Joe Louis

Born May 13, 1914, in Lexington, Alabama

"Every time I hear the name Joe Louis my nose starts to bleed."- Tommy Farr. Joe Louis (May 13, 1914 – 1981) was born in a cabin in the cotton fields of Lexington, Alabama. He burst onto the professional boxing scene in 1934 with style and skill such as the boxing world has seldom seen. Known to many as the "Brown Bomber," Louis emerged victorious from his first 27 fights, all but four of which he won in knockouts. In the early days of his career, he destroyed such great heavyweight fighters as Stanley Poreda, Natie Brown and Rosco Toles. It was here that Louis delivered to the entire world a premonition of the reign of domination that he was to begin.

Joe Louis was seemingly invincible, until his meeting with Max Schmeling on June 19, 1936. Schmeling was the underdog but, to the surprise of all, gave Louis a defeat that would continue to sting long after the cuts had healed. Louis was counted out in the 12th round of this lengthy fight and suffered the first and most painful defeat of his boxing career.

In 1937, Louis faced world heavyweight champion James J. Braddock in Chicago. In an eight-round match, Louis captured the heavyweight title of the world by knocking Braddock out. After this victory, Louis stated, "I don't want nobody to call me champ until I beat Schmeling." Louis had ascended to the top of the boxing world, but in his estimation his journey was far from complete. His embarrassing loss to Max Schmeling was the only dark spot on a career that otherwise was the stuff of dreams, and he was consumed by a desire for revenge.

On June 22, 1938, Louis once again took on the only opponent who had ever beaten him, Max Schmeling. This time around, Louis knocked Schmeling out and captured the admiration of countless Americans. Louis gained a moral victory for himself and for his country, and simultaneously struck a damaging blow to Hitler and his pretentious beliefs.

Beginning in 1937, he began a 12-year reign as boxing's heavyweight champion of the world. During this stretch, Louis had victories over Lou Nova, Tony Galento, Gus Dorazio, Buddy Baer and Johnny Paycheck. Louis' epic battle with Billy Conn at the Polo Grounds also occurred during this time. It would be four years before Louis again returned to the ring. Between 1946 and 1949, Louis flawlessly defended his title four times. Louis retired in 1949, still the undefeated heavyweight champ. Succumbing to financial pressures, Louis was forced back into the ring. In 1950, he attempted to recapture his title in a bout against Ezzard Charles but was handed a loss. Not ready to accept defeat, he again tried his hand in 1951 against Rocky Marciano. During this unsuccessful return to the ring, Marciano knocked Louis through the ropes in the eighth round. This was Joe Louis' final time in the ring.

Joe Louis still holds the distinction of having successfully defended his title more times than any other heavyweight in history.