Louis, Joe (Joseph Louis Barrow)

Boxing

b. May 13, 1914, Lafayette, AL
d. April 12, 1983

Career Record

Other Resources

When he was ten years old, Louis moved with his mother and step-father to Detroit, where he developed his physique by delivering fifty-pound blocks of ice as a teen-ager. At eighteen, he learned that a boxing club paid fighters in food. He won $7 worth of food in a match, but was knocked down seven times in two rounds and he swore he'd never fight again.

However, a short time later a professional fighter, Holman Williams, gave him some lessons and persuaded him to enter Golden Gloves competition. He won 50 of 54 amateur fights, 41 by knockout, and was AAU national light heavyweight champion in 1934.

Louis turned professional later that year. He became a genuine contender after knocking out Primo Carnera, King Levinsky, Max Baer, and Paulino Uzcudun in 1935, when he was named Associated Press athlete of the year.

He suffered his first professional defeat on June 19, 1936, a 12th-round knockout by Max Schmeling of Germany. Despite the loss, Louis was selected over Schmeling to meet heavyweight champion Jim Braddock on June 22, 1937, in Chicago. He knocked Braddock out in the 8th round to become the second black heavyweight champion.

Nicknamed the "Brown Bomber," Louis was taught by manager John Roxborough, a black lawyer, and trainer Joe Blackburn to be quiet and modest in demeanor, unlike the first black champion, Jack Johnson. As a result, Louis was a very popular champion among whites as well as blacks.

His popularity reached a peak after he knocked out Schmeling in the 1st round of a title fight on June 22, 1938. Schmeling was unfairly viewed by many as a tool of Hitler and Nazism, while Louis was seen as the champion of the American way. A crowd of 70,000 watched the fight in Yankee Stadium and millions more listened to the radio broadcast.

Louis defended his title twenty-five times in five years, knocking out twenty-three of his opponents. He entered the Army in 1942 and was used basically as a good-will ambassador, including an appearance in a movie, The Negro Soldier, an attempt to boost morale among black fighting men. He also fought exhibitions throughout the country.

After World War II ended, he defended his championship five more times. Louis announced his retirement in 1949, but he owed more than $1 million in back taxes, so he resumed fighting in 1950, only to be outpointed by Ezzard Charles on September 27 in an attempt to reclaim his title. In his last fight, he was knocked out by champion Rocky Marciano in the 8th round on October 26, 1951.

Louis won 67 professional bouts, 53 of them by knockout, and lost 3, 2 by knockout. He spent several months in a psychiatric hospital in 1970 and then became the official greeter at a Las Vegas casino.

International Boxing Hall of Fame