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Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling... Rematch...
Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling... Rematch...
Item # 716970
June 23, 1938
THE BETHLEHEM GLOBE-TIMES, Pennsylvania, June 23, 1938
* Joe Louis (Brown Bomber)
* Max Schmeling (German fighter)
* Famous rematch - boxing
The front page has a one column heading: "MAX SCHMELING SERIOUSLY HURT" and more.
Page 14 has a banner heading: "Louis Retains Title After Shortest Bout in Fistic Annals" with subheads. Also a action photo on the previous page. (see images)
Complete in 22 pages, nice condition.
background: On June 22, 1938, Joe Louis faced Max Schmeling in a highly anticipated rematch at Yankee Stadium, a fight that transcended sports to become a global political and cultural event. Two years earlier, Schmeling had handed Louis his first professional loss, and in the charged atmosphere of 1938—with Nazi Germany on the rise—this second meeting carried heavy symbolic weight. Schmeling, though not a Nazi himself, had been championed by Hitler’s regime as proof of Aryan superiority, while Louis, the first African American national sports hero since Jack Johnson, was seen by many as fighting not just for personal redemption but for democratic ideals and racial dignity. In front of a roaring crowd of over 70,000 and a radio audience of millions, Louis stormed out with relentless aggression, knocking Schmeling down three times in the first round before the referee stopped the fight at just 2 minutes and 4 seconds. Louis’s stunning victory was not only a personal triumph but also a powerful counterpunch to Nazi propaganda and a moment of pride for Black Americans in an era of deep racial inequality.
Category: The 20th Century
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$72.00
