“I was sitting on the dressing table and crying like I don”
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Joe Louis
Joseph Louis Barrow 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…
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entertainment · American boxer (1914–1981) · boxer · actor · professional wrestler · referee · athlete · also Joe Louis, Joseph "Joe" Louis Barrow, Joseph Louis Barrow, The Brown Bomber, Louis
Born 13 May 1914 · Died 12 April 1981 · Q273206
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2026· 6 entries
“Every time Dempsey hit me, he said,”
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“When I was boxing I made $5 million and wound up broke, owing the government a million. If I was boxing today I”
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“The better man won. I guess everything happens for the best”
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Public attention spiked: 8,035 Wikipedia readers in one day, 6.7× the usual 1,208, with 0 article edits. Coverage that week: “Joe Louis' Son Shares How His Father Stood Up 'When He Thought Black People Were Being Wronged' (Exclusive)” (Yahoo! Sports).
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Yahoo! Sports: Joe Louis' Son Shares How His Father Stood Up 'When He Thought Black People Were Being Wronged' (Exclusive)
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2025· 1 entry
Boxing Scene: Joe Louis has a new statue in the city of Detroit
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2017· 1 entry
After serving 18 years as CEO of The First Tee
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2009· 1 entry
The PGA of America granted posthumous membership to Ted Rhodes, John Shippen and Bill Spiller, who were denied the opportunity to become PGA members during their professional careers
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2005· 1 entry
The International Boxing Research Organization ranked Louis as the greatest heavyweight of all time, and The Ring placed him first on its list of the "100 greatest punchers of all time
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2002· 1 entry
Scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Joe Louis on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans
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1993· 1 entry
Became the first boxer to be honored on a postage stamp issued by the U
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1990· 1 entry
Awarded International Boxing Hall of Fame (1990).
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1986· 1 entry
A memorial to Louis was dedicated at Jefferson Avenue and Woodward in Detroit
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1982· 1 entry
Louis was posthumously approved for the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award given to civilians by the U
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1981· 3 entries
Died 1981-04-12.
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Just hours after his last public appearance viewing the Larry Holmes–Trevor Berbick heavyweight championship fight
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“He can run, but he can't hide.”
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1977· 2 entries
Louis made a small cameo appearance on the TV series Quincy M
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And thereafter used a POV/scooter for a mobility aid
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1971· 1 entry
In a 1971 book, Brown Bomber, by Barney Nagler, Louis disclosed the truth about these incidents, stating that his collapse in 1969 had been caused by cocaine, and that his subsequent hospitalization had been prompted by his fear of a plot to destroy him.
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1970· 2 entries
In 1970, he spent five months at the Colorado Psychiatric Hospital and the Veterans Administration Hospital in Denver, hospitalized by his wife, Martha, and his son, Joe Louis Barrow Jr., for paranoia.
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Spent five months at the Colorado Psychiatric Hospital and the Veterans Administration Hospital in Denver, hospitalized by his wife, Martha, and his son, Joe Louis Barrow Jr
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1969· 2 entries
Had been caused by cocaine, and that his subsequent hospitalization had been prompted by his fear of a plot to destroy him
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Was hospitalized after collapsing on a New York City street
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1967· 2 entries
Awarded Barney Nagler Award (1967).
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Was honored with the Barney Nagler Award by the BWAA for long and meritorious service
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1959· 1 entry
Where he lost to Buddy Rogers in Columbus, Ohio
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1957· 1 entry
Then Teamsters Vice President Jimmy Hoffa was on trial for bribery
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1956· 2 entries
When Louis' ribs were cracked, and he subsequently lost his wrestling license
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Louis went on a short-lived wrestling tour arranged by promoter Ray Fabiani
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1955· 2 entries
Awarded Michigan Sports Hall of Fame (1955).
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Louis was once again cast as himself in a small role in The Square Jungle written by George Zuckerman and starring Tony Curtis
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1953· 2 entries
When Louis's mother died, the IRS appropriated the $667 she had willed to Louis
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Robert Gordon directed a movie about Louis's life, The Joe Louis Story
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1952· 1 entry
Louis was invited to play as an amateur in the San Diego Open on a sponsor's exemption, which was announced at the time as the first instance of an African-American to play in a PGA Tour event (in fact, professional Howa
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1951· 1 entry
In Taipei, Taiwan, against Corporal Buford J
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1950· 1 entry
And his career ended after he was knocked out by Rocky Marciano in 1951
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1948· 2 entries
About 42,000 people came to Yankee Stadium to see the aging champion, who weighed 213
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Louis starred as himself in Joseph Lerner's The Fight Never Ends
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1947· 1 entry
Louis met Jersey Joe Walcott, a 33-year-old veteran with a 44–11–2 record
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1946· 1 entry
Played himself in Joe Palooka, Champ, a movie based on the comic strip Joe Palooka created by Ham Fisher
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1943· 4 entries
Louis had two children with his wife, Marva Trotter Louis: daughter Jacqueline (born 1943) and son Joseph Louis Barrow Jr. (born 1947).
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Louis made an appearance in the wartime Hollywood musical This Is the Army, directed by Michael Curtiz
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“Lots of things wrong with America, but Hitler ain”
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Was featured in the full-length movie This is the Army, which starred Ronald Reagan, with appearances by Kate Smith singing "God Bless America" and Irving Berlin, and which was directed by Michael Curtiz
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1942· 2 entries
(against another former opponent, Abe Simon) netted $36,146
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And Wheeler appeared in subsequent PGA-sanctioned events in Philadelphia in the 1940s, qualifying for the 1950 and 1951 U
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1941· 5 entries
In front of a crowd of 54,487 fans at the Polo Grounds in New York City
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Awarded The Ring magazine Fighter of the Year (1941).
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Awarded Sugar Ray Robinson Award (1941).
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Before succumbing to a series of body blows
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Received the Sugar Ray Robinson Award as Fighter of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA)
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1939· 2 entries
Before letting his guard down and being knocked out in the fourth
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Awarded The Ring magazine Fighter of the Year (1939).
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1938· 1 entry
Awarded The Ring magazine Fighter of the Year (1938).
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1937· 4 entries
After a postponement of four days due to rain, Louis and Farr finally touched gloves at New York's Yankee Stadium before a crowd of approximately 32,000
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Awarded WBA World Heavyweight Champion (1937).
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Awarded The Ring World Heavyweight Champion (1937).
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But negotiations broke down when Schmeling demanded 30% of the gate
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1936· 3 entries
Awarded The Ring magazine Fighter of the Year (1936).
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Vince Leah, then a writer for The Winnipeg Tribune used Joe Louis's nickname to refer to the Winnipeg Football Club after a game
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Schmeling had become a national hero in Germany
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1935· 4 entries
Awarded Associated Press Athlete of the Year (1935).
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Roxborough and Black each signed Louis to an onerous long-term contract that collectively dedicated half of Louis's future income to the pair
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Jacobs and the Louis team met at the Frog Club, a black nightclub, and negotiated a three-year exclusive boxing promotion deal
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Boxing promoter Mike Jacobs sought out Louis's handlers
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1934· 1 entry
Against Jack Kracken in the Bacon Casino on Chicago's south side
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1933· 1 entry
Louis won the Detroit-area Golden Gloves Novice Division championship against Joe Biskey for the light heavyweight classification
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1929· 1 entry
The sport had devolved into a sordid mixture of poor athletes, gambling, fixed fights, thrown matches, and control of the sport by organized crime
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1926· 1 entry
Shaken by a gang of white men in the Ku Klux Klan, Louis's family moved to Detroit, Michigan, forming part of the post-World War I Great Migration
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1916· 1 entry
And, as a result, Joe knew very little of his biological father
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1914· 2 entries
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 chi
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Born 1914-05-13.
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1908· 1 entry
During an era of severe anti-black repression, Jack Johnson became the first black heavyweight champion
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