This film shows two fights between Joe Louis the “Brown Bomber” and Max Schmeling. The first fight between Louis and Schmeling took place on June 19, 1936, at the famous Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York, and was one of the greatest upsets in boxing history. The referee was the legendary Arthur Donovan, and the stadium was sold out. The bout was scheduled for fifteen rounds. By round twelve, Schmeling was far ahead on the judges’ scorecards. Finally, he landed a right to Louis’ body, followed by another right hand, this one to the jaw. Louis fell near his own corner, and was counted out by Donovan. This was Louis’ only knockout defeat during his prime: the only other knockout happened when Rocky Marciano knocked Louis out fifteen years later. By then, Louis was considered a faded champion and Marciano a rising star.
The Louis-Schmeling rematch (at 4:15 in the film) came on June 22, 1938 – one year from the day Louis had won the world Heavyweight title. At the time the fight had enormous racial implications and as the narrator explains, German chancellor Adolf Hitler had celebrated Schmeling’s surprise victory over Louis. The fighters met once again in a sold-out Yankee Stadium in New York City. Among the more than 70,000 fans in attendance were Clark Gable, Douglas Fairbanks, Gary Cooper, Gregory Peck, and J. Edgar Hoover. The fight drew gate receipts of $1,015,01.
Referee Arthur Donovan stopped action for the first time just over one minute and a half into the fight after Louis connected on five left hooks and a body blow to Schmeling’s lower left which had him audibly crying in pain. After sending Louis briefly to his corner, Donovan quickly resumed action, after which Louis went on the attack again, immediately felling the German with a right hook to the face. Schmeling went down this time, arising on the count of three. After connecting on three clean shots to Schmeling’s jaw, the German fell to the canvas again, arising at the count of two. With Schmeling having few defenses left at this point, Louis connected at will, sending Schmeling to the canvas for the third time in short order, this time near the ring’s center. Schmeling’s cornerman Max Machon threw a towel in the ring – although under New York state rules, this did not actually end the fight. Machon was therefore forced to enter the ring at the count of eight, at which point Donovan had already declared the fight over. Louis was the winner and world Heavyweight champion, by a technical knockout, two minutes and four seconds into the first round. In all, Louis had thrown 41 punches in the fight, 31 of which landed solidly. Schmeling, by contrast, had been able to throw only two punches. Soundly defeated, Schmeling had to be admitted to Polyclinic Hospital for ten days. During his stay, it was discovered that Louis had cracked several vertebrae in Schmeling’s back. Schmeling and his handlers complained after the bout that Louis’ initial volley had included an illegal kidney punch, and even refused Louis’ visitation at the hospital. The claim resounded hollowly in the media, however, and they eventually chose not to file a formal complaint.
Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling refers to two separate fights between the two which are among boxing’s most talked about bouts. Schmeling won the first match by a knockout in round twelve, but in the second match, Louis won through a knockout in the first round. Although the two champions met to create a pugilistic spectacle remarkable on its own terms, the two fights came to embody the broader political and social conflict of the times. As the most significant African American athlete of his age and the most significant African-American boxer since Jack Johnson, Louis was a focal point for African American pride in the 1930s. Moreover, as a contest between representatives of the United States and Nazi Germany during the 1930s, the fights came to symbolize the struggle between democracy and fascism. Louis’ performance in the bouts made him one of the first true African American national heroes in the United States.
We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 — President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.”
This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
