Two of the first people I spoke with yesterday about Max Schmeling were surprised to learn that he had died this week. They didn't know he was alive in the first place. Come September, he would have ...

Joe Louis was the 10-to-1 favorite over the German boxer Max Schmeling before their first bout on June 19, 1936. Each man was fighting for a shot at the world heavyweight boxing championship. The two ...

In 1936 and 1938, two heavyweight bouts carried the weight of nations, democracy versus fascism, hope versus propaganda, all ...

Popular sentiment has Joe Louis fighting not only for the heavyweight championship, but also for democracy as Max Schmeling unwittingly represents Adolf Hitler and fascism. Actually, the German boxer ...

Before he became heavyweight champion of the world, Joe Louis’s mother forced him to play the violin. Or so she thought. She handed over a quarter a week for lessons. But he never showed up, choosing ...

In New York’s Yankee Stadium last week, Germany’s Max Schmeling knocked out Detroit’s Negro Joe Louis in the twelfth round of a scheduled 15-round prizefight. The bout was watched by a crowd of 40,000 ...

It was the fight of the (previous) century. And the great white hope was victorious which seemed odd since the winner was a man of color. Heavyweight champ Joe Louis, the Brown Bomber, avenged his ...

Outside Madison Square Garden one night this week, pickets paraded up and down, beseeching Manhattanites not to spend money that might go to Nazi Germany. Inside, 17,000 boxing fans were clamorously ...

In 1936, Max Schmeling handed Joe Louis his first professional loss. Louis returned to form following the loss, winning 11 straight, including heavyweight gold. A rematch would take place in 1938, ...