HBO Sports: Joe Louis: America's Hero......Betrayed

AJ McKenzie

Edited version IG: aj_mckenzie416 Twitter: AJMckenzie94847

Transcript

00:00:02I'm going to practice law in California.

00:00:05On Lewis's behalf, Jefferson made a deal with the IRS,

00:00:09whereby the government would not collect on the $1.3 million that Lewis still owed,

00:00:14only on future earnings.

00:00:16As Lewis's tax problems finally receded, so did his star power.

00:00:21With Muhammad Ali at the center,

00:00:24a new generation of black athlete was stepping into the spotlight.

00:00:31He outlived his time.

00:00:34To the more strident, more vocal African-American athletes of the 1960s,

00:00:41Joe Lewis looked out of place.

00:00:43Cash's play, of course, has gotten involved somewhat in the civil rights picture.

00:00:49He's not involved in the civil rights picture, because he's not involved in the civil rights picture.

00:00:55His thinking of civil rights is much different than the thinking of the civil rights people,

00:00:59who are fighting in the civil rights picture.

00:01:01He was not a part of whatsoever.

00:01:03He had trouble dealing with young black men

00:01:05and the way they were expressing their understandable anger

00:01:08at the pace of racial change in the United States.

00:01:14The rage of the black man was not shared by Lewis,

00:01:19who predated that rage and was ill-equipped to be hateful,

00:01:23because he was of another time.

00:01:26Joe Lewis is making himself an awful time for white people.

00:01:31Are you serious?

00:01:32The liberals don't follow and idolize this part of Joe Lewis.

00:01:37Ali went beyond the limit of dignity in berating people.

00:01:47Joe Lewis wasn't a showman, he was a professional.

00:01:51But other than that, Joe was a very quiet, soft-spoken person.

00:01:58The Joe Lewis that the world now knew was a far cry from the godlike figure he had been.

00:02:04As Lewis went on by the late 60s, he started to change.

00:02:09He's smoking, he's drinking, and then, eventually, drugs enters into the picture.

00:02:15And most insidiously, cocaine.

00:02:19Suddenly, the cheering stopped.

00:02:21And you're a has-been.

00:02:23So I think that those things had a lot to do with Joe Lewis getting in with the kind of

00:02:27people he got in with.

00:02:28Because underneath the world of the champion athlete, underneath it, is this kind of really kind of dark sort of

00:02:34world of drugs and prostitution.

00:02:38And he kind of drifted into that.

00:02:40Joe was coming up to Las Vegas.

00:02:42And I remember when my husband took a man that came up to Joe and was shoving something to him.

00:02:49And Joe was giving him some kind of money.

00:02:52And Ash took him and just threw him down the steps.

00:02:54And my father's darkest moment, that he got very depressed.

00:02:59And a part of that depression was associated with drugs.

00:03:03I don't know all the details of it, other than the fact that I do know that he had some

00:03:08moments of paranoia.

00:03:11He would take his bed and move it out to the center of the room, open up all the windows.

00:03:18He felt that the air vents in the hotel were maybe being poisoned.

00:03:23He's afraid of things.

00:03:24He thinks the FBI is out to get him.

00:03:26He thinks the mafia is out to get him.

00:03:28He imagines conspiracies.

00:03:30He ate nothing that didn't come out of a can or a jar.

00:03:34That was his fear that somebody was going to try to poison him.

00:03:38And he wasn't a Joe that I had known for 25, 35 years.

00:03:42He was this big, sick man.

00:03:45I went to the house, and I'd lived in that house when I was in college, and I'd had a

00:03:49desk lamp.

00:03:50And literally, I came to see my dad, and the desk lamp was fully detached.

00:03:56He had unscrewed everything.

00:03:57And I said, what did you do with my desk lamp?

00:04:00He says, well, I had to see if there were any microphones in there.

00:04:03In May 1970, Joe Barrow was so concerned about his father's state of mind, he arranged to have him hospitalized.

00:04:11When the sheriff's department went to take him to the hospital, he said, why are you here?

00:04:18Well, we've got this document.

00:04:19He said, let me see this document.

00:04:20Well, who's that signature?

00:04:21Well, that's your son's signature.

00:04:23And when he saw me later, it was basically, he said, why did you do this?

00:04:26Why didn't you come talk to me about it?

00:04:28And I said, well, you need help.

00:04:30And it was just like, you know, this relationship that was so fragile anyway, because I didn't see him very

00:04:38often, was just, for me, gone forever.

00:04:41Lewis spent the next six months in treatment.

00:04:43In October of 1970, he left the hospital and was recruited to Las Vegas by an old army buddy, Ash

00:04:51Resnick, then an executive at Caesars Palace.

00:04:54And he brought Joe here to be a guest host here at Caesars.

00:04:59Why people were dying to meet him and shake his hand, and Joe loved to do it.

00:05:05When he came to Caesars, we were working in the same pit together.

00:05:09He was a greeter.

00:05:13But he didn't do too much greeting.

00:05:15He would go to the crap table, you know, and people would just give him money just to gamble with

00:05:21him.

00:05:22And if he won, he kept the money.

00:05:25Here he is in the casino, and he's like the manservant, the house guy, like a doorman in a way.

00:05:31So he was, in his retirement period, he was not a heroic figure.

00:05:36In ways, he's a pathetic figure.

00:05:38Even though it was a somewhat demeaning job, I never saw that poor me scenario from him, ever.

00:05:50And I spent a lot of time with him when he was at Caesars.

00:05:54In Las Vegas, Lewis was back in the public eye, living comfortably among friends who had helped him financially in

00:06:01his darkest days.

00:06:02To them, he was still a hero.

00:06:05I mean, you can talk about him being broke, but this is a man who never had to pay for

00:06:09dinner in his life.

00:06:10He always had a roof over his head.

00:06:11He always had people looking after him.

00:06:13We've been friends for about 35 years.

00:06:16And the first time I ever saw him, of course, I've been cheering ever since.

00:06:20None of Lewis' admirers showed greater affection for him than an old friend who years earlier had turned to Lewis

00:06:26for a favor.

00:06:27A long time ago, when Sinatra was on stage, he had asked Joe to come on stage with him and

00:06:33do an act.

00:06:34And in fact, I think it was $10,000 that he offered to pay Joe to make the appearance.

00:06:40And Joe told him, you can't pay me anything.

00:06:42And he made the appearance.

00:06:44And, of course, that sealed their friendship.

00:06:47And like Sinatra said, it would do anything for him.

00:06:51Sinatra kept his word.

00:06:53In 1977, when Lewis developed heart problems, Sinatra arranged to have him flown to Houston and seen by a specialist.

00:07:02Following heart surgery, Lewis suffered a stroke and was confined to a wheelchair.

00:07:06We'd help get him in the wheelchair.

00:07:09We'd take him out to Caesars so he could have lunch.

00:07:12But the man that we knew just wasn't there anymore.

00:07:16I think the pictures that some people in our society remember of Joe Lewis,

00:07:20is when he would attend a fight in Las Vegas.

00:07:22And they'd go to him.

00:07:23And there he would be in his wheelchair with his cowboy hat.

00:07:27Not the lasting view you want of a Joe Lewis,

00:07:29who had that level of impact for so many years on so many people.

00:07:34On April 11, 1981, the public got its last look at Joe Lewis.

00:07:40As you look at maybe the guy who wrote the book on 100-weight boxing,

00:07:43and there is Joe Lewis.

00:07:45He is Rickside attending tonight.

00:07:46I think it was Holmes versus Cobb in the ring.

00:07:50Later that night, Lewis' heart gave out.

00:07:53I always knew that I would not be with my father when he passed.

00:07:58And I got this call from my roommate,

00:08:00who basically said,

00:08:02they're trying to reach you from Las Vegas.

00:08:05Your dad has died.

00:08:08Joe Lewis died today in Las Vegas.

00:08:10The legendary brown bomber,

00:08:12who was heavyweight boxing champ longer than any other man,

00:08:14was a month from his 67th birthday.

00:08:16Joe Lewis will be buried Tuesday in Arlington National Cemetery.

00:08:20The brown bomber was an inspiration to millions of fans and friends.

00:08:27Lewis did not qualify for burial in Arlington National Cemetery.

00:08:33But President Reagan waived the requirements and awarded him full military honors.

00:08:38This man will be assured of a place in the hereafter

00:08:43because of the joy he is bringing to the multitude.

00:08:47He was a champion for freedom in my mind,

00:08:50and he deserved to be laid to rest among champions and fighters for freedom.

00:08:59He's a man that you have to say

00:09:01that if he hadn't lived, this century would have been different.

00:09:05Lewis made white America confront race.

00:09:10Confront success.

00:09:13He made a dent.

00:09:15He was the one who smashed

00:09:17the idea that blacks weren't good enough.

00:09:21He began the dynamic

00:09:23that a generation later changed our national pastime,

00:09:28baseball.

00:09:29I do not want to suggest

00:09:33that Jackie Robinson was not a national hero,

00:09:35but to suggest that he was

00:09:37the pathbreaker

00:09:39for black athletes

00:09:41is historically

00:09:43inaccurate.

00:09:45The first was Joe Lewis.

00:09:48I would say

00:09:5050-50,

00:09:51the first was Jack Johnson.

00:09:57It was a wonderful spring day

00:09:59in Washington.

00:10:00Grey blossoms were out.

00:10:03The flang of taps

00:10:04and the gun salute.

00:10:07It was just a recognition

00:10:09of who he was,

00:10:10and it was probably the one time

00:10:12that I could really say

00:10:13what I meant about my dad

00:10:17and thank him for being

00:10:18who he was

00:10:19for so many people.

00:10:23The measure of a hero lies

00:10:25not only in their accomplishments,

00:10:27but also

00:10:27in the size of their hearts.

00:10:30Joe Lewis

00:10:31was such a hero.

00:10:32He loved his country

00:10:34and stood up for her

00:10:35in a time of need.

00:10:37He forgave her

00:10:38even when she betrayed him.

00:10:40The humblest of men,

00:10:42the grandson of slaves,

00:10:44Lewis lived the American dream

00:10:46and showed a nation

00:10:47the value of humility.

00:10:50By his example,

00:10:51he helped move him

00:10:53and when he passed on,

00:10:55he left a world

00:10:56far better

00:10:57than the one he had entered.

00:11:08No other place

00:11:10has held out

00:11:10so much hope

00:11:11to so many

00:11:13or spawned

00:11:14such mythic tales

00:11:15of heroism.

00:11:17No other place

00:11:32in the middle of the

00:11:3320th century.

00:11:34In the middle of the 20th century,

00:11:35with their country in crisis,

00:11:39it wasn't the middle.

00:11:41It was like the first third.

00:11:44Americans found that hero

00:11:46among their own.

00:11:48We're going to do our prize

00:11:49and we will win

00:11:50because we are on God's side.

00:11:53His stage was so big

00:11:55that downtrodden Americans,

00:11:57regardless of their age or race,

00:12:00felt a glimmer of hope

00:12:01creep into their lives

00:12:02just by watching him.

00:12:07In the end,

00:12:08he was a common man

00:12:09who reached the top

00:12:10and brought an entire country

00:12:13with him.

00:12:21Shame.

00:12:24My father,

00:12:26Joseph Lewis Barrow,

00:12:27was born to a sharecropping family.

00:12:29It was Chambers County, Alabama.

00:12:31My grandmother

00:12:32was an extraordinary woman

00:12:33and really kept

00:12:34that family together

00:12:35because my grandfather

00:12:37had a mental problem

00:12:38and was put in asylum

00:12:40very early on

00:12:41when my father was a baby.

00:12:42So he really didn't know

00:12:43who his father was.

00:12:45This is Joe Lewis.

00:12:46I mean,

00:12:47he's poor,

00:12:48he's black,

00:12:49he's one of eight children.

00:12:52The chances

00:12:52of this guy

00:12:54doing anything in his life

00:12:55is just absolutely remote.

00:12:58Back in those days,

00:13:00a black didn't have a name.

00:13:02He was nigger.

00:13:03Hey, you nigger.

00:13:05Driven from the South

00:13:06by racial persecution,

00:13:0912-year-old Joe Barrow

00:13:10and his family

00:13:11joined the Great Migration North

00:13:13in search of social

00:13:14and economic opportunity.

00:13:17Well, Joe shows up in Detroit

00:13:18and he's a shy kid.

00:13:20He has virtually no education.

00:13:23He starts doing jobs.

00:13:24I mean, he's a laborer.

00:13:26He'll work and forward

00:13:26for a while,

00:13:27but before that,

00:13:28he works at whatever

00:13:29manual job he can find.

00:13:32He delivers ice.

00:13:33They were making ends meet.

00:13:35In fact,

00:13:35my grandmother

00:13:36had enough extra change

00:13:38to eventually give my father

00:13:40monies for violin lessons.

00:13:44But Joe needed a manlier hobby.

00:13:46And so said his friend,

00:13:48Thurston McKinney.

00:13:49So Thurston told him,

00:13:50I said, man,

00:13:51you ain't a sister.

00:13:52Ain't no other sister

00:13:53to play the violin.

00:13:56So why don't you come down

00:13:57to the gym

00:13:58and learn how to box?

00:13:59He used a quarter

00:14:00that my grandmother

00:14:02was giving him

00:14:02for violin lessons

00:14:03week after week

00:14:04to rent this

00:14:05Locker Booster Gymnasium.

00:14:07Eventually,

00:14:08the violin instructor

00:14:09comes back to the house

00:14:11and says to my grandmother,

00:14:12where's my student Joe?

00:14:14And she says,

00:14:15what do you mean,

00:14:15where's your student Joe?

00:14:16And as I like to affectionately say,

00:14:18he had a little come to Jesus

00:14:19with him

00:14:20because she wanted to know

00:14:21where that quarter was going

00:14:22and he was wasting it.

00:14:24Eventually,

00:14:24she understood

00:14:25that he liked boxing

00:14:26and simply said,

00:14:28you know,

00:14:28if you're going to do this,

00:14:29be the very best that you can.

00:14:31He was the very best

00:14:32in the world.

00:14:33They tie his hands

00:14:34behind his back

00:14:36and all he had to do

00:14:37was use his left hand.

00:14:38So you got to look

00:14:40and look good.

00:14:41He's quickly matched

00:14:43in an amateur fight,

00:14:44his first fight,

00:14:45and Joe Lewis

00:14:45gets beaten up pretty badly.

00:14:47And he got knocked

00:14:48down seven times,

00:14:49but he kept getting up.

00:14:51So when Thurston

00:14:52had him in the dressing room,

00:14:53he says,

00:14:54Joe,

00:14:55you was going up

00:14:56like an elevator

00:14:57up and down.

00:14:59People don't realize

00:15:01how many times

00:15:01he fought as an amateur.

00:15:03He fought over 50 times,

00:15:04won a gold glove

00:15:05and found that area

00:15:07of competence

00:15:07that all kids

00:15:08are looking for.

00:15:09And boxing was that

00:15:10for Joe Lewis.

00:15:13Dropping his last name,

00:15:14Barrow,

00:15:15the newly named Joe Lewis

00:15:16found a manager

00:15:18and Detroit numbers

00:15:19racketeer

00:15:19John Roxborough.

00:15:21One look at Lewis'

00:15:22right fist

00:15:23convinced Roxborough

00:15:24he was sound investment.

00:15:26He signed Lewis

00:15:27to a contract

00:15:28and partnered

00:15:29with Chicago numbers man

00:15:30Julian Black.

00:15:31They then hired

00:15:32boxing veteran

00:15:33Jack Blackburn

00:15:34to nurture

00:15:35their investment.

00:15:36Jack Blackburn

00:15:37quite frankly

00:15:39comes with some baggage.

00:15:41He's an alcoholic.

00:15:42He's a very bitter man.

00:15:44He had done

00:15:45some jail time.

00:15:47He was a boxer

00:15:48in his day.

00:15:50Good one.

00:15:51For a murder?

00:15:52But he knows boxing.

00:15:54This guy is

00:15:55as good as they get.

00:15:58Jack Blackburn

00:15:59says,

00:15:59well sure

00:15:59you bring that

00:16:00white boy around

00:16:00I'll take a look at him

00:16:01and they break the news

00:16:03to Jack

00:16:03that

00:16:04I want to train

00:16:05a black fighter

00:16:06and the reason it being

00:16:08is

00:16:08there's nothing I can do

00:16:09with him

00:16:10that will be successful.

00:16:11After Jack Johnson

00:16:13there is

00:16:14no way

00:16:15a black fighter

00:16:16is going to rise

00:16:18to the top

00:16:18that he can't

00:16:19become champion.

00:16:20But because he needed

00:16:21the money

00:16:22it was steady income

00:16:22Blackburn took the job.

00:16:25He said

00:16:26you're going to have

00:16:27to be twice as good

00:16:28as the white fighter

00:16:29that you're fighting

00:16:30in order to succeed.

00:16:32Jack Johnson

00:16:33America's first

00:16:35black heavyweight champion

00:16:36inspired so much

00:16:37hatred in white America

00:16:39that in the 19 years

00:16:40since the end of his reign

00:16:41no black fighter

00:16:43was given the opportunity

00:16:44to even challenge

00:16:45for the heavyweight crown.

00:16:47I think Jack Johnson

00:16:49saw his job

00:16:50in life

00:16:51as pissing off

00:16:52white America.

00:16:53He married white women

00:16:55he flaunted

00:16:57his wealth

00:16:58he gloated

00:16:59over fallen opponents

00:17:01he had those gold teeth

00:17:02and he flashed that smile.

00:17:09White Americans

00:17:11generally reacted

00:17:13to Johnson's

00:17:15heavyweight reign

00:17:16as this is proof

00:17:17of the danger

00:17:18in letting a black man

00:17:20have a real opportunity.

00:17:22When Joe Lewis

00:17:23came along

00:17:25the people

00:17:25in the fight world

00:17:26were mindful

00:17:27of the fact

00:17:28that they didn't want

00:17:29a repetition

00:17:30of Jack Johnson.

00:17:32They made up

00:17:33a set of rules

00:17:33and they handed him

00:17:34to Lewis and said

00:17:34you need to follow

00:17:35these rules

00:17:35at all times

00:17:36and these rules

00:17:37were set up

00:17:38to make him

00:17:39appear to be

00:17:40the complete opposite

00:17:41of Jack Johnson.

00:17:42For example

00:17:43Lewis was never

00:17:44to have his picture

00:17:45taken alone

00:17:45with a white woman.

00:17:47We want you to be

00:17:47humble at all times.

00:17:49If you knock

00:17:49a white man out

00:17:50and you raise your hand

00:17:52it could start a ride.

00:17:53He was never

00:17:54to be seen

00:17:55smiling or gloating

00:17:56over opponents.

00:17:58Joe Lewis then

00:17:59in every way

00:18:00was being trained

00:18:01to act white.

00:18:03My name is Joe Lewis

00:18:0420 years old

00:18:066 feet 1

00:18:07with 195 pounds

00:18:09but we intend

00:18:10to submit to the defense.

00:18:11Lewis turned

00:18:12a pro in 19...

00:18:13Uh...

00:18:16What did you just say?

00:18:18I didn't comprehend

00:18:20anything

00:18:20after you said

00:18:21he's 195 pounds.

00:18:26...1334

00:18:27and won his first

00:18:2812 fights

00:18:2910 by knockout.

00:18:32It was a welcome sight

00:18:34and a symbol of hope

00:18:35to blacks suffering

00:18:36through the depression.

00:18:37There is nobody

00:18:38like him

00:18:39on the scene.

00:18:41If you go to

00:18:41the average black newspaper

00:18:43from about 1935 on

00:18:44there is not a

00:18:45issue that goes by

00:18:47that Joe Lewis

00:18:48isn't in there.

00:18:49Joe Lewis is eating

00:18:49a meal.

00:18:50Joe Lewis is training.

00:18:51Joe Lewis is out

00:18:52on a date.

00:18:52Joe Lewis is in there

00:18:53for something

00:18:53but Joe Lewis is in there

00:18:54because Joe Lewis' picture

00:18:55sells papers

00:18:57to black people.

00:18:59By the middle of 35

00:19:00Lewis had won

00:19:0222 fights

00:19:03without a loss.

00:19:04But given the realities

00:19:05of a black fighter

00:19:07even one

00:19:08as promising

00:19:08as Lewis

00:19:09had little chance

00:19:10of going anywhere.

00:19:12Now can his management

00:19:13get him

00:19:14into the big time?

00:19:15The big time's New York.

00:19:20Jimmy Johnston is running

00:19:22Madison Square Garden

00:19:23at this time.

00:19:24Rocksboro calls him up.

00:19:25Do you want Lewis?

00:19:27Johnston says,

00:19:28we don't need him.

00:19:30But Rocksboro and Black

00:19:31found an ambitious

00:19:32promoter

00:19:33who wasn't about

00:19:34to let race

00:19:34keep him

00:19:35from a possible fortune.

00:19:37Mike Jacobs

00:19:38grew up poor

00:19:39in New York City

00:19:39and Jacobs

00:19:40wanted to break

00:19:41Madison Square Garden's

00:19:43monopoly

00:19:43on title boxing

00:19:45and he wasn't afraid

00:19:46of signing a black fighter.

00:19:481935,

00:19:49Jacobs

00:19:51signs Lewis up.

00:19:52He's bringing him

00:19:53to New York.

00:19:54Lewis gets off

00:19:55at the train station.

00:19:57Porter's carrying

00:19:58Lewis off

00:19:59on his shoulder.

00:20:00Lewis is a hero.

00:20:01A savior for them

00:20:03and as far as

00:20:04Mike Jacobs is concerned,

00:20:05a savior for boxing.

00:20:07His scheme

00:20:08was to match

00:20:09Joe Lewis up

00:20:11with a string

00:20:12of ex-champions.

00:20:14We all heard

00:20:15about Primo Carneiro.

00:20:17They thought

00:20:18he was so good.

00:20:21But Joe thought

00:20:22he can't be

00:20:226 feet

00:20:236 and a half

00:20:26265 pounds.

00:20:28He was a giant.

00:20:29Primo Carneiro

00:20:30was one of those

00:20:32sideshow attractions

00:20:34that made it in boxing.

00:20:36This guy is big

00:20:37and strong

00:20:38and scary looking.

00:20:40Lewis is faster.

00:20:42Lewis hits harder.

00:20:44Spent for the condition

00:20:46for Primo Carneiro

00:20:47and I'll win from here

00:20:48because he is big

00:20:49and easy to hit.

00:20:52Canary?

00:20:53Canary?

00:20:54Canary?

00:20:55Canary?

00:20:57Canary?

00:20:58Canary?

00:21:02Canary?

00:21:03Canary?

00:21:04Canary?

00:21:05Canary?

00:21:06Canary?

00:21:06Here's this black man

00:21:07who's coming out

00:21:08and ascending

00:21:10and it just gave

00:21:11tremendous,

00:21:12tremendous energy

00:21:13to black America.

00:21:14I didn't know

00:21:16any blacks that

00:21:19I could be proud of

00:21:21because of what

00:21:22they had accomplished

00:21:23except the school teachers,

00:21:26the undertaker,

00:21:27the reverends.

00:21:31Joe Louis was the epitome

00:21:38of racial pride.

00:21:40Racial pride.

00:21:43but the affection that

00:21:44Lewis engendered

00:21:45in the black community

00:21:46didn't spread much beyond

00:21:48when Joe Louis

00:21:49knocked out Primo Carneiro,

00:21:52big article entitled

00:21:53Joe Louis

00:21:54must never be champion.

00:21:56Manly, it was all kind of riots.

00:21:59It would disturb the structure

00:22:01in the United States.

00:22:03Can you imagine that?

00:22:05Why Joe Louis

00:22:06must never be champion.

00:22:08Well, Joe,

00:22:09I see you're back

00:22:10at your old camp

00:22:10and you're going to train

00:22:12in private.

00:22:13What's the idea in that?

00:22:14Well, I feel much better

00:22:16training in private.

00:22:17Well, uh...

00:22:18Some in the white sporting press

00:22:20began to take note

00:22:21of Lewis's accomplishments,

00:22:23though they still viewed him

00:22:24first as a black man,

00:22:25then as a boxer.

00:22:29Virtually every sentence

00:22:31written about Joe Louis

00:22:32would refer to

00:22:32the color of his skin.

00:22:34People are familiar

00:22:35with the alliterative nickname

00:22:36the Brown Bomber.

00:22:37That was only one of a hundred

00:22:38alliterative nicknames

00:22:40that incorporated

00:22:41the color of his skin.

00:22:42The sepia slugger,

00:22:43the coffee-colored clowder,

00:22:45the dark destroyer.

00:22:47It just went on

00:22:49and on and on.

00:22:50At first,

00:22:51he was this freak.

00:22:53They tell me

00:22:54that Bob was good

00:22:55in training.

00:22:56That's good

00:22:57for nothing unlike

00:22:58Benham's

00:22:59and Gilder's band

00:22:59a good fight.

00:23:00I hope to knock him out.

00:23:02He'd freeze up.

00:23:04Even in his dressing room

00:23:05we'd diffuse,

00:23:06but after the fight,

00:23:07the reporters would come

00:23:08swarming around,

00:23:09you know,

00:23:09and he just couldn't

00:23:11handle that.

00:23:11I started to describe him

00:23:13as a stereotypical darkie,

00:23:15lazy, liking watermelon

00:23:16and a chicken,

00:23:17sleeps a lot.

00:23:18The reality is

00:23:19that he was one

00:23:20of the hardest

00:23:20working fighters

00:23:21of his day.

00:23:22He ran six miles a day.

00:23:23He sparred five times a week.

00:23:25He was remarkably strong.

00:23:28He was a great...

00:23:28In September 1935,

00:23:31Lewis faced the biggest test

00:23:32of his young career,

00:23:33a match against

00:23:35former champ

00:23:35Max Baer.

00:23:37Max Baer stands

00:23:38in my way

00:23:39for a chance

00:23:39for the tower,

00:23:40so I'm going to shoot

00:23:41the wrecks

00:23:41to beat him.

00:23:42Max Baer could punch good.

00:23:44That was it.

00:23:45He couldn't box at all.

00:23:46He had a hell

00:23:47of a right hand.

00:23:48I mean,

00:23:48he had killed

00:23:49a person in the ring.

00:23:50Max Baer proved

00:23:51he could be a killer,

00:23:52but he had rather

00:23:53be a clown.

00:23:55Hey, Max,

00:23:55how do you figure

00:23:56that improves

00:23:57your condition?

00:23:58It's my wrist,

00:23:59you know,

00:24:00my hands.

00:24:00Uh-huh.

00:24:01Well, so long, champ.

00:24:02Don't overwork.

00:24:03In many black communities

00:24:04across America,

00:24:05few events were bigger

00:24:07than a Joe Lewis fight.

00:24:08I lived in St. Louis,

00:24:10and you heard

00:24:10through the black community.

00:24:12Joe Lewis is fighting

00:24:13on such-and-such a night.

00:24:15And it was better

00:24:17than Christmas.

00:24:19I didn't guarantee

00:24:20he was going

00:24:20to get anything.

00:24:21The town of Stamps,

00:24:23Arkansas,

00:24:24my grandmother owned

00:24:25the only black-owned store

00:24:27in the town.

00:24:29And we had a radio.

00:24:31All the black people

00:24:32in the town

00:24:33would come around

00:24:34the store to listen.

00:24:36Then Joe Lewis

00:24:37was fighting.

00:24:38Everybody in Harlem

00:24:40was for Joe Lewis.

00:24:41You've got to listen

00:24:42to the fight tonight.

00:24:44You've got to listen

00:24:45to the fight tonight.

00:24:46And when you opened

00:24:48up your window

00:24:49or sat on the fire scale,

00:24:51you had roundabout sound

00:24:55all over the neighborhood.

00:24:58That was our day.

00:25:01Good evening,

00:25:02ladies and gentlemen.

00:25:02We are about to present

00:25:03a ringside blow-by-blow

00:25:05description of the

00:25:06Bear and Lewis fight.

00:25:06And then...

00:25:108 o'clock.

00:25:11At a time

00:25:12when the sport of boxing,

00:25:13as well as the country itself,

00:25:15was mired in a depression,

00:25:17Lewis was a savior.

00:25:19It was such a clamor

00:25:21to see him take on Max Bear

00:25:22that 95,000 fans

00:25:24crowded into Yankee Stadium

00:25:26was boxing's first

00:25:28million-dollar gate

00:25:29in nearly a decade.

00:25:31We'll tell you blow-by-blow,

00:25:32they're on.

00:25:33And there's the bell.

00:25:34And the bell is on.

00:25:35They come out.

00:25:35Maxi Bear,

00:25:37you could feel

00:25:40hearts thumping

00:25:42because if Joe loses,

00:25:45our whole race

00:25:48will be down.

00:25:50Each time a round was over,

00:25:53the explosion of sound

00:25:55when one man would ask,

00:25:57did you see that?

00:25:58And it was never here.

00:26:00It was always,

00:26:01did you see Joe Lewis?

00:26:02so that then

00:26:03the radio would be turned up.

00:26:08I'm going to put a knuckle right.

00:26:10I'm going to look for the door

00:26:11and he just wanted to hit me.

00:26:13Your fight is all over.

00:26:15And then after it was over,

00:26:20the doors opened and everybody rushed to the streets.

00:26:23And what I heard was an explosion when these doors flew open and black people just ran out into the

00:26:35area.

00:26:36Little babies not knowing why their mother was jumping up and down and hugging.

00:26:41I mean, they had this release.

00:26:43Lewis, what he represented was if you give us an equal playing field and if you allow us to compete,

00:26:49we can compete.

00:26:50Just give us the chance.

00:26:52Don't hold us down.

00:26:53Just give us the chance.

00:26:54On that same September day,

00:26:57Lewis made not only the back page,

00:26:59but the front page as well.

00:27:01Do you intend to be the boss at home too, Joe?

00:27:04I'm the boss at home too.

00:27:06It broke the hearts of half of the women in the United States of America of color.

00:27:13Because everyone wanted to marry Joe Lewis.

00:27:16He fell in love with Marva Trotta,

00:27:18a young woman who worked at the Chicago Defender,

00:27:21an African-American newspaper.

00:27:22She was marrying the most important black man in America.

00:27:26And so this image of African-American domestic bliss

00:27:29was part of selling Joe Lewis to white America.

00:27:33How about a nice big kiss and finish it?

00:27:35That won't happen.

00:27:37By the mid-30s,

00:27:39Lewis was not only famous,

00:27:41but rich beyond anyone's dreams.

00:27:44In 35 alone,

00:27:45when the average American was making less than $1,400 a year,

00:27:49the 21-year-old Lewis earned $400,000 in purses.

00:27:53Money meant nothing to Joe.

00:27:56He hit the number in New York.

00:27:57It was like $6,000, $8,000.

00:28:01And they paid him off.

00:28:03And mid-afternoon,

00:28:05when Joe got back to the Teresa Hotel,

00:28:09he didn't have $100.

00:28:11He'd be giving this guy $5,

00:28:14this guy $10,

00:28:15this guy $100 like that.

00:28:17He was giving $100 just like a...

00:28:20No.

00:28:22Mistake.

00:28:22Remember, he came from a family

00:28:24that had to share to survive.

00:28:26So when he had money,

00:28:27he shared his money.

00:28:28Many people criticized him

00:28:30and probably said he was...

00:28:33There was your public Joe Lewis

00:28:35and there was your private Joe Lewis.

00:28:37The public Joe Lewis

00:28:38was the opposite of Jack Johnson.

00:28:40Privately, however,

00:28:41there were some things there

00:28:42that were very similar to Jack Johnson.

00:28:44It's amazing how many women

00:28:46he was able to have relationships with.

00:28:50Of course, girls were like leeches.

00:28:53Jill walked in the room

00:28:54and they were just hanging, clinging to him.

00:28:57He was colorblind with women.

00:28:59I told you, hey, yeah.

00:29:01A lot of turning.

00:29:02Lena Horne was another

00:29:03that he had a relationship with.

00:29:06And that was tough for my mother.

00:29:08God, that was so much.

00:29:10Some of the women were...

00:29:12They would walk right past her

00:29:14to get to Joe.

00:29:15Ignore her completely.

00:29:16Show her no respect.

00:29:18But I remember one time

00:29:19my mother asked my father

00:29:20to go out to get a loaf of bread

00:29:22and he went out to the store

00:29:23and he didn't come back

00:29:24for two weeks or so.

00:29:26Well, my father did return

00:29:28with the loaf of bread.

00:29:29I had a ring.

00:29:30I remember saying that ring.

00:29:32I said, how'd you get that ring?

00:29:33Your father gave it to me.

00:29:35And that was it.

00:29:37Hmm.

00:29:39After spending three months

00:29:40away from the ring,

00:29:41a refreshed Lewis aimed his sights

00:29:43at the heavyweight crown,

00:29:44then held by James Braddock.

00:29:47But to get a shot at Braddock,

00:29:48he'd have to stay unbeaten.

00:29:50The heart of a boxer

00:29:53has just a love

00:29:55in the fight

00:29:56for the victory

00:29:57all alone.

00:29:58Early summer of 1936,

00:30:01Lewis matched

00:30:02against another ex-champion,

00:30:04Max Schmelin,

00:30:05from Germany.

00:30:07Adolf Hitler

00:30:08came to power

00:30:09in January 1933.

00:30:11For most of America,

00:30:13Hitler's an eccentric,

00:30:16but is he a real threat?

00:30:18No, he's more

00:30:19of a comedic figure.

00:30:21He's more of a great

00:30:22dictator Charlie Chaplin figure.

00:30:24Say, what do you think

00:30:26of this fellow smelling?

00:30:28Well, Jack,

00:30:28you know he's a tough man,

00:30:30but you can bet

00:30:31that thing

00:30:32that he won't go

00:30:32over 15 rounds.

00:30:33Joe Lewis had weaknesses.

00:30:35He started to believe

00:30:36his own press clippings.

00:30:38He wasn't training.

00:30:39He was doing

00:30:39a little more golfing.

00:30:40Ed Sullivan

00:30:41introduced my father

00:30:42to golf.

00:30:44How did that turn out?

00:30:47Well, in 1936,

00:30:48instead of preparing

00:30:48for Max Schmelin,

00:30:49he was spending

00:30:50more time

00:30:50on the golf course.

00:30:55Not only did

00:30:56the overconfident

00:30:57Lewis under-train,

00:30:58but he violated

00:30:59the sport's

00:31:00unwritten rule

00:31:01about abstinence.

00:31:02He was in the

00:31:05Norwood Hotel.

00:31:07A chorus girl

00:31:08had a room

00:31:11and I heard

00:31:12that he was there.

00:31:13I said,

00:31:14but he's in training.

00:31:15He can't be there.

00:31:17I went up

00:31:18to fire escape

00:31:20and looked

00:31:21and I saw him.

00:31:25There he sat

00:31:26on the bed

00:31:26and they were laughing

00:31:27and I went through

00:31:29the door

00:31:29and I knocked

00:31:30on the door.

00:31:32He jumped up

00:31:33and I chased him

00:31:34out of the hotel

00:31:35and he got in the car

00:31:36and they went

00:31:36back to camp.

00:31:38There was a period

00:31:39when he was out of control.

00:31:40Hey Max,

00:31:41from watching

00:31:42Joe Lewis in action

00:31:43and in pictures,

00:31:44have you detected

00:31:45any particular weakness

00:31:46in the brown bomber?

00:31:47Yes, I did.

00:31:49Yes, I did.

00:31:49But I won't tell you.

00:31:50Whenever somebody

00:31:52asked him

00:31:53what gives you the belief

00:31:55that you can beat

00:31:56Joe Lewis,

00:31:57the answer

00:31:58was always the same.

00:32:01He told everybody

00:32:02I saw something.

00:32:04what he saw

00:32:05was that when

00:32:06Lewis threw his jab,

00:32:08he brought it back low.

00:32:10So what Schmeling felt

00:32:12is if I can get close enough,

00:32:14if I can time it,

00:32:16if I can withstand

00:32:17jabs to my face,

00:32:19I'm going to get my shot.

00:32:34His mom couldn't take

00:32:35the beating

00:32:39and my husband,

00:32:40Fred,

00:32:40had to take her home

00:32:41because she was just

00:32:43getting all hysterical.

00:32:44He was just getting

00:32:45a good whipping.

00:32:47Yeah.

00:32:54You could see

00:32:55a strange look

00:32:56on people's face.

00:33:01Sadness.

00:33:07There's a whole race

00:33:09going down.

00:33:15Lewis is down,

00:33:16hanging to the left,

00:33:18hanging to the left.

00:33:19He is the very

00:33:20highest holder.

00:33:21Oh God,

00:33:22let him hit that.

00:33:23Oh God.

00:33:24Please,

00:33:25don't hit him

00:33:25and hurt him.

00:33:27He is putting his arms,

00:33:28lifting his head,

00:33:30and now

00:33:30is done.

00:33:32The fight is over.

00:33:33The fight is over.

00:33:35And Schmeling

00:33:36is the winner.

00:33:37Miller

00:33:37is completely out.

00:33:39They have to look him

00:33:40and play him

00:33:41to the side.

00:33:4372 right hands.

00:33:4572

00:33:46right hands.

00:33:49He went for 12 rounds.

00:33:50He couldn't take it

00:33:51no longer.

00:33:52He let us all down.

00:33:54There was no doubt

00:33:55about it.

00:33:57Here was the guy

00:33:58who was the race hero.

00:33:59Here was the guy

00:34:00who represented

00:34:01the best hopes

00:34:02and aspirations

00:34:03and virtues

00:34:05of the race

00:34:05and he lost.

00:34:08He went home to Germany,

00:34:12the idol of a nation.

00:34:13After

00:34:15the first fight,

00:34:16he was a hero

00:34:17for sure

00:34:18because nobody,

00:34:20especially in Germany,

00:34:22really believes

00:34:23that he can

00:34:23beat

00:34:24Joe Louis.

00:34:26He was

00:34:26the best

00:34:27ambassador

00:34:28for

00:34:29this

00:34:30horrible

00:34:31government.

00:34:32He really wasn't

00:34:34a Nazi.

00:34:34Louis,

00:34:34on the other hand,

00:34:35now had to face

00:34:36his public failure.

00:34:38Joe was

00:34:38devastated.

00:34:39He was

00:34:40devastated.

00:34:41And my mother

00:34:42tells me stories

00:34:43of how literally

00:34:44he would walk

00:34:45in Harlem

00:34:46with a very

00:34:47down head

00:34:49and little

00:34:50black boys

00:34:51would walk up

00:34:51to him

00:34:51and whisper

00:34:52in his ear,

00:34:53Max Schmeling.

00:34:54Max Schmeling.

00:34:56The loss

00:34:57was a major

00:34:58setback

00:34:58to Louis'

00:34:59challenge

00:34:59for the title.

00:35:00It was now Schmeling

00:35:01and not Louis

00:35:02who got a shot

00:35:03at Braddock.

00:35:04I'm very happy

00:35:05to fight

00:35:06for the

00:35:06heavyweight championship

00:35:07again.

00:35:09And special

00:35:11And Braddock

00:35:12ducked him

00:35:14because

00:35:15they didn't want

00:35:16a Nazi

00:35:17to hold the title.

00:35:19He should have

00:35:19been the first

00:35:20two-time champion.

00:35:23Braddock

00:35:23fro

00:35:24Joe Louis'

00:35:25managers

00:35:26pulled some strings

00:35:27and got Braddock

00:35:27to fight Louis

00:35:28instead

00:35:28in 1937.

00:35:34I'm glad

00:35:35to fight

00:35:36to me,

00:35:36Braddock.

00:35:43But capitalizing

00:35:44on growing

00:35:45anti-German

00:35:46sentiment

00:35:46in America,

00:35:47Louis'

00:35:48promoter

00:35:48Mike Jacobs

00:35:49induced Braddock

00:35:50to call off

00:35:51the fight

00:35:51with Schmeling

00:35:52and give the

00:35:52match to

00:35:53Louis instead.

00:35:54Jacob starts

00:35:55to work

00:35:55to fight

00:35:56and he's

00:35:57going to

00:35:58Braddock

00:35:58and he's

00:35:58saying,

00:35:59Braddock,

00:35:59look,

00:36:00you're going

00:36:00to get

00:36:00a piece

00:36:01of Louis.

00:36:02The backroom

00:36:03geek

00:36:04had

00:36:05handsomely.

00:36:06Over the

00:36:06next 10

00:36:07years,

00:36:07he received

00:36:0810% of

00:36:09Jacobs' net

00:36:10profits

00:36:10from all

00:36:11of Louis'

00:36:11title fights.

00:36:13No one

00:36:13knows how

00:36:14much of

00:36:14Louis'

00:36:14cut was

00:36:15sacrificed

00:36:15in the

00:36:16process.

00:36:17But whatever

00:36:17the cost,

00:36:18Louis was

00:36:19now in

00:36:19line for

00:36:19the title.

00:36:21War is

00:36:21formally

00:36:21declared

00:36:22in Chicago

00:36:22between

00:36:23Jimmy Braddock

00:36:23on the

00:36:23left,

00:36:24world

00:36:24heavyweight

00:36:24champion,

00:36:25and Louis

00:36:25the brown

00:36:26bomber.

00:36:26With

00:36:27the tacit

00:36:27approval

00:36:28of much

00:36:28of white

00:36:28America,

00:36:29a black

00:36:30man,

00:36:30for the

00:36:31first time

00:36:31in 29

00:36:32years,

00:36:33was challenging

00:36:34for the

00:36:34heavyweight

00:36:34crown.

00:36:36For black

00:36:36America,

00:36:37it was a

00:36:37milestone

00:36:38moment,

00:36:39and Joe

00:36:39Louis was

00:36:40at the

00:36:40center of it.

00:36:41And now,

00:36:42here in

00:36:43Chicago,

00:36:43the heavyweight

00:36:44boxing title

00:36:44is at stake.

00:36:45Will Joe

00:36:46Louis walk

00:36:46out of the

00:36:47ring as

00:36:47heavyweight

00:36:47champion of

00:36:48the world?

00:36:48We'll soon

00:36:49know.

00:36:50The excitement

00:36:51raced through

00:36:51the 60,000

00:36:52fans at

00:36:53Comiskey Park.

00:36:54No one could

00:36:55wait to see

00:36:55who would

00:36:56land.

00:36:58Now it

00:36:58goes forward.

00:36:59Louis is

00:37:00rising hard.

00:37:00And Louis

00:37:01quips the

00:37:02foe.

00:37:02He went

00:37:03down.

00:37:03He stayed

00:37:04down.

00:37:05So he comes

00:37:06out early in

00:37:06the fight,

00:37:07and he drops

00:37:07Louis.

00:37:08And Louis

00:37:08wasn't hurt.

00:37:09In fact,

00:37:10he popped

00:37:10right back up.

00:37:11Jack Blackburn

00:37:11quipped,

00:37:12you're not going

00:37:13to fool the

00:37:14whole stadium

00:37:14into thinking

00:37:15you didn't

00:37:15just get

00:37:15knocked down.

00:37:16Stay down.

00:37:17Take your

00:37:17aid cut.

00:37:17Louis stepping

00:37:18out fast.

00:37:19Heavenly going

00:37:19to carry the

00:37:20pace about it.

00:37:21Making a

00:37:21chance on the

00:37:21youth against

00:37:22a...

00:37:22Slowly the

00:37:23fight turned.

00:37:24And literally,

00:37:25like most

00:37:25guys, he just

00:37:27battered

00:37:27Braddock down.

00:37:44Now Braddock

00:37:47going to carry

00:37:47and papers came

00:37:48out an hour

00:37:49after Joe

00:37:50Louis' fight.

00:37:51Tomorrow

00:37:52morning,

00:37:52it's paper

00:37:52extra,

00:37:53extra,

00:37:54extra,

00:37:54you know.

00:37:55Well,

00:37:56Americans

00:37:56celebrated,

00:37:57and they just

00:37:58loved the fact

00:37:58that all of a

00:37:59sudden,

00:37:59their champion

00:38:00was there.

00:38:01To see the

00:38:02picture of this

00:38:03gorgeous black

00:38:04man and this

00:38:06white boy down,

00:38:08whew,

00:38:09it was a

00:38:10vindication

00:38:12that we were

00:38:13the strongest

00:38:14people.

00:38:15Some black

00:38:16mother's son,

00:38:17some black

00:38:17father's son,

00:38:18was the

00:38:19strongest man

00:38:20in the world.

00:38:25But the

00:38:26unfortunate

00:38:26consequence is

00:38:27that my father

00:38:28had to share

00:38:29that title with

00:38:30him financially

00:38:31for the rest

00:38:32of his life.

00:38:33Well, Joe,

00:38:34how does it feel

00:38:34to wake up this

00:38:35morning, the

00:38:35heavyweight champion

00:38:36of the world?

00:38:37Oh, Joe,

00:38:38I felt fine.

00:38:39I felt like I

00:38:39can defend the

00:38:40next week sometime.

00:38:41Even though

00:38:42Lewis owned what

00:38:43was then the

00:38:43most coveted

00:38:44prize in sports,

00:38:45he couldn't

00:38:46completely revel

00:38:47in it.

00:38:48When I spoke

00:38:48with my father

00:38:49about that,

00:38:50there is no

00:38:51question that

00:38:52he did not

00:38:53feel internally

00:38:54that he was

00:38:55the heavyweight

00:38:56champion of the

00:38:56world when he

00:38:58defeated Braddock

00:38:58in 1937,

00:39:00because he still

00:39:01had this cloud

00:39:03of a defeat

00:39:05a year earlier

00:39:06over him.

00:39:10In May 1938,

00:39:12when Schmeling

00:39:13arrived in New

00:39:13York, Lewis

00:39:14had gotten

00:39:15his wish.

00:39:16With Mike Jacobs

00:39:17backing the deal,

00:39:18the two fighters

00:39:19signed a contract

00:39:19for their June

00:39:20rematch.

00:39:21Joe Lewis defends

00:39:22his world

00:39:23heavyweight championship

00:39:24against former

00:39:25title holder

00:39:26Max Schmeling,

00:39:26the only man

00:39:27who has ever

00:39:28defeated the champion.

00:39:29Lewis' take

00:39:30would be $350,000.

00:39:33Schmeling's

00:39:34would be half

00:39:34that.

00:39:35Almost immediately

00:39:36after the contracts

00:39:37were signed,

00:39:38this fight really

00:39:38turns into something

00:39:39political.

00:39:41U.S. recognition

00:39:42of the evils

00:39:44of Nazi Germany

00:39:44was very slow

00:39:45in coming.

00:39:46But Hitler's

00:39:48ambitions

00:39:48were becoming

00:39:50more noticeable.

00:39:51So the symbolism

00:39:53of Joe Lewis

00:39:54fighting a representative

00:39:57was not lost

00:39:58on the American

00:39:59public in 1938.

00:40:00It was probably

00:40:01the first time

00:40:01and the only time

00:40:02in the history

00:40:03of America

00:40:03that a black man

00:40:04ended up being

00:40:05a white ope.

00:40:07He'd become

00:40:08the great white ope.

00:40:09Why should I go

00:40:10to the rank

00:40:11gunshot

00:40:11when Schmeling's

00:40:13two years older

00:40:14and I'm two years

00:40:15smarter in boxing?

00:40:17Certainly we

00:40:19as a race of people

00:40:20needed someone

00:40:23to say that

00:40:24we could

00:40:25do something

00:40:27that white people

00:40:28held on a pedestal.

00:40:31White Americans

00:40:32accepted Joe Lewis

00:40:33as this sort of

00:40:34emblem of the United States

00:40:36of emblem of American

00:40:36democracy.

00:40:37Joe Lewis

00:40:38was the man.

00:40:42But in 1938

00:40:43Americans still did not

00:40:45speak with a single voice.

00:40:47I hate to say it

00:40:48but many of the white

00:40:49people in the south

00:40:50didn't want to see

00:40:52Joe Lewis went.

00:40:54Well Brooklyn

00:40:54the neighborhood

00:40:55that I lived in

00:40:56was practically

00:40:57all Jewish

00:40:58and we were all hoping

00:41:00and praying

00:41:00that Joe Lewis

00:41:03would kick the shit

00:41:04out of them.

00:41:06Hmm.

00:41:094,000 miles away

00:41:10Hitler's growing empire

00:41:12a 16-year-old boy

00:41:14had similar sentiments.

00:41:15As a witness

00:41:17to the Nazi invasion

00:41:19of Austria

00:41:19I recall of course

00:41:21very vividly

00:41:22the old city

00:41:23decorated with

00:41:25Nazi flags

00:41:26Nazis marching

00:41:27through the streets.

00:41:28To us

00:41:29Schmeling

00:41:30the representative

00:41:31of this Nazi

00:41:32Germany

00:41:33was the Goliath.

00:41:35Joe Lewis

00:41:36was the David.

00:41:38It was the biggest

00:41:39pre-fight buildup

00:41:41you ever heard.

00:41:42Thousands of people

00:41:43would come just

00:41:44to watch him spar.

00:41:45It was an

00:41:46international event.

00:41:48All of the hikes

00:41:49trained harder

00:41:51and focused more.

00:41:55Somebody asked

00:41:56him before the fight

00:41:57Joe how do you feel?

00:41:58Joe said

00:41:58man I'm scared.

00:42:00That's not what

00:42:01you want a boxer

00:42:02to say.

00:42:02What?

00:42:03I'm scared

00:42:04I'm going to kill him.

00:42:05He had more pressure

00:42:06than any fighter

00:42:08ever had in his life

00:42:09because he was

00:42:11scaring the country.

00:42:13Ordinarily

00:42:13a summer night

00:42:14in Harlem

00:42:15would have brought

00:42:16residents out

00:42:16on their stoops

00:42:17hoping for a cool breeze.

00:42:19But on June 22nd 1938

00:42:22every stoop in Harlem

00:42:23was empty.

00:42:25The streets were

00:42:26eerily quiet

00:42:26no cars

00:42:27it was like a scene

00:42:29after the Atterbahn

00:42:30you know

00:42:32and this was duplicated

00:42:34in every large city

00:42:35by the way.

00:42:36There's that one

00:42:36great cartoon

00:42:37the globe

00:42:39sitting on a ring

00:42:40looking at the fight

00:42:41and the entire world's

00:42:43focus was on this fight

00:42:44that's true.

00:42:45This fight

00:42:46was the biggest fight

00:42:47in the history

00:42:48of the world.

00:42:51There was a crackling

00:42:52atmosphere that night

00:42:53that's unlike anything

00:42:54you know

00:42:55no world series

00:42:56the 7th game

00:42:57of the world series

00:42:58nothing compared to that

00:43:00the electricity

00:43:01in the air.

00:43:02This is the feature

00:43:04attraction

00:43:0615 rounds

00:43:08on the world's

00:43:09heavyweight championship

00:43:1160 to 70 million

00:43:12people listen to it

00:43:14on the radio

00:43:14in America

00:43:15over 100 million

00:43:16worldwide.

00:43:18We were crowded

00:43:18around the radio

00:43:19it was like

00:43:21a magical

00:43:23something that was

00:43:24happening

00:43:25in our house

00:43:26and I still feel it

00:43:27today.

00:43:28On the rail we are

00:43:29and we got to the ring

00:43:31right together

00:43:31without the gentleman

00:43:32simple dang wrong

00:43:33and Joe Lewis

00:43:35is the son of the ring

00:43:36in the back

00:43:36going on

00:43:37Joe Lewis

00:43:38with two quick left

00:43:39to the pin.

00:43:40There was a difference

00:43:41in the analysis

00:43:42both.

00:43:43That night

00:43:44it sounded like

00:43:45they loved it

00:43:45sounded like

00:43:46he wasn't a nigger

00:43:47to them.

00:43:49Joe had become

00:43:50an American.

00:43:53Inside Yankee Stadium

00:43:54a cloud of expectation

00:43:56hung over the crowd

00:43:57of 80,000.

00:43:58Lewis hooked the left

00:44:00to Max's head

00:44:00quickly

00:44:01and took over

00:44:02hard right to Max's head

00:44:03Lewis a left to Max's

00:44:05jaw

00:44:05a right to his head

00:44:06flat

00:44:07took the hard

00:44:08right to Lewis

00:44:08Lewis with the all

00:44:10one goal.

00:44:10I'm in the second row

00:44:12and I could see

00:44:13their facial expressions

00:44:15and Schmeller was in fear

00:44:17right from the beginning.

00:44:19He realized that

00:44:20this is something else

00:44:21a different kind of cat

00:44:22than I had two years ago.

00:44:24Lewis missed it

00:44:25with a last-way

00:44:34Schmelling's head

00:44:34looked like he had

00:44:34a piercing scream

00:44:35and nobody had ever

00:44:36heard that

00:44:37from a ring.

00:44:38It was reported

00:44:39like a scream

00:44:40of a woman

00:44:41which isn't very nice

00:44:42about women.

00:44:43We could see that

00:44:44he was about to fall

00:44:45you know

00:44:46the crowd is just

00:44:47jumping up

00:44:47pushing him

00:44:48Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe.

00:44:55Schmelling's head

00:44:56looked like he had

00:44:57been hit with a pen

00:44:58in a Looney Tunes

00:45:01film.

00:45:03If that's how hard

00:45:04he was hit

00:45:05and he got up

00:45:07from it

00:45:08how hard was he hit

00:45:09when he didn't get up

00:45:10from it.

00:45:12I don't know.

00:45:28I don't know.

00:45:33I don't know.

00:45:34I don't know.

00:45:37The house just went crazy.

00:45:39You couldn't hear nothing.

00:45:41Joe stood there like

00:45:42what the hell happened?

00:45:44Mike Schmelling,

00:45:45he never thought

00:45:46that the fight

00:45:47will ending in this way

00:45:48and so fast.

00:45:49Absolutely no.

00:45:50He was the loneliest man

00:45:52on earth

00:45:53in this moment.

00:45:55That was the happiest

00:45:56moment in America

00:45:58when Schmelling

00:45:59could not

00:46:00get on his feet.

00:46:17I was 14 years old

00:46:19and our family

00:46:22had the only radio

00:46:23in the area.

00:46:24Some of our

00:46:25African-American neighbors

00:46:26came and asked my father

00:46:28if they could come

00:46:30and listen to the

00:46:31radio fight.

00:46:33So daddy thought

00:46:34there would be

00:46:35three or four of them

00:46:36but when the time

00:46:37for the fight came

00:46:38I would guess

00:46:39there were 40

00:46:40showed up.

00:46:41It was very interesting

00:46:42because the customs

00:46:44of the south

00:46:45then prevailed

00:46:46and there was not

00:46:48a sound

00:46:48out of the black

00:46:49listeners.

00:46:52Nothing.

00:46:53It was absolute quiet.

00:46:54We had to do this one.

00:46:56And then they walked

00:46:57across the railroad

00:46:59a couple hundred yards

00:47:00away

00:47:00and all hell

00:47:01broke loose.

00:47:02They celebrated

00:47:04all night long

00:47:06until early

00:47:07almost daylight.

00:47:09It was phenomenal

00:47:10to be black

00:47:11because Joe Louis

00:47:13was a hero

00:47:13of all the people

00:47:15but he was black

00:47:16like me.

00:47:18That was a

00:47:18defining moment

00:47:20in black history.

00:47:22It made us feel

00:47:23that as the

00:47:24superhero

00:47:25of the Nazis

00:47:26was overcome

00:47:27so in time

00:47:29the brutal regime

00:47:31of the Nazis

00:47:31would also

00:47:32be overcome.

00:47:34He sent a signal

00:47:35to the world

00:47:35that there's no such thing

00:47:36as this white

00:47:37Aryan race

00:47:38and all of a sudden

00:47:40Joe Louis transcended

00:47:41from a heavyweight champion

00:47:42to a true

00:47:43American hero.

00:47:49Tell the nation

00:47:50their story

00:47:51let's talk

00:47:52about the brown

00:48:12bummer

00:48:13because you had one

00:48:14common denominator

00:48:15and he won.

00:48:16He won

00:48:17and when he won

00:48:17you won.

00:48:19In Detroit

00:48:21in his hometown

00:48:22he was there

00:48:24he got rolls

00:48:26of toilet paper

00:48:26and went

00:48:27through the neighborhood

00:48:28throwing the toilet paper

00:48:30out

00:48:31screaming

00:48:31he won

00:48:33he won

00:48:34just

00:48:35playing

00:48:36joy.

00:48:38Black people

00:48:39were crazy.

00:48:41All those people

00:48:42I love

00:48:42crying

00:48:42laughing

00:48:43hollering

00:48:43screaming

00:48:44running

00:48:44jumping

00:48:45was the most

00:48:45uniting force

00:48:47I've ever seen

00:48:48in my life.

00:48:49There's something

00:48:50here

00:48:50there's some magic

00:48:51here.

00:48:52What is that

00:48:52magic

00:48:53and how can I

00:48:53get it?

00:48:56When we left

00:48:57Yankee Stadium

00:48:59you had to walk

00:49:00so far

00:49:00because of

00:49:01traffic

00:49:01for people.

00:49:02It was a party

00:49:03and it started

00:49:04in Harlem

00:49:05under 25th

00:49:06and 7th

00:49:07anyway.

00:49:09I was in the car

00:49:11inadvertently

00:49:12I got up

00:49:13at the wrong road

00:49:14and got into Harlem

00:49:16people were dancing

00:49:17and singing

00:49:18and of course

00:49:19they were drinking too

00:49:20and I had to stop

00:49:21for the light

00:49:22and a big black

00:49:24guy stuck his hand

00:49:25through the wind

00:49:26and grabbed me

00:49:26at the throat

00:49:27and said to me

00:49:28are you a schmilling man?

00:49:30I said no

00:49:31I'm all the way

00:49:31for Joe Lewis

00:49:32okay go ahead.

00:49:35I've interviewed people

00:49:36and they've told me

00:49:37you know

00:49:38white Americans

00:49:39saying you know

00:49:40Joe Lewis

00:49:40was the first

00:49:41black American

00:49:41that I felt

00:49:42something for

00:49:43that gave me

00:49:43a warm feeling

00:49:44that I cared about

00:49:45and that's the role

00:49:47Joe Lewis played.

00:49:48The story

00:49:48the deadest part

00:49:49about the ground

00:49:50down up

00:49:50Joe Lewis was a fighting man

00:50:01In the aftermath

00:50:02of the fight

00:50:03Schmeling was a disgraced man

00:50:05in the eyes of Germany

00:50:06no longer the darling

00:50:07of the Third Reich

00:50:08he was shipped off

00:50:10to the front lines

00:50:10as a paratrooper.

00:50:13He wasn't anymore

00:50:15at all a hero

00:50:16he was a loser

00:50:19Hitler couldn't use

00:50:20the loser

00:50:21especially against

00:50:22the black man

00:50:23Across the ocean

00:50:24Lewis was on top

00:50:26of the world

00:50:26he was perhaps

00:50:28the most recognizable

00:50:29man in America

00:50:30and he had

00:50:31godlike invincibility

00:50:32in the ring

00:50:37I think he was

00:50:38the best heavyweight

00:50:39of all time

00:50:39I think I'll leave

00:50:41giving him a hell

00:50:42of a fight

00:50:43but Ali couldn't

00:50:44hit quite as hard

00:50:46I think Lewis

00:50:47Ali hit nowhere

00:50:49near as hard

00:50:50but I will

00:50:51say that

00:50:52Ali could have

00:50:53beaten him

00:50:55Ali was the greatest

00:50:56heavyweight of all time

00:50:58Joe Lewis was

00:50:59the greatest heavyweight

00:51:00champion

00:51:00of all time

00:51:02there's a different

00:51:03thing

00:51:08He said his prime

00:51:10would have knocked

00:51:11Dempsey out

00:51:12without question

00:51:13He was a remarkable

00:51:16fighter

00:51:16Since becoming

00:51:17champ in 37

00:51:18Lewis had successfully

00:51:20defended his title

00:51:2118 straight times

00:51:23He'd made victims

00:51:24of such

00:51:25undistinguished

00:51:26contenders as

00:51:27Arturo

00:51:28Joe the Bomber

00:51:28Godoy

00:51:29Jack Eisemann

00:51:30of Zag Roper

00:51:31and two-ton

00:51:33Tony Galento

00:51:45The sportswriters

00:51:46of the day

00:51:47mockingly

00:51:48Nick's opponents

00:51:49the bum

00:51:50of the month club

00:51:51Lewis fought

00:51:52everyone who was

00:51:53out there

00:51:54It's not Lewis's fault

00:51:56he was so much

00:51:56better than they were

00:51:57but he was a real

00:51:58fighting champion

00:51:59I wanted to see

00:52:01Joe Lewis fight

00:52:02more than anything

00:52:02in the world

00:52:03but I'm working

00:52:04at this joint

00:52:05and I'm making

00:52:06100 and a quarter

00:52:07a week

00:52:09and I'm gonna take

00:52:1275 of that

00:52:13for a ringside seat

00:52:15I get the ticket

00:52:17in my hand

00:52:18and I'm walking

00:52:20in Yankee Stadium

00:52:22and I have to get

00:52:23to my seat

00:52:25for the bell

00:52:27I hear the bell

00:52:28and I hear

00:52:30ruffling and scuffling

00:52:31yeah go get him

00:52:32Joe

00:52:32his fight is ready

00:52:34and he's down

00:52:37watch down

00:52:38there can be no down

00:52:40I'm still walking

00:52:42how do you have

00:52:42a rising down

00:52:43when I'm walking

00:52:45there can be no down

00:52:50I'm holding my ticket

00:52:52stub

00:52:54$75

00:52:55Jesus Christ

00:52:56could have heard it

00:52:58on the radio

00:52:58right now

00:52:59in one seven month stretch

00:53:02$75 back then

00:53:03that's

00:53:06probably could have

00:53:07bought a car

00:53:08with that one

00:53:09I don't know

00:53:10fought seven times

00:53:11no one benefited

00:53:13more than his handlers

00:53:15I think

00:53:15Mike Jacobs

00:53:16could see

00:53:17the war

00:53:19on the horizon

00:53:20and I think

00:53:21Jacobs wanted to make

00:53:22as much money

00:53:23from Joe Lewis

00:53:24as possible

00:53:25one of the bums

00:53:27of the month

00:53:27who wasn't a bum

00:53:29was the great

00:53:30Pittsburgh fighter

00:53:32Billy Kahn

00:53:32well I feel fine

00:53:34I expect it to be

00:53:35a great fight

00:53:35Kahn was a

00:53:36175 pound

00:53:37light heavyweight champion

00:53:38moving up to

00:53:39challenge the

00:53:40unbeatable

00:53:41heavyweight champion

00:53:42nobody thought

00:53:43he could win

00:53:43maybe his mother

00:53:44he had figured out

00:53:45a way to outbox

00:53:46Lewis

00:53:46which he did

00:53:47you know he kind of

00:53:48led Lewis around

00:53:49the ring

00:53:50it was almost like

00:53:51a bull in the matador

00:53:52after 12 rounds

00:53:54Kahn was on the verge

00:53:55of dethroning the champ

00:53:56he had followed

00:53:58his plan

00:53:58to hit and run

00:54:00but Lewis was about

00:54:01to make good

00:54:02on his one famous

00:54:03prediction

00:54:03that Kahn would run

00:54:05but he couldn't hide

00:54:07Lewis

00:54:07he saw his opening

00:54:09he got it

00:54:09he finished Kahn off

00:54:11and Kahn's defeated

00:54:14Kahn later told

00:54:15said to Lewis

00:54:16Joe you know

00:54:17why didn't you

00:54:18just let me beat you

00:54:19and then you know

00:54:20we would have fought

00:54:20six months later

00:54:21and he could have

00:54:22won the title back

00:54:23and Lewis said

00:54:24he couldn't keep

00:54:25the title for 13 rounds

00:54:27what makes you think

00:54:27he could have kept it

00:54:28for six months

00:54:37we interrupt this program

00:54:38to bring you

00:54:39a special news bulletin

00:54:41the White House

00:54:42has just announced

00:54:42that the Japanese

00:54:44are attacking military

00:54:45and naval establishments

00:54:46on the island of Oahu

00:54:47Lewis's first sentence

00:54:48is how can I help

00:54:50my country

00:54:50and what he decides

00:54:51is to fight two fights

00:54:52and donate his entire purse

00:54:55you know

00:54:56for two fights

00:54:57over $100,000

00:54:58to relief funds

00:55:00well I'm not waiting

00:55:01for nothing

00:55:02I'm waiting for my country

00:55:03and I think

00:55:03that might create

00:55:04this piece of work

00:55:04that anybody can do

00:55:05this is at a time

00:55:07where the Secretary of War

00:55:08Henry Stimson

00:55:10refuses to integrate

00:55:11to armed forces

00:55:12nonetheless

00:55:13Lewis gave up

00:55:14four years of his crime

00:55:15along with $100,000

00:55:17purses

00:55:18in exchange

00:55:19for a soldier's pay

00:55:20of $21 a month

00:55:22what's your occupation?

00:55:24fight him

00:55:25and let's get at them jobs

00:55:26he enlisted January 10th

00:55:291942

00:55:31he went into

00:55:32the entertainment division

00:55:33I mean there wasn't

00:55:34any real intention

00:55:35of seeing him

00:55:35out on the front lines

00:55:36he was somebody

00:55:37who was there

00:55:38for morale purposes

00:55:40one of the most famous lines

00:55:42one liners

00:55:42for Joe Lewis

00:55:43was when he was

00:55:44raising money

00:55:45for the war effort

00:55:47and I think the words

00:55:48were we're gonna win

00:55:49because we're on God's side

00:55:50everyone said

00:55:51no he got it wrong

00:55:52we're gonna win

00:55:53because God's on our side

00:55:54we're gonna do our part

00:55:55and we will win

00:55:57because we are on God's side

00:55:59his PR guy

00:56:01felt he flubbed the line

00:56:02and the next day

00:56:04you know headlines

00:56:05in the New York papers

00:56:06and my father walks into

00:56:08his big PR guy

00:56:10and drops the papers

00:56:11on it says

00:56:11so got the line wrong

00:56:13huh?

00:56:14Lewis's dedication

00:56:15to his country

00:56:15and to the cause

00:56:17has to be seen

00:56:18as ironic

00:56:19I mean because

00:56:19they haven't done

00:56:21anything for him

00:56:21to exclude him

00:56:23and segregate him

00:56:24he's one of the first

00:56:25ones in law

00:56:26it's almost sad

00:56:27that he was that naive

00:56:28first of all

00:56:29being used by the army

00:56:31didn't go well

00:56:32with blacks

00:56:33and he came to grips

00:56:35with that

00:56:35you know

00:56:36that we were in

00:56:37a big war

00:56:38with Hitler

00:56:39and Hitler

00:56:40ain't gonna fix things

00:56:41you know

00:56:42Joe was fully aware

00:56:44of the fact

00:56:44he was being used

00:56:45by the way

00:56:46what Lewis is doing

00:56:47is not so contradictory

00:56:49as it might seem

00:56:50in some ways

00:56:51it's really

00:56:51it works in the favor

00:56:53of black people

00:56:53that he's become

00:56:54this image of patriotism

00:56:56the army exposed Lewis

00:56:58to the military's

00:56:58double standard

00:56:59he didn't like

00:57:01what he saw

00:57:02soft spoken

00:57:03though he was

00:57:04he made his feelings

00:57:05known

00:57:06suddenly Joe Lewis

00:57:08finds his voice

00:57:10he doesn't attend

00:57:11anti-segregation

00:57:13lobbies

00:57:14but he communicates

00:57:16with Truman Gibson

00:57:16Truman Gibson

00:57:18was an African-American

00:57:19who worked

00:57:20in the war department

00:57:21in a job

00:57:22called civilian aid

00:57:23this was a job

00:57:24that was created

00:57:25in 1941

00:57:26to help

00:57:27with African-Americans

00:57:29in the service

00:57:30so Joe Lewis

00:57:31was a real inspiration

00:57:33for many black soldiers

00:57:34during the war

00:57:35he was treated

00:57:36like a hero

00:57:37like a god

00:57:38when he would come

00:57:38and these soldiers

00:57:39would see him

00:57:40and crowd around him

00:57:41and everything

00:57:41but the other thing

00:57:42the soldiers did

00:57:43they would complain

00:57:44to him

00:57:44about their condition

00:57:46about the racist conditions

00:57:48he'd pick up the phone

00:57:49and he said

00:57:50it's not right down here

00:57:51Truman

00:57:51get it fixed

00:57:52and the next thing you know

00:57:53that general

00:57:54on that base

00:57:55would get a phone call

00:57:55from Washington

00:57:56and whatever was wrong

00:57:57got it fixed

00:57:58I'm glad to be here

00:57:59and I hope everybody

00:58:00in charge of the exhibition

00:58:01and I hope to put on more

00:58:03in our McCann

00:58:04Lewis visited bases

00:58:05around the world

00:58:06happily staging exhibitions

00:58:08as long as the gates

00:58:09were open to all troops

00:58:12there were stories out there

00:58:13that they were not

00:58:15going to let the black servicemen

00:58:16come to the exhibitions

00:58:17he said

00:58:18I'm not going to sit here

00:58:20and entertain only the white troops

00:58:21when we've got a bunch

00:58:22of black troops

00:58:23who want to be entertained

00:58:24by the end of the war

00:58:26Joe Lewis had visited

00:58:28more than 5 million servicemen

00:58:29General Eisenhower

00:58:31informs me

00:58:32that the forces of Germany

00:58:34have surrendered

00:58:35to the United Nations

00:58:38Americans celebrated

00:58:39the end of the war

00:58:40and then went back

00:58:41to civilian life

00:58:42for Lewis

00:58:43the transition

00:58:44was especially difficult

00:58:46gone were his

00:58:47boxing confidants

00:58:48Jack Blackburn

00:58:49trainer Jack Blackburn

00:58:50had died of a heart attack

00:58:51manager John Roxborough

00:58:53was sent to prison

00:58:54on gambling charges

00:58:56really?

00:58:57the life Lewis had led

00:58:58before the war

00:58:58was gone forever

00:59:00World War II

00:59:01did several things

00:59:02to Joe's career

00:59:03and nearly all of them

00:59:04were not good

00:59:05Joe Lewis's financial state

00:59:07is horrible

00:59:07there's no question

00:59:08that when my father

00:59:09was in the war

00:59:10he continued to spend

00:59:12at the same rate

00:59:13that he did

00:59:14when he was fighting

00:59:15he owes $250,000

00:59:17to Mike Jacobs

00:59:19because he's been

00:59:20borrowing from Mike Jacobs

00:59:22all during the war

00:59:23because he can't fight

00:59:24so while white America

00:59:27was treated to this

00:59:28public image

00:59:29of Joe Lewis

00:59:30as a happily married man

00:59:32who was saving his money

00:59:33and who was wealthy

00:59:34the reality was

00:59:35that he was spending it

00:59:37on things like

00:59:38bus tours

00:59:39for its softball team

00:59:41supporting friends

00:59:42family, women

00:59:43everywhere

00:59:43he just spent money

00:59:45like water

00:59:45once the war ended

00:59:47Lewis had outlived

00:59:48his usefulness

00:59:49to the country

00:59:50in an act of cruel irony

00:59:52the very government

00:59:54that had made him

00:59:54a symbol of American democracy

00:59:56now hounded him

00:59:57for tens of thousands

00:59:59of dollars

00:59:59in back taxes

01:00:01the only thing

01:00:02more regrettable

01:00:03than Lewis's naivete

01:00:04was the bad advice

01:00:06he'd received

01:00:07he would buy

01:00:08tons of tickets

01:00:09for servicemen

01:00:10to attend

01:00:11his exhibitions

01:00:12and his accountants

01:00:14would deduct that

01:00:15the IRS

01:00:15wouldn't allow that

01:00:17and they ran the meter

01:00:19while they were negotiating

01:00:20and my father

01:00:22had this huge tax debt

01:00:23when he was trying

01:00:25to do a legitimate

01:00:27wonderful thing

01:00:28for the servicemen

01:00:29in this country

01:00:30he thought

01:00:31that he could come out

01:00:32of World War II

01:00:32and resume his ordinary lifestyle

01:00:34and things would be fine

01:00:35the reality was

01:00:36the minute he got out

01:00:37of the army

01:00:38he was done financially

01:00:40by his own calculations

01:00:41Lewis was in debt

01:00:43to the government

01:00:43for close to $100,000

01:00:46his marriage

01:00:46to Marva Trotter

01:00:47was also in ruins

01:00:49and after the birth

01:00:50of their daughter

01:00:51Jackie in 1943

01:00:52and their son

01:00:53Joe Jr.

01:00:53four years later

01:00:54they split up for good

01:00:56my parents were divorced

01:00:57when I was quite young

01:00:59so I really didn't understand

01:01:01who Joe Lewis was

01:01:02what was very frustrating

01:01:04is that when Daddy Joe

01:01:05came back

01:01:06and he would take us out

01:01:08to lunch or dinner

01:01:09in a public setting

01:01:10how we lost our private moment

01:01:13with Joe Lewis

01:01:14and here we are

01:01:15two little kids

01:01:16trying to be with the champ

01:01:18and we had no privacy

01:01:19and it was very disconcerting

01:01:22for us as young kids

01:01:23and I'm probably

01:01:24a little disconcerting now

01:01:26New York Boxing Commissioner

01:01:32Eddie Egan

01:01:33to sign for their

01:01:34world heavyweight title fight

01:01:35His battle with the IRS

01:01:37heating up

01:01:38Lewis emerged

01:01:39from World War II

01:01:40still the heavyweight champion

01:01:42in his first post-war defense

01:01:44he knocked out Billy Kahn

01:01:46in a celebrated rematch

01:01:54The fight earned Lewis

01:01:55his biggest payday

01:01:57$625,000

01:01:59but after paying off

01:02:01old debts

01:02:01he was left with less

01:02:03than $100,000

01:02:04before taxes

01:02:06he was in a terrible bind

01:02:08he couldn't retire

01:02:09and he couldn't pay back

01:02:11the government

01:02:11which was now taxing

01:02:12his income

01:02:13at 90%

01:02:14How long do you plan

01:02:16to continue fighting Joe?

01:02:18Well I don't know

01:02:19last night I felt

01:02:20just as sharp as ever

01:02:21and I'll be fighting

01:02:22for a long time

01:02:26Lewis won his next

01:02:29three defenses

01:02:31including a controversial

01:02:32decision

01:02:33over Jersey Joe Wolcott

01:02:34The winner

01:02:36by majority vote

01:02:38and still the heavyweight champion

01:02:41of the world

01:02:42Joe Lewis

01:02:44Lewis knocked out Wolcott

01:02:46in the rematch

01:02:47and then called it quits

01:02:49Well I'd like to say

01:02:50again that I'll retire

01:02:52tonight with my last fight

01:02:53and thank you very much

01:02:55But Lewis couldn't stay away

01:02:57and a year and a half later

01:02:59he was back in the ring

01:03:01With money where he's looming

01:03:02he needed to keep fighting

01:03:05in 1950

01:03:06having relinquished

01:03:07his title by retiring

01:03:08Look how much he aged

01:03:10Look at his bald spot

01:03:12that he got

01:03:12at the ripe old age

01:03:14of 32

01:03:15and now he's 36

01:03:16Look at his bald spot

01:03:19Thanks

01:03:20He fought Ezra Charles

01:03:22and for the first time

01:03:24in 13 years

01:03:25entered a boxing ring

01:03:26as a challenger

01:03:31In being outpointed

01:03:32by Charles

01:03:33Lewis

01:03:34Lewis lost his first fight

01:03:35in 14 years

01:03:36At 36

01:03:38attempting a

01:03:39Ezra Charles would have been

01:03:40a tough fight for Lewis

01:03:41even at his peak

01:03:44Past his prime

01:03:45Lewis had

01:03:45no chance

01:03:47Come back after retiring

01:03:49Joe Lewis finally bows in defeat

01:03:51After the loss to Charles

01:03:53Lewis could no longer count

01:03:55on big paydays

01:03:56And so with his debt

01:03:58to the IRS

01:03:58at half a million dollars

01:04:00he took on a succession

01:04:01of journeymen

01:04:02getting fights

01:04:03wherever he could

01:04:11And now he's

01:04:12fighting

01:04:13in a

01:04:14little smoky arena

01:04:16against somebody

01:04:17who would have

01:04:18knocked out in two rounds

01:04:19and for

01:04:19comparative peanuts

01:04:21How do you cut

01:04:23to grips with that

01:04:24you know

01:04:24I absolutely

01:04:26hated

01:04:27seeing him

01:04:29have to fight

01:04:31on

01:04:32his reputation

01:04:33This

01:04:35So much

01:04:36for me

01:04:38spiritually

01:04:39Give me

01:04:41confidence

01:04:42and hope

01:04:43It was not a good time

01:04:45for me

01:04:46watching

01:04:47Joe Lewis

01:04:47In 1951

01:04:49After exhausting

01:04:50himself

01:04:51with seven fights

01:04:52in eight months

01:04:53Lewis accepted

01:04:54an offer

01:04:55of $132,000

01:04:56and fight

01:04:58rising heavyweight

01:04:59Rocky Marciano

01:05:01I remember

01:05:02specifically

01:05:03talking to my father

01:05:04when he came to Chicago

01:05:05and I said

01:05:06why are you fighting again

01:05:07He says

01:05:07I have to

01:05:08I said

01:05:09well is it your last fight

01:05:10He says

01:05:10yes it's my last fight

01:05:12By all rights

01:05:13Lewis had earned

01:05:14his retirement

01:05:16His championship reign

01:05:17had been remarkable

01:05:18He'd held the title

01:05:19for 11 years

01:05:20and 10 months

01:05:21and made 25

01:05:23successful defenses

01:05:24a record unlikely

01:05:25to ever fall

01:05:26He'd made

01:05:285 million dollars

01:05:29in purses

01:05:30and now

01:05:31It gets

01:05:33unlikelier

01:05:33and unlikelier

01:05:34to be broken

01:05:35as we go on

01:05:36and boxers have

01:05:37less and less fights

01:05:3825 title defenses

01:05:42Guys retire

01:05:43with 25 matches

01:05:44in their entire career

01:05:45and we're judging

01:05:47if they're a hall of famer

01:05:48or not

01:05:5025 title offenses

01:05:52At 37

01:05:53hoped he'd have enough left

01:05:55to fend off

01:05:56his much younger opponent

01:05:58I'm in good shape

01:06:00for this fight

01:06:00and I hope I come through

01:06:01all right

01:06:02Rocky was torn

01:06:03between fighting

01:06:05He hopes

01:06:06Joe comes through

01:06:07all right

01:06:08Joe Lewis

01:06:09who was his idol

01:06:11but Joe Lewis

01:06:12was the fight

01:06:13that he had to get through

01:06:14in order to get a match

01:06:15with Jersey Joe Walcott

01:06:17who was the champion

01:06:19The crowd that night

01:06:20was pro-Joe Lewis

01:06:22You're talking about

01:06:23an icon

01:06:24an idol

01:06:26I was sitting in the audience

01:06:27and here's my brother

01:06:28in the ring

01:06:29and I felt for Joe Lewis

01:06:31Rocky felt for Joe Lewis

01:06:33Lewis backing away

01:06:34with the match again

01:06:35Fending the left there

01:06:36Marziano going into a cross

01:06:38The first knockdown

01:06:43occurred

01:06:43with a left bang

01:06:46Lewis went down

01:06:47He goes

01:06:47Lewis with a right to the head

01:06:49A left to the body

01:06:50A left to the body

01:06:52Lewis has gone over

01:06:53Lewis has gone over

01:06:54Lewis has gone out

01:06:55Lewis has gone out

01:06:55Lewis has gone over

01:06:57Ruby goes

01:06:58and he's stopping the fight

01:06:59Rocky Marziano

01:07:01as the winner

01:07:02is high above count

01:07:03The reaction of the crowd

01:07:05when Joe Lewis

01:07:06got knocked out

01:07:07it was almost like

01:07:08a bit of a silence

01:07:10like almost a quiet

01:07:12respect for the

01:07:14for the great Joe Lewis

01:07:19That was a sad night

01:07:20for boxing

01:07:21because it was

01:07:22the end of an era

01:07:22that dominated

01:07:23you know

01:07:24so much of American life

01:07:26you know

01:07:27that final

01:07:28final moment

01:07:29when his father

01:07:30has been knowing

01:07:31knocked down

01:07:32and knocked out

01:07:32by Marziano

01:07:33but he was actually

01:07:34knocked through the ropes

01:07:35by Marziano

01:07:36and you see that

01:07:37last sort of

01:07:38hanging pose

01:07:39of Joe Lewis

01:07:40you know

01:07:41that it's clearly

01:07:41unequivocally

01:07:42the end of the

01:07:43Joe Lewis era

01:07:50Lewis took his

01:07:51final defeat

01:07:53disgraceful

01:07:54it

01:07:58there was

01:07:59not a dry eye

01:08:00in that place

01:08:02as it's described

01:08:05in stride

01:08:08he knew it was

01:08:09time to move on

01:08:10and he did

01:08:11this time

01:08:12to the golf course

01:08:13as a competitive

01:08:14amateur

01:08:15where he soon

01:08:15found himself

01:08:16squaring off

01:08:17against the PGA

01:08:18in 1952

01:08:20Joe Lewis

01:08:21and several

01:08:22other black players

01:08:23wanted to play

01:08:24in the

01:08:25San Diego Open

01:08:27the local sponsors

01:08:28of the San Diego Open

01:08:30invited the heavyweight champion

01:08:31of the world

01:08:32to play

01:08:33in a PGA Tour event

01:08:34they didn't realize

01:08:36that there was

01:08:36a non-Caucasian rule

01:08:37so my father said

01:08:39oops

01:08:40I'm going to let them

01:08:41tell me to my face

01:08:42they were told

01:08:43by Horton Smith

01:08:44who was the president

01:08:46of the PGA of America

01:08:47that they could not play

01:08:49it's indeed unfortunate

01:08:51that certain

01:08:53misunderstandings

01:08:54developed in connection

01:08:55with the 1952

01:08:58PGA Coast

01:08:59sponsored San Diego

01:09:01Invitational Open Golf Tournament

01:09:03Joe Lewis called

01:09:05Horton Smith

01:09:06another Hitler

01:09:07he raised such a fuss

01:09:09about it

01:09:10that it caught the attention

01:09:11of Walter Winchell

01:09:13the great

01:09:14American broadcaster

01:09:15because of Walter Winchell's report

01:09:18a committee of the PGA

01:09:20of America

01:09:20met

01:09:21and they came up

01:09:23with a compromise

01:09:23they allowed

01:09:25African Americans

01:09:27and other minorities

01:09:27to qualify

01:09:28so in 1952

01:09:30Joe Lewis became

01:09:31the first African American

01:09:33to participate

01:09:34in a PGA sanctioned event

01:09:37groundbreaking

01:09:39believe me

01:09:39in many ways

01:09:40a few days later

01:09:42Lewis and seven other blacks

01:09:44including golfing great

01:09:45Charlie Siffman

01:09:46were given the opportunity

01:09:48to qualify

01:09:49for the Phoenix Open

01:09:50the first hole

01:09:51Charlie Siffman

01:09:52went to tend the flag

01:09:54he looks down in the hole

01:09:56and the hole

01:09:57is filled

01:09:59with human

01:10:00extra

01:10:02I can't imagine

01:10:03what Joe Lewis

01:10:04must have felt

01:10:05being treated

01:10:06in such a demeaning way

01:10:09Joe Lewis

01:10:10as far as I'm concerned

01:10:11will always be remembered

01:10:12as a guy

01:10:13who opened the door

01:10:14and served as an example

01:10:16to lead others

01:10:17through that door

01:10:22champion of the world

01:10:23Joe Lewis

01:10:30by the mid-fifties

01:10:31Lewis' debt

01:10:32to the IRS

01:10:33had ballooned

01:10:34to a million dollars

01:10:35Joe it's getting off

01:10:36the coast of April 15th

01:10:39you've had some income tax

01:10:40so how are you getting along

01:10:42well

01:10:44on my

01:10:45president's tax

01:10:46I'm getting along good

01:10:47so it's a back tax

01:10:48but I'm not doing so good

01:10:50he's got to make money

01:10:53without fighting

01:10:56dance

01:11:01he's forced to really

01:11:03gain money

01:11:04through the only thing

01:11:05that's left

01:11:06and that is his name

01:11:07hey booby

01:11:08bye-ba-do-do-do

01:11:09bye-ba-do-do

01:11:11come on

01:11:12turn Joe

01:11:12you're supposed to turn

01:11:14with me

01:11:14come on

01:11:15turn Joe

01:11:17now you got to turn

01:11:18turn Joe

01:11:19you got to turn sometimes

01:11:21uh-huh

01:11:24Joe

01:11:24Lewis never had

01:11:25the greatest footwork

01:11:26he used to shuffle

01:11:28on the ring

01:11:29that's when he was young

01:11:31I don't know why

01:11:32he was tap dancing

01:11:39Lewis hawked everything

01:11:41from cigarettes

01:11:41to liquor

01:11:42even his own

01:11:43stage show

01:11:44but a natural born

01:11:46salesman

01:11:46he wasn't

01:11:47they come out

01:11:48with this

01:11:48Joe Louis punch

01:11:50and it was like

01:11:51a nice

01:11:52punchy drink

01:11:53and they went

01:11:54interviewing Joe

01:11:55and they asked him

01:11:55what was his

01:11:56favorite drink

01:11:57and he said

01:11:58coca-cola

01:12:00and they said

01:12:01cut

01:12:09he had to do

01:12:10so many

01:12:11things

01:12:12that would have

01:12:13broken down

01:12:14anyone else

01:12:15I mean

01:12:15a champion of the world

01:12:17like him

01:12:18turned to wrestling

01:12:24he was very dignified

01:12:30don't don't

01:12:31you're lucky

01:12:32Lutez was

01:12:33was dead

01:12:34when this came out

01:12:34cause

01:12:36we would have put a hold on him

01:12:38this was treated

01:12:39as a legitimate sport

01:12:41the wrestling game

01:12:42it was sad

01:12:43that was the only way

01:12:45he could generate money

01:12:46to pay back the government

01:12:48after 10 minutes

01:12:49of tugging

01:12:50hauling and poking

01:12:51a right forearm smash

01:12:52sends Lee

01:12:53out of the ring

01:12:53I can't imagine

01:12:55in any way

01:12:55shape or form

01:12:56that it wasn't

01:12:57humiliating to him

01:12:59or demeaning to him

01:13:01but

01:13:01Joe Louis did it

01:13:03and he did it

01:13:04because he

01:13:05had an obligation

01:13:06it was horrible

01:13:07the media

01:13:09crucified him

01:13:10Joe

01:13:11there has been

01:13:12quite a bit of

01:13:13criticism about it

01:13:14in the newspapers

01:13:15I know that you have read it

01:13:16and I'd like to know

01:13:17how you feel about it

01:13:18no don't everyone

01:13:19agree with my idea

01:13:21of what I've done

01:13:21but I'm sure that

01:13:23that more people

01:13:24do agree with me

01:13:25than the one who's done

01:13:26when I asked

01:13:29Joe

01:13:30how do you feel

01:13:31the way they're talking

01:13:32about you

01:13:33being a wrestler

01:13:34after you haven't been

01:13:35such a great

01:13:35heavyweight champion

01:13:36of the world

01:13:37he said

01:13:38daddy

01:13:38it beats stealing

01:13:42my father was involved

01:13:43in a promotion

01:13:44of wrestling

01:13:44at the Olympia Stadium

01:13:46the old Olympia

01:13:50the guest referee

01:13:52and I remember

01:13:53going in the dressing room

01:13:54doing the preliminaries

01:13:55and my father

01:13:56induced me to him

01:13:57and then all of a sudden

01:13:59one of the people

01:14:00came up from the box office

01:14:02and did a little whispering

01:14:04and then

01:14:04my father walked up to Joe

01:14:06and said that

01:14:07the IRS

01:14:09had just raided

01:14:10the box office

01:14:11and they

01:14:11wanted your purse

01:14:13for back taxes

01:14:15put his head down

01:14:16and kind of

01:14:17teared up in his eyes

01:14:19and

01:14:19he was stunned

01:14:21he wasn't running

01:14:22from his debt

01:14:23he was just trying

01:14:24to deal with it

01:14:24in a civil fashion

01:14:26in a responsible way

01:14:27and they just

01:14:28dogged him

01:14:29to his

01:14:31forever

01:14:31everything that Joe

01:14:32Lewis did do

01:14:33during the war

01:14:34all his patriotic

01:14:35the things he did

01:14:36for his country

01:14:37you know

01:14:38they were not

01:14:39those things

01:14:39were not remembered

01:14:40when the IRS

01:14:41came looking

01:14:42for their money

01:14:42he had set up

01:14:44a trust fund

01:14:44for my sister

01:14:45and for me

01:14:47and

01:14:48the IRS

01:14:49came back

01:14:50and took

01:14:50the trust funds

01:14:51from us

01:14:52I just think

01:14:52they wanted

01:14:53to rein him in

01:14:54and basically say

01:14:55you still are

01:14:55under our thumb

01:14:56boy

01:14:57the government

01:14:58had a wonderful

01:14:59game they were playing

01:15:01let's get Joe

01:15:02Lewis this week

01:15:03it was constant

01:15:06it's the former

01:15:07heavyweight champion

01:15:08of the world

01:15:09and his wife

01:15:09Dennis

01:15:10whose dream

01:15:10is to pay off

01:15:11a debt

01:15:11to Uncle Sam

01:15:12from Chicago

01:15:13Illinois

01:15:13Mr. and Mrs.

01:15:14Joe Lewis

01:15:18the spectacle

01:15:19of Lewis's

01:15:20downfall

01:15:20continued

01:15:21in 1956

01:15:22he and his

01:15:24second wife

01:15:24Rose Morgan

01:15:25went on the

01:15:26TV game show

01:15:27High Finance

01:15:27and won

01:15:28$60,000

01:15:30Lewis's half

01:15:31went straight

01:15:32to the IRS

01:15:33Joe Lewis

01:15:35tonight

01:15:35this is

01:15:36your life

01:15:38how are you

01:15:41I won that one

01:15:42on June

01:15:4319, 1936

01:15:45at Trennestilium

01:15:46in New York

01:15:46yes he's here

01:15:48Joe himself

01:15:48a former world

01:15:49heavyweight champion

01:15:50from Hamburg

01:15:51Germany

01:15:51the back

01:15:52you're out of the ring

01:15:53Max Schmeling

01:15:57the greatest tragedy

01:15:59is what happened to Lewis

01:16:01and what happened to Max Schmeling

01:16:02and an Atlanta based

01:16:04southern corporation

01:16:07Coca-Cola

01:16:09needs a distributors

01:16:10in post-war Germany

01:16:12and Max's town

01:16:14America will make

01:16:15Schmeling

01:16:16a white German

01:16:17with ties to the Nazi party

01:16:20a millionaire

01:16:21and Joe Lewis

01:16:22who was the symbol

01:16:24of democracy

01:16:25will end up

01:16:27with nothing

01:16:29decency

01:16:30fear play

01:16:31a nice person

01:16:35a hell of a professional

01:16:37and a guy

01:16:38to get screwed

01:16:38by the United States

01:16:39of America

01:16:40hey

01:16:41here's Joe Lewis

01:16:44in the early 60s

01:16:46Lewis's money troubles

01:16:47abated somewhat

01:16:48after ending

01:16:50his marriage

01:16:50to Rose Morgan

01:16:51he wed

01:16:56Martha

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