BAH HUMBBUG!
There's an invisible man
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Many athletes inspire awe with their physical ability on the field. Since we were kids we look and often continue to look up to them as their legends grow, but with the growing age of me, myself and I, very few of them live up to their inflated mythos of how truly great they were.
In today's instant media age, any player can be caught in a photo taken with a cell phone and less than five minutes later it's posted all over the internet to tarnish their image. When in reality they are no different than any one of us. But some, a few, actually did transcend their sport to inspire or challenge a nation. They weren't without character flaws, it simply made them human, but their actions made them iconic figures that went beyond their athletic talents.
This thread is dedicated to them.
I don't think there is anyone more fitting to start the thread off with other than Joe Louis, although Jack Johnson holds an immortal place in boxing history and mean more than I can speak to in the black community, his impact can never be understated for what he did or represented. If it were not for the prejudice era he lived in, perhaps he would have been the one to bring about such a dramatic change for this nation.
Almost 10 years before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in professional baseball Joe Louis was Heavyweight champ of the world. A few years before winning the title he was derailed when he was upset by Max Schmeling a boxer from Germany and in Hitler's eyes represented the proof that the Aryan race was superior. Louis would not let his country down again and would soon reign as Heavyweight champ longer than any other boxer in history.
Two years later as champ Louis would knock out his Schmeling in the first round and dispatch any misconception that Nazi Germany may have had. Despite what would seem like a clear racial hatred between the two, Louis and Schmeling would grow to be friends and in their old age Schmeling would visit Joe yearly here in the states help Joe out while he was broke and even helped paid for his funeral costs. He was also a pallbearer at Joe's funeral.
Joe would be financially troubled for the rest of his life, arguably doing more for his country than any other athlete, his government would return the favor by hounding him for years with IRS tax collections that he would never be free of. Frank Sinatra would be a friend until the end to Joe and would help him out financially and it is rumored that Sinatra even talked to President Regan about getting Joe buried in Arlington cemetery.
Joe Louis truly stands out as one of the greatest athletes we have ever seen, not simply for his physical gifts and abilities but for how he lived, yes he made mistakes, as we all do, but Joe truly did live up to his legend, being overly generous, sincere and a down to earth likable person who did more for his country than his country did for him.
In today's instant media age, any player can be caught in a photo taken with a cell phone and less than five minutes later it's posted all over the internet to tarnish their image. When in reality they are no different than any one of us. But some, a few, actually did transcend their sport to inspire or challenge a nation. They weren't without character flaws, it simply made them human, but their actions made them iconic figures that went beyond their athletic talents.
This thread is dedicated to them.
I don't think there is anyone more fitting to start the thread off with other than Joe Louis, although Jack Johnson holds an immortal place in boxing history and mean more than I can speak to in the black community, his impact can never be understated for what he did or represented. If it were not for the prejudice era he lived in, perhaps he would have been the one to bring about such a dramatic change for this nation.
Almost 10 years before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in professional baseball Joe Louis was Heavyweight champ of the world. A few years before winning the title he was derailed when he was upset by Max Schmeling a boxer from Germany and in Hitler's eyes represented the proof that the Aryan race was superior. Louis would not let his country down again and would soon reign as Heavyweight champ longer than any other boxer in history.
Two years later as champ Louis would knock out his Schmeling in the first round and dispatch any misconception that Nazi Germany may have had. Despite what would seem like a clear racial hatred between the two, Louis and Schmeling would grow to be friends and in their old age Schmeling would visit Joe yearly here in the states help Joe out while he was broke and even helped paid for his funeral costs. He was also a pallbearer at Joe's funeral.
Joe would be financially troubled for the rest of his life, arguably doing more for his country than any other athlete, his government would return the favor by hounding him for years with IRS tax collections that he would never be free of. Frank Sinatra would be a friend until the end to Joe and would help him out financially and it is rumored that Sinatra even talked to President Regan about getting Joe buried in Arlington cemetery.
Joe Louis truly stands out as one of the greatest athletes we have ever seen, not simply for his physical gifts and abilities but for how he lived, yes he made mistakes, as we all do, but Joe truly did live up to his legend, being overly generous, sincere and a down to earth likable person who did more for his country than his country did for him.
