"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 ...

The New York Daily News, June 23, 1938. When Joe Louis defeated Max Schmeling in a 1938 rematch, the nation celebrated -- and one of the biggest parties was in Harlem. In the famous New York ...

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 ...