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June 22, 1938 Joe Louis, Max Schmelling Fight Photos (21)
One of the most important Heavyweight Championship fights in history was the June 22, 1938, fight at Yankee Stadium between African American Joe Louis and the former German World Heavyweight Champion (1932-34), Max Schmeling. Presented is an 11x14" scrapbook containing 13 original, black & white photos (kept in place with spiral binding), of that epic bout. In 1936, Schmeling had defeated Louis, also at Yankee Stadium, the first defeat in Louis' career. In their rematch in '38, the stakes were exponentially higher. Louis, now the World Heavyweight Champion, was the most famous African Americans of his era. In Europe, Nazi Germany had taken over Austria in the Anschluss. Adolf Hitler used propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels to spread racial hatred, and the world was watching the approaching menace of Germany. In his 1978 autobiography, Louis wrote, "I knew I had to get Schmeling good. I had my own personal reasons, and the whole damned country was depending on me." When asked as the fight drew near whether he was scared, Louis said, "Yeah, I'm scared. I'm scared I might kill Schmeling." In the fight, Louis came out swinging and dropped Schmeling three times in the first round, winning a TKO after the third knockdown at merely 2:04 in the opening round. This Louis-Schmeling fight advanced race relations in the United States, as Americans of all races rooted for the "Brown Bomber." The 8x10" photos are all original, from the Associated Press. The 13 photos cover the fight sequentially, from the weigh-in, through the fight and its knockdowns, and then the eventual Louis victory, with Schmeling prone on the canvas. The scrapbook also includes eight larger, copies of original photos. Each of these photos measures 8x11". The scrapbook exhibits wear, with partial tears on the upper and lower left front corner areas as well as on the edges in various places of the scrapbook front and back covers. Some of the original photos show some small smudges and creasing, and some of the larger photos also show some creasing and smudges. The scrapbook makes a fine remembrance of a crucial event in both boxing, and American history.
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