June 22
BROWN BOMBER DAY
On this night in 1937 Joe Louis, the Brown Bomber, knocked out James J. Braddock in a boxing match in Chicago, Illinois. The bout lasted eight rounds and Louis was announced as the world heavyweight boxing champion. Exactly one year later, on this day in 1938, Joe Louis knocked out Germany’s Max Schmeling at Yankee Stadium. The match was a get-even bout for Lewis, who had lost to Schmeling June 19, 1936.
Joe Louis retained the world heavyweight boxing crown until he announced his retirement on March 1, 1949. That’s a total of 11 years, 8 months and 7 days ... and 30 matches to retain the title.
The International Boxing Hall of Famer’s first fight was at a boxing club where he fought for $7 worth of food. The Brown Bomber was knocked down seven times in two rounds and, even though he won, he swore he would never fight again. That was just five years before he became the champ!
Those Were the Days, the Today in History service from 440 International
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