Joe Louis was an American boxer born in Alabama, the United States in 1914 and passed on in 1981 due to a cardiac arrest. Louis was the world’s heavyweight champion from June 1937 to March 1949. His actual name was Joseph Louis Barrow and he was also referred to as the Brown Bomber. Louis was born in a humble family and faced numerous financial struggles and limited education. Unfortunately, his father was committed to an asylum leaving Louis’ mother with the sole responsibility of raising him along with his siblings. He used the name Joe Louis in his early years of boxing so that the mother would not find out. This paper outlines Louis’ achievements and his contribution to sports as well as the wider society. He actively contributed to the political development of America by joining the U.S Army and socially, he promoted equality by succeeding as a black American and promoting unity among different races in America during his fight with Schmeling ( Ifekwunigwe, 2015 ). Further, the paper will highlight his contributions to cultural and economic advancement in the U.S.
Louis became a professional boxer in 1934, eliminating opponents with his unmatched accuracy and strength. Before 1936, Louis as a young fighter had already defeated previous champions, Primo Carnera, and Max Baer. Besides, he had gathered around $370,000 prize money. In 1936, he met Max Schmeling, a former German champion and lost because he had not prepared adequately for the match ( Hughes, 2018 ). Later in 1938, he had a chance to rematch with Schmeling in a fight that the American media described as a battle amid Nazism and democracy. The fight was a political as much Schmeling was not a Nazi nor was Louis a political leader. Louis’ dramatic victory in the match saw him become a national hero.
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Louis was probably the first black American to be genuinely admired by the whites, not only because of his ability in sports but also his soft-spoken character and humility. Louis’ reign as a heavyweight champion was the longest in the history and his accuracy was the best that has ever existed ( Bell & Leonard et al., 2015 ). Due to his extreme accuracy, he secured his title 25 times, the highest among all champions. However, his service in the U.S Army (1942 - 1945) hindered him from defending his position further. After winning, he showed himself to be a graceful and generous victor. He donated most of his prize money to the military. The donations he made enhanced the activities of the U.S against Germany.
Louis impacted the larger society in a bigger way than just sporting. First, having the heavyweight champion title was not a small matter because it was the most respected honor in sports at that time. Also, there was no other African-American who had received the award since December 1908. Considering that America was highly segregated in the 1930s, the holder of Heavyweight Champion being a black man was of uttermost importance for the blacks ( Taylor, 2014 ). This was a way of informing whites that even blacks have great potential as long as they are given equal opportunity to perform. Louis believed that he would scoop the title and everyone believed in him too. Although Louis lost his first match with Schmeling in 1936, he won in a rematch of 1938( Wiggins, 2015 ). Adolf Hitler, the Nazi German leader expressed his wish that the German boxer would win the rematch to prove Arian superiority as well as Germany’s authority over the U.S. Therefore, unlike the first fight, Louis was not only representing his own interests and those of blacks but also the hopes of entire America.
His victory ascertained that there was no master race as the whole nation rooted for him and applauded him as an American hero. Louis did not bring an end to racial segregation in the U.S but he certainly paved way for the imminent human rights activists. For example, the victory encouraged Jackie Robinson to overcome the color barrier in Major League Baseball. Because of the high standards Louis had set for the blacks in America, Branch Rickey had enough confidence in African Americans to sign up Jackie Robinson to baseball. Would any black American play American baseball if Louis had lost the rematch? Clearly, Louis played a great role in stimulating America’s conscious.
Louis’ contribution towards the society was not all based on the defeat of Schmeling. He contributed to the American economy when he joined the U.S Army where he fought to raise money for charity. He first donated to the Navy Relief Society in 1942 and later on, he contributed to the Army Relief Society, all in support of Germany’s defeat in the World War II. His service in the army symbolized American patriotism and unity. Further, black Americans respected him due to the indirect satisfaction he brought by defeating whites over and over again. Notably, Louis had very black opponents and white Americans already supported him. Louis continued to face financial problems due to heavy taxation but he did not give up. Before his retirement in March 1949, he owed the government income taxes of more than $1 million amplified by interest plus penalties ( Sacks, 2018 ).
While in service, Louis traveled far and wide to encourage fighting men and women. He embarked upon leading 96 boxing shows all over the world. The most popular among all the exhibitions was the held in Fort Lee in September 1943. Over 2 million military people observed Louis as he enhanced their purpose through his athletic abilities, humility, and wholesomeness ( McRae, 2014 ). Other than the soldiers, civilians relished meeting “The Champ” because he was also an army man. Regardless of the race, both whites and blacks took pleasure in relating with him because they understood all the indignities that soldiers had to withstand yet he maintained his good behavior. By upholding exceptionally good conduct, Louis became a role model for many in America and beyond. Furthermore, he was careful enough not to cross the line that whites had drawn between them and the blacks. This would have been out of sheer humility but also a way of embracing cultural differences. For Louis, diversity did not result in enmity, instead, it increased his patriotism and drove him to serve the nation more.
Louis was the focus of the media in America most of the years that he held the heavyweight champion title. He appeared on the headlines more often than any other black person had ever done. Unsurprisingly, commentators fixated overwhelmingly on his race as they had never seen a black American with so much potential. The white-dominated press had initially portrayed Louis as an animal that had likely fallen from a tree. One of the renowned columnists of that time, Grantland Rice described as, “a bushmaster, a brown cobra with the speed of the jungle, the instinctive speed of the wild.” ( Congdon, 2017 ) Nevertheless, Louis overlooked his faults and focused on serving his nation and preserving his dignity.
To add on to his role of promoting equal treatment of races, Louis appointed two black Americans to vie for his title after retirement, Ezzard Charles and Jersey Joe Walcott ( Lowe, 2017 ). Louis did this to ensure that his successor would be an African American. This was the first time in history that black Americans had maintained the title in a row. Louis’ move was successful as blacks gripped the title until the late 1990s of Lennox Lewis era ( Margolick, 2010 ). Louis did not face any controversy or opposition when he designated his successors because of the respect he had earned, not only for himself but also for his race. In addition to enabling Robinson to join the Major Leagues, Louis empowered other African Americans to create their own leagues when they lacked admission to different sports teams.
All in all, Louis played a key role in the history of America. He dominated the sport of boxing and increased inclusion of black Americans in the game. Still, he joined the U.S army to fight against the Germans while he traveled to various places to encourage upcoming sports people. His perceived humility enabled him to be admired by everybody regardless of the race. Louis’ fight with Schmeling was one indication that he represented the black Americans as well as the whites in general. Regardless of his position, he maintained good demeanor and interacted with all people without obvious hatred or discrimination. Economically, Louis also gave to the community through taxes and donations. The government taxed him heavily on every prize money he received and he paid dutifully to an extent of being financially bankrupt. Therefore, through his career, Louis added to the cultural, economic and political developments of the United States.
References
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Congdon, L. (2017). Legendary Sports Writers of the Golden Age: Grantland Rice, Red Smith, Shirley Povich, and WC Heinz . Rowman & Littlefield.
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Lowe, S. (2017). Ezzard Charles: A Boxing Life.
Margolick, D. (2010). Beyond Glory: Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling, and a World on the Brink . Vintage.
McRae, D. (2014). In black and white: the untold story of Joe Louis and Jesse Owens . Simon and Schuster.
Sacks, M. S. (2018). Joe Louis: Sports and Race in Twentieth-Century America . Routledge.
Taylor, M. (2014). The Transatlantic Migration of Sporting Labour, 1920-39. Labour History Review , 79 (2), 167-200.
Wiggins, D. K. (2015). Joe LOUIS. African Americans in Sports , 217.
