More Than A Fight: Max Schmeling Vs Joe Louis II

By BJ “Warhammer” Proctor

The year was 1938, June 22nd to be exact and the world had gathered to watch a showcase like no other. After this event was over the ramifications would reverberate for years to come. People would dance in the streets, night clubs would empty, their bands playing jubilantly till the wee hours of the morning. This event would undoubtedly go down in history; all others would pale in comparison to its significance. This magnificent grandstand would last a mere 124 seconds, over as fast as it had begun. Yet those who were in attendance and especially those listening intently by their radio felt they had received everything they were promised and more. So how can an event with such a short lifespan affect those present and have ramifications the world over? To understand this you must first understand the significance of the event and the history surrounding it.

Joe “The Brown Bomber” Louis, Max Schmeling, the rematch. Two years earlier, June 19, 1936 Max Schmeling had defeated Joe Louis with a resounding 12th round KO. Two years later, and much had changed not only for both fighters, but for the world.

June 22, 1937 Joe Louis became the first African American Heavyweight champ since Jack Johnson. Defeating James J Braddock, whom he knocked out in the 8th round. Joe Louis refused to accept being called champ, letting it be known that until he avenged his loss to Schmeling he would not like to be called the heavyweight champion.

Max Schmeling would go on to win his next three bouts, but despite defeating Louis, it would be Louis who would receive the shot at the world championship. Max Schmeling would gain far more recognition, and some might say infamy as the symbol of Nazi Germany and what they considered the perfect Aryan specimen.

1935 saw Adolf Hitler rise to power in Germany and begin his persecution of Jews, in what would later be known as the Holocaust. By the time of the rematch, Germany had begun to assert itself as a threat to not only the Jews, but to the world itself. Doing everything in their power to spread fascism and promote Aryan dominance.

By 1938, with the world at the brink of war, and African Americans still viewed as inferior in their own country, this fight, this sporting event had many deep seeded meanings to so many people.

Louis becoming champion was a beacon of hope not only for black Americans, but slowly started to change the view of blacks in the country in general. If nothing else Louis gave people a reason and an opportunity to change.

As quoted by the New York Times, a few weeks before the fight Joe Louis visited the President. Franklin D. Roosevelt. FDR told Louis “Joe, we need muscles like yours to beat Germany.” Joe Louis himself understood the importance of a victory as well, stating in his 1976 biography, “I knew I had to get Schmeling good. I had my own reasons and the whole damned country was depending on me.”

70,043 people jam packed Yankee Stadium, while an estimated 70 million people listened to Clem McCarthy’s call of the fight on the radio, as they had 2 years prior. Ferdie Pacheco, boxing analyst would perfectly describe how important a role McCarthy would play. “In the radio days, Clem McCarthy’s eyes were the only eyes you had. He…never stumbled for a word…there was no pause in the fight. It was just a right and a left and a right—and this ripping sound of his voice.”

Once the bell rang Joe Louis took the center of the ring and immediately began to establish his right hand which would be the ultimate downfall of Schmeling. Schmeling would only land 2 punches total, while Joe Louis would send Max to the canvas a total of three times. Upon seeing his fighter on the canvas and in no condition to continue, Max’s best friend and trainer would not only throw in the towel, but jump into the ring himself, while the ref would not even reach the count of 5 on the final knockdown. Calling a stop to the bout and giving not only Joe Louis the much needed revenge, but the country as a whole would revel in his victory.

For the majority of Americans, the fight was a simple case of Good Vs Evil, Freedom Vs Fascism, the US Vs Nazi Germany. For African Americans, a victory would offer the world proof that they were equal, that they could perform as well as, or better than anybody, given the opportunity and an equal playing field. To the nation, Louis was a hero. To blacks, he was a savoir. Joe Louis would go on to be recognized as the first African American hero in the United States, despite the continued struggle blacks would endure for equality.

This boxing match, that once again lasted less than one full round is considered the most historically important fight in Boxing’s vast antiquity. Boxing expert and historian the late Bert Sugar would be quoted as saying “The greatest sporting event of the 20th Century.”

Max Schmeling himself gave a firsthand account of the reaction, and his own understanding of how significant this victory was for the American people. Recounting his ambulance ride to the hospital afterward, Schmeling would write: “As we drove through Harlem, there were noisy, dancing crowds. Bands had left the nightclubs and bars and were playing and dancing on the sidewalks and streets. The whole area was filled with celebration, and saxophones, continuously punctuated by the calling of Joe Louis’ name.”

The world would eventually go to war in 1939, both Louis and Schmeling would join their country in the war, but the roles and status of both men had changed drastically. Schmeling no longer a symbol for Nazi Germany was drafted by Hitler to be a paratrooper and was wounded in combat before he would continue his boxing career. Louis would never see action himself, but he was used a symbol of hope, giving speeches to the troops and exhibition boxing matches, even donating a sum of 100,000 dollars to the Army Relief Fund. Louis would have a record 25 title defenses as champion a record that is still unmatched to this day. Joe Louis is considered one of if not the greatest heavyweight champion of all time, and his rematch with Schmeling went a long way to establishing Louis as a national treasure.

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