Joe Louis
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Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981), better known as Joe Louis, was a heavyweight boxing champion. Nicknamed the Brown Bomber, he is considered to be one of the greatest champions in boxing history. Louis held the heavyweight title for over 11 years, more than anyone else before or after him, recording 25 successful defenses of the title. In 2003, Ring Magazine ranked him No. 1 on its list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. In 2005, Louis was named the greatest heavyweight of all time by the International Boxing Research Organization.[1] He participated in 27 heavyweight championship fights, a record which still stands.
In the turbulent era during World War II, he became a national hero in America, partly because of his comment about the Allies, "We're gonna win 'cause we're on God's side".
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[edit] Legacy
Joe Louis lives on in popular memory. Among other contributions, Louis coined two of boxing's most famous quotes: "He can run, but he can't hide" and "Everyone has a plan until they've been hit."[citation needed] In 1936, a beat writer for the Winnipeg Tribune used Joe Louis's nickname to refer to the Winnipeg Football Club after a game. From that point, the team became known popularly as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
[edit] Commemoration
Louis was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award given by the U.S. legislative branch, in 1982. Congress stated that he "did so much to bolster the spirit of the American people during one of the most crucial times in American history and which have endured throughout the years as a symbol of strength for the nation." He has a sports complex named after him in Detroit, the Joe Louis Arena, where the Detroit Red Wings play their NHL games. A memorial to Louis was dedicated in Detroit (at Jefferson Avenue & Woodward) on October 16, 1986. The sculpture, commissioned by Time, Inc. and executed by Robert Graham, is a 24-foot long arm with a fisted hand suspended by a 24-foot high pyramidal framework. It represents the power of his punch both inside and outside the ring. Because of his efforts to fight Jim Crow laws, the fist was symbolically aimed toward the south. Joe Louis is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
A street near Madison Square Garden is named after Joe Louis. In 1993, he became the first boxer to be honored on a postage stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service.
American Legion Post 375 was named after "Joe Louis" and is located in Detroit, MI.
[edit] See also
- List of heavyweight boxing champions
- List of male boxers
- Joe Louis Arena (located in Detroit, Michigan)
[edit] References
- Joe Louis, Edna Rust, Art Rust Jr., Joe Louis: My Life
- Joe Louis, 66, Heavyweight King Who Reigned 12 Years, Is Dead, Obituary, NY Times, April 13, 1981.
- Louis' TAX issues
- Jenny Nolan, "The Brown Bomber -- The Man Behind The Fist", The Detroit News
- "Remembering Joe Louis", WTVM
[edit] Notes
- ^ International Boxing Research Organization (March, 2005). "All Time Rankings". Retrieved on October 14, 2006.
[edit] External links
- Joe Louis HBO special February 23, 2008
- Louis' TAX issues in video documentary clip
- Joe Louis biography International Boxing Hall of Fame
- Solid boxing Joe's bio and Profile
- The Fight of the Century NPR special on the selection of the radio broadcast to the National Recording Registry
