"What my father did was enable white America to think of him as an American, not as a black," said his son, Joe Louis Jr. "By winning, he became white America's first black hero." Louis was ...

Joe Louis, in the far right corner, floored Max Schmeling three times and won their much-publicized June 22, 1938 rematch at Yankee Stadium in a first-round knockout. In a time when his people ...