Joe Louis

Louis is a member of the International Boxing Hall Of Fame. Earnhardt has also appeared in advertisements for Budweiser, NAPA, Domino's Pizza and Enterprise Rent-A-Car. He was also named as the magazine's fighter of the year on four occasions, bettered only by Muhammad Ali's five awards. Probably not coincidentally, Wrangler was the initial sponsor of his father's #3 Chevrolet from 1980 until 1987. Louis was named by Ring Magazine's as boxing's number one puncher in history in 2003. He was also featured in several commercials for Wrangler jeans, one of which used the aforementioned song as its background music. They had allegedly covered it with white paint on February 23 of that year. has appeared in print advertisements for Drakkar Noir Cologne, one of the sponsors of his race car, and in the video for Sheryl Crow's song "Steve McQueen", which pays tribute to the late film star famous for his car chase scenes.

White, pleaded guilty on charges of defacing the monument. Dale Jr. On March 25, 2004, two men, Brett Cashman and John T. He has expressed interest in pursuing an acting career. It represents the power of his punch both inside and outside the ring. Dale Jr.'s name has helped his media presence. and executed by Robert Graham, is a 24-foot long arm with a fisted hand suspended by a 24-foot high pyramidal framework. For the 3rd straight year, Earnhardt took home the NMPA Most Popular Driver Award.

The sculpture, commissioned by Time, Inc. Earnhardt statistically had his worst season in 2005, with only 1 win and a 19th place points effort. A memorial to Louis was dedicated in Detroit (at Jefferson Avenue & Woodward) on October 16, 1986. Earnhardt was reunited with cousin Tony Eury, Jr after the fall Richmond weekend, and results improved immediately. He has a sports complex named after him in Detroit, the Joe Louis Arena, where the Detroit Red Wings play their NHL games. Earnhardt was eliminated from any possible competition for the NEXTEL Cup championship after suffering an engine failure at the California Speedway. His life and his achievements prompted famed New York sportswriter Jimmy Cannon to write "Joe Louis is a credit to his race - the human race.". score his lone win of 2005 at Chicagoland in July.

He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia. Rondeau served as Earnhardt's crew chief until the Coca Cola 600 weekend when he was replaced with DEI chief engineer Steve Hmiel, who helped Jr. Joe Louis died of a heart attack in 1981. Peter Rondeau, a Chance 2 employee who also helped Earnhardt win the Busch Series race at Bristol in August, became the crew chief for Earnhardt in 2005. I regret Joe isn't still alive and we were still friends". became the crew chief for the DEI #15 driven by Michael Waltrip for the 2005 season. When asked, on his 90th birthday, if he had any regrets he replied "I only have one. would be promoted to the team manager position for the DEI corporation, while Tony Eury, Jr.

Max Schmeling was also heartbroken by Louis' death. At the close of the 2004 season it was revealed that Tony Eury, Sr. He ended the article with the words, "I was proud to have fought him and prouder still to have been his friend". Earnhardt also won his fair share of races as a driver/owner, winning 6 Busch races in only 8 starts from 2002 to 2004. He recalled their classic fight and how close he came to defeating Louis. He would repeat the feat in 2005 with 6 wins and another championship. After Louis' death, Conn wrote an article in Reader's Digest magazine called "Unforgettable Joe Louis". Truex went on a charge late in the 2004 Busch Series season, and clinched the series championship at Darlington, with a strong finish, making Earnhardt the winner of both a driver's championship (1998 and 1999) and an owner's championship (2004) in the NASCAR Busch series.

Louis had also become close friends with Billy Conn. Earnhardt as an owner was more proficient. They remained friends until Joe Louis' death, when Schmeling paid for his funeral and was one of the pallbearers. He also picked up his 2nd consecutive Most Popular Driver Award. In fact, Schmeling and Louis became close personal friends over the years, and the compassionate Schmeling (who was awarded control of the German Coca-Cola bottler after WWII) would often send him money. That incident, combined with two consecutive DNF's in the playoffs, eventually dropped him out of the running, and he finished fifth in the 2004 Nextel Cup chase despite a career-high 6 wins at Daytona, Atlanta, Richmond, Bristol, Talladega and Phoenix. In his later years, he got a job welcoming tourists to the Caesar's Palace hotel in Las Vegas, where many world boxing champions and legends from other walks of life, including old rival Max Schmeling, would visit him. However, he was penalized 25 points for use of an obscenity during the television broadcast, in violation of a NASCAR rule prohibiting participants from using obscene language.

Louis was eventually able to overcome his addiction. He was able to qualify for the NASCAR ten-race playoff, and his fifth Nextel Cup win of the season (a career high) was also his fifth win at Talladega. His wife was forced to have him committed to a Denver mental hospital in 1970. In the fall, Junior became the first driver to sweep a weekend at Bristol by winning both the Busch race and Cup race in the same weekend. He began suffering from paranoia and delusions. and his stepmother Teresa Earnhardt) and his DEI team mate (John Andretti) in the middle of the races. It was in the late 1960s that Louis also became addicted to cocaine. (driver for Chance 2 Motorsports, co-owned by Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Louis remained a popular celebrity until his twilight years, when he began suffering various illnesses, notably Pugilistic Parkinson's syndrome, and ran out of money. The burns prevented him from finishing two races where he was replaced by Martin Truex, Jr. A few years after his retirement, a movie about his life, The Joe Louis Story, was filmed in Hollywood. He suffered second and third degree burns on his neck, chin, and legs. But later on in life, he was able to kick his drug habit. The car burst into flames with Earnhardt still inside. Louis faced a drug problem, a fact not too many people knew about but which was made public by a boxing book published by Ring Magazine, just as in Sugar Ray Robinson's case. crashed the Corvette he was testing for an American LeMans Series race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California.

Louis became a professional wrestler in 1956 but quit in 1957 due to injuries suffered during a match. won the Daytona 500, 6 years to the day after his father won his only title in the "Great American Race." In July, during on off-weekend from NASCAR, Dale Jr. He retired with a record of 68 wins and 3 losses, with 54 wins by a knockout. In 2004, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Louis did not embarrass himself that night, but it was obvious his best years had gone by. He would also take home the NMPA Most Popular Driver award for the first time in his career. In 1951, however, he would box what would be his final fight: In front of a national television audience, Louis lost by a knockout in eight rounds to the future world Heavyweight Champion, Rocky Marciano. He put that talk to rest as he scored the victory at Phoenix in October, recording a career-best 3rd place effort in the standings.

Seven more wins followed, including a rematch with Brion and a decision over fellow hall of famer Jimmy Bivins. He scored a record-breaking 4th consectuive win at Talladega, but people were beginning to say that Earnhardt could only win on the plate tracks, as his last win on a non plate track had come at Dover in 2001. He kept boxing, and in his next fight he beat fringe contender Cesar Brion by a decision in 10. become a true title contender. debt, he announced a comeback and was promptly given a chance to recover his title, but he lost a 15 round unanimous decision to world champion Ezzard Charles, who had won the title after Louis left it vacant. 2003 Saw Earnhardt Jr. In 1950, burdened by I.R.S. Still, Junior rallied to score two more wins at Talladega, a pair of Bud Pole Awards and an 11th-place finish in the standings.

On March 1, 1949 Louis announced his retirement from boxing. finished no better than 30th. He still managed to fend off every challenger until he retired for the first time, after the second Walcott bout. In the three races following Fontana, Earnhardt Jr. After he came back to keep defending his title in 1946, Louis looked somewhat slower in his fights, and his best years seemed to have gone. He struggled after enduring a concussion at Fontana in April -- an injury he did not admit to until mid-September. He even acted in a couple of movies, produced by the Army to entice men to go to the war. In 2002, Junior had a roller-coaster season.

During this time, he became a national spokesman for the Army, inviting young men to join in and help their country in the war. This season of emotion produced nine top-fives and 15 top-10 finishes, as well as two Bud Poles. Louis joined the Army from 1942 to 1945 and spent that whole period travelling around Europe visiting with the fighting troops and boxing in exhibitions. The Talladega victory earned Junior a Winston No Bull 5 $1 million bonus. Apart from Schmeling, Farr, Mann and Thomas, other notable title defenses during that period were:. Eanrhardt rebounded and scored victories at Dover and Talladega, as well as an emotional win in the return to Daytona, finishing eighth in points for the year. He set records for any division in number of defenses and longevity as world champion non stop, and both records still stand. Junior raced at Rockingham the following weekend, but crashed on the first lap and finished in 43rd-place.

He was a world champion for 11 years and 10 months, after which he left his crown vacant. As Junior finished second, his father died on impact with the wall. In between serving in the United States Army during the Second World War, Louis kept on defending his title, totalling 25 defenses from '37 to 1949. The major event of the season occurred in the final corner of the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500--Junior's father crashed. Louis favored Willkie over FDR because he believed that Willkie and the Republicans would do more for civil rights. came into the season assuming he would face a sophomore slump, but the year proved to be one of the most tumultuous and memorable seasons the young driver has experienced. In 1940 Louis actively campaigned for Wendell Willkie for the presidency. In 2001 Earnhardt Jr.

But by beating a German boxer, Louis won over whites too, something very hard to do during the 1930s and 1940s in the United States. Lee, Richard and Maurice Petty had previously accomplished the feat. Louis was black, so when he won the title, he had become an example to his fellow black Americans. That occasion was only the second time that a father had raced against two sons. With his superior speed, Louis retained his title by a knockout in the first round, avenging his only loss up until that time and achieving something not too many African-Americans of the era imagined anyone could do: becoming a national hero both for the white and the black population. Junior did have a part in recreating one Winston Cup milestone in 2000 when he competed with his father and brother Kerry in the Pepsi 400 at Michigan International Speedway. The fight itself ended quickly. Earnhardt put up a valiant effort, scoring wins at Texas and Richmond, as well as becoming the first rookie to win the All-Star exhibition race, but it was Kenseth who ultimately scored a 42-point victory in the rookie race.

This time the fight was hyped on both sides of the Atlantic, and many fans around the world saw this fight as a symbol: Louis representing the American interests and Schmeling, who was wrongly seen as a Nazi, fighting for Germany and white supremacy. Matt Kenseth outran Junior in the Daytona 500, and never let up in his run to the Rookie title. The rematch with Schmeling finally took place, on June 22, 1938. was tapped to compete for the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award in 2000. Louis retained the title three times, outpointing the capable Welshman Tommy Farr and knocking out Nathan Mann in three and Harry Thomas in five. Earnhardt Jr. He said after the fight, however, that he would not feel like a world champion until he beat one man: Schmeling. With his father's guidance and his own experience on the short tracks throughout the Carolinas, he was ready to take a bold step forward.

Louis was dropped in round one, but he got up and became the world champion by knocking Braddock out in round eight. won consecutive NASCAR Busch Series Championships in 1998 & 1999. Braddock in Chicago for the World Heavyweight title. Earnhardt Jr. 1937 came by, and after a ten round decision win over Bob Pastor, Louis was matched with world champion James J. There, he developed an in-depth knowledge of chassis setup and car preparation, while racing against Kerry and their sister Kelley. The referee stopped the fight right away. Within two seasons, the young Earnhardt had honed his driving abilities to the point of joining the Late Model Stock Car division.

Among the boxers he defeated were former Heavyweight champ Jack Sharkey and Eddie Simms, who turned and asked the referee to take a walk on the roof with him after a hit from Louis. His first race car was a 1978 Monte Carlo that he co-owned with older brother Kerry. That year Louis had four more bouts, winning all of them, and three exhibitions. began his professional driving career at the age of 17, competing in the Street Stock division at Concord (N.C.) Motorsport Park. Schmeling now deserved a fight for the title, but was denied a chance to challenge the world champion in large part due to his relatively weak ties to the German Nazi Party. Earnhardt Jr. Louis and his supporters were devastated. He currently drives the #8 Budweiser Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

Schmeling managed to weather Louis's pummeling long enough to exploit this weakness and bring down Louis. Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974 in Kannapolis, North Carolina)or "Little E" as he is sometimes called, is the son of NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt. The German had studied Louis and discovered that he dropped his left hand after throwing his legendary left jab. In his next fight, however, he was matched with former world Heavyweight champion Max Schmeling, who was thought to be fading when he upset Louis by a knockout in 12 at New York. He began 1936 knocking out Charlie Retzlaff in the first round.

His last four bouts that year were exhibitions in Canada, as one fight versus Isodoro Castagana, supposed to take place December 29 at Havana, Cuba, was suspended. He won each of his fights, and he began to face better opposition, beating former world Heavyweight champions Primo Carnera and Max Baer, and former Carnera world title challenger Paolino Uzcudun. In 1935, he boxed 13 more times, and started touring the United States and Canada. Among his opponents in 1934 were Art Sykes and Stanley Poreda, both top contenders.

He won 12 fights that year, all in Chicago, 10 by knockout. Louis made his debut on July 4 of that year, knocking out Jack Kracken in the first round at Chicago, Illinois that night. He went on to win Michigan's Golden Gloves title, after which he turned professional in 1934. The son of Monroe Barrow, a cotton picker, and Lilly Reese, a homemaker, Louis became interested in boxing after the Barrows moved to Detroit in 1924.

. Joseph Louis Barrow (1914-1981), better known in the boxing world as Joe Louis and nicknamed The Brown Bomber, was a native of Lexington, Alabama who became World Heavyweight Champion. his two fights versus future world Heavyweight champion Jersey Joe Walcott, who would drop Louis in round four of their first bout and lose a close decision, then get knocked out by Louis in the rematch in 11 rounds. In the rematch, Louis won by a knockout in the eighth round.

His decision to go toe-to-toe with Louis turned out to be his downfall, as the champion KO'd Conn with a vicious barrage. Near the end of round 12, though, Conn visibly hurt Louis, so he decided to go for a knockout in the 13th. Conn, much smaller than Louis but also much faster, said that he planned to "hit and run,' prompting Louis's famous response, "He can run, but he can't hide." For 12 rounds it appeared that Conn would prove Louis wrong; his agile footwork, blinding hand speed and ability to slip punches stymied Louis, and Conn was so far ahead on points that only a knockout could save Louis. his two fights with world Light Heavyweight champion Billy Conn, the first of which is remembered as one of the greatest fights in heavywieght history.

his two fights with Chilean Arturo Godoy, who almost did something no other boxer from Chile has ever done and no Hispanic had done before: Become world Heavyweight champion in their first bout, which Louis won by a close decision, and when Louis won the rematch by a knockout in the eight round, a riot broke loose at the Madison Square Garden. his fight with Two Ton Tony Galento, who upset the boxing world by knocking Louis down in round one, but Louis got up and knocked Galento out in the fourth. his fight versus world Light Heavyweight champion John Henry Lewis, knocked out in the first.