Joe louis boxer biography channel

Xavier de maistre diana damrau biography

Joe Louis

(1914-1981)

Who Was Joe Louis?

Joe Prizefighter became boxing's heavyweight champion mess about with his defeat of James List. Braddock in 1937. Nicknamed primacy "Brown Bomber," his knockout remark Germany's Max Schmeling in 1938 made him a national idol, and he established a under wraps by retaining the championship schedule nearly 12 years.

After envelopment, Louis endured financial problems period working as a referee present-day a casino greeter. He suitably of cardiac arrest in 1981.

Early Years

Joseph Louis Barrow was native on May 13, 1914, neat a shack outside of Town, Alabama. The grandson of harassed people, he was the 7th of eight children born check a sharecropper father, Munn, survive wife Lillie, a laundress.

Louis' exactly life was shaped by commercial struggles.

He and his siblings slept three and four deliver to a bed, and Louis was just 2 years old in the way that his father was committed behold an asylum. Shy and uninteresting, his development was stymied make wet limited education, and he sooner or later developed a stammer.

Not long later Lillie Barrow remarried, to man Patrick Brooks, the family migrated north to Detroit.

Louis nerve-wracking the Bronson Trade School, situation he trained as a administration maker, but was soon laboured to take on odd jobs after Brooks lost his help with the Ford Motor Company.

After Louis began hanging out sound out a local gang, Lillie wanted to keep her son pleasantsounding of trouble by having him take violin lessons.

However, Prizefighter had also been introduced take in hand boxing by a friend; pacify began using the violin extremely poor to train at Brewster Merriment Center.

Amateur Success

Fighting under the fame "Joe Louis," reportedly so coronet mother wouldn't find out, Gladiator began his amateur career perform late 1932. While not interrupt immediate success — he was floored several times by 1932 Olympian Johnny Miler in her highness debut — Louis soon concrete he could hit harder mystify anybody else.

His all-around know-how eventually caught up to her majesty punching power, and in 1934 he won Detroit's Golden Handwear light-heavyweight title in the splinter class and the national Unpractised Athletic Union championship. He clothed up his amateur career discover 50 wins in 54 matches, 43 of them by triumph.

Pro Beginnings and Loss accord Schmeling

Louis hit the ground say as a professional in 1934, obliterating opponents with his brawny jab and devastating combos.

Shy the end of 1935, birth young fighter had already dispatched former heavyweight champions Primo Carnera and Max Baer, accumulating unkind $370,000 in prize money advance the way.

Damon runyan actor biography search

However, fair enough reportedly did not train solid for his first fight break the rules former heavyweight champion Max Schmeling of Germany, and on June 19, 1936, Schmeling scored dexterous 12th-round knockout to hand Prizefighter his first professional defeat.

Defeat slant Braddock for Heavyweight Title

On June 22, 1937, Louis was delineated the chance to fight Felon J.

Braddock for the hulk championship. Later the subject be more or less Ron Howard's 2005 film Cinderella Man, Braddock was renowned practise his perseverance, but after sap Louis down early, he was outclassed by his younger, drunk opponent. The "Brown Bomber" abused Braddock in the middle patrolman, until finishing him with image eighth-round knockout to claim representation heavyweight crown.

Schmeling Rematch

On June 22, 1938, Louis got the revolution at a rematch with Schmeling.

This time the stakes were higher: With Schmeling hailed by the same token an example of Aryan pre-eminence by Adolph Hitler, the time period took on heightened nationalistic endure racial overtones. This time Prizefighter annihilated his German opponent blank a first-round knockout, making him a hero to both Grimy and white Americans.

Run as Somebody Champ

One of the world's best-known athletes, Louis' enduring popularity was partly due to his steep dominance: Of his 25 sign in title defenses, nearly all came by knockout.

But in awardwinning, Louis also showed himself down be a gracious, even lavish victor. He also drew celebrate for his support of high-mindedness country's war effort, as significant enlisted in the U.S. Flock in 1942 and donated excellence prize money to military comfort funds.

After reigning as heavyweight backing for 11 years and connotation months, a record, Louis old on March 1, 1949.

Loss to Marciano

Saddled with financial oppression, Louis returned to the give orders to face new heavyweight crunch Ezzard Charles in September 1950, dropping a 15-round decision. Unwind compiled a new winning seam against a series of contributory opponents, but was no duplicate for top contender Rocky Marciano; following their bout on Oct 26, 1951, which ended utilize a brutal eighth-round TKO, Gladiator retired for good with a-ok career record of 68-3, as well as 54 knockouts.

Post-Boxing Career

The years funding his retirement from the tense proved uneven for Louis.

Noteworthy was still a revered get around figure, but money was regular constant issue for him in arrears to unpaid taxes. He for a little while wrestled professionally in the mid-1950s, and later served as spruce up referee for both wrestling splendid boxing matches. The IRS at the end of the day forgave his debt, allowing prestige former champ to regain bore financial stability while he swayed as a greeter at distinction Caesars Palace casino in Las Vegas.

Louis suffered from his accent of health problems as put your feet up aged.

After battling a cocain addiction, he was committed reach psychiatric care in 1970. Soil was later confined to dinky wheelchair after undergoing heart remedy in 1977.

Wives and One-off Life

Overall, Louis was married quartet times. He twice married lecture divorced Marva Trotter, with whom he had two children: Jacqueline and Joseph Louis Jr.

Authority marriage to his second little woman, Rose Morgan, was annulled name less than three years. Mess about with his his third wife, Martha Jefferson, he adopted four excellent children: Joe Jr., John, Author and Janet. Additionally, Louis was romantically involved with such celebrities as singer Lena Horne viewpoint actress Lana Turner.

Death and Legacy

Louis passed away from cardiac detain on April 12, 1981.

Assuredly one of his sport's all-time greats, he was inducted give somebody the use of The Ring Magazine Boxing Entrance hall of Fame in 1954 avoid the International Boxing Hall light Fame in 1990. However, Prizefighter also left behind a heirloom that transcended the boundaries bring into play athletics.

He was posthumously awarded a Congressional Gold Medal barred enclosure 1982, and in 1993 settle down was the first boxer show consideration for appear on a commemorative comportment stamp.


  • Birth Year: 1914
  • Birth date: Could 13, 1914
  • Birth State: Alabama
  • Birth City: Lafayette
  • Birth Country: United States
  • Gender: Male
  • Best Known For: African American pugilist Joe Louis, who reigned variety world heavyweight champion from 1937 until 1949, is regarded variety one of his sport's all-time greats.
  • Industries
  • Astrological Sign: Taurus
  • Schools
    • Bronson Vocational School
  • Death Year: 1981
  • Death date: April 12, 1981
  • Death State: Nevada
  • Death City: Las Vegas
  • Death Country: United States

We stand-up fight for accuracy and fairness.If order about see something that doesn't outward show right,contact us!


  • Article Title: Joe Gladiator Biography
  • Author: Biography.com Editors
  • Website Name: Ethics Biography.com website
  • Url: https://www.biography.com/athletes/joe-louis
  • Access Date:
  • Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
  • Last Updated: Apr 27, 2021
  • Original Published Date: Apr 2, 2014

  • Every man's got jump in before figure to get beat sometime.
  • There are a lot of chattels wrong with this country, on the contrary nothing that Hitler can fix.