point during Louis rise to the heavyweight championship, and
during the period when he became more and more popular by knocking out
all challengers, including so-called enemies of the state like Primo Carnera
and Max Schmeling, sports writers had begun offering the backhand racist
compliment on Joes behavior: Hes a credit to his race.
It was not as if people did not recognize Louis blackness anymore, but
he was much more than just some African American from the ghetto who
came off the street and happened to be the best ghter in the country. He
had represented the United States with dignity and class during the frenzied
days leading up to the Schmeling ght, with a demeanor that at all times
stressed taking the high road, and then with his brilliantly simple comment
that enhanced the view of him as a patriot at the outbreak of World War II.
That phrase, a credit to his race, was bandied about for a while, until
it was uttered in front of the wrong man. Jimmy Cannon, a famed New York
sports columnist for the Post, Journal-American and syndicated by King Fea-
tures, was Louis closest friend in the press corps. They enjoyed one anothers
company and Cannon was one of the rst big-time sports writers to write
supportive columns about black athletes. When someone said of Louis, Hes
a credit to his race, Cannon responded, Yes, Louis is a credit to his race,
the human race.11
 27
Real Life Tougher
Than Boxing

The ghting did not end for Joe Louis when he hung up his boxing
gloves. The Internal Revenue Service proved to be a tougher foe than any of
the others, Max Schmeling, Jersey Joe Walcott, or Rocky Marciano. The IRS
was trained to go 15 rounds, 20 if it had to, and as interest penalties kept
mounting up Louis felt besieged and at times unable to cope.
Any time he made any money, the IRS pounced. It wiped out savings
accounts set aside for his children. It jumped on any earnings from boxing
promotion. Worse, Louis other investments zzled. He couldnt possibly keep
up with payments. During the course of his long professional boxing career,
it was estimated that Louis made around $5 million. Once, later in life, a
friend asked Louis if he didnt wish he had come along in later decades when
boxers made much more than that for a single title defense. Louis shrugged
and said it wouldnt have mattered how much money he made, he would have
spent it all anyway.
In my time I made $5 million, wound up broke, and owe the govern-
ment $1 million in taxes, Louis said. If I was ghting today, Id earn $10
million, would still wind up broke, and would owe the government $2 million
in taxes.1 It was a telling lament, if lament is the proper word. Louis didnt
have many regrets.
There is little doubt that most of the rest of Louis life was dened by
his struggles with the IRS. It colored public perception of him. Some shook
their heads and wondered how he could be broke. Others, Louis fans, won-
dered how the government could so persecute a man who did so much for
his country including raising millions of dollars for the effort during World
War II. Alfred Sieminsky, a Democratic representative from New Jersey, intro-
duced a bill in Congress that would have required the IRS to forgive Louis
debt. It did not pass. But the IRS did make a payment plan deal with Louis

219
220 Joe Louis

that would allow him a set amount to live on. Before that Louis had said out
loud to friends, You dont think theyd put me in jail, do you?2 The tension
emanating from the IRS sometimes seemed unbearable to him, understandable
since the debt mushroomed to $1.3 million.
Although he sought out other activities and money-making opportuni-
ties, the early 1950s were not kind to Louis. He was mentally at loose ends,
depressed by the IRS situation, and trying to nd out what a middle-aged
Joe wanted to do now that he was nished ghting.
Promoter Mike Jacobs died, one of the men who had guided Louis career.
Louis mother, Lillie, died. The IRS kept on his tail. Louis oldest brother
Lonnie died in 1960.
While Marva Trotter was seemingly the love of Louis life, he never lacked
for female companionship. He bedded waitresses and hat-check girls, models
and actresses. Occasionally he became serious about one of them, but occa-
sionally he became involved with the wrong type of girl. In a startling turn,
Louis, who had never even smoked cigarettes as a young man (he adopted
that habit later, too), got hooked on heroin through an ill-advised, tempes-
tuous relationship with a woman. Louis referred to this woman as Annie, but
the FBI called her a parasite. Agents informed Louis that Annie was running
drugs for the mob and was using Louis and his good name to shield her busi-
ness. He dumped her and worked to get clean of the drug addiction. Oh, and
Louis, who throughout his boxing career drank only soda, began drinking
alcohol in retirement, too.
Louis married Rose Morgan, a Harlem beauty shop owner, in late 1955,
his second wife. Morgan worked mightily to manage Louis nances, though
short of banning his name from control of all bank accounts there was little
she could do to curb his spending inclinations. Partially because he did not
travel as much as he previously did, Louis became a television game-show
lover. Without telling him, Morgan entered the couple as contestants on High
Finance, and Joe on Masquerade Party. While Louis enjoyed appearing on tel-
evision, when he and his spouse teamed up for $60,000 in winnings on High
Finance the IRS was waiting with hand out. The Louis kept half of it because
it belonged to Morgan. Just because he married again didnt make Louis
monogamous. He roamed at will and the couple split up after a year and a
half together.
In 1959, Louis married for the third time, to a California attorney named
Martha Malone who in her own way seemed to be as tough as Louis, mentally,
at least. Malone cared for two girls whose father had been a client but passed
away. When Louis philandering produced another offspring, she arranged to
adopt the child.
 27. Real Life Tougher Than Boxing 221

By the early 1960s, the heavyweight championship had passed from the
retired Marciano through some others to Sonny Liston, a feared puncher with
almost no schooling who had been in and out of prisons. However, when
Louis and his wife moved to Denver, Colorado, Liston moved in with them.
Louis and Liston became friends. There were many disturbing rumors and
stories about Liston during the height of Louis friendship with the title-
holder who would face an untimely end before he turned 40. Sometime in
the years he was friends with Liston, the Brown Bomber became addicted to
cocaine.
The unsavory aspects of Louis life were mostly kept out of the public
eye. There was no tabloid journalism to rival the supermarket papers hysteria
of future decades, nor was there as much competition among regular newsmen
to report dirt. In between activities, Louis dabbled in a night-club act that
at best was so-so, and then to make a buck he became a professional wrestler.
Louis was not in any way ashamed of his attempts to earn a living after
retiring from boxing, even if some of his fans thought it unseemly that he
would indulge in the fake world of wrestling. Naturally, Louis, in keeping
with his persona, played the part of a good-guy wrestler who had to put up
with certain indignities from villains, but he was always going to prevail. In
addition, the money was good. Louis signed a contract for $100,000 to wrestle
on tour. He was unable to fulll it, not because of any public outcry or his
own doubts, but because he got injured only a couple of matches into his new
career.
At one match in Washington, D.C., Jersey Joe Walcott, also in need of
money, was the referee. That match ended with Louis hurling his opponent,
Cowboy Rocky, out of the ring. It was a charade, of course. Louis pulled his
punches or Cowboy Rocky would have become rocky road.
One peculiarity of Louis retirement years, or perhaps a development
that most would have considered extraordinarily unlikely, was a friendship
that blossomed with Max Schmeling, his arch-foe from the 1930s. Schmeling
survived the war, too old to return top-level boxing, his country in ruins. His
U.S. connections from his prime boxing days saved him, though. James Farley,
once chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission, had taken over
operations of Coca-Cola. He made Schmeling a key gure in the companys
post-war efforts in devastated Germany and Schmeling became a millionaire.
In 1954, Schmeling returned to America for the rst time in years. One
thing he did was visit the grave of his old manager, Joe Jacobs, in New York.
Then he traveled to Milwaukee for an event. Unannounced, he then drove to
Chicago, where at the time Louis maintained his home. Schmeling wanted
to make peace with Louis, to let him know he never hated him and never
222 Joe Louis

said many of the things ascribed to him in the press, especially the Nazi press.
Almost as soon as he launched into his apology speech, Louis interrupted him
and said, Forget all that stuff! The men ended up talking for hours and in
the ensuing years crossed paths several more times.3
Stories leaked out that Schmeling, at great risk, had actually helped Jew-
ish families elude the Nazis before and during the war, and there were other
suggestions that he quietly gave Louis money when he needed it.
These were strange times for Joe Louis. For his entire adult life he had
been either the heavyweight champion of the world or a celebrity, or both.
He liked being that Joe Louis. He didnt want to go back to work on the
assembly line at Ford as he had as a teenager, he wanted to own a Ford deal-
ership where he could greet the customers. (That never happened.) For most
of his life, either through his co-managers and trainers, or his wives, somebody
was always there to take care of Joe Louis when he was home or preparing for
some big event in his life. It could be said even the Army played a role in
taking care of Louis, since it housed him, fed him, and drew up his itinerary
during World War II.
Above all, he didnt want to be an average Joe, a nine-to-ve Joe. He
was the famous Joe Louis and he wanted to remain Joe Louis, even without
the heavyweight title. In his mind he had earned the right to be treated like
one of the most famous Americans, which he was, whether he had the funds
to live high or not.
For decades, Joe Louis had always picked up the tab. He provided for
his mother and siblings, wives and children, managers and trainers, friends
and strangers. Although there is no real proof that he consciously thought
this way, Louis was probably trying to nd someone to provide for him now
in a manner that allowed him to still be Joe Louis. To his good fortune, he
found such a benefactor.
Louis was king of the heavyweights long before boxing and Las Vegas
joined forces to become one of the worlds great ght meccas, the showcase
for the biggest and best bouts, whether they were heavyweight matches or
ghts at other weights. The oasis in the Mojave Desert was home to high
rollers who were the types of risk-takers and big spenders that always com-
mandeered the ringside seats at big ghts. Back in Louis day they were the
$100 ticket-holders.
In a less homogenized America, when there werent gambling boats on
every shore or casinos on Indian reservations, Vegas was sin city, the place to
go to for the slots, blackjack, and legal poker. It was the adult Disneyland. If
you were in show business, it was also the place to be seen. Playing Vegas
meant something and Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Jerry Lewis, Dean
 27. Real Life Tougher Than Boxing 223

Martin, Nat King Cole, and Judy Garland appeared at palatial hotels on
the Strip, sometimes adjacent to bare-breasted showgirls with long legs and
foot-tall feathery hats.
New York was called the city that never sleeps, but Las Vegas was usurp-
ing the title. You could get anything you wanted, and you were likely to see
anybody who was famous, at any hour of the day or night, in the loud casinos
that had no windows in order to disguise the time of day, or if you were crazy
enough to walk outside, in the 110-degree day-time heat.
When he was ghting Louis was no regular in Vegas. When he was
nished, when he was bored, he loved the action in the bright-lights town.
Ash Resnick, an old Army friend who said he met Louis in 1942 and stayed
in contact, ran the Thunderbird Hotel. When Louis came to town he stayed
there and Resnick provided a few thousand dollars in house money to gamble.
(Certainly Louis couldnt afford to take risks like that out of his own pocket.)
Louis was not a serious gambler and always lost the money back to the casino.
Resnick acted out of the goodness of his heart, but it soon became apparent
that Louis, just sitting at a table, was an attraction. It was good for the Thun-
derbird and good for business. People crowded around and played when Louis
was there.
Soon enough Resnicks acumen earned him a better job elsewhere. He
took over the casino operation at Caesars Palace and this time when Louis
followed he made him an employee. No business investment, no professional
wrestling, no boxing promotion deal could match Louis new gig.
Correctly gauging Louis popularity, Resnick paid Louis $50,000 a year
as a greeter, beginning full-time in 1970. For this work he basically had to be
visible at the casino, shake hands and sign autographs. It was like being heavy-
weight champ again without early-morning road work or hitting the heavy
bag. He was also given house money to play at the tables, and he could play
golf, his still-lingering passion, on the casinos course, whenever he felt like
it.
It feels good to walk through the casino and have people calling out,
Hey, Champ, Louis said. Hi there, Champ, come stand next to me for
luck.4
Once again there was some buzz from Louis fans who believed he was
demeaning himself with such work. They didnt know the real Joe Louis if
they said that. He may have been a symbol of African American achievement
and an American hero, but this was perfect retirement work for the man
accustomed to being fawned over by millions. He was out in public and the
public greeted him every day as much as he greeted the public. With their
warm welcomes, they let him know he was not forgotten. That mattered.
224 Joe Louis

My dad liked the limelight, his son, Joe, Jr., said. If there was anything
that he missed after he retired, it was being at center stage.5
In the late 1960s, after Louis began making appearances in Vegas, and
as he was transitioning to a full-time Nevada resident, the former champ
began displaying signs of mental deterioration that alarmed his closest family
members. He showed signs of paranoia, claiming that people were after him.
He unscrewed light-bulbs in lamps in hotel rooms searching for surveillance
gear. He stuffed air vents in those rooms so he couldnt be poisoned. He built
in-room forts to provide security before he went to sleep.
Eventually, through trickery, though sad about the need for it, on a visit
to Colorado, Louis was taken for observation to the Colorado Veterans
Administration psychiatric ward. Joe, Jr., conspired with his step-mother,
Martha, and signed the commitment papers. After a couple of months Louis
was able to return to Las Vegas (sooner than his family wanted him to), taking
medication that helped him maintain his grip on reality better than the in-
and-out bouts of coherence he had been facing. For the most part he was
back in business.
The ght business had come to him in Las Vegas and that meant that
Louis was in on the action. His friend Sonny Liston lost the heavyweight belt
to Muhammad Ali, who had changed his name from Cassius Clay and aligned
with the Black Muslim movement. Unlike Louis, he was boastful and loud
and became a polarizing gure. Louis frowned at Alis actions, funny as many
of them were, and did not give him full credit for his boxing skills, naming
several heavyweights of the past he felt could best Ali. When Ali exercised his
right as a conscientious objector rather than go in the Army, it offended Louis.
Louis had signed up quickly and worked hard for the American cause during
World War II. Louis did not see any difference between what historians labeled
the good war and the Vietnam War, which was the most vociferously
opposed war in American history.
There was eventually a certain rapprochement between the two men,
though they represented different eras in African American ghts for rights
and in their chosen sport. Both became beloved and respected. Whenever all-
time rankings are made of boxing gures, it is concluded that either Louis or
Ali is the best heavyweight ever. Naturally enough, Louis believed he would
have won if they fought in their primes, and naturally enough Ali believed
that he would have won. There is no true answer to the riddle of who was
best.
In 1977, Louis health began to fail. By then, John Roxborough, the man
who had started the Louis legend with his keen eyesight and ability to imagine
the future, was two years gone. Louis needed the best medical help and he
 27. Real Life Tougher Than Boxing 225

got it. Frank Sinatra, for whom Louis once did a favor, footed the cost of
Louis medical needs. Dr. Michael E. DeBakey, the world-famous heart sur-
geon and innovator of breakthroughs that advanced heart surgery techniques,
operated on Louis. While the operation was deemed a success, a short while
later Louis suffered a stroke.
This was the most damaging blow. Louis could no longer perform as a
greeter at Caesars. He got around in a wheelchair and his speech was slowed.
If there was a big ght in town that brought the worldwide press and the
luminaries of the boxing world out, Louis sometimes appeared at the com-
batants training sessions. His arrival was met with excitement. In those days
he fancied wearing cowboy hats with brims that were nearly as wide as his
grin.
Throughout the years, Louis and Jesse Owens shared a special friendship
and understanding. Before Jackie Robinson, they were the two most famous
black men in America at a time when black men only got their names in the
papers if they committed major crimes. They were loved by millions and
admired for their achievements, but had difculty parlaying their celebrity
into lucrative work after their athletic days ended. Yes, Louis was criticized
for engaging in professional wrestling, but Owens raced horses to make money.
On March 31, 1980, Owens passed away. When Louis got the news he couldnt
stop shaking.
Louis wasnt talking so much in those days and his frailty was evident.
But he was revered as an elder statesman and enthusiastically welcomed to
ght camps. Louis last public appearance ttingly was at a heavyweight
title ght in Las Vegas. He sat ringside in his wheelchair on April 11, 1981, to
watch Larry Holmes and Trevor Berbick mix it up. Holmes, another of the
best heavyweights of all time, won a unanimous decision.
The next morning Louis suffered a heart attack at home while walking
to the bathroom and was pronounced dead after being rushed to Desert
Springs Hospital. He was 66 years old.
Jimmy Cannon, the New York sports writer who was Louis best friend
among the many writers who followed his career, could be eloquent and
poignant, when writing about his favorite ghter. He was a great champion
and Im glad he was champion in my time, Cannon said. He was mean at
his work, but he was able to leave it in the ring. The cruelty was there, all
right. The poverty of his boyhood formed him, as it does all ghters. But he
was never resentful and he always did the best he could. His best was won-
derful. Louis was a boys dream of a ghter. There was joy and innocence in
his skills and this gave him what the others lacked. Joe was a ghter. It is the
nest compliment I can give him.6
226 Joe Louis

A statue of Joe Louis decorates a huge lobby hall in Detroits Cobo Hall in the down-
town section of the city where his family moved after his earlier years in Alabama
(photograph by the author).
The city of Detroit remains proud of Joe Louis, who spent his junior high school
and teen years in the city while becoming a national amateur boxing champion before
turning professional. As a way of honoring him Detroit displays a gigantic st sculp-
ture in the middle of its busy downtown (photograph by the author).
228 Joe Louis

It seemed strange to some, but before his funeral, Louis body lay in
state in the Caesars Palace Sports Pavilion. Normally such a setting when a
great man passes away is either a place of worship or a large government facil-
ity. For Louis, this made sense, and his third wife, Martha, made the call.
Many of the happiest days of the nal stretch of his life took place at Caesars,
the pavilion was the site of many major boxing championship bouts, and Las
Vegas was Louis home at the end of his life.
Joe Louis Barrow, Jr., said, I probably would not have done it differently.
My father once told me, Your whole life is your funeral.7 It was a much-
less publicized way saying of Louis, but was worthy of deep thought.
Some 3,000 people attended a service for Louis in Las Vegas, and the
Rev. Jesse Jackson offered a eulogy for a memorable man. Joe was a second-
class citizen by birth and a rst-class man by effort, Jackson said. The
human race was enhanced and rewarded because of Joe. Joe made a nation
proud of him and ashamed of itself.8
At the time of Louis death, Jersey Joe Walcott was the New Jersey State
Athletic Commissioner. He was sitting ringside at an Atlantic City ght when
someone whispered the news that Louis had died that morning. Walcott
started crying and kept trying to dry his eyes with a handkerchief. After the
ght, the announcement of Louis death was made at Ballys Park Place Casino
Hotel and ght fans joined Walcott in standing for a moment of silence.
I lost a great friend, said Walcott, 67 at the time. He was one of the
great Americans and one of the great champions. He was a great inspiration
in so many ways to so many people. Well all miss him. May his soul rest in
peace.9 At the same venue, Slim Robinson, a trainer who had been a ghter,
talked of Louis inuence. I think he meant a lot to all black people, Robin-
son said.10
Although he was an Army veteran, Joe Louis did not qualify for burial
in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. But President Ronald Reagan
granted an exception. Louis funeral service was conducted at the Fort Meyer
Memorial Chapel at the cemetery with 800 people in attendance. Tributes
were so widespread it was difcult to catalogue them all. Frank Sinatra, such
a good friend to Louis in his nal years, said, It is nice to know that the man
who never rested on canvas now rests on clouds.11
At Arlington Cemetery, son Joe Louis Barrow, Jr., spoke, saying that
Louis nal resting place was appropriate. Youre a patriot, he said. You
provided guidance and faith at a time when our country was down and people
needed a lift. Its tting that you will be with many other great Americans.12
Louis was the son of an Alabama sharecropper, who was not educated
as a youth, but learned to handle the greatest of fame through experience as
 27. Real Life Tougher Than Boxing 229

he became one of the best-known and admired sports gures in American

history. Unlike his predecessors, he was a ghting champion, defending the
heavyweight crown as often during his reign as all heavyweight champs did
combined between 1913 and 1937.
On the biggest of stages, when the stakes were highest and he had to
win, Louis won. He became a symbol of success for African Americans and
a hero for all Americans during World War II. At all times he retained his
dignity. At no time did he belittle others. His life was dened by class and
he left lasting impressions on those who saw him ght and those whom he
met. He put on no artice and he was generous to those who crossed his path.
His record of 25 title defenses seems unbreakable. He handled his few losses
without excuse and he coped with lifes setbacks in ways that made others
sympathize with him. Louis was determined to enjoy his life, and for the
most part he accomplished that, as well.
In the years following Joe Louis death, he was honored in many ways.
At Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, where Louis trained often for his New York
ghts, a monument was raised at Joe Louis Memorial Park.
In Detroit, where Louis grew up after leaving Alabama as a youth and
began his professional boxing career, a gigantic sculpture of Louis st reposes
over a mid-town trafc island. Nearby, in the lobby of Cobo Hall, stands a
huge statue of Louis in ghting pose. The National Hockey League Detroit
Red Wings play their home games in Joe Louis Arena, christened in 1979.
In 1992, the United States government announced the creation of a 29-
cent postage stamp with Louis image on it for 1993 release. The announce-
ment at the International Boxing Hall of Fame where Louis is
enshrined featured past and future heavyweight champion George Foreman.
Foreman said that during his years out of the sport when he was a preacher
based in Houston he visited Louis in Las Vegas and together they read from
the Bible.
Sometime later, Joe, Jr., was talking to Ali, and the boxer who always
bragged, calling himself The Greatest, turned the tables and said, Joe, your
father was the greatest, truly the greatest.13
Millions of Americans thought so.
This page intentionally left blank
 Chapter Notes

Chapter 1 Chapter 3
1. Gerald Astor, ...And a Credit to His 1. Louis, Rust, and Rust.
Race: The Hard Life and Times of Joseph Louis 2. Ibid.
Barrow, aka Joe Louis (New York: E.P. Dutton, 3. Ibid.
1974). 4. Libby.
2. Ibid. 5. Louis, Rust and Rust.
3. Ibid. 6. Bak.
4. Joe Louis, Edna Rust, and Art Rust, Jr., 7. Nat Fleischer, The Louis Legend (New
Joe Louis: My Life (New York: Harcourt Brace York: The Ring, Inc., 1956).
Jovanovich, 1978). 8. Louis, Rust and Rust.
5. Randy Roberts, Joe Louis (New Haven, 9. Ibid.
CT: Yale University Press, 2010).
6. Chris Mead, Joe Louis: Black Champion
in White America (Mineola, NY: Dover, 1985/ Chapter 4
2010). 1. Miller.
7. Ibid. 2. Gene Kessler, Joe Louis: The Brown
Bomber (Racine, WI: Whitman, 1936).
3. Mead.
Chapter 2 4. Bak.
1. Bill Libby, Joe Louis: The Brown Bom- 5. Louis, Rust, and Rust.
ber (New York: Lothrop, Lee and Shepard, 6. Ibid.
1980). 7. Ibid.
2. Ibid. 8. Bak.
3. Margery Miller, Joe Louis: American 9. Fleischer, The Louis Legend.
(New York: A.A. Wyn, 1945). 10. Ibid.
4. Libby. 11. Dave Anderson, In the Corner: Great
5. Astor. Trainers Talk About Their Art (New York:
6. Louis, Rust, and Rust. William Morrow, 1991).
7. Astor. 12. Ibid.
8. Louis, Rust and Rust. 13. Lew Freedman, Longtime Cornerman
9. Ibid. has Seen the Great Ones, Anchorage Daily
10. Miller. News, October 25, 1985.
11. A.O. Edmonds, Joe Louis (Grand
Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1973). Chapter 5
12. Richard Bak, Joe Louis: The Great Black
Hope (Dallas, TX: Da Capo Press, 1998). 1. Astor.
13. Bak. 2. Ibid.

231
232 Chapter Notes

3. Ibid. 9. Libby.
4. Louis, Rust, and Rust. 10. Bak.
5. Ibid. 11. Roberts.
12. Louis, Rust, and Rust.
13. Ibid.
Chapter 6
1. Geoffrey C. Ward, Unforgivable Black- Chapter 10
ness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (New
York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004). 1. Roberts.
2. Ibid. 2. Ibid.
3. Ibid. 3. Louis, Rust, and Rust.
4. Ibid. 4. Detroit Ace, Killer Type, On His Way
5. Ibid. Toward Peak, Associated Press, September 25,
6. Louis, Rust, and Rust. 1935.
7. Astor. 5. Bak.
8. Bak. 6. Grantland Rice, Beating From Louis
Ends Baers Career, The Sportlight syndi-
cated column, September 25, 1935.
Chapter 7 7. Ibid.
8. Roberts.
1. Bak. 9. Louis, Rust and Rust.
2. Astor. 10. Associated Press, September 25, 1935.
3. Libby. 11. United Press, September 25, 1935.
4. Ibid.
5. Bak.
6. Louis, Rust, and Rust.
7. Libby. Chapter 11
8. Louis, Rust, and Rust. 1. Louis, Rust, and Rust.
9. Ibid. 2. Ibid.
10. Fleischer. 3. Ibid.
11. Louis, Rust and Rust. 4. Bak.
12. Ibid. 5. Ibid.
13. Miller. 6. Roberts.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
Chapter 8 9. Astor.
1. Fleischer, The Louis Legend. 10. James Gavin, Stormy Weather: The
2. Astor. Life of Lena Horne (New York: Atria Books,
3. Louis, Rust, and Rust. 2009).
4. Bak. 11. Louis, Rust and Rust.
5. Jack London, Sporting Blood: Selections 12. Ibid.
From Jack Londons Greatest Sports Writing (No- 13. Ibid.
vato, California, Presidio Press, 1981). 14. Ibid.
15. Gavin.

Chapter 9
Chapter 12
1. Frederic Mullally, Primo: The Story of
Man Mountain Carnera (London: Robson 1. Mead.
Books, 1991). 2. Libby.
2. Astor. 3. Louis, Rust, and Rust.
3. Mullally. 4. Ibid.
4. Mead. 5. Ibid.
5. Astor. 6. Ibid.
6. Libby. 7. Uzcudun Is 22nd Victim Of Bombers
7. Miller. K.O. Punches, United Press, December 14,
8. Fleischer. 1935.
 Chapter Notes 233

Chapter 13 5. Fleischer, The Louis Legend.

7. United Press, September 23, 1936.
1. Max Schmeling, Max Schmeling: An Au- 8. Grantland Rice, syndicated column,
tobiography (Chicago: Bonus Books, English September 23, 1936.
translation, 1998). 9. Bak.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid. Chapter 17
5. Patrick Myler, Ring of Hate (New York:
Arcade, 2005). 1. Jeremy Schaap, Cinderella Man (New
6. Myler. York: Houghton Mifin, 2005).
7. Schmeling. 2. Ibid.
8. Ibid. 3. Ibid.
9. Ibid. 4. Ibid.
10. Ibid. 5. Mead.
11. David Margolick, Beyond Glory: Joe 6. Schaap.
Louis vs. Max Schmeling and a World on the 7. Libby.
Brink (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005). 8. Louis, Rust, and Rust.
9. Fleischer, The Louis Legend.
10. No byline, unattributed publication,
Chapter 14 archives of International Boxing Hall of Fame,
Canastota, New York.
1. Schmeling. 11. Richard MCann, Champion Knock-
2. Ibid. out Winner Over Contender in Secret, NEA
3. Ibid. Service, April 1, 1937.
4. Myler. 12. Louis, Rust and Rust.
5. Margolick. 13. Libby.
6. Ibid. 14. Schaap.
15. Libby.
Chapter 15 16. Ibid.

1. Louis, Rust, and Rust.

2. Ibid. Chapter 18
3. Ibid.
4. Libby. 1. Mead.
5. Louis, Rust and Rust. 2. Joe Louis Regains Ring Prestige,
6. Libby. United Press, February 24, 1938.
7. Louis, Rust and Rust. 3. Ibid.
8. Libby. 4. Bob Considine, K.O. Victor Over
9. Ibid. Mann, Louis Plans Another Title Tune-Up,
10. Grantland Rice, syndicated column, Buffalo News, February 24, 1938.
June 20, 1936. 5. Associated Press, April 2, 1938.
11. Ibid. 6. Chester Youell, Champion Wins as He
12. Ibid. Pleases Before 10,468, International News
13. Joe Williams, Sports Roundup, New Service, April 2, 1938.
York World-Telegram, June 20, 1936. 7. Louis, Rust, and Rust.
14. Schmeling.
15. Ibid.
16. Bak. Chapter 19
17. Mead.
1. Bak.
2. Louis, Rust, Art Rust.
Chapter 16 3.
4.
Schmeling.
Ibid.
1. Louis, Rust, and Rust. 5. Ibid.
2. Mead. 6. Louis, Rust, and Rust.
3. Fleischer, The Louis Legend. 7. Ibid.
4. United Press, August 19, 1936. 8. Roberts.
234 Chapter Notes

9. Margolick. 6. Ibid.
10. Libby. 7. Libby.
11. Margolick. 8. Negro Stops Tony Galento in 4th
12. Louis, Rust and Rust. Round of Wild Bout, United Press, June 28,
13. Ibid. 1939.
14. Myler. 9. Bak.
15. Ibid. 10. Ibid.
16. Jerry Izenberg, At Large, Radio Days, 11. Louis, Rust, and Rust.
Newark Star-Ledger, no date, International 12. Champion Has Revenge on New
Boxing Hall of Fame archives. Yorker, Associated Press, September 21, 1939.
17. Myler. 13. Bob Considine, article with headline
18. June 22, 1938, Vindication for Louis, eliminated, International Boxing Hall of Fame
United Press, Bergen Record, June 22, 1973. archives, Hearst Newspapers, February 10, 1940.
19. Myler. 14. Sid Feder, Iowan Throws Only One
20. Roberts. Blow in Weak Effort, Associated Press, March
21. Emmett Berg, Fight of the Century, 29, 1940.
Humanities, July-August 2004. 15. Arturo Godoy, How I Mean to Beat
22. Ibid. Joe Louis, Liberty, June 15, 1940.
23. Nat Fleischer, Max Fouled? Bunk! 16. Louis Stops McCoy After Five Rounds
The Ring, September 1938. in Boston Ring, Associated Press, December
24. Daniel M. Daniel, Schmelings Squawk 17, 1940.
Makes Kidney Famous, The Ring, September 17. John Lardner, Louis Hardest Punch
1938. K.Os Burman Joe Fights Clever, Planned
Battle, Buffalo Evening News, February 1, 1941.
18. Caswell Adams, Musto Will Be
Chapter 20 Bombers Next Victim in April, newspaper
name missing, International Boxing Hall of
1. HBO Sports Film, Joe Louis, Big Fights, Fame archives, March 22, 1941.
Inc., 1989. 19. Dick Heller, Louis Held On to His
2. Ibid. Title in D.C., Washington Times, April 1, 2002.
3. Ibid. 20. Ibid.
4. Ibid. 21. Andy Piascik, Gridiron Gauntlet (Boul-
5. Astor. der, Colo.: Taylor Trade, 2009).
6. Ibid. 22. Ibid.
7. Ibid. 23. Bak.
8. Gilbert Odd, Why Louis Took Pity On
His Best Friend, British Boxing News, no date,
International Boxing Hall of Fame archives. Chapter 22
9. Ibid.
10. Lester Scott, Knocked Down Thrice, 1. Andrew OToole, Sweet William: The
John Henry Lewis Loses in One Round, New Life of Billy Conn (Urbana: University of
York World-Telegram, January 26, 1939. Illinois Press, 2008).
11. Ibid. 2. Ibid.
12. Libby. 3. Ibid.
13. Donald McRae, Heroes Without a 4. Ibid.
Country (New York: HarperCollins, 2002). 5. Louis, Rust, Rust.
6. Mead.
7. Bak.
Chapter 21 8. Louis, Rust and Rust.
9. Libby.
1. Tony Galento, I Will Mash Joe Louis, 10. Bak.
Liberty, June 24, 1939. 11. Ibid.
2. Ibid. 12. Louis, Rust and Rust.
3. Ibid. 13. Ibid.
4. Joseph Moninger, Two Ton: One Fight, 14. Nat Fleischer, Cockiness Costly, The
One Night, Tony Galento vs. Joe Louis (Hanover, Ring, September 1941.
NH: Steerforth Press, 2006). 15. OToole.
5. Ibid. 16. Libby.
 Chapter Notes 235

Chapter 23 Chapter 26
1. OToole. 1. James Curl, Jersey Joe Walcott: A Boxing
2. Ibid. Biography ( Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2012).
3. Roberts. 2. Bak.
4. Libby. 3. Dana Mozley, Will Finish Him
5. Roberts. Quick, Says Louis of Walcott, New York
6. Ibid. Daily News, December 1, 1947.
7. Wilfred Smith, In Baers Favor: Hes 4. James P. Dawson, Protest is Issued on
Not Afraid, Chicago Tribune, January 6, 1942. Fight Referee, New York Times, December 4,
8. Nat Fleisher, Louis, Back at Peak, 1947.
Gives Savage Display, The Ring, March 1942. 5. 18,194 Cheer Joe Walcott After Fight,
9. Libby. Associated Press, December 6, 1947.
10. Ibid. 6. Jack Cuddy, Louis Disputed Ring
11. Carl Byoir, Joe Louis Named the Victory Over Walcott to be Probed, United
War, Colliers, May 16, 1942. Press, December 6, 1947.
12. Roberts. 7. Louis to Fight in June, Then Hell Re-
13. Ibid. tire, Associated Press, December 12, 1947.
14. Astor. 8. Louis, Rust, Rust.
15. Joe Louis Barrow, Jr., and Barbara 9. Arthur Daley, Sports of the Times:
Munder, Joe Louis: 50 Years an American Hero The Kids Last Fight, New York Times, June
(New York: McGraw-Hill, 1988). 26, 1948.
16. Fleischer, The Louis Legend. 10. Mead.
17. Ibid. 11. Larry Schwartz, Brown Bomber Was
a Hero to All, ESPN.com, ESPN Sports Cen-
tury, September 20, 2000.
Chapter 24
1. Louis, Rust, and Rus. Chapter 27
2. Ibid.
3. Mead. 1. Roberts.
4. Jonathan Eig, Opening Day: The Story 2. Bak.
of Jackie Robinsons First Season (New York: 3. Schmeling.
Simon and Schuster, 2007). 4. Louis, Rust, and Rust.
5. Ibid. 5. Joe Louis Barrow, Jr., and Barbara
6. Ibid. Munder, Joe Louis: 50 Years An American Hero
7. Roberts. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1988).
8. Louis, Rust and Rust. 6. Jimmy Cannon, The Joe Louis I Re-
9. Mead. member, in W.C. Heinz and Nathan Ward,
10. Bak. eds., The Book of Boxing (Kingston, NY: Sports
11. Roberts. Illustrated Classics, 1999.
7. Barrow and Munder.
8. The Champ Gets a Last Ovation,
Chapter 25 United Press International, April 18, 1981.
9. Lewis Freedman, Friends of Louis Feel
1. Bak. Loss Deeply, Philadelphia Inquirer, April 12,
2. Louis, Rust, Rust. 1981.
3. Bak. 10. Ibid.
4. OToole. 11. Barrow and Munder.
5. Louis, Rust, and Rust. 12. Brown Bomber Laid to Rest, United
6. Bak. Press International, April 22, 1981.
7. Ibid. 13. Barrow and Munder.
8. My Relatives Betting On Me, Says
Mauriello, United Press, September 16, 1946.
This page intentionally left blank
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Anderson, Dave. In The Corner: Great Trainers McRae, Donald. Heroes Without a Country.
Talk About Their Art. New York: William New York: HarperCollins, 2002.
Morrow, 1991. Mead, Chris. Joe Louis: Black Champion in
Astor, Gerald. ...And a Credit to His Race: White America. Mineola, NY: Dover, 1985/
The Hard Life and Times of Joseph Louis Bar- 2010.
row, aka Joe Louis. New York: E.P. Dutton, Miller, Margery. Joe Louis: American. New
1974. York: A.A. Wyn, 1945.
Bak, Richard. Joe Louis: The Great Black Hope. Moninger, Joseph. Two Ton: One Fight, One
Dallas, TX: Da Capo Press, 1998. Night, Tony Galento vs. Joe Louis. Hanover,
Barrow, Joe Louis, Jr., and Barbara Munder. NH: Steerforth Press, 2006.
Joe Louis: 50 Years an American Hero. New Mullally, Frederic. Primo: The Story of Man
York: McGraw-Hill, 1988. Mountain Carnera. London: Robson Books,
Cannon, Jimmy. The Joe Louis I Remember, 1991.
in W.C. Heinz and Nathan Ward, eds. The Myler, Patrick. Ring of Hate. New York:
Book of Boxing. Kingston, NY: Sports Illus- Arcade, 2005.
trated Classics, 1999. OToole, Andrew. Sweet William: The Life of
Curl, James. Jersey Joe Walcott: A Boxing Biog- Billy Conn. Urbana: University of Illinois
raphy. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2012. Press, 2008.
Edmonds, A.O. Joe Louis. Grand Rapids, MI: Piascik, Andy. Gridiron Gauntlet. Boulder,
William B. Eerdmans, 1973. CO: Taylor Trade, 2009.
Eig, Jonathan. Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Roberts, Randy. Joe Louis. New Haven, CT:
Robinsons First Season. New York: Simon and Yale University Press, 2010.
Schuster, 2007. Schaap, Jeremy. Cinderella Man. New York:
Fleischer, Nat. The Louis Legend. New York: Houghton Mifin, 2005.
The Ring, 1956. Schmeling, Max. Max Schmeling: An Autobi-
Gavin, James. Stormy Weather: The Life of Lena ography. Chicago: Bonus Books, English
Horne. New York: Atria Books, 2009. translation, 1998.
Kessler, Gene. Joe Louis: The Brown Bomber. Ward, Geoffrey C. Unforgivable Blackness: The
Racine, WI: Whitman, 1936. Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson. New York: Al-
Libby, Bill. Joe Louis: The Brown Bomber. New fred A. Knopf, 2004.
York: Lothrop, Lee and Shepard, 1980.
London, Jack. Sporting Blood: Selections From
Jack Londons Greatest Sports Writing. Novato,
Magazines
CA: Presidio Press, 1981. British Boxing News
Louis, Joe, Edna Rust, and Art Rust, Jr. Joe Colliers
Louis: My Life. New York: Harcourt Brace Humanities
Jovanovich, 1978. Liberty
Margolick, David. Beyond Glory: Joe Louis vs. The Ring

237
238 Bibliography

Newspapers News Services

Anchorage Daily News Associated Press
Buffalo Evening News Hearst Newspapers
Chicago Tribune International News Service
New York Daily News NEA News Service
New York Times United Press
New York World-Telegram United Press International
Newark Star-Ledger
Philadelphia Inquirer
Washington Times Television
ESPN
HBO
 Index

Adirondack Mountains 152 Barrow, Alvanius 14

Agramonte, Omelio 217 Barrow, DeLeon 14, 25
Alabama 2, 6, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, Barrow, Emmerall 14
24, 28, 32, 53, 73, 86, 87, 132, 144, 165, Barrow, Eulalia 14
194, 195, 215, 228, 229 Barrow, Jacqueline 92, 204
Alaska 195 Barrow, James 14
Alaska Gold Rush 60, 65 Barrow, Joe Louis, Jr. 92, 195, 204, 224, 228
Ali, Muhammad 43, 46, 48, 106, 158, 189, Barrow, Lillie 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 25, 30,
224, 229 31, 56, 98, 121, 220
Amateur Athletic Union 166 Barrow, Lonnie 14, 220
Amos and Andy 72 Barrow, Munroe 13, 14, 15, 16, 144
Angelou, Maya 160 Barrow, Susie 14
Anti-Nazi League 155 Barrow, Vunice 14, 119
Apostoli, Fred 180 Barry, Don 59
Arcadia Gardens 54, 55 Bavaria 114
Arlington National Cemetery 228 Beacon, New York 180
Armstrong, Henry 153, 154 Belgium 104
Army Emergency Relief Fund 192 Bell, Eddie 176, 177
Associated Press 173 Bennett, Biff 64
Astor, Gerald 162 Berbick, Trevor 225
Atlanta Journal 124 Berlin 104, 114, 115, 132, 156, 166
Atlantic City, New Jersey 69, 88, 153, 228 Beshore, Freddie 217
Atlantic Ocean 115, 131, 146, 150 Bettina, Melio 180
Australia 45, 65 Beverly Hillbillies 80
Binghamton, New York 106
Bacons Arena 51 Birkie, Hans 57
The Bad and the Beautiful 91 Birmingham, Alabama 20
Baer, Buddy 80, 175, 176, 189, 190, 192 Bivins, Jimmy 217
Baer, Max 71, 74, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, Black, Julian 5, 10, 11, 12, 36, 37, 39, 40, 42,
84, 85, 96, 97, 100, 101, 109, 116, 127, 129, 47, 49, 50, 56, 59, 61, 62, 63, 75, 77, 82,
131, 137, 175, 189, 190, 191 97, 98, 100, 101, 109, 117, 120, 127, 130, 143,
Baer, Max, Jr. 80 145, 162, 176, 182, 190, 204, 205
Bak, Richard 30 Black Tuesday 25
Bakerseld, California 45 Blackburn, Jack 5, 10, 11, 12, 36, 37, 39, 40,
Balboa, Rocky 118 41, 42, 49, 50, 51, 52, 55, 56, 59, 61, 62,
Baldwin, James 200 64, 73, 75, 77, 83, 88, 97, 100, 109, 117, 119,
Ballys Park Place Casino 228 120, 121, 124, 125, 126, 127, 138, 140, 142,
Balogh, Harry 74 153, 154, 155, 162, 176, 184, 185, 190, 191,
Baltimore 45, 175 203, 204, 211
Baltimore Afro-American 202 Borchuk, Alex 53
Baltimore Colts 213 Boston 33, 45, 69
Barcelona 70 Boston Garden 60, 175

239
240 Index

Bottoms, Bill 40, 182 Chicago Cubs 58

Bow, Clara 106 Chicago Defender 64, 201
Boxing News 137 Chicago Stadium 55, 101, 148
Braddock, James J. 77, 80, 81, 118, 123, 124, Chicago White Sox 135
127, 128, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, Chile 172
138, 139, 140, 141, 143, 144, 145, 155, 179 Cincinnati 92
Bremen 158 Cinderella Man 79, 127, 136
Brescia, Jorge 130 Cleveland 20, 69, 74, 107, 130, 166, 167
Brewster Recreation Center 9, 26, 28, 29, 30 Cobo Hall 229
Bridgeport, Connecticut 45 Coca-Cola 221
Brimstein, Whitey 100, 172 Cole, Nat King 223
Brion, Cesar 217 Colma, California 45
Broadway 61 Colorado Veterans Administration 224
Brockton, Massachusetts 217 Comiskey Park 96, 135, 140, 144
Bronson Trade School 24 Coney Island 61, 169
Brooklyn Dodgers 194, 198, 200 Conn, Billy 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184,
Brooks, Charley 45 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 202, 206, 207, 208,
Brooks, Pat 16, 17, 19, 21, 32, 33, 144 209, 210, 211, 212
Brooks, Pat, Jr. 17, 18, 124 Conn, Maggie 182
Brown, Bingo 54 Conn, Mary Louise 179, 187
Brown, Natie 59, 62, 63, 134 Conn, William 179
Brown Bomber Softball Team 100, 145 Considine, Bob 148
Brundage, Avery 114, 115 Corbett, Gentleman Jim 46
Brussels 104 Cornwall, England 45
Buffalo 130 Corum, Bill 137
Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 206 Cosby, Bill 160, 161
Bunche, Ralph 75 Cotton Club 71, 74, 92
Burman, Red 175 Crawford Grill 163
Burns, Ken 49
Burns, Tommy 43, 45, 46, 65 Daley, Arthur 215
Byoir, Carl 192 Daniel, Daniel M. 159
Darrow, Clarence 24
Caesars Palace 1, 223, 225, 228 Davis, Johnny 206
California 71, 117, 164, 188 Davis, Sammy, Jr. 222
California Boxing Commission 79 Davis, Willie 53
Call of the Wild 65 Dayton, Ohio 64
Calloway, Cab 74, 99, 204 DeBakey, Dr. Michael E. 225
Camilli, Dolph 79 Dempsey, Jack 24, 25, 37, 38, 60, 68, 82,
Camp Upton 191 83, 85, 96, 98, 103, 104, 106, 138, 145
Campbell, Frankie 78, 79 Denver 69, 221
Cannon, Jimmy 154, 218, 225 Desert Springs Hospital 225
Canzoneri, Tony 118 Detroit 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 20, 21, 22, 24, 28, 30,
Carnera, Primo 63, 64, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 31, 34, 39, 45, 50, 52, 53, 54, 56, 57, 59,
71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 79, 80, 96, 100, 62, 73, 87, 100, 172, 175, 176, 178, 179, 192,
101, 116, 129, 148, 152, 218 194, 195, 215, 229
Carpentier, Georges 103, 104 Detroit Golden Gloves 26, 34
Carter, Earl 157 Detroit Naval Armory 31, 53, 54
Carter, Jimmy 157, 158 Detroit Red Wings 57, 229
Carver, George Washington 200 Detroit Tigers 24, 100
Cavanaugh, Billy 174 Detroit Urban League 194
Chambers County 13 Dickson, Jeff 69
Charles, Ezzard 216, 217 Dieckhoff, Hans 158
Chelsea, Massachusetts 45 Dietrich, Marlene 104
Cherokee Indians 13 Donovan, Arthur 76, 122, 148, 155, 156, 157,
Chicago 3, 5, 10, 11, 20, 33, 39, 45, 51, 53, 171, 173, 176, 213
54, 55, 56, 59, 64, 69, 74, 96, 106, 125, Donovan, Arthur, Jr. 213
138, 139, 143, 176, 178, 204, 209, 210, 221 Donovan, Mike 213
Chicago Bears 11, 69 Dorazio, Gus 175
 Index 241

Douglass, Frederick 200 Godoy, Arturo 172, 173, 174

DuBois, W.E.B. 72 Goebbels, Joseph 113, 150
Dudas, Steve 109 Goering, Herman 113
Dufeld Elementary School 22, 23 Goldstein, Ruby 213, 214
Gould, Joe 131, 133, 134, 136, 137, 139, 140,
Eagan, Eddie 213 150
Eagle Bend, Minnesota 148 Grange, Red 24
Ecklund, Emil 51 Great Britain 145, 206
Ellington, Duke 74, 75, 99, 138 Great Depression 25, 32, 50, 70, 91, 131, 135,
Ellis, Atler 33 136
Emeryville, California 69 Great Migration 3, 20
Ethiopia 67, 72, 73, 74, 116, 152 Great White Hope 49
Ettore, Al 130 Greb, Harry 11
Evans, Stanley 9, 34 Greece 205
Everett, Buck 53 Greenlee, Gus 163
Gregory, Dick 160
Fairbanks, Douglas 106 Grifn, Corn 136, 137
Farley, James 221 Grifth Stadium 175
Farnsworth, Bill 61 Guinyard, Freddie 23, 53, 88, 121, 203
Farr, Tommy 145, 146, 147, 149, 164, 172,
205 Hagler, Marvelous Marvin 2
Federal Bureau of Investigation 220 Hamas, Steve 109
Fetchit, Steppin 72 Harlem 71, 74, 76, 81, 85, 88, 92, 124, 155,
Fitzsimmons, Bob 45, 46 158, 162, 176, 200, 201, 210, 220
Fleischer, Nat 25, 33, 34, 55, 59, 62, 75, 118, Harlem Opera House 98
129, 138, 158, 185, 190, 196 Harvard University 72
Fletcher, Dusty 98 Havana, Cuba 47
Foord, Ben 109 Hawaii 212
Foreman, George 217, 229 Hearst, Millicent 61
Ford, Henry 3, 17 Hearst, William Randolph 61
Fort Dix 203 Heifetz, Jascha 25
Fort Hood 199 Helmuth, Arno 155, 156, 157
Fort Meyer Memorial Chapel 228 Henie, Sonja 90, 91, 118
Fort Riley 194, 198, 199 Hennessy, Sam 172
France 69 Herman, Kid 78
Franklin, Bennie 24, 87 Hillsboro, Mississippi 34
Frayne, Ed 61 Hindenberg 124
Frazier, Joe 34 Hippodrome 61, 120
Frog Club 62, 663 Hitler, Adolf 67, 80, 91, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115,
Fullam, Frank 215 116, 120, 125, 131, 132, 150, 151, 152, 153,
Futch, Eddie 34, 35 155, 156, 165, 193, 205
Hollywood 2, 71, 79, 80, 90, 91, 94, 106, 117,
Gable, Clark 91 118, 162
Galento, Tony 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, Holmes, Larry 2, 225
173, 175 Holyeld, Evander 106
Gallico, Paul 84, 192, 193 Horne, Lena 74, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 124
Galveston, Texas 43, 44, 45 Horne, Teddy 92
Gans, Joe 11 Hot Springs, Arkansas 207
Garland, Judy 223 Hotel Theresa 162
Garmisch-Partenkirchen 90, 114 Houston 229
Genoa, Italy 70 Howard University 119
Georgia 107 Hungary 105
Germany 91, 104, 109, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, Hunkerfoot, Charles 13
116, 120, 123, 125, 128, 132, 133, 150, 153, Huston, Walter 80
157, 158, 186, 193, 197, 205, 206
Gibson, Truman 89, 193, 194, 195, 198, 199, Internal Revenue Service 190, 208, 210, 216,
200, 216 217, 219, 220
Gloucester, Massachusetts 45 International Boxing Club 216
242 Index

International Boxing Hall of Fame 49, 213, Lincoln Cemetery, Illinois 204
229 Liston, Sonny 221, 224
International News Service 76 Little Rock, Arkansas 47
International Olympic Committee 114 London 69, 70, 206
Israel 120 London, Jack 65
Italy 67, 68, 70, 72, 74, 116, 197 Long Island 106, 138, 191
Long Island City, New York 80, 127, 136, 153
Jackson, Rev. Jesse, Jr. 228 Los Angeles 45, 69, 117, 164
Jacksonville, Florida 69 Loughran, Tommy 71, 96, 106, 118
Jacobs, Joe 105, 109, 115, 132, 134, 221 Loy, Myrna 80
Jacobs, Mike 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 66, 68, 74,
75, 77, 81, 96, 97, 98, 100, 115, 120, 125, Machon, Max 123, 157
128, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 143, 146, 147, Macon, Eddie 176
155, 156, 162, 163, 169, 172, 175, 182, 190, Madden, Owney 70, 71, 75, 207
194, 207, 209, 220 Madison Square Garden 1, 60, 61, 62, 79,
Japan 186, 188, 189, 198 100, 133, 148, 162, 172, 173, 175, 180, 191,
Jeffries, James J. 46, 47, 65 213, 214, 218
Joe Louis Arena 57 Madison Square Garden Bowl 106, 108, 138
Johnson, Jack 3, 6, 14, 36, 37, 41, 42, 43, 44, Malcolm X 177
45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 52, 61, 65, 76, 77, 86, Malone, Martha 220, 224, 228
137, 138, 141, 144, 176 Maloney, Jim 69, 70
Johnston, Jimmy 60, 61, 133 Mann, Nathan 147, 148, 149
Jones, Bobby 24 Mann Act 47
Jones, Buck 23 Marciano, Rocky 217, 218, 219, 221
Josephs, Eddie 183, 208 Marek, Max 33
Marigold Gardens Outdoor Arena 53
Kansas 199 Markson, Harry 62
Kansas City 69, 134 Martin, Dean 222
Kansas City Monarchs 200 Massera, Charley 55
Keeler, O.B. 124 Maston, Rev. J.H. 99
Kentucky Derby 72 Mauriello, Tami 209, 211, 212
Ketchel, Steve 130 Maynard, Ken 23
Klein, Izzy 51 McCoy, Al 175, 181
Klondike Gold Fields 60 McKinney, Thurston 9, 26, 30, 31, 33
Kracken, Jack 51, 52, 53 McTigue, Mike 106
Kranz, Jack 53 Mead, Chris 30
Krieger, Solly 180 Meen, Reggie 70
Ku Klux Klan 19, 20, 72 Mein Kampf 111
Memphis, Tennessee 45
Lacy, Sam 202 Meredith, Burgess 118
Lafayette, Alabama 13 Mexico 212
Lake Geneva, Wisconsin 138, 140 Miami 71
Lake Placid, New York 90 Michigan State Athletic Commission 54
Lakewood, New Jersey 117, 212 Miler, John 30, 31, 32
Lancaster, Pennsylvania 45 Miles, Marshall 205, 209
Langford, Sam 11, 38 Miley, Jack 182, 183
Las Vegas 1, 162, 222, 223, 224, 225, 229 Miller, Davey 149
Lasky, Art 137 Miller, Margery 29
Lazer, Roy 64 Millinocket, Maine 45
Lehman, Herbert 156 Milwaukee 221
Leonard, Sugar Ray 2 Minnesota 101
Levinsky, King 96, 97 Missouri 104
Lewis, Jerry 222 Mix, Tom 23
Lewis, John Henry 137, 162, 163, 164, 168 Mobile, Alabama 20
Lewis, Nate 149 Monte, Joe 105
Liberty (magazine) 169 Monteith, Scotty 65
Liebling, A.J. 45, 168 Moody, George 34, 35
Lillehammer, Norway 51 Morgan, Rose 220
 Index 243

Morrison Hotel 143 Owens, Jesse 2, 72, 97, 132, 165, 166, 167,
Mount Sinai, Alabama 17 191, 225
Mount Vernon, Alabama 15
Munich 111 Pacheco, Ferdie 158
Mussolini, Benito 67, 70, 71 Paige, Satchel 72, 99
Musto, Tony 175 Parker, Dan 144
Pastor, Bob 72, 133, 172, 181
Naples 196 Paychek, Johnny 173
National Association for the Advancement of Pearl Harbor 188, 198
Colored People 194, 200 Pennsauken, New Jersey 211
National Boxing Association 107 Pep, Willie 62
National Golden Gloves 33 Perroni, Patsy 57
National Hockey League 57 Peyton Place 91
Nazis 80, 111, 113, 114, 115, 120, 132, 133, 151, Philadelphia 24, 45, 55, 69, 130, 175, 177
152, 153, 154, 157, 158, 189, 205, 206, 222 Pickford, Mary 106
Negro Leagues (baseball) 72, 97, 163, 200 Pittsburgh 20, 57, 74, 163, 179, 182, 183
Neusel, Walter 109 Pittsburgh Courier 64, 201
Nevada 60, 224 Pittsburgh Crawfords 163
New Haven, Connecticut 147 Plains, Georgia 157
New Jersey 73, 92, 105, 119, 136, 167, 168, Plymouth, England 45
203, 211, 219 Poland 104
New Orleans 7, 47 Polo Grounds 182, 188
New York 45, 62, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 77, 88, Polyclinic Hospital 158
98, 103, 105, 109, 112, 115, 120, 125, 130, Pompton Lakes, New Jersey 48, 72, 73, 88,
136, 151, 152, 153, 155, 156, 158, 178, 180, 153, 170, 229
187, 192, 214, 217, 221, 223 Poreda, Stanley 54, 55
New York Daily News 117, 190 Portland, Maine 45
New York Milk Fund 61 Portland, Oregon 69
New York Post 218 The Poseidon Adventure 84
New York Rangers 60 The Postman Always Rings Twice 91
New York State Athletic Commission 107, Powell, Adam Clayton, Jr. 75
132, 133, 206, 213, 221 Powers, Jimmy 190
New York Times 215 The Prize Fighter and the Lady 80
New York Yankees 24 Pueblo, Colorado 47
Newark, New Jersey 69
Newspaper Enterprise Association 139 Queens, New York 70
Nichols, Joe Louis 13
Nordhein-Westfalen, Germany 103 Radford, Susan 13
North Carolina 177 Ramage, Lee 55, 57, 58, 59, 65
North Dakota 101 Rangel, Charles 160
Norway 91 Ray, Johnny 181, 184, 185, 188
Nostradamus 183 Reading, Pennsylvania 45
Notre Dame 33 Reagan, Ronald 228
Nova, Lou 188, 189 Recreation Park 78
Nova Scotia 38 Reno, Nevada 46
Resnick, Ash 223
Oakland, California 45 Retzlaff, Charley 101, 117
Oates, William C. 20 Rheum Boogie Caf 209
OBrien, Philadelphia Jack 11 Rice, Grantland 84, 122, 123, 130, 154
ODowd, Jack 54 Rickard, Tex 60, 61
Ohio State University 132, 166 Rickey, Branch 200, 201, 202
Oklahoma 56 The Ring (magazine) 55, 56, 75, 118, 129,
Olympia Stadium 57, 59 139, 156, 158, 159, 185, 190
Omaha, Nebraska 69 Rinson, Amsey 26
On the Waterfront 170 Risko, Johnny 105
Ondra, Anny 104, 114, 124, 125 Robeson, Paul 201
Orange, New Jersey 170 Robinson, Bill Bojangles 72, 99, 139, 201,
Oslo, Norway 91 204
244 Index

Robinson, Jackie 194, 198, 199, 200, 201, Stribling, Young 69, 106, 107, 108
202, 225 Sullivan, Ed 117
Robinson, Slim 228 Sullivan, John L. 37
Robinson, Sugar Ray (Walker Smith, Jr.) 2, Summer Olympics 114, 132, 165, 166
35, 62, 194, 218 Swanson, Gloria 106
Rocky 118 Sweet, Dr. Ossian 24
Roosevelt, Franklin D. 98, 114, 152, 157, 189, Sydney, Australia 43
193 Sykes, Art 54
Roper, Jack 164
Ross, Barney 51, 153, 179 Texas 199
Rowe, Billy 162 Third Reich 112, 150
Roxborough, Charles 8 Thomas, Harry 148, 149
Roxborough, John 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 35, Thomas, Henry 109
36, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, 47, 49, 50, 51, 54, Thomas, Otis 32, 33
56, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 75, 77, 97, 98, 100, Thomas, Tommy 140, 141
109, 117, 120, 127, 130, 133, 143, 145, 162, Thunderbird Hotel 223
163, 176, 190, 204, 224 Tilden, Big Bill 24
Runyon, Damon 61, 136 Time (magazine) 91
Ruth, Babe 24 Topeka, Kansas 45
Toronto 33
St. Louis 20, 160, 176 Trafton, George 11, 69
St. Moritz, Switzerland 90 Traftons Gym 11
San Francisco 45, 59, 78 Trotter, Marva 55, 56, 81, 82, 83, 87, 88, 89,
Savold, Lee 181, 217 91, 92, 93, 94, 117, 118, 119, 121, 124, 127,
Savoy Hotel 76 130, 153, 161, 162, 170, 195, 204, 205, 220
Schaaf, Ernie 68, 79 Trotter, Novella 82
Schaap, Jeremy 136 Trotter, Rev. Walter 81
Schmeling, Max 67, 70, 80, 88, 92, 101, 103, Tunney, Gene 24, 25, 68, 98, 109
104, 105, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, Turner, Lana 90, 91, 94, 95
115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, Twentieth Century Sporting Club 61, 216
125, 127, 128, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, Tyson, Mike 106
137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 144, 145, 146,
148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, Udell, Larry 53
157, 158, 159, 160, 162, 164, 176, 179, 190, Unforgivable Blackness 49
193, 205, 206, 212, 218, 219, 221, 222 United Press 100, 129, 130, 148, 171
Schwader, Vada 23, 25 United Service Organizations (USO) 94
Seamon, Mannie 153, 203, 205, 208, 213 United States 104, 105, 111, 115, 132, 133, 135,
Searcy Hospital for the Negro Insane 15 138, 146, 150, 152, 153, 157, 160, 179, 186,
Selassie, Hailie 72 188, 189, 191, 192, 193, 195, 205, 206, 208,
Sharkey, Jack ( Joseph Paul Cukoschay) 68, 221
70, 96 106, 107, 108, 128, 129, 130, 142 U.S. Navy Relief Society 190, 191, 192, 198
Shkor, Johnny 216 United States Negro Horse Show 89
Shreveport, Louisiana 47 United States Olympic Committee 114, 115
Sieminsky, Alfred 219 University of CaliforniaLos Angeles 198,
Simms, Eddie 130 200
Simon, Abe 175, 192, 193, 202, 203, 206 University of Chicago 56, 88
Sinatra, Frank 222, 225, 228 Urban League 8
Slayton, George 9 Uzcudun, Paulino 69, 100, 101, 105, 109, 110,
Smith, Gunboat 11 120
Smith, Jimmy 187, 188
Somaliland 67 Versailles, Kentucky 11
Spain 100, 109 Victor, Colorado 45
The Spirit of Youth 117 Vietnam War 48, 189, 224
Spring Hill, Michigan 162 Virginia 228
Stamford, Connecticut 139
Stanley Hotel 88 Wagner, Richard 157
Staten Island Ferry 155 Walcott, Jersey Joe 211, 212, 213, 214, 215,
Stockton, California 176 217, 219, 221, 228
 Index 245

Wales 145 Wilson, Freddie 155

Walker, Andy 217 Winter Olympics 90, 91, 114
Walker, Jimmy 109 Wiser, Adolph 54
Walker, Mickey 109 World Colored Heavyweight Championship
Walsh, Davis J. 76, 77 38, 45
War Department 193, 198 World War I 14, 111, 112
Washington, D.C. 47, 152, 158, 175, 193, World War II 116, 151, 186, 188, 189, 191, 193,
194, 198, 221 197, 200, 203, 209, 218, 219, 222, 224, 229
Washington Senators 175 Wright Brothers 17
Waterbury, Connecticut 45 Wrigley Field (California) 58, 59, 164
Webster, Joe 213
Weimar Republic 112 Yankee Stadium 1, 24, 60, 64, 68, 71, 75, 78,
White Fang 65 81, 83, 107, 109, 118, 123, 128, 139, 145, 155,
White House 152 157, 169, 170, 207, 208, 209, 214
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 45 You Cant Take That Away from Me 140
Wilkie, Wendell 193 Young Negroes Progressive Association 8
Willard, Jess 47, 60
Williams, Holman 31, 32, 33, 34 Zaveta, Frank 69
Williams, Joe 123 Zion, IL 139
Wills, Harry 37, 38, 106 Zivic, Fritzie 179
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