I can't wait...Feb 23 on HBO. will probably be more entertaining than wlad-sultan [yt]0nhI9m6lWs8[/yt]
Head ups. The documentary. *Spoiler Alert!* Do not read any further unless you want to read a review. On January 10, 1942, a month after Pearl Harbor, Heavyweight Champ Joe Louis (1914-1981) enlisted in the Army at the height of his boxing career. Not only did he volunteer to serve in a still segregated army, he also donated the entire purses of his prior two fights to the war effort. That ill-advised altruistic overture would come back to bite The Brown Bomber in the butt, because the country he loved would never love him back. Instead of appreciating the fact that he had taken a pay cut from six-figures per bout down to a GIs salary of about $50 a month, the IRS decided that Joe still had to pay taxes on the $200,000 he had so generously given the government. Meanwhile, his financial manager, Mike Jacobs, was no help either. He so mismanaged the champs finances for the next four years that Joe was an additional quarter million dollars in debt by the time he was honorably discharged from the military in 1945. Things got so bad, that the IRS even seized the $64,000 Louis had put into a trust fund for his kids. Broke and desperate, Joe ended up continuing to fight in the ring far past his prime, since he didnt have any other way to make the sort of money the U.S. was charging him interest on and hounding him for. After all, he was born in rural Alabama the son of sharecroppers and the grandchild of slaves, and he had no formal education to fall back on. So, after he could no longer box, he had to turn to professional wrestling to make a few bucks. To add insult to injury, when he died, his widow was denied permission to bury her patriotic veteran husband in Arlington National Cemetery until the president intervened on her behalf. And she was only able to afford to give him a fitting send off because Joes former foe, Max Schmeling, offered to pay for the funeral. This disgraceful chapter of U.S. history is the recounted in Joe Louis: American Hero Betrayed, a heartbreaking HBO documentary. Given that we presently have an African-American leading in the race for the Democratic Presidential nomination, its fitting reflect upon how far weve come since these sort of racist shenanigans were par for the course during the heyday of the so-called Greatest Generation. Perhaps the best way he ought to be remembered is how sportswriter Jimmy Cannon eulogized him: Joe Louis, a credit to his race the human race.
It's a damn shame that the United States Government punishes the patriotism of their citizens and military personnel like they punished Louis. Maybe it really is true that no good deed goes unpunished. Look at what happened to Pat Tillman. Louis and Schmeling were both far better than their countries leaders deserved. (Fortunately for Schmeling, his government and leaders ceased to exist after the war. Louis wasn't as lucky. I'm sorry, but the whole issue infuriates me.)
true but not many boxers are rocket scientists or doctors like the klitschkos especially then. he got screwed by Uncle Sam bigtime.
In Louis,s autobiography he recalls how while giving exhibitions in the Uk he refused to box in front of segregated audiences ,saying to his superiors,[in rank ,if nothing else],"don't bring that **** into another country",he was a special man,and a great Champion.
Well there are requrirments to be bury in Arlingtion, Louis didnt make em short of a Prez weaver of couse. It was no insult. Louis didnt make the terms to be bury there.
In light of this disgrace, it's more then a little melancholy for me. As a kid during WWII, my dad took me to the old Madison Square Garden, on 52nd and Eighth. Before the main-go, Harry Balough, the ring announcer, asked Joe Louis to come up and say a few words. Joe, dressed in his army uniform, came up and stood ring center. The lights dimmed, save for a spotlight on him. He took the mic, and in a very soft voice, said, "We're gonna win because we're on God's side." Not the expected: "We're gone win because God's on our side." Malprop or not, the simplicity -- the inspiration -- brought cheers and tears. That lone figure of Louis has always lingered with me. And to think how the U.S. crucified him subsequently is shameful.
The I.R.S. does not have a heart or soul and they went after Joe, but Joe was a special man and a hero to many, Frank Sinatra made sure Las Vegas gave him a well paying classy job and they call Sinatra a thug. Sinatra and Marciano got him financial help as well because Louis was a hero to them
Yes, it will be an eventful night of boxing with the documentary followed by Klitschko vs Ibragimov. I'll be tuning in for sure.
Louis got a raw deal with the IRS that's for sure. I'm still looking foward to this documentary, HBO always puts out quality in these areas. On a somewhat similar note, Spike Lee has been trying to make a movie about Louis for a few years now. Suppose to be pretty honest and upfront about him professional and personally. I think he's having trouble with financing. He approached Russel Crowe about playing Max Schmelling, saying he could get the movie greenlit if he would, but Crowe turned him down. Terrence Howard was slated to play Joe but I haven't read or heard much about it lately.
