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Joe Louis Worn Training Shirt & 10 Title-Fight Programs
Offered here is one of the most unusual Joe Louis items we have ever seen: a Joe Louis worn training shirt that decorates the cover of an album containing a bound collection of ten different Joe Louis title-fight programs. The history of this unique piece is documented by the vintage handwritten notations and photos that appear on an interior page. The shirt, which was used by Louis while training for his 1942 title defense against Buddy Baer, was given to Dr. Walter Jacobs by Joe Louis' trainer, Manny Seamon. Jacobs then cut the shirt and affixed it across the covers and spine of a scrapbook album which he filled with Joe Louis fight programs. The white shirt features the name "Joe Louis" in maroon felt letters across the front, which now reads from the back cover to the front cover. A piece of black leather affixed to the front cover, which came from training gloves used by former Welterweight Champion Marty Servo, is lettered "Louis Defends The Title." Jacobs, a dentist by trade and former boxer in his youth, was a well-known figure in the fight game. According to his New York Times obituary in 1992, he was famous for developing individually molded rubber mouth guards for fighters. Included among his hundreds of clients were Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey, Floyd Patterson, and Larry Holmes. As a hobby, he also produced plaster casts of boxer's fists, most of which now reside in the Museum of the City of New York and the Boxing Hall of Fame. Included in the album is a vintage photo of Jacobs holding the shirt that now covers this album. The ten Joe Louis title-fight programs in the album are as follows: 1) Louis v. Pastor (9/20/29). 2) Louis v. Godoy (6/20/40). 3) Louis v. Burman (1/31/41). 4) Louis v. Conn (6/18/41). 5) Louis v. Nova (9/29/41). 6) Louis v. Baer (19/42). 7) Louis v. Simon (3/27/42). 8) Louis v. Conn (6/19/46). 9) Louis v. Walcott (6/23/48). 10) Louis v. Charles (9/27/50). The programs, aside from their bound status, are in Good condition overall, with a few slightly lesser or better. Also included in the album are 10 mounted boxing-tickets (all stubs), a postcard to Jacobs, and a few miscellaneous boxing souvenirs. The shirt displays several heavy stains throughout (most likely as a result of the adhesive bleeding through the material) but remains firmly affixed to the album. 9.5x12.5".
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