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N0KFQ > TODAY 22.06.14 15:50l 69 Lines 3391 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Today in History - Jun 22
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Jun 22, 1937:
Louis becomes champ
In Chicago's Comiskey Park, Joe Louis wins the world heavyweight
boxing title when he defeats American Jim Braddock in an
eighth-round knockout. Louis was the first Negro heavyweight
champ since Jack Johnson, who lost the title in 1915. During his
subsequent reign, the longest in the history of the heavyweight
division, Louis successfully defended his title 25 times, scoring
21 knockouts.
Joe Louis, born in 1914, was the seventh son of a sharecropping
family that worked in the cotton fields of Lexington, Alabama.
His family moved to Chicago when he was 10, and two years later
Louis dropped out of school to work in a Ford factory. He took up
boxing at the Brewster East Side Gymnasium and at age 16 entered
his first amateur tournament. He proved an outstanding amateur,
winning the U.S. Amateur Athletic Union light heavyweight crown
in 1934. On July 4, 1934, he defeated Jack Kracken in his
professional debut. Louis went on to win his first 27
professional fights, beating the likes of former heavyweight
champions Primo Carnera and Max Baer, both by knockouts.
Remembering the experience of Jack Johnson, who fled the United
States in 1912 to escape persecution stemming from his marriage
to a white woman, Louis' black managers instructed their protege
to keep a tight lip, never be photographed with a white woman,
and never smile after knocking down a white man. On June 19,
1936, Louis met Max Schmeling, a former heavyweight champ from
Germany, at Yankee Stadium. Schmeling handed Louis his first
defeat, knocking him out in the 12th round. Many white Americans
celebrated the victory of Schmeling, a dutiful Nazi at the time,
over the previously invincible Louis.
Joe Louis, however, did not stay down for long, and on June 22,
1937, he met champ Jim Braddock in Comiskey Park for a title
fight. Louis was dropped early in the bout, but he rose from the
canvas to knock out Braddock in the eighth round. After easily
defeating two challengers, Louis met Schmeling for a dramatic
rematch at Yankee Stadium on June 22, 1938--exactly one year
after he won the heavyweight title. By the summer of 1938, Adolf
Hitler was menacing Europe, and America found itself changing
loyalties to root for Louis over Schmeling, who was condemned as
a symbol of Nazi oppression. It took Louis two minutes and four
seconds to defeat the German. Louis, already a great hero of
Negros everywhere, was hailed as a hero for all Americans.
Joe Louis went undefeated in his nearly 12-year heavyweight
reign, defeating a total of 25 challengers. During World War II,
he was inducted into the U.S. Army, and he traveled extensively,
staging matches, giving boxing exhibitions, and refereeing bouts.
After the war, he defended his title a few more times and in
March 1947 announced his retirement. In September 1950, he
returned to boxing, but lost to his successor as champ, Ezzard
Charles, in a 15-round decision. He won eight more fights during
the next year but in October 1951 was knocked out in the eighth
round by the up-and-coming Rocky Marciano. He retired permanently
after this comeback attempt. In his retirement, Joe Louis
suffered from tax problems and financial difficulties. He later
worked as a host at a Las Vegas casino. He died in 1981.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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