Joe Louis

Joe Louis: Quick Facts

Full name Joseph Louis Barrow
Nickname Brown Bomber
Birthdate May 13, 1914
Birthplace Chambers County, Alabama, United States
Nationality American
Ethnicity African-American
Religion Catholic
Zodiac Sign  Taurus
Age 66 years old (during his death)
Father’s name Munroe Barrow
Mother’s name Lillie Barrow
Sibling Seven
Sibling Name Alvanius Barrow
DeLeon Barrow
Vunice Barrow
Eulalia Barrow
Susie Barrow
Lonnie Barrow
Emmarell Barrow
High School 
Bronson Trade School
College Not Mentioned
Marital status  Married
Wife’s Name  Martha Jefferson
Ex-Wife Marva Trotter
Rose Morgan
Children One son and daughter
Children’s Name  Jacqueline Barrow
Joseph Louis Barrow Jr.
Weight In Kilograms – 92 kg
Height In Centimetres –  188cm
In Feet and Inches – 6 ft 2 in
Eye Color Not mentioned
Hair Color  Not mentioned
Profession Heavyweights
Stance Orthodox
Total fights 69
Total wins  66
Wins by KO 52
Losses 3
Medals Golden Gloves (1934)
Chicago Golden Gloves (1934)
US National Championships (1934)
Death  April 12, 1914
Death place  Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
Last Update July, 2022

Joe Louis (Joseph Louis Barrow) was one of those individuals who had a significant influence on the boxing world.Joe Louis competed as an American professional boxer from 1934 to 1951.

Joe Louis: Childhood and Early Years

On May 13, 1914, Joseph Louis Barrow was born in a cabin outside Lafayette, Alabama.

Louis was the eighth child born to Munroe and Lillie (Reese) Barrow. He was born weighing 11 pounds (5 kg).Additionally, his parents were both sharecroppers and rent farmers who were descended from former slaves.

While Lillie was half African American and half European, Munroe was part Cherokee and also had some European ancestry.Louis’ formative years were marked by financial difficulties. However, his struggles propelled him to the prominence and success he attained.Louis and his siblings shared a bed three or four to a bed after their father was committed to an asylum when Louis was just two years old. Similar to how his education was insufficient, he eventually started to stutter.

Louis and Lillie Barrow, his lovely mother

Louis’ mother later wed Pat Brooks, a local builder, in 1920 after hearing reports that Munroe Barrow had passed away while in the hospital (in truth, Munroe Barrow survived until 1938, unaware of his son’s notoriety).

The family relocated to Detroit from the north shortly after Lillie Barrow’s second marriage to widower Patrick Brooks.Louis Brooks studied cabinet making at the Bronson Trade School, but after losing his job at Ford, he was obliged to take up odd jobs.Lillie enrolled Louis in violin lessons when he started hanging around with a neighbourhood gang in order to keep him safe.

Louis, on the other hand, started boxing training at Brewster Recreation Center with the money from the violin after learning about it from a friend.

Hobby Career

Early in 1932, Joe had his stage debut at the age of 17. Louis, who was known as “Joe Louis” for the remainder of his boxing career, is said to have scrawled his name so huge before the fight that there was no room for his last name.

Similar to this, Louis defeated Joe Biskey to win the 1933 Detroit-area Golden Gloves Novice Division championship in the light heavyweight division.

He lost, nevertheless, at the Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions.The next year, he defeated Max Bauer in the Chicago Tournament of Champions and took first place in the light heavyweight division in the Golden Gloves Open Division.

In April 1934, Louis won the light heavyweight United States Amateur Champion National AAU competition in St. Louis, Missouri, as a follow-up to his success in Chicago.In addition, he had a 50-4 record and 43 knockouts towards the end of his amateur career.

Loss and Professional Beginnings

As a professional boxer in 1934, Louis made an early impression, destroying opponents with his lethal combinations and potent jab.

The teenage fighter earned $370,000 after defeating former heavyweight champions Primo Carnera and Max Baer at the year’s end in 1935.

Match between Joe Louis and Max Schmeling

He did not, however, put much effort into his preparation for his first fight against German former heavyweight champion Max Schmeling.

On June 19, 1936, Schmeling defeated Louis via knockout in the 12th round, handing him his first defeat as a professional.
On June 22, 1938, Louis was permitted to face Schmeling once more.

Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling match

Adolph Hitler hailed Schmeling as an example of Aryan domination, raising the stakes and giving the fight more overtly nationalistic and racial overtones.
Louis became a hero to both black and white Americans after he eliminated his German opponent in the first round.

Lightweight Champion

Because of his unmatched dominance—virtually all 25 of his successful championship defences were knockout victories—Louis was one of the most well-known athletes in the world. Louis won, proving that he was a good, even generous, victor.

He received accolades for his contributions to the nation’s war effort, including his 1942 enlistment in the US Army and his gift of prize money to military relief organisations.

After a remarkable 11 years and 8 months as heavyweight champion, Louis announced his resignation on March 1, 1949.

Defeat by Marciano

Despite having financial issues, Louis returned to the ring in September 1950 to take on the newly crowned heavyweight champion Ezzard Charles, losing a 15-round decision.

He cobbled together a recent winning streak against a slew of inferior opponents, but he was no match for Rocky Marciano, the front-runner.With a 68-3 record and 54 knockouts following their battle on October 26, 1951, which ended horribly in the eighth round TKO, Louis officially announced his retirement.

Television and the movies

Louis played a boxer who resembled him in many respects in the 1938 racing movie Spirit of Youth. Louis also starred in two short films and six full-length features

He made a guest appearance on the television programme You Bet Your Life in 1955.Similar to this, he made an appearance in Michael Curtiz’s 1943 full-length movie This Is the Army, which starred Ronald Reagan and featured Irving Berlin and Kate Smith singing “God Bless America.”

Robert Gordon directed The Joe Louis Story.

The Joe Louis Story, a 1953 movie on Louis’ life directed by Robert Gordon, also depicts the athlete’s life and career.Louis’ lookalike Coley Wallace, a Golden Gloves boxer, performed the title role in the Hollywood production.

The movie also had a low production value and money, intercutting scenes from Louis’s actual fights slowly and having bad audio sync.

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After Retired Career

Louis experienced turbulent years after he left the ring. Although he was still well-liked by the public, his financial situation was never stable because of unpaid taxes.

He briefly competed in professional wrestling in the middle of the 1950s before transitioning to refereeing matches in both boxing and wrestling.
The former champion was able to work as a greeter at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and regain some financial stability when the IRS ultimately forgave his debt.As he got older, Louis experienced a number of health problems. He was finally brought to mental therapy in 1970 after developing a cocaine addiction.

Sadly, he used a wheelchair after having heart surgery in 1977.