Joe Louis. The 8 black men who got away.

One thing missing from this discussion is comparing the number of black contenders in each decade from 1930 to 1960 and especially the Joe Louis era who made the ratings. I used the annual Ring Magazine ratings because they are all on one page making it so much easier to do these totals than going through the NBA ratings, and they are consistent, a champion and 10 contenders each year. The NBA sometimes rated only three or four challengers. So here what I get decade by decade.

1930's
Total rated black contenders (9)--George Godfrey, Larry Johnson, Larry Gains, Unknown Winston, Joe Louis, Jack Trammell, Leroy Haynes, Alberto Lovell, Roscoe Toles (of these, Godfrey, Johnson, Gains, and Winston were out of the ratings before Louis started his career)

Black contenders rated in the top five (4)--Godfrey, Louis, Trammell, Lovell (Godfrey #5 in 1930. Trammell #4 in 1936. Lovell #4 in 1937.
Only Louis, and Toles in 1938 & 1939 were in the ratings for more than one year.

1940's
Total rated black contenders (18)--Joe Louis, Buddy Walker, Otis Thomas, Lem Franklin, Turkey Thompson, Roscoe Toles, Jimmy Bivins, Harry Bobo, Big Boy Brown, Lou Brooks, Lee Q Murry, Curtis Sheppard, Elmer Ray, Al Hart, Jersey Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles, Rusty Payne, Omelio Agramonte.

Black contenders rated in the top five (12)--Louis, Walker (5), Franklin (2), Thompson (4), Toles (4), Bobo (4), Bivins (1), Murray (3), Sheppard (4), Ray (2), Walcott (1), Charles (1)
In The Ring's annual ratings, only Bivins and Walcott got to #1 while Louis was champion, and Bivins when he was in the service. Thompson, Toles, Bobo, Bivins, and Murray peaked during the war.

1950's
Total rated black contenders (25)--Ezzard Charles, Joe Louis, Clarence Henry, Bob Baker, Jersey Joe Walcott, Bob Dunlap, Jimmy Bivins, Nino Valdes, Earl Walls, Tommy Harrison, Bob Satterfield, Coley Wallace, Hurricane Jackson, Jimmy Slade, Archie Moore, John Holman, Johnny Summerlin, Young Jack Johnson, Floyd Patterson, Harold Carter, Eddie Machen, Zora Folley, Wayne Bethea, Sonny Liston, Billy Hunter.

Black contenders rated in the top five (16)--Charles, Louis, Henry, Baker, Walcott, Dunlap, Valdes, Walls, Moore, Jackson, Holman, Patterson, Carter, Machen, Folley, Liston

My conclusion is that there was in fact a "lull" in quality black contenders at the time Louis broke the color line. This is not surprising. Why go into a brutal and dangerous sport in which a color line keeps you from getting any real money? And even those who tried anyway didn't have access to top trainers and were not taken care of like a white contender was. By the 1940's, due to the impact of Louis, things had changed. The 1950's versus the 1930's in terms of black contenders are from two different worlds.

*I think I did a decent job of identifying the black contenders, but any additions or subtractions would be welcome.

 

One perhaps interesting fact I stumbled upon doing this research. From 1937 (Braddock-Louis) through 1959 (1st Patterson-Johansson) there were 50 heavyweight title bouts. So 100 contestants fighting for the title. 58 of these contenders were black. 40 were white. Arturo Godoy of Chile was I think partially Amerindian but whatever I wouldn't lump him with white Americans or Europeans.

But how many black men actually fought for the title during this period? Only 7. Joe Louis (27), John Henry Lewis (1), Jersey Joe Walcott (8), Ezzard Charles (13), Archie Moore (2), Floyd Patterson (6), and Hurricane Jackson (1)

How many white men fought for the title during this period? 31. Jimmy Braddock, Tommy Farr, Nathan Mann, Harry Thomas, Max Schmeling, Jack Roper, Tony Galento, Bob Pastor, Johnny Paycheck, Al McCoy, Red Burman, Gus Dorazio, Tony Musto, Abe Simon (2), Buddy Baer (2), Billy Conn (2), Lou Nova, Tami Mauriello, Gus Lesnevich, Pat Valentino, Freddie Beshore, Nick Barone, Lee Oma, Joey Maxim, Rocky Marciano (7), Roland LaStarza, Don Cockell, Pete Rademacher, Roy Harris, Brian London, and Ingemar Johansson.

All the black fighters were outstanding #1 contenders and/or the light-heavyweight champion.

Of the white contenders, after Braddock, how many were the #1 contenders. In The Ring's annual rankings, Schmeling, Galento, Conn (2), Nova, Mauriello, Marciano, Johansson, for a total of 7. LaStarza certainly, and probably Pastor, were #1 contenders in the monthly ratings. Maxim, like Lewis, was the reigning light-heavyweight champion.

Conclusion--there certainly was no color line, but there was what I would judge a "preference line" during this era. A black challenger had to be obviously outstanding. A few of the white contenders certainly were also, but a decent white contender, and some not at that level, could get a title shot. This is true of all the black champions except Walcott, who defended twice against #1 contenders. And it is more true of Patterson than of Louis and Charles. Why? I think it facile to put it on avoiding tough black contenders as they fought the toughest, Patterson in the fifties aside. I would lay the major blame on the promoters.

 

It isn't an excuse to point out that Godoy, Conn (2), Nova, Mauriello, and Walcott (2) were his #1 contenders.

The other names weren't. Don't bring up Bivins when Louis was in the army as a criticism. World War 2, you know.

"Did Louis fight any southpaws?"

Did Jeffries? Dempsey? Tunney? That you know of? I can't think of one southpaw who challenged any heavyweight champion prior to Mildenberger with Ali. And I don't think I consider fighting southpaws very critical. How many did Sugar Ray Robinson fight? I can't think of one. How many did Archie Moore fight? There doesn't seem to have been that many around.

Also I can't say that when a southpaw did appear, let's say Bob Murphy, that made any difference to good boxers like Harry Matthews and Joey Maxim. And Conn and Lesnevich handled Bettina.

I think the southpaw argument is a stretch.

"foreigner"

Louis defended against Farr, Schmeling, and Godoy prior to WW2. After the war started, Euro heavyweights were few and far between. After the war Woodcock was KO'd by Mauriello (and Baksi) and Tandberg lost to Maxim and was KO'd by Walcott. Which foreign fighter exactly are you accusing Louis of ducking?

 

I also don't see any glaring omissions on Loui's resume regarding overseas contenders, but there were a couple of guys who could have been decent challengers.

Gunnar Barlund and Alberto Santiago Lovel are the two that spring to mind.

Lovel derailed Barlund in the Olympics, and then Barlund returned the favor in the professional ranks.

 

There you go again saying Bettina was rated #1. Bettina was NEVER rated #1 at HW. Never. He was rated #1 at LHW which has **** all to do with who Louis SHOULD have fought. You can stick your fingers in your ears and pretend you dont hear this but you do and you are choosing to ignore it completely like you do with any pertinent facts that dont jive with your twisted views.

 

"But Bettina was #1 rated"

In 1944 by The Ring at a time Louis was in the service and could not defend his title. I repeat once more. Your overlooking World War II completely in your arguments is not impressing folks who understand that it was perhaps the largest concentrated event in human history and changed everything. Bettina was not rated at all by The Ring in 1945, the year Louis did return and could begin negotiating for title defenses.

"IMO would have given the very orthodox Louis problems with his south paw style."

Why? The "orthodox" Louis had a great jab and the best and hardest straight right in the business. Those are the punches most effective against a southpaw. Louis would have had five inches in height and six inches in reach and probably 25 or more lbs. on Bettina. Bettina was not an explosive puncher. He not only lost to good orthodox fighters like Conn and Lesnevich, but in 1940 to Al McCoy, who is in the running as Louis' weakest title defense and is certainly in the bottom five.

"Rosenbloom . . . may have had a strike on him because he was Jewish."

As were Pastor, Baer, and Simon. Louis defended against them. You are really scraping the bottom of the barrel in assigning a litany of prejudices to Louis or his management. Not only anti-foreigner but now anti-Semitic.

 

Ring magazine is not an official sanctioning body and has never NEVER dictated who got title shots. Period. Why not quote Boxing News or some other magazine to support your moronic contention that Louis ducked a man who would have been one of the smallest fighters he ever fought while beating men who beat that guy? Its a ****ing magazine! It had no official purview over the sport. Never mind the fact that it was a New York based magazine that tended to be biased toward New York fighters and Bettina was a New York fighter. I wont even get into the fact that annual ratings people on this forum ludicrously post as supporting flimsy arguments are nothing more than one months ratings taken at the end of the previous year or the fact that the one month you can point to a magazine rating Bettina as #1 was during the war when Louis was in the service and unable to defend. Look at the published NBA rankings which was an official organization with the power to dictate title defenses and see if Bettina was ever rated #1 at HW, he wasnt. Should I give two shits today if some magazine somewhere has someone rated #1? Because I dont.

 

Correct me if I’m wrong - but why have you pointedly left Jeffries (who you rate highly) out in your analysis of the colour line and its ramifications?

In his 8 defences, Jeffries did not fight one black contender. He expressly refused to fight any…and he clearly avoided the clearly eligible challenge of Jack Johnson.

If one wants to focus on dubious decisions, look to Greggains’ crooked verdict for the Johnson vs Hart bout which allowed Jeff to sail off into the sunset without the stigma of an undefeated Johnson still waiting at his door?

At least Johnson himself did defend against one black contender. And, unlike Jeffries, Johnson was very much set back by the colour line on his way to an eventual title shot.

Jeff came back - got beat up and knocked out. The fallout, after much violence perpetrated by white folk? Even more stoic preclusion of any black challengers for a number of years.

Louis himself had to mind his Ps and Qs in order to secure his own title shot. And he didn’t just fight two black contenders. He made 3 defences against Black Challengers.

And when Jersey Joe gave him a tough fight, he didn’t muck about, granting him a return some 6 months or so later, to properly clarify matters.

Disposed champion Fitz didn’t get a rematch with Jeff until 3 years later, when he was that much older and more inactive and he still gave Jeff a good going over.

And old Corbett, beating young Jeff for the better part of 20 rounds only to lose by KO in the 23rd. When did Jas J get his return match? Yep, 3 years later, again.

 

Boxrec also says that Pastor has a good case for being the all-time greatest Jewish heavyweight, if Max Baer is not considered.

Louis not looking good doesn't mean he didn't get a UD over Pastor, who was after all a first-rate contender. And what about the second fight? Every champion is criticized here and there for not looking good. Jeff against Armstrong, for example.

As for Rosenbloom, I went through the NBA ratings, and he was never rated at heavyweight, even in cases where as many as 23 heavyweights were listed.

The Ring did rate him as the #5 heavyweight contender in 1936, for reasons somewhat hard for me to understand, as Maxie seemed to be fighting journeymen. He was also rated by The Ring at #5 in 1938 which is understandable, as he outpointed a young Nova and drew with Pastor that year.

Why did he not fight Louis? Could be all kinds of reasons, but possibly he wasn't interested. His movie career was thriving. He began appearing in films regularly in 1936. He appeared in 4 in 1937, and 7 in 1938, and 6 in 1939. Getting into the ring with a dangerous puncher like Louis might not have been that appealing to a man in his late 30's with a flourishing and lucrative acting career. Rosenbloom had lost to Alberto Lovell in 1937 and was KO'd in two later that year by Jimmy Adamick. What we know is he really didn't follow up the Nova and Pastor bouts and retired in 1939.

Whatever, no one can fight them all, and just picking names out of a hat is unfair and smacks of anti-Louis bias. Joe fought far more good and highly rated men than Jeff, Dempsey, Tunney, or Marciano. Let's also pick names out of the hat for those men then and be equal opportunity critics.

 

At what stage do you think that Louis should have defended his title against Rosenbloom and why?