bennie wrote:dagosd2000 wrote:I mentioned this before. I used to coach one of Joe Louis's adopted children on our high school football team in San Diego. I wasn't his position coach. John Louis was a defensive back and I coached the offensive linemen. I wanted to talk to him,maybe at length,about his father,but I never did. To tell you the truth, I don't even know how John Louis was on the team. Joe Louis had passed about five years earlier,and now his son was playing football for us.
John was kind of skinny,not a physical player,but a real over achiever. One thing though that John resembled was Joe Louis's humility. I saw Joe Louis once with my wife when he was a greeter in front of Caesar'a Palace. He's got on this cowboy hat, and tourists are getting their pictures taken with him. He's patient,smiling and willing. I watched him for a while before I stepped up to the stairs to say something to him. He was like a little kid. He didn't act like what he was doing was demeaning. He was happy to make people feel happy. After watching him for a while ,I made my approach.
My wife is shy around strangers. I think she's a little self conscious of her English. She didn't go to school because she had to take care of her nine brothers and sisters. Anything she wasn't familiar with she'd back away from. But I noticed my wife as we neared the Heavyweight Champ. My wife wouldn't go to a boxing match on a bet. I told her that this man was once the greatest fighter of his day. She looked at that Joe Louis's face. That natural,unpretentious Joe Louis face,and my wife,I could tell liked this man. This man she had never met before. I introduced my wife to Joe Louis.
"Very nice to meet you,"Joe said smiling.
"Sank yous",said my wife blushing up at him. Joe extended his hand very gently ,and held my wife's hand in his. The same hand that had struck with dynamite force on the chins of Baer,Conn,and Schmeling.
Joe turned and smiled at me, still gently holding my wife's hand.
"You have a very pretty wife." said Joe in a very straight honest voice. He said it not only to compliment her,but make me feel good too. I could tell he wanted to make a point by telling me that.
"Sank yous,"said my wife.
I wanted to ask him something. A boxing question. Why not?
"Champ, who's the best fighter today?"
"Why Muhammad Ali is a very fine fighter."
The same Ali that once thought Joe Louis was an Uncle Tom. And Joe thought Ali didn't represent all black people. Maybe there was no more animosity. I don't think Joe Louis was ever angry at Ali. Maybe it was Ali that had come around. Me and my wife thanked him for his time.
I felt that I had achieved something by asking Joe Louis a question. I started to walk away up the steps when I heard from behind Joe Louis.
"Who's your favorite fighter?" he asked. I'm thinking.Joe Louis wants to talk to me some more? Joe Louis wants my opinion?
"You still are Champ,"I said smiling at him.
Joe waved his hand.
"Win a lot of money."he said.
Me and the wife went inside the casino. I think we lost. We walked out after an hour or so and Joe Louis was not there.
"You win money?"asked my wife.
"No. How about you?"
"Me no win notheens," she responded.
"Well," I said. "I don't know about nothing."
I always wanted to tell John Louis that story about his father. I regret I never got around to it.
Nice story. I've seen film of Joe in his role as greeter and the sheer presence of the man is something that can never be demeaned.
Thanks Bennie
I wanted to take this a step further. If you want to push my buttons,start saying something about Joe Louis not being too smart. I think Joe was an easy target for loud mouths and I even think his tax problems had something to do with people's perception that Joe Louis was not too smart.
Joe felt very uncomfortable with a camera in his face and some guy asking him questions. That uneasiness sent the wrong message. I always thought Joe was just the opposite,extremely intelligent. Bottom line:Joe Louis never let fear disable him from accomplishing the greatest feat in sports. Winning the Heavyweight Championship. The first black fighter since Johnson,who had to convince the public that he wasn't like him at all,live with an often racist press,join a segregated military,and coming back from a devastating loss to Schmeling that could have ended his career.
He gave his money away to friends who needed it. So what. Joe's family were sharecroppers in the South. The white couple that owned the farm treated Joe's family good. When the country got mired in the Depression,this farmer was about to lose his farm. Joe saved it for this farmer because he remembered how they had treated his parents. When reporters questioned why Joe was going to turn the proceeds of his fights during the War to charities,Joe Louis got a little sore with them. He believed he was paying back his country.
After he retired from boxing is when he became a target for a lot of people. I told this before. One time Don Rickles was doing a bit. He opened an act for Frank Sinatra. Well Rickles is going around the room making fun of everybody. There were a lot of celebrities there that night. Well Rickles is getting off insulting all the celebrities and he's approaching Joe Louis's table. Rickles has Joe in his sights. Rickles started to say something about Louis and right away Sinatra starts up the band! Rickles is left there with egg on his face.
"I guess I'm through" he says.
One time I heard this young starlet say,"You know you've made it if Don Rickles shits on you."
Go ahead sweetheart. Push my buttons.
