Cowboy Rocky Lee squeezed his arm around Joe Louis’ head and leaned into the ropes, then dkd him toward the other side of the wrestling ring. The portly grappler in all-black reared back and fired off a theatrical punch to Louis’ face. When Louis balled up his own fist, Lee skittered away. The big man darted around the referee and sought refuge in the ropes, the crowd groaning at his cowardice. The ring was the same shape. His in-ring arsenal was much the. Ropes encircled him just as they had in his old life. But the Brown Bomber wasn’t where he belonged.
Latest Issue. Past Issues. It’s now on the periphery of sporting awareness or interest, but there was once a time—and a very long time it was—when there was no bigger event in sports than a heavyweight title fight. And no bigger pay day. That’s where taxes come in. For a very long time, boxing was the only really big-money sport for athletes. Not for nothing did Marlon Brando’s Terry Malloy regret taking the dive that cost him «the title shot outdoors in the ballpark» in On the Waterfront. Between the two of them, they earned more than the entire payroll of baseball’s American League in their two championship fights. Where big money was being minted and in full and very public view , the tax man inevitably followed. With no sadder result than the ordeal of Joe Louis.
Joe Louis Early Life
The perennial champion of the s and s—a true American hero who demolished Nazi Germany’s Max Schmeling in the great symbolic sporting clash between democracy and fascism with a first round knockout at Yankee Stadium in —had no defense when the IRS came calling. Most unfortunate of all, there was a big tax bill on the purses he had donated to military relief funds during World War II, but he apparently did not comply with the regulations governing such charitable deductions. And he didn’t get a credit for coining two of the more memorable aphorisms of that war. Uncle Sam was relentless in pursuing Louis, who found himself in the inescapable plight he had once attributed to fleet-of-foot challenger Billy Conn: «He can run but he can’t hide. As Louis continued to fight past his prime in an effort to generate cash to pay back taxes, he was earning current income on which new tax liabilities accrued, a self-defeating treadmill. Efforts in Congress to secure relief failed. The IRS filed successive tax liens and kept up the pursuit for decades. At the same time the IRS was harrying Louis for back taxes, it was also effectively stepping into the prize ring itself and determining the way the sport was conducted. The s was the era of the 90 percent top marginal tax rate, and by the end of that decade live gate receipts for top championship fights were supplemented by the proceeds from closed circuit telecasts to movie theaters. A second fight in one tax year would yield very little additional income, hardly worth the risk of losing the title.
Quick Facts
Louis, an African American, is perhaps best known for his legendary matchups against German boxer Max Schmeling. While Schmeling defeated Louis in a match, their was portrayed by the press as a battle between Nazi ideology and American democratic ideals Louis defeated Schmeling by knockout in the first round, becoming an American hero. 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. He began boxing in the amateur circuit in At the end of his amateur career, he had won 50 of 54 matches—43 by knockout. He was ready for the pros. In , Joe Louis beat James J.
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Braddock in eight rounds in Chicago , until March 1, , when he briefly retired. During his reign, the longest in the history of any weight division, he successfully defended his title 25 times, more than any other champion in any division, scoring 21 knockouts his service in the U. Army from to no doubt prevented him from defending his title many more times. He was known as an extremely accurate and economical knockout puncher. After his mother remarried, the family, which included eight children, moved to Detroit , Michigan , where Louis took up amateur boxing.
Who Was Joe Louis?
Keep in liuis Old Joe did a lot for uncle Sam. Ceasar’s had planned to bury him somewhere on the hotel property and make an attraction out of it. Jimmy Cannon did not write «Joe Louis is a credit to his race — the human race. Trending Questions. Not to mention that ‘He believed that boxing was his only way of life. I don’t see how this is notable to the career of Joe Louis. The IRS pursued Louis for mondy on contributions he made to military relief funds during the war with the addition of interest and penalties of course. The passage of a special bill by congress forgave the remainder of his tax bills. As mentioned in the article, he was mkae less impressive in his later fights. Yes actually the fight mentioned in this article is the rematch between louis and schmeling. He fought long past his prime. Joe Louis died on April 12,from cardiac arrest.
Joe Louis Early Life
Louis, an African American, is perhaps best known for his legendary matchups against German boxer Max Schmeling. While Schmeling defeated Louis in a match, their was portrayed by the press as a battle between Nazi ideology and American democratic ideals Louis defeated Schmeling by knockout in the first mak, becoming an American hero. Jeo was the seventh of eight children and a djd 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 ,uch lessons on boxing classes at Brewster Recreation Center instead. He began boxing in the amateur circuit in At the end of his amateur career, he had won 50 of 54 matches—43 by knockout.
He was ready for the pros. InJoe Louis beat James J. But on June 19,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 mney rematch. On June 22,Joe Louis and Max Schmeling, djd Adolf Hitler saw as an exemplary representative of the Aryan muxh, faced off in front of 70, fans in a dramatic rematch at Yankee Stadium.
Louis defeated Schmeling in two minutes and four seconds, knocking him out in the first round. The press seized on the victory as symbolic of the victory of democracy over oouis. Inhe joined the Army. During his service he was part of over 96 boxing exhibitions and performed for over two million members of the military.
After an mich and eight-month streak as heavyweight champion—the longest run in history at the time—Joe Louis retired form boxing on March 1, His retirement would be short-lived. With the IRS coming after him for not paying taxes, year-old Joe Louis came out of retirement in He was successful in his fight against Freddie Maie on January 3,prompting excitement about a major comeback. Sports columnist Koe Smith wrote of the match:. Then Rocky hit him another hook and knocked him.
A right to the neck followed that knocked him out of the ring. And out of the fight business. It wrapped the package neat and tidy. Joe Louis retired from boxing for good after the match.
The passage monry a special bill by congress ma,e the remainder of his tax bills. When Louis retired, he had a record of 68 wins to 3 losses including bouts with Jersey Joe Walcott and Ezzard Charles, the only man to go 15 rounds with Louis and win with 54 Knockouts. Joe Louis struggled financially in his later years.
His health declined steadily as. He struggled with cocaine addiction and inwas committed to psychiatric lois. A heart surgery left him in a wheelchair. Joe Louis died on April 12,from cardiac arrest. He was 66 years old. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery with hw military honors thanks to an exception granted by President Ronald Reagan. Today, oje is remembered as a larger-than-life figure in not just black history, but American history as one of the best athletes of his era.
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Joe Louis — America’s Hero — Betrayed.
Braddock in Nicknamed the «Brown Bomber,» his knockout of Germany’s Max Schmeling in made him a national hero, and he established a record by retaining the championship for nearly 12 years. After boxing, Louis endured financial problems while working as a referee and a casino greeter. He died of cardiac arrest in Braddock for the heavyweight championship. Later the subject of Ron Howard ‘s film Cinderella ManBraddock was renowned for his perseverance, but after knocking Louis down early, he was outclassed by his younger, stronger opponent.
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The «Brown Bomber» battered Braddock in the middle rounds, until finishing him with an eighth-round knockout to claim the heavyweight crown. Joe Louis hit the ground running as a professional inobliterating opponents with his powerful jab and devastating combos. On June 22,Louis got the chance at a rematch with Schmeling.
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