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 ...

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 ...

In the 1930s, with the country staggering under the Depression and looming international threats, many Americans looked to boxing for heroes on which they could project their hopes and fears. Two of ...

The 1938 match between a Black boxer, Joe Louis — an American — and a German, Max Schmeling, marks its 85th anniversary today, but mythologizing it into a cartoon triumph over Jim Crow and Nazis ...

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 ...

Just off the boat -- A regime's embrace -- A star rises in the Midwest -- New York falls in love -- Champion in waiting -- The condemned man -- Victor and vanquished -- Climbing back -- A German ...