Biography joe louis

Joe Louis Early Life

Joe Louis was born Joseph Louis Barrow on May 13, 1914 in Lafayette, Alabama. He was the seventh of eight children and a grandson of slaves. His parents made a modest living: His father, Mun Barrow, was a sharecropper, while his mother, Lillie Barrow, was a laundress. When he was 2 years old, his father was committed to an asylum. His mother soon remarried, and moved the family to Detroit with her new spouse, Patrick Brooks.

It was in Detroit that Joe Louis discovered boxing, using money his mother had given him for violin lessons on boxing classes at Brewster Recreation Center instead.

Joe Louis Amateur Career

At 6”2, Joe Louis cut an intimidating figure in the ring. He began boxing in the amateur circuit in 1932. His hard-hitting punches soon earned him a reputation as a fighter, and he won Detroit’s Golden Gloves light-heavyweight title in the open class in 1934. At the end of his amateur career, he had won 50 of 54 matches—43 by knockout. He was ready for the pros.

Joe Louis Professional Boxing Career

In 1937, Joe Louis beat James J. Braddock to become the first black heavyweight champion in twenty-two years and an inspiration to African Americans during the Great Depression, when black men and women were often “the last hired, the first fired.” (The fight became the subject of the 2005 film Cinderella Man). From 1939-1941, he defended his title 13 times, leading critics to call his opponents members of the “bum of the month club.”

By the end of 1935, Louis had defeated former heavyweight champions Primo Carnera, a symbolic victory over Benito Mussolini’s Italy, and Max Baer. But on June 19, 1936, he faced off with German boxer Max Schmeling, who knocked Louis out in the 12th round. Louis had experienced his first professional defeat, but he was determined to get a rematch.

Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling

On June 22, 1938, Joe Lo

During what is often described as boxing's “Golden Age” — approximately 1930 to 1955 — Joe Louis, the “Brown Bomber,” would become its undisputed king. Not only would Louis dominate his sport during this period, he transcended the color barrier and was cheered by Americans of all races.

Joe Louis Barrow — the grandson of a slave and the great grandson of a slave owner — was born in poverty on May 13, 1914. The Barrow home in Lafayette, Alabama was next to a cotton field. Growing up, Louis and his seven siblings often slept three and four to a bed.

The lack of jobs and the violence waged against African Americans by a revived Ku Klux Klan in the South led Louis' mother, Lily, to take her family and join thousands of blacks in the Great Migration north.

They settled in Detroit, and Joe began learning the craft of cabinet making and taking violin lessons. He was about 11-years-old when a friend introduced him to boxing. As a teenager, Louis gained a reputation as a top-flight amateur fighter. He dropped “Barrow” from his name, hoping to keep his boxing a secret from his mother. But winning 50 of 54 amateur fights – 43 by knockouts — brought headlines on newspaper sports pages in Detroit and around the Midwest. It was impossible to hide his remarkable power, speed, and innate tactical mind — skills that helped Louis become one of the greatest boxers in history.

He soon gained the attention of John Roxborough, head of the illegal gambling rackets in the black communities of Detroit. What Roxborough offered Louis was unique to the sport of boxing at the time. Roxborough had watched countless white managers burn out African American fighters before their prime. He promised Louis the best training and opportunities.

Roxborough quickly brought in boxing promoter Julian Black and respected trainer Jack Blackburn to groom Louis for greatness.

Roxborough was true to his word, guiding Louis with care and, in the process, attaining record prize purses — not just for a bl

JOSEPH LOUIS BARROW, the legendary "Brown Bomber," is considered by many to be the finest heavyweight champion in the history of boxing. He held the world's heavyweight title from June 22, 1937 until June 25, 1948 and made a division-record 25 successful title defenses.

Born in Alabama, Louis moved to Detroit as a child and began boxing at the Brewster Recreation Center. In his first amateur bout, Louis was knocked down seven times. But he improved rapidly. He captured the 1934 National AAU light heavyweight crown and turned pro later that year.

Louis won his first 27 fights, 23 by knockout, beating the likes of former heavyweight champions Primo Carnera and Max Baer and contenders Paolino Uzcudun and Natie Brown. But in his 28th fight, Louis met defeat. He faced another former heavyweight champ, Max Schmeling at Yankee Stadium, and was knocked out in the 12th round.

Louis rebounded from the defeat and won seven straight bouts -- including victories over Jack Sharkey and Bob Pastor -- to earn a shot at the heavyweight title. Louis faced champion James J. Braddock on June 22, 1937 in Chicago's Comiskey Park. Although he was dropped early in the bout, Louis rose from the canvas to score an eighth-round knockout. He became the first African American to win the heavyweight title since Jack Johnson in 1908.

Louis possessed an excellent jab and power in both hands. His right cross was as devastating as his left hook. His punches were so compact that some in the media claimed a Joe Louis punch need only to travel six inches to render an opponent unconscious.

After winning the crown, Louis began piling up defenses. He dispatched contender after contender with such ease that his opponents were said to make up "The Bum of the Month Club." Along with Louis' success came tremendous popularity. He was widely respected by Americans of all color. He won the title a decade before Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier and later would pu

American boxer (1914–1981)

"Brown Bomber" redirects here. For other uses, see Brown Bomber (disambiguation) and Joe Louis (disambiguation).

Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed "the Brown Bomber", Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1937 until his temporary retirement in 1949. He was victorious in 25 consecutive title defenses, a record for all weight classes. Louis has the longest single reign as champion of any boxer in history.

Louis's cultural impact was felt well outside the ring. He is widely regarded as the first African-American to achieve the status of a nationwide hero within the United States, and was also a focal point of anti-Nazi sentiment leading up to and during World War II because of his historic rematch with German boxer Max Schmeling in 1938. He was instrumental in integrating the game of golf, helping break the sport's color barrier in America by appearing under a sponsor's exemption in a PGA event in 1952.

Early life

Born on May 13, 1914, in rural Chambers County, Alabama—in a ramshackle dwelling on Bell Chapel Road, located about 1 mile (2 kilometres) off State Route 50 and roughly 6 miles (10 kilometres) from LaFayette—Louis was the seventh of eight children of Munroe Barrow and Lillie (Reese) Barrow. He weighed 11 pounds (5 kg) at birth. Both of his parents were children of former slaves, alternating between sharecropping and rental farming.

Louis suffered from a speech impediment and spoke very little until about the age of six. Munroe Barrow was committed to a mental institution in 1916 and, as a result, Joe knew very little of his biological father. Around