On September 12th in 1932 at Madison Square Garden, the great pound-for-pound fighter Mickey Walker, "The Toy Bulldog", stepped up to challenge Max Schmeling and was brutally turned back. Schmeling scored a knockdown late in the first round. He then allowed Walker to lead for several rounds, while he counter punched. Schmeling scored two more knockdowns in the eighth round. Jack Kearns, Walker's manager, signaled Referee Denning to stop the bout at 3:00 of round eight, after Walker's eyes were both closed and he was bleeding profusely.
In 1936, Max Schmeling put on a technical masterpiece to pull off one of the biggest upsets in sports history and become the only man to defeat the most dominant heavyweight champion in boxing history, "The Brown Bomber" Joe Louis, in or near his prime. What made the upset even more incredible is the fact that Schmeling himself was past his prime.
The Fight City
Boxiana
June 19, 1936: Louis vs Schmeling I - An all-time great upset
Think back, if you will boxing fans, and recollect those breathless days of yesteryear, when the young, can’t-miss prospect, the next great star of the ring, thrilled you as he bounded over the obstacles to fistic success as if they were so many playthings in a child’s sandbox, talented contenders as threatening to this boxing immortal-to-be as a moth to a mountain lion.
A young, and seemingly unbeatable, Joe Louis in 1935.
Which one comes to mind? Fresh-faced Olympic gold medalist Oscar DeLaHoya, as he cruised through the super-featherweight and lightweight divisions on his way to demolishing a grizzled Julio Cesar Chavez? A young Floyd Mayweather Jr., notching win after win to fulfill his family pedigree? Sugar Ray Leonard charming the American public while charting a course to success in the late 70s? Or how about a 19-year-old Mike Tyson, already on the cover of Sports Illustrated, flattening one hapless opponent after another as he blazed a path of non-stop destruction towards championship glory?
Now imagine for a moment if, right before “Kid Dynamite” had blasted Trevor Berbick into next week or demolished Michael Spinks in a mere 91 seconds, a veteran heavyweight who everyone thought long finished, say a Ken Norton or a Mike Weaver, had managed to not just defeat Tyson, but humble him, handing him a one-sided drubbing that called into question his status as the next great heavyweight. If you can picture that happening and contemplate the shock-waves which would have emanated from such an upset, then you have some idea of how huge a happening the first Louis vs Schmeling bout was, when the wily veteran dismantled the young, undefeated contender, battering him about the ring for eleven one-sided rounds before finally scoring a clean knockout in the twelfth.
Louis demolished veteran Levinsky in less than a round.
Prior to this fateful match, Joe Louis had enjoyed the stature of champion-in-waiting, which was no small development given that Louis was black and just two decades removed from the only other “colored” heavyweight champion up to that point, Jack Johnson. Unlike Johnson, Louis maintained a placid and soft-spoken demeanor, one which ruffled no feathers among any nervous citizens who still had nightmares about the incorrigible Johnson openly taunting his white opponents and further taunting Caucasian society outside the ring by marrying white women and generally doing what he damn well pleased.
Louis posed no such problems and in the meantime had laid waste to the heavyweight division, dispatching contenders and former champions alike with breathtaking efficiency. Lee Ramage, King Levinsky, Primo Carnera and Max Baer were all reduced to so much rice pudding within a few short rounds, such was “The Brown Bomber’s” punching prowess and awesome accuracy. The Baer win had been the most scintillating, as the former champion had been regarded as still a major force in the division. An incredible mob of almost ninety thousand crowded Yankee Stadium to see if young Louis had the goods and no one left disappointed as Joe wrecked Max inside of four rounds, handing the former champion the first knockdowns of his career.
“Louis beat me so hard, I saw seven of him,” said Baer afterwards. “I tried hitting the one in the middle but the other six just kept beating the hell out of me.”
Joe stands over former champ Max Baer.
None other than Ernest Hemingway took in the Baer demolition and perhaps best summed up the public perception of Louis at the time: “Too good to be true, and absolutely true . . . the most beautiful fighting machine that I have ever seen.”
Thus Max Schmeling, who had suffered a terrible beating at the hands of Baer three years before, was regarded as just another stepping stone for Louis, whose strength and power had captured the public’s imagination and whose ascension to the heavyweight throne was a question of when, not if. Schmeling was a solid ten-to-one underdog, and yet for all that he appeared curiously confident in the days leading up to the match. “I see something,” was Max’s famous reply when asked by reporters how he had the temerity to appear so irritatingly sure of himself prior to his scheduled execution in Yankee Stadium.
But boxing is at least as much about skill and tactics, intelligence and craft, as it is about physical strength and brute force, and what everyone had overlooked was that Schmeling, a veteran of fifty-nine pro battles, possessed a mastery of timing and counter-punching the likes of which the young Louis had yet to face. Further, what “The Black Uhlan of the Rhine” saw was the novice’s tendency to drop his left hand; Louis was consistently open to the counter right and Schmeling happened to be the owner of a more-than-serviceable right cross.
At the weigh-in the underdog appeared supremely confident.
The opening rounds of the bout were tightly contested as a patient Schmeling allowed Louis to come forward while keeping the younger man honest with frequent feints and light jabs. Max needed Joe to feel comfortable and be willing to let his hands go as the German worked to maintain the distance required to both avoid Louis’ power shots while keep himself in range to fire his own right. A close observer might have noticed that the German was keeping his right hand cocked with his weight constantly on the back foot, the better to throw a spring-loaded counter, but no one as of yet was aware of Schmeling’s strategy. In the second Max tried his first right over the jab but Louis took the blow well.
The fencing match continued in round three as Louis stalked while keeping his left hand perilously low. Joe did connect with some of his heavy artillery, especially jabs and left hooks to the body, but Schmeling’s footwork and feints prevented the young power-puncher from sustaining an effective attack. Still, to the thousands of spectators anticipating another Louis knockout, it must have seemed like only a matter of time before Joe’s constant pressure broke Schmeling down. But in the fourth, there came the turning point.
A minute into the round, and with Louis bearing down hard, Schmeling once again moved away to establish the desired distance. As he did, Louis followed and reached out with a slow, pawing jab, more a range-finder than a proper lead, and Schmeling instantly pounced with a vicious counter right. The punch stunned the inexperienced Louis, who could not help betraying the fact that he was hurt, a shocked expression crossing his face as his legs buckled. Schmeling followed up with a flurry of shots punctuated by a perfect right cross that dumped Louis on his backside.
To his credit, the young contender got to his feet immediately and fought back, but his bravery sealed his fate. He gave himself no time to recover from Schmeling’s assault or to adjust to his opponent’s tactics. By aggressively pursuing the former champion, he played right into Max’s hands, absorbing still more flush rights before the round was over.
The rest, as they say, was mere aftermath. The bout appeared competitive on the surface when in fact Schmeling was assuming complete control and methodically taking Louis apart. More and more, Joe looked to be not so much stalking his opponent as haplessly following him about the ring. At the end of the fifth Schmeling landed another thunderous right that had Louis all but out on his feet, and in the sixth the German took over, manhandling and battering “The Brown Bomber” in a manner that had the assembled crowd staring in slack-jawed disbelief.
The pattern continued in the succeeding rounds: Schmeling increasingly confident and aggressive and landing right after right on a stunned Louis. To be sure, Joe had his moments, at times his attack putting Max on the defensive, but it was Schmeling dictating the terms and getting home the truly telling blows. A frustrated and desperate Louis resorted to rough-house tactics, throwing shots below the belt and elbows and forearms above it.
By the ninth Max was landing virtually at will, now connecting with lead rights as well as counter shots, even winning exchanges on the inside with his uppercut, and yet Joe was unwilling, or unable, to adjust, to bring his left hand up and anticipate Schmeling’s attack. Instead Louis absorbed blow after blow and had increasing difficulty making it back to his corner at the end of each round.
There was really no reason to let the contest continue except to see if the young, power-punching phenom, who just minutes before had been the heir apparent to the heavyweight crown, could somehow land the one big shot that could turn things around. Louis was hopelessly behind on points and taking a beating; at the same time, he never stopped trying. Finally, in the twelfth and final round, he succumbed.
It began with the two men battling on the inside and eventually Schmeling got home a stinging uppercut. Louis attempted to counterattack, but the German smothered the assault before throwing a series of left leads, one of which he allowed to dangle briefly in Louis’ face, the better to hide what was coming next: yet another vicious right hand, followed by an equally vicious one-two, and another right that sent Louis staggering into the ropes. It was now mere target practice for the ex-champion as he chased “The Brown Bomber” about the ring and landed fourteen unanswered blows, the final one a flush right that put a stunned and defenseless Louis on his knees before he tumbled to the canvas. Joe shook his head and briefly tried to rise before turning on his face as the referee finished the count and a joyous Schmeling exulted.
The former champion had bucked the long odds against him and shocked the sports world. And yet it was Louis, not Schmeling, who would soon be rewarded with a shot at the world championship. No doubt this was due to the politics of the time, as Max returned to Germany after his great victory to be hailed by Adolf Hitler and the odious Nazi regime as a national hero. A year later, Louis, after reeling off seven straight wins, including a third round KO of former champion and Schmeling conqueror Jack Sharkey, knocked out Jim Braddock to become the heavyweight king and begin the longest championship reign in boxing history. But there was no questioning that some unfinished business remained. “I want Schmeling,” said Joe after his title-winning effort. “I ain’t no champion ’till I beat Schmeling.”
The next morning Schmeling reads up on his stupendous victory.
The rematch, held the following year and again in New York’s Yankee Stadium, was destined to be one of the most significant contests not just in boxing, but in sports history. But that’s another story. And as significant as it is, it should not eclipse the achievement of Max Schmeling in the first Louis vs Schmeling clash, as he scored one of the biggest upsets of all time, and in the process demonstrated that skill, timing and smart tactics can defeat even the most pulverizing of punchers.
I can't begin to emphasize how big the 1936 fight between Max Schmeling and Joe Louis was, it was everywhere. The fight was seen as a battle between good and evil, good ol' wholesome America and evil racist Nazi Germany. Leading up to the fight, Max Schmeling received all kinds of hate directed towards him, people yelling "Nazi! Nazi!" It's ironic because African-Americans didn't even have basic rights in our country, they were treated like garbage. But the fight was big, it was everywhere, here is a matchbook with the fight advertised on the cover.
One thing's for sure, Max Schmeling put the work in before his fight with Louis in 36'. He had to, Joe Louis was one of the most dangerous fighters to ever enter a boxing ring. The Ring magazine doesn't rate Louis #1 on the 100 greatest punchers of all-time list for nothing.
Max Schmeling vs Joe Louis I on June 19th, 1936 at Madison Square Garden. Before the fight, Max Schmeling studied film of Joe Louis and attended one of his fights, he noticed a technical flaw in Louis' style. Schmeling noticed that Louis had a habit of dropping his left hand after throwing a jab, leaving his chin exposed. Schmeling identified this defensive lapse and exploited it with a sharp, counter right hand to knock out Louis in the 12th with a right hand. That happened to be Schmeling's best punch.
"I see something," Schmeling cryptically told sportswriters before the fight. Noticing the flaw and exploiting it was a stroke of genius on the part of Schmeling and it got him one of the biggest upsets in sports history. Here are photos from that historic fight.
Max Schmeling is greeted by his team in his dressing room after the fight. Check out his left eye, I can't stress enough what Schmeling had to go through to pull off that upset, studying Louis, the long, grueling training regimen, the abuse of the American public, and then 12 rounds of pure hell with one of the most dangerous and hardest punchers in boxing history, in Louis' backyard. And keep in mind, Schmeling was past his prime at this point in his career and Louis was in his.
The American press was rough on Joe Louis after his loss to Schmeling, here is a cartoon titled "The Joe Louis Myth" by Burris Jenkins Jr. in the New York Evening Journal the day after the fight, depicting Max Schmeling breaking Louis into pieces. The cartoon is basically saying that Joe Louis was all hype. That cartoon turned out to be gravely mistaken, Joe Louis would go on to become the most dominant force in boxing history, winning the heavyweight championship, holding it for over 11 years, and making 26 defenses of his title, leaving behind a trail of absolute destruction in his wake.
Max Schmeling boarding the Hindenburg to go back to Germany after the fight. Tragically, the Hindenburg would crash and burn not too long after this on May 6th, 1937, killing 36 passengers.
The Schmeling knockout of Louis was big, it was replayed over and over. These are original fight film posters which advertises the showing of the entire fight.
Hey, Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone. It's a terrifying day isn't it? What with the Leprechaun running around on the loose, looking for the thief who stole his gold. You better hope it wasn't YOU who stole me gold, he's a mean little bastard!
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Max Schmeling and Mickey Walker shake hands before their bout.
On September 12th in 1932 at Madison Square Garden, the great pound-for-pound fighter Mickey Walker, "The Toy Bulldog", stepped up to challenge Max Schmeling and was brutally turned back. Schmeling scored a knockdown late in the first round. He then allowed Walker to lead for several rounds, while he counter punched. Schmeling scored two more knockdowns in the eighth round. Jack Kearns, Walker's manager, signaled Referee Denning to stop the bout at 3:00 of round eight, after Walker's eyes were both closed and he was bleeding profusely.
In 1936, Max Schmeling put on a technical masterpiece to pull off one of the biggest upsets in sports history and become the only man to defeat the most dominant heavyweight champion in boxing history, "The Brown Bomber" Joe Louis, in or near his prime. What made the upset even more incredible is the fact that Schmeling himself was past his prime.
The Fight City
Boxiana
June 19, 1936: Louis vs Schmeling I - An all-time great upset
Think back, if you will boxing fans, and recollect those breathless days of yesteryear, when the young, can’t-miss prospect, the next great star of the ring, thrilled you as he bounded over the obstacles to fistic success as if they were so many playthings in a child’s sandbox, talented contenders as threatening to this boxing immortal-to-be as a moth to a mountain lion.
A young, and seemingly unbeatable, Joe Louis in 1935.
Which one comes to mind? Fresh-faced Olympic gold medalist Oscar DeLaHoya, as he cruised through the super-featherweight and lightweight divisions on his way to demolishing a grizzled Julio Cesar Chavez? A young Floyd Mayweather Jr., notching win after win to fulfill his family pedigree? Sugar Ray Leonard charming the American public while charting a course to success in the late 70s? Or how about a 19-year-old Mike Tyson, already on the cover of Sports Illustrated, flattening one hapless opponent after another as he blazed a path of non-stop destruction towards championship glory?
Now imagine for a moment if, right before “Kid Dynamite” had blasted Trevor Berbick into next week or demolished Michael Spinks in a mere 91 seconds, a veteran heavyweight who everyone thought long finished, say a Ken Norton or a Mike Weaver, had managed to not just defeat Tyson, but humble him, handing him a one-sided drubbing that called into question his status as the next great heavyweight. If you can picture that happening and contemplate the shock-waves which would have emanated from such an upset, then you have some idea of how huge a happening the first Louis vs Schmeling bout was, when the wily veteran dismantled the young, undefeated contender, battering him about the ring for eleven one-sided rounds before finally scoring a clean knockout in the twelfth.
Louis demolished veteran Levinsky in less than a round.
Prior to this fateful match, Joe Louis had enjoyed the stature of champion-in-waiting, which was no small development given that Louis was black and just two decades removed from the only other “colored” heavyweight champion up to that point, Jack Johnson. Unlike Johnson, Louis maintained a placid and soft-spoken demeanor, one which ruffled no feathers among any nervous citizens who still had nightmares about the incorrigible Johnson openly taunting his white opponents and further taunting Caucasian society outside the ring by marrying white women and generally doing what he damn well pleased.
Louis posed no such problems and in the meantime had laid waste to the heavyweight division, dispatching contenders and former champions alike with breathtaking efficiency. Lee Ramage, King Levinsky, Primo Carnera and Max Baer were all reduced to so much rice pudding within a few short rounds, such was “The Brown Bomber’s” punching prowess and awesome accuracy. The Baer win had been the most scintillating, as the former champion had been regarded as still a major force in the division. An incredible mob of almost ninety thousand crowded Yankee Stadium to see if young Louis had the goods and no one left disappointed as Joe wrecked Max inside of four rounds, handing the former champion the first knockdowns of his career.
“Louis beat me so hard, I saw seven of him,” said Baer afterwards. “I tried hitting the one in the middle but the other six just kept beating the hell out of me.”
Joe stands over former champ Max Baer.
None other than Ernest Hemingway took in the Baer demolition and perhaps best summed up the public perception of Louis at the time: “Too good to be true, and absolutely true . . . the most beautiful fighting machine that I have ever seen.”
Thus Max Schmeling, who had suffered a terrible beating at the hands of Baer three years before, was regarded as just another stepping stone for Louis, whose strength and power had captured the public’s imagination and whose ascension to the heavyweight throne was a question of when, not if. Schmeling was a solid ten-to-one underdog, and yet for all that he appeared curiously confident in the days leading up to the match. “I see something,” was Max’s famous reply when asked by reporters how he had the temerity to appear so irritatingly sure of himself prior to his scheduled execution in Yankee Stadium.
But boxing is at least as much about skill and tactics, intelligence and craft, as it is about physical strength and brute force, and what everyone had overlooked was that Schmeling, a veteran of fifty-nine pro battles, possessed a mastery of timing and counter-punching the likes of which the young Louis had yet to face. Further, what “The Black Uhlan of the Rhine” saw was the novice’s tendency to drop his left hand; Louis was consistently open to the counter right and Schmeling happened to be the owner of a more-than-serviceable right cross.
At the weigh-in the underdog appeared supremely confident.
The opening rounds of the bout were tightly contested as a patient Schmeling allowed Louis to come forward while keeping the younger man honest with frequent feints and light jabs. Max needed Joe to feel comfortable and be willing to let his hands go as the German worked to maintain the distance required to both avoid Louis’ power shots while keep himself in range to fire his own right. A close observer might have noticed that the German was keeping his right hand cocked with his weight constantly on the back foot, the better to throw a spring-loaded counter, but no one as of yet was aware of Schmeling’s strategy. In the second Max tried his first right over the jab but Louis took the blow well.
The fencing match continued in round three as Louis stalked while keeping his left hand perilously low. Joe did connect with some of his heavy artillery, especially jabs and left hooks to the body, but Schmeling’s footwork and feints prevented the young power-puncher from sustaining an effective attack. Still, to the thousands of spectators anticipating another Louis knockout, it must have seemed like only a matter of time before Joe’s constant pressure broke Schmeling down. But in the fourth, there came the turning point.
A minute into the round, and with Louis bearing down hard, Schmeling once again moved away to establish the desired distance. As he did, Louis followed and reached out with a slow, pawing jab, more a range-finder than a proper lead, and Schmeling instantly pounced with a vicious counter right. The punch stunned the inexperienced Louis, who could not help betraying the fact that he was hurt, a shocked expression crossing his face as his legs buckled. Schmeling followed up with a flurry of shots punctuated by a perfect right cross that dumped Louis on his backside.
To his credit, the young contender got to his feet immediately and fought back, but his bravery sealed his fate. He gave himself no time to recover from Schmeling’s assault or to adjust to his opponent’s tactics. By aggressively pursuing the former champion, he played right into Max’s hands, absorbing still more flush rights before the round was over.
The rest, as they say, was mere aftermath. The bout appeared competitive on the surface when in fact Schmeling was assuming complete control and methodically taking Louis apart. More and more, Joe looked to be not so much stalking his opponent as haplessly following him about the ring. At the end of the fifth Schmeling landed another thunderous right that had Louis all but out on his feet, and in the sixth the German took over, manhandling and battering “The Brown Bomber” in a manner that had the assembled crowd staring in slack-jawed disbelief.
The pattern continued in the succeeding rounds: Schmeling increasingly confident and aggressive and landing right after right on a stunned Louis. To be sure, Joe had his moments, at times his attack putting Max on the defensive, but it was Schmeling dictating the terms and getting home the truly telling blows. A frustrated and desperate Louis resorted to rough-house tactics, throwing shots below the belt and elbows and forearms above it.
By the ninth Max was landing virtually at will, now connecting with lead rights as well as counter shots, even winning exchanges on the inside with his uppercut, and yet Joe was unwilling, or unable, to adjust, to bring his left hand up and anticipate Schmeling’s attack. Instead Louis absorbed blow after blow and had increasing difficulty making it back to his corner at the end of each round.
There was really no reason to let the contest continue except to see if the young, power-punching phenom, who just minutes before had been the heir apparent to the heavyweight crown, could somehow land the one big shot that could turn things around. Louis was hopelessly behind on points and taking a beating; at the same time, he never stopped trying. Finally, in the twelfth and final round, he succumbed.
It began with the two men battling on the inside and eventually Schmeling got home a stinging uppercut. Louis attempted to counterattack, but the German smothered the assault before throwing a series of left leads, one of which he allowed to dangle briefly in Louis’ face, the better to hide what was coming next: yet another vicious right hand, followed by an equally vicious one-two, and another right that sent Louis staggering into the ropes. It was now mere target practice for the ex-champion as he chased “The Brown Bomber” about the ring and landed fourteen unanswered blows, the final one a flush right that put a stunned and defenseless Louis on his knees before he tumbled to the canvas. Joe shook his head and briefly tried to rise before turning on his face as the referee finished the count and a joyous Schmeling exulted.
The former champion had bucked the long odds against him and shocked the sports world. And yet it was Louis, not Schmeling, who would soon be rewarded with a shot at the world championship. No doubt this was due to the politics of the time, as Max returned to Germany after his great victory to be hailed by Adolf Hitler and the odious Nazi regime as a national hero. A year later, Louis, after reeling off seven straight wins, including a third round KO of former champion and Schmeling conqueror Jack Sharkey, knocked out Jim Braddock to become the heavyweight king and begin the longest championship reign in boxing history. But there was no questioning that some unfinished business remained. “I want Schmeling,” said Joe after his title-winning effort. “I ain’t no champion ’till I beat Schmeling.”
The next morning Schmeling reads up on his stupendous victory.
The rematch, held the following year and again in New York’s Yankee Stadium, was destined to be one of the most significant contests not just in boxing, but in sports history. But that’s another story. And as significant as it is, it should not eclipse the achievement of Max Schmeling in the first Louis vs Schmeling clash, as he scored one of the biggest upsets of all time, and in the process demonstrated that skill, timing and smart tactics can defeat even the most pulverizing of punchers.
Max Schmeling and Joe Louis on the cover of The Ring magazine before their showdown in 1936.
I can't begin to emphasize how big the 1936 fight between Max Schmeling and Joe Louis was, it was everywhere. The fight was seen as a battle between good and evil, good ol' wholesome America and evil racist Nazi Germany. Leading up to the fight, Max Schmeling received all kinds of hate directed towards him, people yelling "Nazi! Nazi!" It's ironic because African-Americans didn't even have basic rights in our country, they were treated like garbage. But the fight was big, it was everywhere, here is a matchbook with the fight advertised on the cover.
A poster for the fight is viewed by patrons in a Berlin pub in June of 1936.
Max Schmeling jogging with his trainer Max Machon in preparation for the fight with Joe Louis in 1936.
Max Schmeling and his trainer Max Machon getting prepared for a sparring session in 1936 before the fight with Louis.
Max Schmeling sparring in preparation for Louis.
One thing's for sure, Max Schmeling put the work in before his fight with Louis in 36'. He had to, Joe Louis was one of the most dangerous fighters to ever enter a boxing ring. The Ring magazine doesn't rate Louis #1 on the 100 greatest punchers of all-time list for nothing.
Max Schmeling working the speed bag before the Louis fight.
"The Cinderella Man" James Braddock visits Max Schmeling at his training camp before the Louis fight in 1936.
Max Schmeling poses for the camera at his training camp in Napanoch, New York, on June 9th, 1936.
Max Schmeling relaxes with his team at his training camp in Napanoch, New York, before the Louis fight.
Max Schmeling with Joe Louis and fight promotor Mike Jacobs before the 1936 bout.
Max Schmeling inspects one of the most dangerous weapons in boxing history, the Louis right hand.
Max Schmeling and Joe Louis at the weigh-in before their 1936 fight.
Max Schmeling and Joe Louis face-off at the weigh-in.
An on-site poster for Louis-Schmeling I in 1936.
A ticket and program for the fight.
Max Schmeling vs Joe Louis I on June 19th, 1936 at Madison Square Garden. Before the fight, Max Schmeling studied film of Joe Louis and attended one of his fights, he noticed a technical flaw in Louis' style. Schmeling noticed that Louis had a habit of dropping his left hand after throwing a jab, leaving his chin exposed. Schmeling identified this defensive lapse and exploited it with a sharp, counter right hand to knock out Louis in the 12th with a right hand. That happened to be Schmeling's best punch.
"I see something," Schmeling cryptically told sportswriters before the fight. Noticing the flaw and exploiting it was a stroke of genius on the part of Schmeling and it got him one of the biggest upsets in sports history. Here are photos from that historic fight.
Schmeling lands a brutal left hand.
A break from the action, this is a photo of legendary FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia at the fight.
Look at the impact from that Schmeling right hand.
Joe Louis knocked out in round 12.
Joe Louis is still out of it in his corner after the knockout.
Max Schmeling with his hand raised in victory after knocking out Joe Louis and pulling off one of the biggest upsets in sports history.
Max Schmeling being escorted back to his dressing room after the fight with Louis.
Max Schmeling is greeted by his team in his dressing room after the fight. Check out his left eye, I can't stress enough what Schmeling had to go through to pull off that upset, studying Louis, the long, grueling training regimen, the abuse of the American public, and then 12 rounds of pure hell with one of the most dangerous and hardest punchers in boxing history, in Louis' backyard. And keep in mind, Schmeling was past his prime at this point in his career and Louis was in his.
Max Schmeling celebrates his historic win in his dressing room with a swig of seltzer water.
Max Schmeling dressed after the fight.
Max Schmeling reading the New York newspapers about his upset over Louis the morning after the fight.
Some Schmeling fans celebrate the win over Louis.
Max Schmeling and "The Cinderella Man" James Braddock chatting after the fight.
The American press was rough on Joe Louis after his loss to Schmeling, here is a cartoon titled "The Joe Louis Myth" by Burris Jenkins Jr. in the New York Evening Journal the day after the fight, depicting Max Schmeling breaking Louis into pieces. The cartoon is basically saying that Joe Louis was all hype. That cartoon turned out to be gravely mistaken, Joe Louis would go on to become the most dominant force in boxing history, winning the heavyweight championship, holding it for over 11 years, and making 26 defenses of his title, leaving behind a trail of absolute destruction in his wake.
The cover of The Ring magazine after the upset.
Max Schmeling is presented with a cake depicting his victory over Joe Louis upon his departure from New York.
Max Schmeling boarding the Hindenburg to go back to Germany after the fight. Tragically, the Hindenburg would crash and burn not too long after this on May 6th, 1937, killing 36 passengers.
The Schmeling knockout of Louis was big, it was replayed over and over. These are original fight film posters which advertises the showing of the entire fight.
This is a cardboard window display poster for Saturday Evening Post. Max Schmeling tells "This Way I Beat Joe Louis."
outstanding double d 🤙
Music break, one of my favorite songs from the 80s.
Hey, Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone. It's a terrifying day isn't it? What with the Leprechaun running around on the loose, looking for the thief who stole his gold. You better hope it wasn't YOU who stole me gold, he's a mean little bastard!
And there's no where you can run to escape him. He'll find you in the city.
He'll find you in Vegas.
Heck, even the moon isn't a safe place to hide!