Joe Louis America's Hero Betrayed - Boxing (historical boxing ) - video Dailymotion

DocuDrift

Documentary, Joe Louis America's Hero Betrayed - Boxing  (historical boxing fight)   #historicalboxingfight #boxing   An American story. Traces the career of Joe Louis (1914-1981) within the context of American racial consciousness: his difficulty getting big fights early in his career, the pride of African-Americans in his prowess, the shift of White sentiment toward Louis as Hitler came to power, Louis's patriotism during World War II, and the hounding of Louis by the IRS for the following 15 years. In his last years, he's a casino greeter, a drug user, and the occasional object of scorn for young Turks like Muhammad Ali. Appreciative comment comes from boxing scholars, Louis's son Joe Jr., friends, and icons like Maya Angelou, Dick Gregory, and Bill Cosby.   #Documentary #Boxing #JoeLouis #JoeLouisBoxer

Transcript

00:00:00No other place has held out so much hope to so many, or spawned such mythic tales of heroism.

00:00:12No other country has been so defined by its belief that anyone can reach unattainable heights

00:00:18with nothing more than sheer will, hard work, and a bit of luck.

00:00:24In the middle of the 20th century, with their country in crisis,

00:00:30Americans found that hero among their own.

00:00:37We're going to do our part, and we will win, because we are on God's side.

00:00:42His stage was so big that downtrodden Americans, regardless of their age or race,

00:00:48felt a glimmer of hope creep into their lives just by watching him.

00:00:54In the end, it was a common man who reached the top and brought an entire country with him.

00:01:13My father, Joseph Lewis Barrow, was born to a sharecropping family.

00:01:18It was Chambers County, Alabama.

00:01:20My grandmother was an extraordinary woman and really kept that family together

00:01:24because my grandfather had a mental problem and was put in asylum very early on

00:01:30when my father was a baby, so he really didn't know who his father was.

00:01:34This is Joe Lewis. I mean, he's poor, he's black, he's one of eight children.

00:01:40The chances of this guy doing anything in his life is just absolutely remote.

00:01:46Back in those days, a black didn't have a name. He was nigger. Hey, you nigger.

00:01:54Driven from the South by racial persecution,

00:01:5812-year-old Joe Barrow and his family joined the Great Migration North

00:02:02in search of social and economic opportunity.

00:02:05Well, Joe shows up in Detroit and he's a shy kid. He has virtually no education.

00:02:11He starts doing jobs. I mean, he's a laborer. He'll work in Ford for a while,

00:02:16but before that, he works at whatever manual job he can find. He delivers ice.

00:02:22They were making ends meet. In fact, my grandmother had enough extra change

00:02:26to eventually give my father monies for violin lessons.

00:02:31But Joe needed a manlier hobby. So said his friend, Thurston McKinney.

00:02:38So Thurston told him, I said, man, you ain't a sister. Ain't no other sister to play.

00:02:43Play the violin. So why don't you come down to the gym and learn how to box?

00:02:48He used a quarter that my grandmother was giving him for violin lessons

00:02:52week after week to rent this Locker Booster Gymnasium.

00:02:55Eventually, the violin instructor comes back to the house and says to my grandmother,

00:03:01where's my student Joe? And she says, what do you mean, where's your student Joe?

00:03:05And as I like to affectionately say, he had a little come to Jesus with him

00:03:09because she wanted to know where that quarter was going and he was wasting it.

00:03:13Eventually, she understood that he liked boxing and simply said,

00:03:16you know, if you're going to do this, be the very best that you can.

00:03:19You could see he was just trying to learn.

00:03:22They'd tie his hands behind his back and all he had to do was use his left hand.

00:03:27So you got to learn how to use that hand good.

00:03:30He's quickly matched in an amateur fight, his first fight,

00:03:34and Joe Lewis gets beaten up pretty badly.

00:03:36And he got knocked down seven times, but he kept getting up.

00:03:40So when Thurston had him in the dressing room, he says,

00:03:43Joe, you was going up like an elevator up in there.

00:03:47People don't realize how many times he fought as an amateur.

00:03:52He fought over 50 times, won a gold glove,

00:03:54and found that area of competence that all kids are looking for.

00:03:58And boxing was that for Joe Lewis.

00:04:01Dropping his last name Barrow, the newly named Joe Lewis

00:04:05found a manager and Detroit numbers racketeer John Roxborough.

00:04:10One look at Lewis's right fist convinced Roxborough he was making a sound investment.

00:04:15He signed Lewis to a contract and partnered with Chicago numbers man Julian Black.

00:04:20They then hired boxing veteran Jack Blackburn to nurture their investment.

00:04:25Jack Blackburn, quite frankly, comes with some baggage.

00:04:30He's an alcoholic.

00:04:31He's a very bitter man.

00:04:34He had done some jail time for a murder, but he knows boxing.

00:04:37This guy is as good as they get.

00:04:42Jack Blackburn says, sure, you bring that white boy around.

00:04:45I'll take a look at him.

00:04:46And they break the news to Jack that this guy's black.

00:04:48And he said, I don't want to train a black fighter.

00:04:51And the reasoning being is, there's nothing I can do with him that will be successful.

00:04:56After Jack Johnson, there is no way a black fighter is going to rise to the top.

00:05:03He can't become champion.

00:05:05Because he needed the money, it was steady income.

00:05:08Blackburn took the job.

00:05:09He sat down, he told Joe Lewis, listen, you're going to have to be twice as good

00:05:13as the white fighter that you're fighting in order to succeed.

00:05:16Jack Johnson, America's first black heavyweight champion, inspired so much hatred in white

00:05:23America that in the 19 years since the end of his reign, no black fighter was given the

00:05:28opportunity to even challenge for the heavyweight crown.

00:05:32I think Jack Johnson saw his job in life as pissing off white America.

00:05:38He married white women.

00:05:41He flaunted his wealth.

00:05:43He gloated over fallen opponents.

00:05:45He had those gold teeth.

00:05:47And he flashed that smile.

00:05:54White Americans generally reacted to Johnson's heavyweight reign as this is proof of the danger

00:06:03in letting a black man have a real opportunity.

00:06:07When Joe Lewis came along, the people in the fight world were mindful of the fact that they

00:06:13didn't want a repetition of Jack Johnson.

00:06:17They made up a set of rules and they handed them to Lewis and said, you need to follow

00:06:20these rules at all times.

00:06:21And these rules were set up to make him appear to be the complete opposite of Jack Johnson.

00:06:27For example, Lewis was never to have his picture taken alone with a white woman.

00:06:31We want you to be humble at all times.

00:06:34If you knock a white man out and you raise your hand, it could start a ride.

00:06:38He was never to be seen smiling or gloating over opponents.

00:06:43Joe Lewis then, in every way, was being trained to act white.

00:06:48My name is Joe Lewis, 20 years old, 6 feet 1.

00:06:53We're 109.

00:06:54I can't go to win 10 to some middle defense.

00:06:56Lewis turned pro in 1934 and won his first 12 fights, 10 by knockout.

00:07:04It was a welcome sight and a symbol of hope to blacks suffering through the Depression.

00:07:10There is nobody like him on the scene.

00:07:13If you go to the average black newspaper from about 1935 on, there is not an issue that goes

00:07:18by that Joe Lewis isn't in there.

00:07:21Joe Lewis is eating a meal.

00:07:22Joe Lewis is training.

00:07:23Joe Lewis is out on a date.

00:07:24Joe Lewis is in there for something, but Joe Lewis is in there because Joe Lewis' picture

00:07:27sells papers to black people.

00:07:31By the middle of 35, Lewis had won 22 fights without a loss.

00:07:36But given the realities of the day, a black fighter, even one as promising as Lewis, had

00:07:41little chance of going anywhere.

00:07:43Now can his management get him into the big time?

00:07:47The big time's New York.

00:07:48Jimmy Johnston is running Madison Square Garden at this time.

00:07:56Rocksboro calls him up.

00:07:58Do you want Lewis?

00:07:59Johnston says, we don't need him.

00:08:02But Rocksboro and Black found an ambitious promoter who wasn't about to let race keep

00:08:07him from a possible fortune.

00:08:08Mike Jacobs grew up poor in New York City.

00:08:11And Jacobs wanted to break Madison Square Garden as a monopoly on title boxing.

00:08:17And he wasn't afraid of signing a black fighter.

00:08:201935, Jacobs signs Lewis up.

00:08:24He's bringing him to New York.

00:08:27Lewis gets off at the train station.

00:08:29Porter's carrying Lewis off on his shoulders.

00:08:32Joe Lewis is a hero, a savior for them, and as far as Mike Jacobs is concerned, a savior

00:08:38for boxing.

00:08:40His scheme was to match Joe Lewis up with a string of ex-champions.

00:08:46We all heard about Primo Caneering.

00:08:50They thought he was so good.

00:08:53But Joe started counting...

00:08:55Six feet, six and a half.

00:08:58He weighed 265 pounds.

00:09:01He was a giant.

00:09:03Primo Caneering was one of those sideshow attractions that made it in boxing.

00:09:09This guy is big and strong and scary looking.

00:09:14Lewis is faster.

00:09:15Lewis hits harder.

00:09:18We're in perfect condition for Primo Caneering, and I win from him because he is big and easy

00:09:22to hit.

00:09:23Then Joe walked up to the main mountain and kindly shook his hand.

00:09:30Then Joe backed up a step or two and knocked him in the promised land.

00:09:37So knock it, Joe.

00:09:39Here's this black man who's coming out and ascending, and it just gave tremendous, tremendous energy

00:09:46to black America.

00:09:47I didn't know any blacks that I could be proud of because of what they had accomplished, except

00:09:57the schoolteachers, the undertaker, the reverends.

00:10:02But as a kid, Joe Lewis was everything.

00:10:07He just was the epitome of racial pride, racial pride.

00:10:14But the affection that Lewis engendered in the black community didn't spread much beyond

00:10:20it.

00:10:21When Joe Lewis knocked out Primo Caneering, big article entitled, Joe Lewis must never

00:10:27be champion.

00:10:28Manly it was all kind of riots, it would disturb the structure in the United States.

00:10:36Can you imagine that?

00:10:38Why Joe Lewis must never be champion.

00:10:40Well, Joe, I see you're back at your old camp, and you're going to train in private.

00:10:46What's the idea in that?

00:10:48Well, I feel much better training in private.

00:10:51Well, uh...

00:10:52Some in the white sporting press began to take note of Lewis's accomplishments, though

00:10:56they still viewed him first as a black man, then as a boxer.

00:11:03Virtually every sentence written about Joe Lewis would refer to the color of his skin.

00:11:06People are familiar with the alliterative nickname, the Brown Bomber.

00:11:10That was only one of a hundred alliterative nicknames that incorporated the color of his skin.

00:11:15The sepia slugger, the coffee-colored clowder, the dark destroyer.

00:11:21It just went on and on and on.

00:11:23At first, he was this freak.

00:11:26They tell me that farm looks good in training.

00:11:30That's good, for nothing I like to bet them than give the band a good fight.

00:11:34I hope to knock him out.

00:11:35He'd freeze up, even in his dressing room interviews, when after the fight, the reporters

00:11:41would come swarming around, you know, and he just couldn't handle that.

00:11:44They started to describe him as a stereotypical darkie.

00:11:48Lazy, liking watermelon and chicken, sleeps a lot.

00:11:51The reality is that he was one of the hardest-working fighters of his day.

00:11:55He ran six miles a day.

00:11:56He sparred five times a week.

00:11:58He was remarkably strong.

00:12:00He was in great shape.

00:12:01In September 1935, Lewis faced the biggest test of his young career, a match against

00:12:08former champ Max Baer.

00:12:10Max Baer stands in my way for a chance for the tower, so I'm going to shoot the wicks to

00:12:14beat him.

00:12:15Max Baer could punch good, and that was it.

00:12:18He couldn't box at all.

00:12:19He had a hell of a right hand.

00:12:21I mean, he had killed a person in the ring.

00:12:23Max Baer proved he could be a killer, but he'd rather be a clown.

00:12:28Hey, Max, how do you figure that improves your condition?

00:12:31Strength is my wrist, you know, my hands.

00:12:33Uh-huh.

00:12:34Well, so long, champ.

00:12:35Don't overwork.

00:12:36In many black communities across America, few events were bigger than a Joe Lewis fight.

00:12:41I lived in St. Louis, and you heard it through the black community, that Joe Lewis is fighting

00:12:46on such and such a night, and it was better than Christmas, because on Christmas, you couldn't

00:12:52be guaranteed you was going to get anything.

00:12:55The town of Stamps, Arkansas, my grandmother owned the only black-owned store in the town,

00:13:02and we had a radio.

00:13:03All the black people in the town would come around the store to listen when Joe Lewis was

00:13:10fighting.

00:13:12Everybody in Harlem was for Joe Lewis.

00:13:15Are you going to listen to the fight tonight?

00:13:17Are you going to listen to the fight tonight?

00:13:20And when you opened up your window or sat on the fire escape, you had roundabout sound all

00:13:29over the neighborhood.

00:13:30That was our day.

00:13:35Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

00:13:36We are about to present a ringside blow-by-blow description of the Bear-Lewis fight.

00:13:40Then!

00:13:43Eight o'clock.

00:13:45At a time when the sport of boxing, as well as the country itself, was mired in a depression,

00:13:51Lewis was a savior.

00:13:53There was such a clamor to see him take on Max Bear that 95,000 fans crowded into Yankee

00:13:59Stadium, who was boxing's first million-dollar gate in nearly a decade.

00:14:04We'll tell you blow-by-blow, they're on.

00:14:06And there's the bale.

00:14:07And the battle is on.

00:14:08They come out.

00:14:09Maxi, very cautious.

00:14:10You could feel hearts thumping, because if Joe loses, our whole race will be down.

00:14:22Each time a round was over, the explosion of sound, when one man would ask, did you see that?

00:14:32And it was never here.

00:14:33It was always, did you see Joe Llewis?

00:14:35So then the radio would be turned up.

00:14:39Silence.

00:14:40And then after it was over, the doors opened and everybody rushed to the streets.

00:14:57And what I heard was an explosion.

00:15:02When these doors flew open and black people just ran out into the area, little babies not

00:15:11knowing why their mother was jumping up and down and hugging.

00:15:15I mean, they had this release.

00:15:18What he represented was, if you give us an equal playing field, and if you allow us to

00:15:23compete, we can compete.

00:15:24Just give us the chance.

00:15:26Don't hold us down.

00:15:27Just give us the chance.

00:15:29On that same September day, Llewis made not only the back page, but the front page as well.

00:15:35Do you intend to be the boss at home, too, Joe?

00:15:38I'm the boss at home, too.

00:15:40It broke the hearts of half of the women in the United States of America of color.

00:15:45Because they, everyone wanted to marry Joe Llewis.

00:15:49He fell in love with Marva Trotta, a young woman who worked at the Chicago Defender, an

00:15:55African-American newspaper.

00:15:56She was marrying the most important black man in America.

00:16:00And so this image of African-American domestic bliss was part of selling Joe Llewis to white

00:16:05America.

00:16:06How about a nice big kiss and finish it?

00:16:08That won't happen.

00:16:09By the mid-30s, Llewis was not only famous, but rich beyond anyone's dreams.

00:16:18In 35 alone, when the average American was making less than $1,400 a year, the 21-year-old

00:16:24Llewis earned $400,000 in purses.

00:16:28Money meant nothing to Joe.

00:16:29He hit the number in New York.

00:16:32It was like $6,000, $8,000.

00:16:35And they paid him off.

00:16:37In mid-afternoon, when Joe got back to the Teresa Hotel, he didn't have $100.

00:16:45He'd be giving this guy a dollar, $5, this guy $10, this guy $100, like that.

00:16:51He was giving $100 just like it.

00:16:55No.

00:16:55Remember, he came from a family that had to share to survive.

00:17:01So when he had money, he shared his money.

00:17:03Many people criticized him and probably said he was generous to a fault.

00:17:08There was your public Joe Llewis and there was your private Joe Llewis.

00:17:11The public Joe Llewis was the opposite of Jack Johnson.

00:17:14Privately, however, there were some things there that were very similar to Jack Johnson.

00:17:18It's amazing how many women he was able to have relationships with.

00:17:24Chorus girls were like leeches.

00:17:28Joe walked in the room and they were just hanging, clinging to him.

00:17:31He was colorblind with women.

00:17:34Sonya, hey, a lot of turner.

00:17:37Lena Horne was another that he had a relationship with.

00:17:41And that was tough for my mother.

00:17:42God, that woman put up with so much.

00:17:45Some of the women were, they would walk right past her to get to Joe.

00:17:49Ignore her, completely show her no respect.

00:17:52But I remember one time my mother asked my father to go out to get a loaf of bread.

00:17:56And he went out to the store and he didn't come back for two weeks or so.

00:18:01Well, my father did return with the loaf of bread and a diamond ring.

00:18:05I remember seeing that ring.

00:18:06I said, how'd you get that ring?

00:18:08Your father gave it to me.

00:18:09And that was it.

00:18:10After spending three months away from the ring, a refreshed Lewis aimed his sights at the heavyweight crown, then held by James Braddock.

00:18:21But to get a shot at Braddock, he'd have to stay unbeaten.

00:18:24Early summer of 1936, Lewis matched against another ex-champion, Max Schmelin, from Germany.

00:18:42Adolf Hitler came to power January 1933.

00:18:45For most of America, Hitler's an eccentric, but is he a real threat?

00:18:52No, he's more of a comedic figure.

00:18:55He's more of a great dictator Charlie Chaplin figure.

00:18:59Say, Joe.

00:19:00What do you think of this fellow smelling?

00:19:02Well, Jack, you know he's a tough man, but you can bet I think that he won't go over 15 rounds.

00:19:08Joe Lewis had weaknesses.

00:19:10He started to believe his own press clippings.

00:19:13He wasn't training.

00:19:13He was doing a little more golfing.

00:19:15Ed Sullivan introduced my father to golf.

00:19:18Well, in 36, instead of preparing for Max Schmelin, he was spending more time on the golf course.

00:19:23Not only did the overconfident Lewis under-train, but he violated the sport's unwritten rule about abstinence.

00:19:34He was in the Norwood Hotel.

00:19:39The chorus girl had a room there that he was seeing, and I heard that he was there.

00:19:45I said, but he's in training.

00:19:47He can't be there.

00:19:48I went up, went up to fire escape, and looked in the room, and I saw him.

00:19:56There he sat on the bed, and they were laughing, and I went through the door, and I knocked down the door.

00:20:03He jumped up, and I chased him out of the hotel, and he got in the car, and they went back to camp.

00:20:09There was a period when he was out of control.

00:20:11Hey, Max, from watching Joe Louis in action and in pictures, have you detected any particular weakness in the brown bomber?

00:20:19Yes, I did, but I won't tell.

00:20:22Whenever somebody asked him, what gives you the belief that you can beat Joe Louis, the answer was always the same.

00:20:32What he saw was that when Louis threw his jab, he brought it back low.

00:20:42So what Schmeling felt is, if I can get close enough, if I can time it, if I can withstand a couple jabs to my face, I'm going to get my shot.

00:20:52His mom couldn't take the beating, and my husband, Fred, had to take her home, because she was just getting all hysterical.

00:21:16He was just getting a good whipping.

00:21:17You could see a strange look on people's face.

00:21:32Sadness.

00:21:33And made Louis give down, and their Schmeling straightened up Louis with hard right and left of the jab.

00:21:39It was our home race going down.

00:21:41He has stepped up Louis' butt cheek, and Louis is down.

00:21:47Louis is down, hanging to the left, and he's had him.

00:21:51He is a very tired mother.

00:21:53Oh, God, let him get up.

00:21:54Oh, God.

00:21:56Please, don't let him hurt him.

00:21:58He is hugging his arms, shaking his head.

00:22:01The count is done.

00:22:03The count is over.

00:22:05The count is over.

00:22:06Aaron Schmeling is the winner.

00:22:08Miller is completely out.

00:22:11They have to lift him and party him to his palace.

00:22:1472 right hands.

00:22:1772 right hands.

00:22:20He went for 12 rounds.

00:22:22He couldn't take it no longer.

00:22:24He let us all down.

00:22:26There was no doubt about it.

00:22:27Here was the guy who was the race hero.

00:22:31Here was the guy who represented the best hopes and aspirations and virtues of the race, and he lost.

00:22:40As for Schmeling, he went home to Germany, the idol of the nation.

00:22:45After the first fight, he was a hero, for sure.

00:22:49Because nobody, especially in Germany, really believes that he can beat Joe Louis.

00:22:57He was the best ambassador for this horrible government.

00:23:05Louis, on the other hand, now had to face his public failure.

00:23:09Joe was devastated.

00:23:11He was devastated.

00:23:12And my mother tells me stories of how, literally, he would walk in Harlem with a very down head.

00:23:21And little black boys would walk up to him and whisper in his ear,

00:23:25Max Schmeling, Max Schmeling.

00:23:28The loss was a major setback to Louis' challenge for the title.

00:23:32It was now Schmeling and not Louis, who got a shot at Braddock.

00:23:36Well, I'm very happy to fight for the heavyweight championship again.

00:23:39And in special, I'm glad to fight to meet Braddock.

00:23:49But capitalizing on growing anti-German sentiment in America,

00:23:54Louis' promoter, Mike Jacobs, induced Braddock to call off the fight with Schmeling

00:23:58and give the match to Louis instead.

00:24:00Jacob starts to work his sleight of hand and he's going to Braddock and he's saying,

00:24:05Braddock, look, you're going to get a piece of Louis.

00:24:08The backroom deal paid Braddock handsomely.

00:24:12Over the next 10 years, he received 10% of Jacobs' net profits from all of Louis' title fights.

00:24:19No one knows how much of Louis' cut was sacrificed in the process.

00:24:23But whatever the cost, Louis was now in line for the title.

00:24:27War is formally declared in Chicago between Jimmy Braddock on the left,

00:24:30world heavyweight champion, and Louis the brown bomber.

00:24:32With the tacit approval of much of white America, a black man, for the first time in 29 years,

00:24:39was challenging for the heavyweight crown.

00:24:42For black America, it was a milestone moment.

00:24:45And Joe Louis was at the center of it.

00:24:47And now, here in Chicago, the heavyweight boxing title is at stake.

00:24:51Will Joe Louis walk out of the ring as heavyweight champion of the world?

00:24:54We'll soon know.

00:24:55The excitement raced through the 60,000 fans at Comiskey Park.

00:25:00No one could wait to see who would land the first blow.

00:25:04Now it goes for it.

00:25:05Louis is rising hard.

00:25:06And Louis hits the foe.

00:25:08He went down, but didn't stay down.

00:25:11So he comes out early in the fight, and he drops Louis.

00:25:13And Louis wasn't hurt.

00:25:15In fact, he popped right back up.

00:25:17Jack Blackburn quipped, you're not going to fool the whole stadium

00:25:20into thinking you didn't just get knocked down.

00:25:22Stay down.

00:25:22Take your aid count.

00:25:23Louis stepping out fast.

00:25:25Everly going to carry the pace to Braddock,

00:25:26taking a chance on youth against age.

00:25:29Slowly the fight turned.

00:25:30And literally, like most guys, he just battered Braddock down.

00:25:34Now Braddock is under the ring.

00:25:36And Louis is in the air.

00:25:37Braddock is down.

00:25:39And the count is key.

00:25:40Three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, eight.

00:25:47A new world champion.

00:25:50He was your champion.

00:25:51And papers came out an hour after Joe Louis' fight.

00:25:57Tomorrow morning, it's paper.

00:25:58Extra, extra, extra, you know.

00:26:01Well, black America celebrated.

00:26:03And they just loved the fact that all of a sudden,

00:26:05their champion was there.

00:26:07To see the picture of this gorgeous black man

00:26:10and this white boy down.

00:26:14Whew.

00:26:14It was vindication that we were the strongest people in the world.

00:26:21Some black mother's son, some black father's son,

00:26:25was the strongest man in the world.

00:26:30But the unfortunate consequence is that my father had to share that title with him financially

00:26:37for the rest of his life.

00:26:39Well, Joe, how does it feel to wake up this morning the heavyweight champion of the world?

00:26:43Oh, Junior, I felt fine.

00:26:45And I felt like I can defend him the next week sometime.

00:26:47Even though Louis owned what was then the most coveted prize in sports,

00:26:51he couldn't completely revel in it.

00:26:54When I spoke with my father about that,

00:26:57there is no question that he did not feel internally

00:27:00that he was the heavyweight champion of the world

00:27:03when he defeated Braddock in 1937.

00:27:06Because he still had this cloud

00:27:09of Max Schmeling's defeat a year earlier over him.

00:27:16In May 1938,

00:27:18when Schmeling arrived in New York,

00:27:20Louis had gotten his wish.

00:27:22With Mike Jacobs backing the deal,

00:27:24the two fighters signed a contract for their June rematch.

00:27:27Joe Louis defends his world heavyweight championship

00:27:30against former title holder Max Schmeling,

00:27:32the only man who has ever defeated the champion.

00:27:36Louis' take would be $350,000.

00:27:39Schmeling's would be half that.

00:27:41Almost immediately after the contracts were signed,

00:27:44this fight really turns into something political.

00:27:47U.S. recognition of the evils of Nazi Germany

00:27:51was very slow in coming.

00:27:53But Hitler's ambitions were becoming more noticeable.

00:27:58So the symbolism of Joe Louis fighting a representative

00:28:01of Nazi Germany

00:28:03was not lost on the American public in 1938.

00:28:06It was probably the first time

00:28:08and the only time in the history of America

00:28:09that a black man ended up being a white hope.

00:28:13He'd become the great white hope.

00:28:15Why should I go to the rank gun shop

00:28:17when Schmeling is two years older?

00:28:20And I'm two years smarter in boxing.

00:28:23Certainly we, as a race of people,

00:28:27needed someone to say that we could do something

00:28:33that white people held on a pedestal.

00:28:37White Americans accepted Joe Louis

00:28:39as this sort of emblem of the United States,

00:28:42an emblem of American democracy.

00:28:43Joe Louis was the man.

00:28:48But in 1938, Americans still did not speak

00:28:52with a single voice.

00:28:53I hate to say it,

00:28:54but many of the white people in the South

00:28:56didn't want to see Joe Louis win.

00:29:00Well, Brooklyn, the neighborhood that I lived in,

00:29:02was practically all Jewish.

00:29:05And we were all hoping and praying

00:29:06that Joe Louis would kick the shit out of them.

00:29:144,000 miles away,

00:29:17in the clutches of Hitler's growing empire,

00:29:19a 16-year-old boy had similar sentiments.

00:29:23As a witness to the Nazi invasion of Austria,

00:29:26I recall, of course, very vividly,

00:29:29the old city decorated with Nazi flags,

00:29:33Nazis marching through the streets.

00:29:35To us, Schmeling, the representative

00:29:38of this Nazi Germany, was the Goliath.

00:29:42Joe Louis was the David.

00:29:45It was the biggest pre-fight buildup you ever heard.

00:29:49Thousands of people would come just to watch him spar.

00:29:52It was an international event.

00:29:55All of the hype only made Louis train harder

00:29:57and focus more.

00:30:00Somebody asked him before the fight,

00:30:04Joe, how do you feel?

00:30:05Joe said, man, I'm scared.

00:30:07That's not what you want a boxer to say.

00:30:09What?

00:30:10I'm scared I'm going to kill him.

00:30:12He had more pressure

00:30:13than any fighter ever had in his life

00:30:16because he was scaring the country.

00:30:19Ordinarily, a summer night in Harlem

00:30:22would have brought residents out on their stoops

00:30:24hoping for a cool breeze.

00:30:26But on June 22, 1938,

00:30:29every stoop in Harlem was empty.

00:30:32The streets were eerily quiet.

00:30:33No cars.

00:30:35It was like a scene after the atom bomb.

00:30:37And this was duplicated in every large city, by the way.

00:30:43There's that one great cartoon

00:30:44where they show the globe sitting on a ring

00:30:47looking at the fight

00:30:48and the entire world's focus was on this fight.

00:30:51That's true.

00:30:52This fight was the biggest fight

00:30:54in the history of the world.

00:30:58There was a crackling atmosphere that night

00:31:00that's unlike anything.

00:31:02You know, no World Series,

00:31:03the seventh game in the World Series.

00:31:05Nothing compared to that.

00:31:07The electricity in the air.

00:31:10This is the feature attraction

00:31:1115 rounds

00:31:14for the world's heavyweight championship.

00:31:1860, 70 million people listen to it

00:31:21on the radio in America.

00:31:22Over 100 million worldwide.

00:31:25We were crowded around the radio.

00:31:27It was like a magical something

00:31:31that was happening in our house.

00:31:33And I still feel it today.

00:31:34There was a difference in the announcer's voice.

00:31:50That night, it sounded like they loved him.

00:31:52It sounded like he wasn't a nigger to them.

00:31:54Joe had become an American.

00:32:00Inside Yankee Stadium,

00:32:01a cloud of expectation

00:32:03hung over the crowd of 80,000.

00:32:05And Lewis hooked the left to Max's head quickly.

00:32:08And took over hard right to Max's head.

00:32:10Lewis, a left to Max's jaw.

00:32:12A right to his head.

00:32:13Max, hooked the hard right to Lewis.

00:32:16Lewis to the 0-1-0.

00:32:17I'm in the second row.

00:32:20I could see their facial expressions.

00:32:22And Schmutter was in fear

00:32:24right from the beginning.

00:32:26He realized that this is something else,

00:32:27a different kind of cat

00:32:29than I had two years ago.

00:32:31Lewis out.

00:32:31And Lewis missed with a

00:32:33left-wing bunion post.

00:32:35One of the R-bunions to the star.

00:32:38On, upon, a right for the body.

00:32:40And Schmutter let out a piercing scream.

00:32:42No one had ever heard that from a ring.

00:32:45It was reported like the scream of a woman,

00:32:48which isn't very nice about women.

00:32:50We could see that he was about to fall.

00:32:52You know, the crowd is just jumping up,

00:32:54pushing it.

00:32:55Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe.

00:32:57Sailing is down.

00:32:59And Lewis, right and left to the head.

00:33:02A left to the jaw.

00:33:03A right to the head.

00:33:05And Jonathan is watching carefully.

00:33:07Lewis netted him.

00:33:08Right to the body.

00:33:09A left up to the jaw.

00:33:11And Sailing is down.

00:33:12And Sailing is down.

00:33:14Five, two, five, six, seven, eight.

00:33:19The men are in the ring.

00:33:21The fight is over.

00:33:22Max Schmilling is down.

00:33:24The house just went crazy.

00:33:25You couldn't hear nothing.

00:33:27Joe stood there like,

00:33:28what the hell happened?

00:33:30Max Schmilling, he never saw that

00:33:32the fight will ending in this way

00:33:34and so fast.

00:33:35Absolutely no.

00:33:37He was the loneliest man on earth

00:33:39in this moment.

00:33:40And that was the happiest moment in America

00:33:44when Schmilling could not get on his feet.

00:33:47I was 14 years old and our family had the only radio in the area.

00:34:09Some of our African-American neighbors came and asked my father

00:34:14if they could come and listen to the fight.

00:34:18So Daddy thought there would be three or four of them.

00:34:22But when the time for the fight came,

00:34:24I would guess there were 40 showed up.

00:34:27It was very interesting because the customs of the South then prevailed

00:34:32and there was not a sound out of the black listeners.

00:34:38Nothing.

00:34:38It was absolutely quiet.

00:34:40We had to do this one.

00:34:42And then they walked across the railroad

00:34:44a couple hundred yards away

00:34:46and all hell broke loose.

00:34:48They celebrated all night long until early, almost daylight.

00:34:55It was phenomenal to be black

00:34:57because Joe Louis was a hero of all the people

00:35:00but he was black like me.

00:35:03That was a defining moment in black history.

00:35:07It made us feel that as the superhero of the Nazis was overcome

00:35:13so in time the brutal regime of the Nazis would also be overcome.

00:35:18He sent a signal to the world

00:35:20that there's no such thing as this white Aryan race.

00:35:24And all of a sudden Joe Louis transcended

00:35:26from a heavyweight champion to a true American hero.

00:35:29Now let us talk about the brown bomber

00:35:32Tell the nation the story

00:35:34Let us talk about the brown bomber

00:35:36And at the end

00:35:37indescribable scenes

00:35:39people were hugging each other

00:35:41all around the state of

00:35:43and some people began to shout

00:35:45back to Hitler

00:35:46It was just wild.

00:35:49I've never seen anything like it before or since.

00:35:52People happy

00:35:54and joyous

00:35:56because you had one common denominator

00:35:57he won

00:35:58he won

00:35:59and when he won

00:36:00you won

00:36:01In Detroit

00:36:03in his hometown

00:36:05he was theirs

00:36:07He got rolls of toilet paper

00:36:09and went through the neighborhood

00:36:11throwing the toilet paper out

00:36:13screaming

00:36:14he won

00:36:15he won

00:36:16just plain

00:36:18joy

00:36:19Black people were crazy

00:36:22all those people I love

00:36:24crying, laughing, hollering, screaming, running, jumping

00:36:26It was the most

00:36:27uniting force

00:36:29I've ever seen in my life

00:36:30There's something here

00:36:32there's some magic here

00:36:33What is that magic

00:36:34and how can I get it?

00:36:37When we left Yankee Stadium

00:36:39you had to walk so far

00:36:42because of traffic

00:36:43the people

00:36:43it was a party

00:36:45and it started in Harlem

00:36:46under 25th and 7th Avenue

00:36:48I was in the car

00:36:52inadvertently

00:36:53I got off

00:36:54at the Bruin Road

00:36:55and got into Harlem

00:36:57people were dancing

00:36:59and singing

00:36:59and of course

00:37:00they were drinking too

00:37:01and I had to stop

00:37:03at a light

00:37:03and a big black guy

00:37:05stuck his hand

00:37:06through the window

00:37:07grabbed me at the throat

00:37:08and said to me

00:37:09are you a schmelin' man?

00:37:11I said

00:37:12no I'm all the way

00:37:12for Joe Lewis

00:37:13okay go ahead

00:37:15I've interviewed people

00:37:17and they've told me

00:37:18you know

00:37:18white Americans

00:37:20saying

00:37:20you know

00:37:21Joe Lewis was the first

00:37:22black American

00:37:23that I felt something for

00:37:24that gave me a warm feeling

00:37:25that I cared about

00:37:26and that's the role

00:37:28Joe Lewis played

00:37:29Joe Lewis was a fighting man

00:37:45in the aftermath

00:37:46of the fight

00:37:46Schmeling was a disgraced man

00:37:48in the eyes of Germany

00:37:49no longer the darling

00:37:51of the Third Reich

00:37:52he was shipped off

00:37:53to the front lines

00:37:54as a paratrooper

00:37:55he wasn't anymore

00:37:59at all a hero

00:38:00he was a loser

00:38:01Hitler couldn't use

00:38:04the loser

00:38:05especially against

00:38:06the black man

00:38:07across the ocean

00:38:08Lewis was on top

00:38:10of the world

00:38:10he was perhaps

00:38:12the most recognizable

00:38:13man in America

00:38:14and he had

00:38:15godlike invincibility

00:38:16in the ring

00:38:17I think he was the best

00:38:22I've ever heard of all time

00:38:23I think Ali

00:38:25would have given him

00:38:26a hell of a fight

00:38:26but Ali couldn't hit

00:38:28quite as hard

00:38:29I think Lewis

00:38:31at his prime

00:38:32would have knocked

00:38:33Dempsey out

00:38:34without question

00:38:36he was a remarkable

00:38:38fighter

00:38:38since becoming

00:38:40champ in 37

00:38:41Lewis had successfully

00:38:42defended his title

00:38:4318 straight times

00:38:45he'd made victims

00:38:46of such

00:38:47undistinguished contenders

00:38:48as Arturo

00:38:50the bomber Godoy

00:38:51Jack I zigged

00:38:53when I should have

00:38:53zagged roper

00:38:54and two ton

00:38:55Tony Galento

00:38:56Joe would have

00:38:58vicious left

00:38:58this time

00:38:59to the side

00:38:59of Galento's head

00:39:00he measures his hands

00:39:01with a kill

00:39:01but Galento goes back

00:39:02up against the rope

00:39:03Galento is staggering

00:39:04he goes over

00:39:05against the rope

00:39:05he's down

00:39:06on his knees

00:39:06Galento is down

00:39:07the sportswriters of the day

00:39:09mockingly nicknamed

00:39:11Lewis' opponents

00:39:12the bum of the month club

00:39:13Lewis fought

00:39:14everyone who was out there

00:39:16it's not Lewis' fault

00:39:18that he was so much

00:39:19better than they were

00:39:20but he was a real

00:39:21fighting champion

00:39:22I wanted to see

00:39:23Joe Lewis fight

00:39:24more than anything

00:39:25in the world

00:39:25but I'm working

00:39:26at this joint

00:39:27and I'm making

00:39:28100 and a quarter

00:39:29a week

00:39:30and I'm gonna take

00:39:3375 of that

00:39:35for a ringside seat

00:39:37I get the ticket

00:39:39in my hand

00:39:40and I'm walking

00:39:42in Yankee Stadium

00:39:44and I have to get

00:39:45to my seat

00:39:47for the bell

00:39:48I hear the bell

00:39:51and I hear

00:39:52ruffling and scuffling

00:39:53Gal go get him Joe

00:39:55it's fight is ready

00:39:56and he's down

00:39:59watch down

00:40:00there can be no down

00:40:02I'm still walking

00:40:04how do you have

00:40:05a person down

00:40:05while I'm walking

00:40:06I'm holding my

00:40:14ticket stub

00:40:16$75

00:40:17Jesus Christ

00:40:19could have heard it

00:40:20on the radio

00:40:21in one seven month

00:40:24stretch

00:40:24he fought seven times

00:40:26no one benefited more

00:40:28than his handlers

00:40:29I think

00:40:30Mike Jacobs

00:40:31could see

00:40:32the war

00:40:33on the horizon

00:40:34and I think

00:40:35Jacobs wanted to make

00:40:36as much money

00:40:37from Joe Lewis

00:40:39as possible

00:40:40one of the bums

00:40:41of the month

00:40:42who wasn't a bum

00:40:43was the great

00:40:45Pittsburgh fighter

00:40:46Billy Kahn

00:40:47well I feel fine

00:40:48I expect it to be

00:40:49a great fight

00:40:50Kahn was a

00:40:51175 pound

00:40:52light heavyweight champion

00:40:53moving up to challenge

00:40:54the unbeatable

00:40:55heavyweight champion

00:40:56nobody thought

00:40:57he could win

00:40:58maybe his mother

00:40:59he had figured out

00:41:00a way to outbox

00:41:01Lewis

00:41:01which he did

00:41:02you know

00:41:02he kind of led

00:41:03Lewis around the ring

00:41:04it was almost like

00:41:05a bull in the matador

00:41:06after 12 rounds

00:41:08Kahn was on the verge

00:41:10of dethroning the champ

00:41:11he had followed

00:41:12his plan

00:41:13to hit and run

00:41:14but Lewis was about

00:41:15to make good

00:41:16on his once famous

00:41:17prediction

00:41:18that Kahn could run

00:41:19but he couldn't hide

00:41:21Lewis

00:41:22he saw his opening

00:41:23he got it

00:41:24he finished Kahn off

00:41:25and Kahn's defeated

00:41:26Kahn later told

00:41:30said to Lewis

00:41:31Joe you know

00:41:32why didn't you

00:41:33just let me beat you

00:41:34and then you know

00:41:34we would have fought

00:41:35six months later

00:41:36and you could have

00:41:36won the title back

00:41:37and Lewis said

00:41:39he couldn't keep

00:41:40the title for 13 rounds

00:41:41what makes you think

00:41:42he could have kept it

00:41:43for six months

00:41:44we interrupt this program

00:41:55to bring you

00:41:55a special news bulletin

00:41:57the White House

00:41:58has just announced

00:41:59that the Japanese

00:42:00are attacking military

00:42:01and naval establishments

00:42:02on the island of Oahu

00:42:03Lewis's first sentence

00:42:04is how can I help

00:42:06my country

00:42:06and what he decides

00:42:07is to fight two fights

00:42:08and donate

00:42:10his entire purse

00:42:11you know

00:42:12for the two fights

00:42:13over $100,000

00:42:14to relief funds

00:42:16well I'm not waiting

00:42:17for nothing

00:42:18I'm waiting for my country

00:42:19and I think that's

00:42:19about the greatest

00:42:20piece of work

00:42:20that anybody can do

00:42:21this is at a time

00:42:23where the secretary

00:42:24of war

00:42:24Henry Stimson

00:42:26refuses to integrate

00:42:27the armed forces

00:42:28nonetheless

00:42:29Lewis gave up

00:42:30four years of his prime

00:42:31along with $100,000

00:42:33purses

00:42:34in exchange

00:42:35for a soldier's pay

00:42:36of $21 a month

00:42:38what's your occupation

00:42:39I'm a fighter

00:42:41and let's get at

00:42:42them jobs

00:42:42he enlisted

00:42:43January 10th

00:42:451942

00:42:46he went into

00:42:48the entertainment

00:42:48division

00:42:49I mean there wasn't

00:42:50any real intention

00:42:51to see him out

00:42:51on the front lines

00:42:52he was somebody

00:42:53who was there

00:42:54for morale purposes

00:42:55one of the most

00:42:57famous lines

00:42:57one liners

00:42:58for Joe Lewis

00:42:59was when he was

00:43:00raising money

00:43:01for the war effort

00:43:02and I think the words

00:43:04were we're gonna win

00:43:04because we're on

00:43:05God's side

00:43:06everyone said

00:43:07no he got it wrong

00:43:08we're gonna win

00:43:09because God's on our side

00:43:10we're gonna do our part

00:43:11and we will win

00:43:13because we are on God's side

00:43:15his PR guy

00:43:17felt he flubbed the line

00:43:18and the next day

00:43:20you know

00:43:20headlines in the New York

00:43:21papers

00:43:22and my father walks into

00:43:24his big PR guy

00:43:25and drops the papers

00:43:26on and says

00:43:27so got the line wrong

00:43:29huh

00:43:29Lewis's dedication

00:43:30to his country

00:43:31and to the cause

00:43:32has to be seen

00:43:34as ironic

00:43:34I mean because

00:43:35they haven't done

00:43:36anything for him

00:43:37to exclude him

00:43:39and segregate him

00:43:39he's one of the

00:43:40first ones in line

00:43:41it's almost sad

00:43:43that he was that naive

00:43:44first of all

00:43:45being used by the army

00:43:47didn't go well

00:43:48with blacks

00:43:49and he came to grips

00:43:51with that

00:43:51you know

00:43:52that we're in a

00:43:53big war with Hitler

00:43:55and Hitler ain't gonna

00:43:56fix things

00:43:57you know

00:43:57Joe was fully aware

00:44:00of the fact

00:44:00he was being used

00:44:01by the way

00:44:02what Lewis is doing

00:44:03is not so contradictory

00:44:05as it might seem

00:44:06in some ways

00:44:07it's really

00:44:07it works in the favor

00:44:08of black people

00:44:09that he's become

00:44:10this image of patriotism

00:44:11the army exposed Lewis

00:44:13to the military's

00:44:14double standard

00:44:15but he didn't like

00:44:16what he saw

00:44:17soft spoken though he was

00:44:19he made his feelings known

00:44:21suddenly Joe Lewis

00:44:24finds his voice

00:44:25and he doesn't attend

00:44:27anti-segregation

00:44:29lobbies

00:44:30but he communicates

00:44:31with Truman Gibson

00:44:32Truman Gibson

00:44:33was an African-American

00:44:35who worked

00:44:36in the war department

00:44:37in a job

00:44:38called civilian aid

00:44:39this was a job

00:44:40that was created

00:44:40in 1941

00:44:41to help

00:44:43with African-Americans

00:44:45in the service

00:44:46so Joe Lewis

00:44:47was a real inspiration

00:44:48for many black soldiers

00:44:50during the war

00:44:51he was treated

00:44:52like a hero

00:44:53like a god

00:44:53when he would come

00:44:54and these soldiers

00:44:55would see him

00:44:56and crowd around him

00:44:57and everything

00:44:57but the other thing

00:44:58the soldiers did

00:44:59they would complain

00:45:00to him

00:45:00about their condition

00:45:02about the racist conditions

00:45:04he'd pick up the phone

00:45:05and said

00:45:06it's not right down here

00:45:07Truman

00:45:07get it fixed

00:45:08and the next thing you know

00:45:09that general on that base

00:45:10would get a phone call

00:45:11from Washington

00:45:12and whatever was wrong

00:45:13got fixed

00:45:13I'm glad to be here

00:45:15and I hope everybody

00:45:16enjoyed this exhibition

00:45:17and I hope to put on more

00:45:18in the army camp

00:45:19Lewis visited bases

00:45:21around the world

00:45:22happily staging exhibitions

00:45:24as long as the gates

00:45:25were open

00:45:25to all troops

00:45:27there were stories

00:45:28out there

00:45:29that they were not

00:45:30going to let

00:45:31the black servicemen

00:45:32come to the exhibitions

00:45:33he said

00:45:34I'm not going to

00:45:35sit here

00:45:36and entertain

00:45:36only the white troops

00:45:37when we've got

00:45:38a bunch of black troops

00:45:39who want to be entertained

00:45:40by the end of the war

00:45:42Joe Lewis had visited

00:45:43more than 5 million servicemen

00:45:45General Eisenhower

00:45:46informs me

00:45:48that the forces

00:45:49of Germany

00:45:50have surrendered

00:45:51to the United Nations

00:45:53Americans celebrated

00:45:55the end of the war

00:45:56and then went back

00:45:56to civilian life

00:45:57for Lewis

00:45:59the transition

00:46:00was especially difficult

00:46:01gone were his

00:46:03boxing confidants

00:46:04trainer Jack Blackburn

00:46:06had died of a heart attack

00:46:07manager John Roxborough

00:46:09was sent to prison

00:46:10on gambling charges

00:46:11the life Lewis had led

00:46:13before the war

00:46:14was gone forever

00:46:15World War II

00:46:17did several things

00:46:18to Joe's career

00:46:19and nearly all of them

00:46:20were not good

00:46:21Joe Lewis' financial state

00:46:22is horrible

00:46:23there's no question

00:46:24that when my father

00:46:25was in the war

00:46:26he continued to spend

00:46:27at the same rate

00:46:28that he did

00:46:30when he was fighting

00:46:31he owes $250,000

00:46:33to Mike Jacobs

00:46:34because he's been

00:46:36borrowing from Mike Jacobs

00:46:37all during the war

00:46:39because he can't fight

00:46:40so while white America

00:46:42was treated

00:46:43to this public image

00:46:44of Joe Lewis

00:46:45as a happily married man

00:46:47who was saving his money

00:46:49and who was wealthy

00:46:50the reality was

00:46:51that he was spending it

00:46:52on things like

00:46:53bus tours

00:46:54for his softball team

00:46:56supporting friends

00:46:57family, women

00:46:58everywhere

00:46:59he just spent money

00:47:00like water

00:47:01once the war ended

00:47:03Lewis had outlived

00:47:04his usefulness

00:47:05to the country

00:47:05in an act of cruel irony

00:47:08the very government

00:47:09that had made him

00:47:10a symbol of American

00:47:11democracy

00:47:11now hounded him

00:47:13for tens of thousands

00:47:14of dollars in back taxes

00:47:15the only thing

00:47:18more regrettable

00:47:18than Lewis's naivete

00:47:20was the bad advice

00:47:21he'd received

00:47:22he would buy tons

00:47:24of tickets

00:47:24for servicemen

00:47:25to attend his exhibitions

00:47:27and his accountants

00:47:29would deduct that

00:47:30the IRS

00:47:31wouldn't allow that

00:47:32and they ran the meter

00:47:34while they were negotiating

00:47:36and my father

00:47:37had this huge tax debt

00:47:39when he was trying

00:47:40to do a legitimate

00:47:41wonderful thing

00:47:43for the servicemen

00:47:44in this country

00:47:45he thought

00:47:46that he could come out

00:47:47of World War II

00:47:48and resume his ordinary

00:47:49lifestyle

00:47:49and things would be fine

00:47:50the reality was

00:47:52the minute he got out

00:47:53of the army

00:47:53he was done financially

00:47:54by his own calculations

00:47:57Lewis was in debt

00:47:58to the government

00:47:59for close to $100,000

00:48:00his marriage

00:48:02to Marva Trotter

00:48:03was also in ruins

00:48:04and after the birth

00:48:05of their daughter

00:48:06Jackie in 1943

00:48:07and their son

00:48:08Joe Jr.

00:48:09four years later

00:48:10they split up for good

00:48:11my parents were divorced

00:48:13when I was quite young

00:48:13so I really didn't

00:48:15understand who

00:48:16Joe Lewis was

00:48:17what was very frustrating

00:48:18is that when Daddy Joe

00:48:19came back

00:48:20and he would take us out

00:48:22to lunch or dinner

00:48:23in a public setting

00:48:24how we lost our private

00:48:27moment with Joe Lewis

00:48:28and here we are

00:48:30two little kids

00:48:30trying to be with the champ

00:48:32and we had no privacy

00:48:33and it was very disconcerting

00:48:36for us as young kids

00:48:37and probably a little

00:48:39disconcerting now

00:48:40Joe Lewis and Billy Kahn

00:48:47meet in the office

00:48:48of New York Boxing Commissioner

00:48:49Eddie Egan

00:48:50to sign for their

00:48:51world heavyweight title fight

00:48:53His battle with the IRS

00:48:55heating up

00:48:55Lewis emerged from

00:48:57World War II

00:48:58still the heavyweight champion

00:48:59in his first post-war defense

00:49:02he knocked out Billy Kahn

00:49:03in a celebrated rematch

00:49:05The fight earned Lewis

00:49:13his biggest payday

00:49:14$625,000

00:49:16but after paying off

00:49:18old debts

00:49:19he was left with

00:49:20less than $100,000

00:49:21before taxes

00:49:23he was in a terrible bind

00:49:25he couldn't retire

00:49:27and he couldn't pay back

00:49:28the government

00:49:28which was now

00:49:29taxing his income

00:49:30at 90%

00:49:32How long do you plan

00:49:33to continue fighting Joe?

00:49:36Well I don't know

00:49:37last night I felt

00:49:38just as sharp as ever

00:49:39and I'll be fighting

00:49:40for a long time

00:49:41Lewis won his next

00:49:47three defenses

00:49:48including a controversial

00:49:49decision over

00:49:50Jersey Joe Wolcott

00:49:52The winner

00:49:53by majority vote

00:49:56and still the heavyweight champion

00:49:59of the world

00:50:00Joe Lewis

00:50:01Lewis knocked out Wolcott

00:50:03in the rematch

00:50:04and then called it quits

00:50:05Well I'd like to say

00:50:08again that I retired

00:50:09tonight was my last fight

00:50:10and thank you very much

00:50:12But Lewis couldn't stay away

00:50:15and a year and a half later

00:50:16he was back in the ring

00:50:17With money where he's looming

00:50:20he needed to keep fighting

00:50:21In 1950

00:50:23having relinquished his title

00:50:25by retiring

00:50:26he fought Ezard Charles

00:50:27and for the first time

00:50:29in 13 years

00:50:30entered a boxing ring

00:50:32as a challenger

00:50:33It's a different Joe Lewis

00:50:35missing three blows in a row

00:50:36In being outpointed by Charles

00:50:39Lewis lost his first fight

00:50:41in 14 years

00:50:42At 36

00:50:43attempting a comeback

00:50:44after retiring

00:50:45Joe Lewis finally bows in defeat

00:50:48After the loss to Charles

00:50:49Lewis could no longer count

00:50:51on big paydays

00:50:52and so with his debt

00:50:54to the IRS

00:50:55at half a million dollars

00:50:56he took on a succession

00:50:58of journeymen

00:50:58getting fights

00:51:00wherever he could

00:51:01And now he's

00:51:09fighting

00:51:10in a

00:51:11little smoky arena

00:51:13against somebody

00:51:14who would have

00:51:14knocked out in two rounds

00:51:15and for comparative peanuts

00:51:17how do you cut the grips

00:51:20with that

00:51:20you know

00:51:20I absolutely

00:51:22hated

00:51:24seeing him

00:51:26have to fight

00:51:27on

00:51:28his reputation

00:51:30this man

00:51:31who had done so much

00:51:33for me

00:51:34spiritually

00:51:35give me confidence

00:51:38and hope

00:51:40it was not a good time

00:51:42for me

00:51:43in watching Joe Lewis

00:51:44In 1951

00:51:45after exhausting himself

00:51:47with seven fights

00:51:48in eight months

00:51:49Lewis accepted

00:51:50an offer

00:51:51of $132,000

00:51:53to fight

00:51:54rising heavyweight

00:51:55Rocky Marciano

00:51:56I remember

00:51:58specifically talking

00:52:00to my father

00:52:00when he came to Chicago

00:52:01and I said

00:52:02why are you fighting again

00:52:03he says

00:52:04I have to

00:52:04I said

00:52:05well is it your last fight

00:52:06he says

00:52:07yes it's my last fight

00:52:08By all rights

00:52:10Lewis had earned

00:52:11his retirement

00:52:11his championship reign

00:52:13had been remarkable

00:52:14he'd held the title

00:52:16for 11 years

00:52:17and 10 months

00:52:17and made 25

00:52:19successful defenses

00:52:20a record unlikely

00:52:22to ever fall

00:52:23he'd made

00:52:24$5 million

00:52:25in purses

00:52:26and now

00:52:27at 37

00:52:29hoped he'd have

00:52:30enough left

00:52:31to fend off

00:52:32his much younger opponent

00:52:33I'm in good shape

00:52:35with this fight

00:52:36and I hope

00:52:37I come through

00:52:37alright

00:52:38Rocky was torn

00:52:39between fighting

00:52:40Joe Lewis

00:52:41who was his idol

00:52:42but Joe Lewis

00:52:44was the fight

00:52:44that he had to get through

00:52:45in order to get a match

00:52:47with Jersey Joe Walcott

00:52:48who was the champion

00:52:49the crowd that night

00:52:52was pro Joe Lewis

00:52:53you're talking about

00:52:55an icon

00:52:55an idol

00:52:57I was sitting in the audience

00:52:59and here's my brother

00:53:00in the ring

00:53:01and I felt for Joe Lewis

00:53:03Rocky felt for Joe Lewis

00:53:04Lewis backing away

00:53:06with that wide stance

00:53:07again

00:53:07fading in the left hand

00:53:08Marciano

00:53:09going into a crash

00:53:10the first knockdown

00:53:14occurred

00:53:15with a left bang

00:53:17Lewis went down

00:53:18he knows Lewis

00:53:19with a right to the head

00:53:20a left to the body

00:53:21a left to the side

00:53:22is Lewis

00:53:23Lewis is down

00:53:24in there

00:53:25Lewis is down

00:53:26out here in the room

00:53:27it's there

00:53:28over

00:53:28moving goes

00:53:30in and stopping

00:53:30the fight

00:53:31Rocky Marciano

00:53:33is the winner

00:53:33by a knockout

00:53:35the reaction

00:53:36of the crowd

00:53:37when Joe Lewis

00:53:38got knocked out

00:53:39it was almost like

00:53:40a bit of a silence

00:53:42like almost a quiet respect

00:53:45for the great Joe Lewis

00:53:47that was a sad night

00:53:52for boxing

00:53:53because it was the end

00:53:54of an era

00:53:54that dominated

00:53:55you know

00:53:56so much of American life

00:53:58you know

00:53:58that final

00:53:59final moment

00:54:01when my father

00:54:01has been not only

00:54:02knocked down

00:54:03and knocked out

00:54:04by Marciano

00:54:04but he was actually

00:54:05knocked through the ropes

00:54:06by Marciano

00:54:07and you see that last

00:54:09sort of hanging

00:54:10pose of Joe Lewis

00:54:11you know that it's

00:54:12clearly

00:54:13unequivocally

00:54:13the end of the Joe Lewis era

00:54:15Lewis took his final

00:54:24defeat in stride

00:54:25he knew it was time

00:54:28to move on

00:54:29and he did

00:54:30this time

00:54:31to the golf course

00:54:32as a competitive amateur

00:54:34where he soon

00:54:34found himself

00:54:35squaring off

00:54:36against the PGA

00:54:37in 1952

00:54:39Joe Lewis

00:54:40and several other

00:54:41black players

00:54:42wanted to play

00:54:43in the San Diego Open

00:54:45the local sponsors

00:54:47of the San Diego Open

00:54:49invited the heavyweight

00:54:50champion of the world

00:54:51to play

00:54:51in a PGA Tour event

00:54:53they didn't realize

00:54:54that there was

00:54:55a non-Caucasian rule

00:54:56so my father said

00:54:58oops

00:54:58I'm going to let them

00:55:00tell me to my face

00:55:01they were told

00:55:02by Horton Smith

00:55:03who was the president

00:55:04of the PGA of America

00:55:06that they could not play

00:55:07it's indeed unfortunate

00:55:10that certain misunderstandings

00:55:13developed in connection

00:55:14with the 1952

00:55:17PGA co-sponsored

00:55:18San Diego

00:55:19Invitational Open

00:55:21Golf Tournament

00:55:22Joe Lewis called Horton Smith

00:55:24another Hitler

00:55:25He raised such a fuss about it

00:55:28that it caught the attention

00:55:30of Walter Winchell

00:55:31the great American broadcaster

00:55:34Because of Walter Winchell's report

00:55:36a committee of the PGA of America

00:55:39met

00:55:39and they came up

00:55:41with a compromise

00:55:42they allowed African Americans

00:55:45and other minorities

00:55:46to qualify

00:55:47So in 1952

00:55:49Joe Lewis became

00:55:50the first African American

00:55:52to participate

00:55:53in a PGA sanctioned event

00:55:56groundbreaking

00:55:57believe me

00:55:58in many ways

00:55:59A few days later

00:56:01Lewis and seven other blacks

00:56:03including golfing great

00:56:04Charlie Sifford

00:56:05were given the opportunity

00:56:06to qualify for the Phoenix Open

00:56:08The first hole

00:56:10Charlie Sifford

00:56:11went to tend the flag

00:56:13He looks down in the hole

00:56:15and the hole

00:56:16is filled

00:56:17with human excrement

00:56:19I can't imagine

00:56:22what Joe Lewis

00:56:23must have felt

00:56:24being treated

00:56:25in such a demeaning way

00:56:26Joe Lewis

00:56:28as far as I'm concerned

00:56:29will always be remembered

00:56:31as a guy

00:56:31who opened the door

00:56:32and served as an example

00:56:34to lead others

00:56:36through that door

00:56:37The former heavyweight champion

00:56:43of the world

00:56:44Joe Lewis

00:56:45By the mid-50s

00:56:51Lewis' debt to the IRS

00:56:53had ballooned

00:56:54to a million dollars

00:56:55Joe, it's getting off

00:56:57the course of April 15th

00:56:58You've had some income

00:57:00tax problems

00:57:01How are you getting along?

00:57:03Well, on my

00:57:05the president's taxing

00:57:06I'm getting along good

00:57:07so it's a back taxing

00:57:08but I'm not doing so good

00:57:09at all

00:57:09He's got to make money

00:57:12without fighting

00:57:14Dance

00:57:17He's forced to really

00:57:23gain money

00:57:24through the only thing

00:57:25that's left

00:57:26and that is his name

00:57:27Ooh, boobie

00:57:28Come on, turn Joe

00:57:32You're supposed to turn

00:57:34Come on, turn Joe

00:57:36No, you've got to turn

00:57:38Turn, Joe

00:57:39You've got to turn sometimes

00:57:40Lewis hawked everything

00:57:48from cigarettes to liquor

00:57:49even his own stage show

00:57:51but a natural-born salesman

00:57:53he wasn't

00:57:54They come out

00:57:55with this Joe Lewis punch

00:57:56and it was like

00:57:58a nice punchy drink

00:58:00and they were interviewing Joe

00:58:02and they asked him

00:58:03what was his favorite drink

00:58:05and he said

00:58:05Coca-Cola

00:58:06and they said

00:58:09Cut

00:58:09He had to do

00:58:18so many

00:58:18things

00:58:20that would have

00:58:20broken down

00:58:21anyone else

00:58:22I mean

00:58:22a champion of the world

00:58:24like him

00:58:25turned to wrestling

00:58:27Climbing into the ring again

00:58:30Joe Lewis

00:58:30the former heavyweight

00:58:31boxing champion

00:58:32who'll be 42 soon

00:58:33is trying the wrestling game

00:58:34It was sad

00:58:36That was the only way

00:58:37he could generate money

00:58:38to pay back the government

00:58:40After 10 minutes

00:58:42of tugging

00:58:42hauling

00:58:42and poking

00:58:43a right forearm smash

00:58:44sends Lee

00:58:45out of the ring

00:58:46I can't imagine

00:58:47in any way

00:58:48shape or form

00:58:48that it wasn't

00:58:50humiliating to him

00:58:51or demeaning to him

00:58:52but

00:58:54Joe Lewis did it

00:58:55and he did it

00:58:56because he had

00:58:57an obligation

00:58:58It was horrible

00:59:00the media

00:59:00crucified him

00:59:02Joe

00:59:03there has been

00:59:04quite a bit of criticism

00:59:06about it

00:59:06in the newspapers

00:59:07I know that you have read it

00:59:09and I'd like to know

00:59:10how you feel about it

00:59:11No

00:59:11don't everyone agree

00:59:12with my idea

00:59:13of what I've done

00:59:14but I'm sure

00:59:15that more people

00:59:16do agree with me

00:59:17than the ones

00:59:18who don't

00:59:19when I asked him once

00:59:20Joe

00:59:22how do you feel

00:59:23the way they're

00:59:24talking about you

00:59:25being a wrestler

00:59:26after having been

00:59:27such a great

00:59:28heavyweight champion

00:59:29of the world

00:59:29he said

00:59:30Daddy

00:59:31be stealing

00:59:32My father was involved

00:59:36in a promotion

00:59:36of wrestling

00:59:37at the Olympia Stadium

00:59:38the old Olympia Stadium

00:59:39Joe Lewis

00:59:40was the guest referee

00:59:42and I remember

00:59:43going in the dressing room

00:59:44doing the preliminaries

00:59:46and my father

00:59:46induced me to him

00:59:47and then all of a sudden

00:59:48one of the people

00:59:49came up from the box office

00:59:50and did a little whispering

00:59:53and then my father

00:59:54walked up to Joe

00:59:55and said that

00:59:56the IRS

00:59:57had just raided the box office

01:00:00and they wanted your purse

01:00:02for back taxes

01:00:04he put his head down

01:00:06and kind of teared up

01:00:07in his eyes

01:00:08and he was stunned

01:00:10He wasn't running

01:00:11from his debt

01:00:12he was just trying

01:00:13to deal with it

01:00:13in a civil fashion

01:00:15in a responsible way

01:00:16and they just

01:00:17dogged him

01:00:18to his

01:00:19forever

01:00:20Everything that Joe Lewis

01:00:22did do during the war

01:00:23all his patriotic

01:00:24the things he did

01:00:25for his country

01:00:26you know

01:00:27they were not

01:00:28those things

01:00:28were not remembered

01:00:29when the IRS

01:00:30came looking

01:00:31for their money

01:00:31He had set up

01:00:33a trust fund

01:00:33for my sister

01:00:34and for me

01:00:35and

01:00:36the IRS

01:00:38came back

01:00:39and took

01:00:39the trust funds

01:00:40from us

01:00:40I just think

01:00:41they wanted to

01:00:42rein him in

01:00:43and basically say

01:00:44you still are

01:00:44under our thumb

01:00:45boy

01:00:46The government

01:00:47had a wonderful

01:00:48game they were

01:00:49playing

01:00:49Let's get Joe

01:00:51Lewis this week

01:00:52It was constant

01:00:54It's the former

01:00:56heavyweight champion

01:00:57of the world

01:00:58and his wife

01:00:58Dennis

01:00:59whose dream

01:00:59is to pay off

01:01:00a debt

01:01:00to Uncle Sam

01:01:01from Chicago

01:01:02Illinois

01:01:02Mr. and Mrs.

01:01:03Joe Lewis

01:01:04The spectacle

01:01:08of Lewis' downfall

01:01:09continued

01:01:10In 1956

01:01:11he and his second

01:01:13wife Rose Morgan

01:01:14went on the TV

01:01:15game show

01:01:16High Finance

01:01:16and won

01:01:17$60,000

01:01:18Lewis' half

01:01:20went straight

01:01:21to the IRS

01:01:22Joe Lewis

01:01:23tonight

01:01:24this is

01:01:25your life

01:01:26I won that

01:01:31one

01:01:31on June

01:01:3219, 1936

01:01:34at Jengi Stadium

01:01:35in New York

01:01:35Yes he's here

01:01:37Joe

01:01:37himself

01:01:37a former

01:01:38world heavyweight

01:01:39champion

01:01:39from Hamburg

01:01:40Germany

01:01:40the back

01:01:41Julian of the Rhine

01:01:42Max Schmeling

01:01:43The greatest

01:01:47tragedy

01:01:48is what

01:01:49happened to

01:01:50Lewis

01:01:50and what

01:01:50happened to

01:01:51Max Schmeling

01:01:51and an

01:01:52Atlanta-based

01:01:53southern

01:01:55corporation

01:01:56Coca-Cola

01:01:57needs a

01:01:58distributors

01:01:59in post-war

01:02:01Germany

01:02:01and Max

01:02:02is tapped

01:02:03America

01:02:03will make

01:02:04Schmeling

01:02:05a white

01:02:06German

01:02:06with ties

01:02:08to the Nazi

01:02:08party

01:02:09a millionaire

01:02:10and Joe

01:02:11Lewis

01:02:11who was

01:02:12the symbol

01:02:12of democracy

01:02:14will end up

01:02:15with nothing

01:02:16Decency

01:02:19fear play

01:02:20a nice

01:02:22person

01:02:23a hell

01:02:25of a

01:02:25professional

01:02:25and a guy

01:02:27that got

01:02:27screwed by

01:02:28the United

01:02:28States of

01:02:29America

01:02:29Hey

01:02:30it's Joe

01:02:31Lewis

01:02:32In the

01:02:34early 60s

01:02:35Lewis'

01:02:35money troubles

01:02:36abated somewhat

01:02:37after ending

01:02:38his marriage

01:02:39to Rose Morgan

01:02:40he wed

01:02:41Martha Jefferson

01:02:41the first

01:02:42black woman

01:02:43to practice

01:02:44law in

01:02:44California

01:02:45on Lewis'

01:02:46behalf

01:02:46Jefferson

01:02:47made a deal

01:02:48with the IRS

01:02:49whereby the

01:02:50government

01:02:50would not

01:02:51collect on the

01:02:511.3 million

01:02:52that Lewis still

01:02:53owed

01:02:53only on future

01:02:55earnings

01:02:55as Lewis's tax

01:02:57tax problems

01:02:58finally receded

01:02:59so did his

01:03:00star power

01:03:00with Muhammad Ali

01:03:03at the center

01:03:03a new generation

01:03:05of black athlete

01:03:05was stepping

01:03:06into the spotlight

01:03:07and since

01:03:09he outlived

01:03:10his time

01:03:11to the more

01:03:12strident

01:03:13more vocal

01:03:15African-American

01:03:16athletes

01:03:17of the 1960s

01:03:18Joe Lewis

01:03:19looked out of place

01:03:20old fashioned

01:03:21Cassius Clay

01:03:22of course

01:03:23has gotten

01:03:24involved

01:03:24somewhat

01:03:24in the

01:03:25civil rights

01:03:27picture

01:03:27and

01:03:27he's not

01:03:28involved

01:03:28in the

01:03:29civil rights

01:03:29picture

01:03:29because

01:03:29he's not

01:03:31involved

01:03:31whatsoever

01:03:32in the

01:03:32civil rights

01:03:32because

01:03:33he was thinking

01:03:33of the

01:03:34civil rights

01:03:34much different

01:03:34than the

01:03:35thinking

01:03:35of the

01:03:36Virginia

01:03:37around

01:03:37people

01:03:37who are

01:03:38fighting

01:03:38the

01:03:38civil rights

01:03:39picture

01:03:39he was not

01:03:39a part

01:03:40of whatsoever

01:03:40he had trouble

01:03:41dealing with

01:03:42young black men

01:03:43and the way

01:03:44they were

01:03:44expressing

01:03:45their understandable

01:03:46anger

01:03:46at the pace

01:03:47of racial change

01:03:49in the United States

01:03:50the rage

01:03:53of the black

01:03:54man

01:03:54was not

01:03:55shared

01:03:56by Lewis

01:03:57who predated

01:03:58that rage

01:03:59and was ill-equipped

01:04:00to be hateful

01:04:01because

01:04:02he was of

01:04:03another time

01:04:04Joe Lewis

01:04:05is making himself

01:04:06an Uncle Tom

01:04:08for white people

01:04:09Negroes

01:04:10don't follow

01:04:11and idolize

01:04:13this part

01:04:14of Joe Lewis

01:04:15Ali

01:04:16went beyond

01:04:18the limit

01:04:19of

01:04:20dignity

01:04:21in berating

01:04:23people

01:04:24Joe Lewis

01:04:26wasn't

01:04:26a showman

01:04:27he was a professional

01:04:28but other than that

01:04:30Joe was a very

01:04:31quiet

01:04:32soft-spoken

01:04:34person

01:04:34the Joe Lewis

01:04:37that the world

01:04:37now knew

01:04:38was a far cry

01:04:39from the

01:04:40godlike figure

01:04:41he had been

01:04:41as Lewis

01:04:43went on

01:04:44by the late 60s

01:04:45he started to change

01:04:47he's smoking

01:04:48he's drinking

01:04:49and then

01:04:50eventually

01:04:51drugs enters

01:04:52into the picture

01:04:53and most insidiously

01:04:55cocaine

01:04:57suddenly

01:04:57the cheering

01:04:58stopped

01:04:59and you are

01:05:00has-been

01:05:01so I think

01:05:01that those things

01:05:02had a lot to do

01:05:03with Joe Lewis

01:05:04getting in

01:05:04with the kind of

01:05:05people he got in with

01:05:06because underneath

01:05:07the world

01:05:08of the champion athlete

01:05:09underneath it

01:05:09is this kind of

01:05:10really kind of

01:05:10dark sort of

01:05:12world of

01:05:13drugs and prostitution

01:05:15and he kind of

01:05:16drifted into that

01:05:17Joe was coming up

01:05:19to Las Vegas

01:05:20and I remember

01:05:21when my husband

01:05:22Ash took a man

01:05:23that came up

01:05:24to Joe

01:05:25and was shoving

01:05:26something to him

01:05:27and Joe

01:05:28was giving him

01:05:29some kind of money

01:05:30and Ash took him

01:05:31and just threw him

01:05:31down the steps

01:05:32at my father's

01:05:34darkest moment

01:05:35that he got

01:05:36very depressed

01:05:37and a part of

01:05:39that depression

01:05:39was associated

01:05:40with drugs

01:05:40I don't know

01:05:41all the details

01:05:42of it

01:05:43other than

01:05:43the fact

01:05:44that I do know

01:05:44that he had

01:05:46some moments

01:05:48of paranoia

01:05:49he would

01:05:50take his bed

01:05:51and move it out

01:05:52to the center

01:05:53of the room

01:05:54open up

01:05:55all the windows

01:05:56he felt

01:05:57that the air vents

01:05:58in the hotel

01:05:59were maybe

01:05:59being poisoned

01:06:00he's afraid

01:06:01of things

01:06:02he thinks

01:06:03the FBI

01:06:03is out to get him

01:06:04he thinks

01:06:04the mafia

01:06:05is out to get him

01:06:06he imagines

01:06:07conspiracies

01:06:08he ate nothing

01:06:09that didn't come

01:06:10out of a can

01:06:11or a jar

01:06:12that was his

01:06:13fear that

01:06:14somebody was

01:06:14going to try

01:06:15to poison him

01:06:16and he wasn't

01:06:17a Joe

01:06:17that I had known

01:06:18for 25, 35 years

01:06:19he was this

01:06:21big sick man

01:06:22I went to the house

01:06:24and I lived in that house

01:06:25when I was in college

01:06:26and I'd had a desk lamp

01:06:28and literally

01:06:29I came to see my dad

01:06:30and the desk lamp

01:06:31was fully

01:06:31detached

01:06:34he had unscrewed

01:06:35everything

01:06:35and I said

01:06:36what did you do

01:06:36with my desk lamp

01:06:37he says

01:06:38well I had to see

01:06:39if there were

01:06:39any microphones

01:06:40in there

01:06:41in May 1970

01:06:43Joe Barrow

01:06:44was so concerned

01:06:45about his father's

01:06:46state of mind

01:06:46he arranged

01:06:47to have him

01:06:48hospitalized

01:06:48when the sheriff's

01:06:50department

01:06:50went to

01:06:51take him

01:06:52to the hospital

01:06:53he said

01:06:55why are you here

01:06:55well we've got

01:06:56this document

01:06:57he said

01:06:57let me see

01:06:57this document

01:06:58well who's

01:06:58that signature

01:06:59well that's

01:06:59your son's

01:06:59signature

01:07:00and when he saw me later

01:07:02it was basically said

01:07:03why did you do this

01:07:04why didn't you come

01:07:05talk to me about it

01:07:06and I said

01:07:07well you need help

01:07:08and it was just like

01:07:10you know this relationship

01:07:12that was so

01:07:13fragile anyway

01:07:15because I didn't see him

01:07:16very often

01:07:16was just for me

01:07:18gone forever

01:07:18Lewis spent the next

01:07:20six months

01:07:21in treatment

01:07:22in October of 1970

01:07:24he left the hospital

01:07:25and was recruited

01:07:26to Las Vegas

01:07:27by an old army buddy

01:07:28Ash Resnick

01:07:29then an executive

01:07:31at Caesars Palace

01:07:32and he brought

01:07:33Joe here

01:07:34to be

01:07:35a guest host

01:07:36here at Caesars

01:07:37why people

01:07:38were dying

01:07:39to meet him

01:07:40and shake his hand

01:07:41and Joe loved

01:07:42to do it

01:07:43when he came

01:07:43to Caesars

01:07:44we were working

01:07:45in the same pit

01:07:46together

01:07:47he was a greeter

01:07:49but he didn't

01:07:52do too much greeting

01:07:53he would go

01:07:54to the crap table

01:07:55you know

01:07:56and people would

01:07:56just give him money

01:07:58just to gamma

01:07:59with him

01:08:00and if he won

01:08:01he kept the money

01:08:02here he is

01:08:04in the casino

01:08:04and he's like

01:08:05the manservant

01:08:06the house guy

01:08:07like a doorman

01:08:09in a way

01:08:09so he was

01:08:10in his retirement period

01:08:12he was not

01:08:13a heroic figure

01:08:14in ways

01:08:15a pathetic figure

01:08:16even though

01:08:17it was a

01:08:17somewhat

01:08:19demeaning job

01:08:20I never saw

01:08:22that

01:08:23poor me

01:08:25scenario

01:08:26from him

01:08:26ever

01:08:27and

01:08:28I spent a lot

01:08:29of time with him

01:08:30when he was at Caesars

01:08:31in Las Vegas

01:08:33Lewis was back

01:08:34in the public eye

01:08:35living comfortably

01:08:36among friends

01:08:37who had helped him

01:08:38financially

01:08:38in his darkest days

01:08:40to them

01:08:41he was still a hero

01:08:42I mean you can talk

01:08:44about him being broke

01:08:45but this is a man

01:08:46who never had to pay

01:08:47for dinner in his life

01:08:48he always had a roof

01:08:49over his head

01:08:49he always had people

01:08:50looking after him

01:08:51we've been friends

01:08:51for about 35 years

01:08:53and the first time

01:08:55I ever saw him

01:08:55because I've been

01:08:56cheering ever since

01:08:57none of Lewis' admirers

01:08:59showed greater affection

01:09:00for him

01:09:01than an old friend

01:09:02who years earlier

01:09:02had turned to Lewis

01:09:04for a favor

01:09:04a long time ago

01:09:06when Sinatra was on stage

01:09:09he had asked Joe

01:09:10to come on stage

01:09:11with him

01:09:11and do an act

01:09:12and in fact

01:09:13I think it was $10,000

01:09:14that he offered

01:09:15to pay Joe

01:09:16to make the appearance

01:09:17and Joe told him

01:09:18you can't pay me anything

01:09:20and he made the appearance

01:09:22and of course

01:09:23that sealed their friendship

01:09:24and like Sinatra said

01:09:26it would do anything for him

01:09:28Sinatra kept his word

01:09:30in 1977

01:09:32when Lewis developed

01:09:34heart problems

01:09:35Sinatra arranged

01:09:36to have him flown to Houston

01:09:37and seen by a specialist

01:09:39following heart surgery

01:09:41Lewis suffered a stroke

01:09:42and was confined

01:09:43to a wheelchair

01:09:44we'd help get him

01:09:45in the wheelchair

01:09:46we'd take him out

01:09:47to Caesars

01:09:48so he could have lunch

01:09:49but the man that we knew

01:09:52just wasn't there anymore

01:09:54I think the pictures

01:09:55that some people

01:09:56in our society

01:09:56remember of Joe Lewis

01:09:57is when he would attend

01:09:59a fight in Las Vegas

01:10:00and they'd go to him

01:10:01and there he would be

01:10:02in his wheelchair

01:10:03with his cowboy hat

01:10:04not the lasting view

01:10:06you wound up with Joe Lewis

01:10:07who had that level of impact

01:10:09for so many years

01:10:10on so many people

01:10:11on April 11th 1981

01:10:14the public got its last look

01:10:16at Joe Lewis

01:10:17as you look at

01:10:18maybe the guy

01:10:19who wrote the book

01:10:20on heavyweight boxing

01:10:21and there is Joe Lewis

01:10:22he is Rickside

01:10:23attending tonight

01:10:24later that night

01:10:25Lewis' heart gave out

01:10:27I always knew

01:10:28that I would not be

01:10:29with my father

01:10:30when he passed

01:10:32and I got this call

01:10:33from my roommate

01:10:34who basically said

01:10:36they're trying to reach you

01:10:38from Las Vegas

01:10:38your dad has died

01:10:41Joe Lewis died today

01:10:44in Las Vegas

01:10:44the legendary brown bomber

01:10:46who was heavyweight boxing champ

01:10:47longer than any other man

01:10:48was a month from his 67th birthday

01:10:50Joe Lewis will be buried Tuesday

01:10:52in Arlington National Cemetery

01:10:54the brown bomber

01:10:55was an inspiration

01:10:56to millions of fans

01:10:57and friends

01:10:58Lewis did not qualify

01:11:03for burial

01:11:04in Arlington National Cemetery

01:11:05but President Reagan

01:11:08waived the requirements

01:11:09and awarded him

01:11:11full military honors

01:11:12this man will be assured

01:11:14of a place in the hereafter

01:11:16because of the joy

01:11:19he is bringing

01:11:19to the multitude

01:11:21he was a champion

01:11:23for freedom

01:11:23in my mind

01:11:24and he deserved

01:11:25to be laid to rest

01:11:27among champions

01:11:28and fighters for freedom

01:11:30he's a man

01:11:34that you have to say

01:11:35that if he hadn't lived

01:11:37this century

01:11:37would have been different

01:11:39Lewis made

01:11:41white America

01:11:42confront race

01:11:44confront success

01:11:46he made a dent

01:11:49he was the one

01:11:51who smashed

01:11:52the idea

01:11:53that blacks

01:11:54weren't good enough

01:11:55he began the dynamic

01:11:57that a generation later

01:12:00changed our national pastime

01:12:02baseball

01:12:02I do not want to

01:12:06suggest that Jackie Robinson

01:12:08was not a national hero

01:12:09but to suggest

01:12:10that he was

01:12:11the pathbreaker

01:12:13for black athletes

01:12:15is historically inaccurate

01:12:18the first

01:12:20was Joe Lewis

01:12:21it was a wonderful spring day

01:12:28in Washington D.C.

01:12:29the cherry blossoms

01:12:30were out

01:12:31the playing of taps

01:12:33and the

01:12:34the gun salute

01:12:36it was just

01:12:37a recognition

01:12:38of who he was

01:12:39and it was

01:12:40probably the one time

01:12:41that I could really say

01:12:42what I meant

01:12:43about my dad

01:12:44and thank him

01:12:47for being who he was

01:12:48for so many people

01:12:50the measure of a hero

01:12:54lies not only

01:12:54in their accomplishments

01:12:55but also

01:12:57in the size

01:12:57of their hearts

01:12:58Joe Lewis

01:13:00was such a hero

01:13:01he loved his country

01:13:03and stood up for her

01:13:05in a time of need

01:13:05he forgave her

01:13:07even when she betrayed him

01:13:09the humblest of men

01:13:11the grandson of slaves

01:13:13Lewis lived the American dream

01:13:15and showed a nation

01:13:16the value of humility

01:13:18by his example

01:13:20he helped move America forward

01:13:22and when he passed on

01:13:24he left a world far better

01:13:26than the one he had entered

01:13:27Joe Lewis

01:13:43is the battling man

01:13:45the people think

01:13:47his fame will always stand

01:13:49he's the brown bonfire

01:13:52of this land

01:13:53he's supposed to whoop

01:13:55most any man

01:13:57he's got a real good love

01:13:59and a real good right

01:14:01but when he jabbed with

01:14:03he's the one

01:14:04that stops the fight

01:14:05he's not a bad dress guy

01:14:08and his hair is curled

01:14:10he's the champion now

01:14:12of the world

01:14:13he's bound to be

01:14:15the next champion

01:14:16of the world

01:14:17the most part

01:14:35whoop

01:14:36the most part

01:14:37of the world

01:14:37is the only one

01:14:38whoop

01:14:39and his hair will be

01:14:40the most part

01:14:41of the world

01:14:41whoop

01:14:42the most part

01:14:44of the world

01:14:44This has been a presentation of HBO Sports.

01:15:14This has been a presentation of HBO Sports.

Joe Louis America's Hero Betrayed - Boxing (historical boxing )

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended