The Phoenix index., 1940-07-13
rUSKEGEE GIRLS WIN NATIONAL A.A.U. TITLE
Joe Louis Should Retire Now In
Opinion Of Leading Educator
(By DEAN GORDON B. HANCOCK

could do is to retire from the ring
He has made fame and fortune and
is comparatively a boy and he has
everything to lose and nothing TO
gain from fighting the ham
fatters' the promoters are bringing
up. Joe Louis has cleaned up the
iield and lifted the boxing sport
out of the doldrums and there Is
nothing that he can add either to
the sport or to his own pugiliStic
stature Joe has been one Of the
mcst capably handled champions
the world has ever known. RoX-
borough, Black and Blackburn, al
all-Negro concern, has acquitted
itself with honor and I repeat here
what I have said time and again,
that if the Negro race were as
capably managed as Joe Louic mas
been, our future would be far more
roseate.
Joe Louis has fought like a tiger
on his liar and has demanded him
self as high toned gentleman.
Joe Louis the boxer and Joe Louis
the gentleman have done some
thing to this nation in general ana
has bolStered the pride of his race
in particular. Joe Louis should re-
tire at once. His battering OF
Godoy was a timely victory and
left no doubt as to his pugiliStic
proWess. For many months the
sports writer's, who at first aC-
claimed him superman, have been
inclined to disparage his fine
record as champion. At first 1t
vas Brown Bomber" and now it is
"Shufflin Joe" while as a matter
Of fact Joe has no more shuttle"
than President Conant of Howard
university.
LUCKY NIGHTS
Even Negro writer's are calling
him "shufflin Joe" term rs
unnecessary as unWarranted If
Lindbergh was a Flying FOOL
Joe Louis has been dozen "Fignt-
ing Fools. Joe has done his work.
Whereas Joe has had many lucky
nights, some of these times he is
going to acoidently bump into the
flying fist of some fourth rater and
take the count and the sun of his
glory will set in cloud. 1t is eXv.
pasting too much of man VINO
fights as often as Joe, not to have
an "off night
1t is unfair to Joe to fight him
so often and it is more unfair 20
bring up ham-fatters like Galento
whose only boast is how much beer
he can drink, and how much
punching he can take. To throw
Joe into the ring with a hard boil
ed character like Galento is to dc
the former a great injustice. 1t
disparages the boxing game and if
the promoters cannot see it. Joe
and his advisers should. Not i'll
the history of boxing have so many
lesser lights been tagged onto a
champion and the small gates at
tracted indicate the repulsion the
sporting crowds, feel towards it all.
UNFAIR TO JOE
1t is true these promoters arc
out to fill their Golfers; but they
should not be filled at the expense
of Joe's fame and popularity With
certain men it is a matter of
money; with Joe Louis and his
advisers it should be something
more. Joe has made money for
himself and for his managers and
for the promoters; Joe has brought
boxing back to high plane and 1t
is now time for him to retire. To
jeopafdize the face of so great
champion for the sake of a few
dollars is not only not good busl-
ness but not good common sense.
Why go on boxing if there is moth
ing to be gained from it?
With Joe's record of knockouts
and killings he has inflicted upon
divers challengers and contenderS,
he is easily the greatest champion
the world has known. When
Negro gets where Joe is, he must be
plenty good" The only pull
Joe has is in those trip-hamr1er
fists. Dempsey whose record can
not compare with Joe's is hailed as
a super great, but Dempsey.s color
is an asset. Joe's therefore is
the greater credit for the fame
and fortune achieved joe and his
managers have had good fighting
sense now it remains to be seen
if they have quitting sense" AL
ready this constant fighting Sof a
great champion with "third-rat-
ers" is detracting prestige from
sport.
Joseph H. Kritt, National Bank
building, Detroit, seeing the at
tempt to diSparage Joe after MS
first fight with Godoy sent the fol
lowing letter to some of the lead
ing metropolitan dailies, and 1t
was refused publication.
WOULDN'T PUBLISH LETTER
1.-The articles published against
Joe Louis nave riled me so that |
am forced to write this to get ii
off my chest. Here it is, Gene
Tunney was figuratively speaking
thrown out of the ring when the
refree called his bout with Cana
da's heavyweight champ, Jack
Renault, a no-contest affair-but