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May 13
He was born Joseph Louis Barrow on a sharecropper's farm near Lafayette, AL, in 1914. At the age of ten his family migrated to Detroit. Louis won his first professional fight by a knockout in 1934. He won the professional heavyweight championship of the world three years later, defeating American boxer James Jack Braddock by a knockout. During his professional boxing career, Louis compiled 68 victories and three defeats. His 68 victories included 54 by knockout. Louis's first loss came at Yankee Stadium in 1936, to the former world champion, German boxer Max Schmeling. The Nazis equated Schmeling's victory over Louis to a validation of Nazi superiority over democracy. The two boxers fought again in a 1938 rematch. Louis won the bout in one round, and Americans celebrated the victory of democracy. Louis retired in 1949, having successfully defended his title 25 times. He is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight boxing champions who has ever lived. In 1951, plagued by debts, Louis tried to make a comeback. He lost to Ezzard Charles, on a decision after a 15-round bout. In October 1951, Louis was knocked out in the eighth round in a bout with Rocky Marciano, after which Louis retired for good from boxing. He was elected to the Boxing Hall of Fame in 1954. Joe Louis died in 1981. Reference: Boxing Album: An Illustrated History by Peter Brooke Bell Smithmark Publisher, 1995 ISBN 0831748109
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The African American Registry®, The African American Registry® Copyright 2005, 2006
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