The Phoenix index., 1940-08-03
Joe Louis Unfortunate Insult At Ford
Plant Back In 1893 Proved Best Thing
To HAPPEN To Him In Whole Lifetime!
M Luc1us a1zcholu Jones

ZOE LOUIS boxing career and eventual rise to the
world heavyweight title purely accidental But for
freak happening that took place 1888 when young
Mr. Barrow late of Lafayette Alabama was 30 day au
toobe factory worker at the Ford Motor Company plant
and you and may never nave heard OF sucn per
sonage as "Joe Louis"
As the inside story goes there big 200 for
epner built UP like an Apollo who made it business OF
playing practical jokes from time to time all his fellow
workers Some the pranks resulted in physical injury to
the victims, but the gargantuan alien laughed saVacaV
Several times the said victims resented these unkndy
acts and took punches at the big ansocia But always
Ia their The bully knocked them kicking and made
known on he setting example for all other
fellows who couldn't appreciate good wholesome joke
The bully guy had got practically around the parscut ur
of gag on after before he finally realized tne
husky Negro worker named Joseph Louis Barrow had yet TO
One day around four the shop turned out and
the fellows punched their cards. the big foreigner tugged
Joe out of the line roughly and grOwled:
"Hold on there N-r, punch out after me if you
wanna punch out a-tal Have va forgotten you aN-r?
Joes co-workers had known him to register any
kind of emotion at all. To them he was just Dead-Pan
You may imagine, then, the establishment all of them
underwent when angered to the hlt Louis forgot all
aho the other guys reputation and size reached at his
collar ugged him in close and beating the the om TO the
punch sent him spwag Wing ha TO- ne sn scores
them exressed deep his well being what
they hastened to assure him rash mistake
'Why he'll kill you, feer, va better beat and never
rome back!
But the big fellow lay there, still inert
The next day foreigner to work with his face
heavily submerged in lnen Reports established the fact
that his jaw had been fractured
The word got around like a forest blaze and before
noon of that day. Dead Pan o fame was legion There was
so much aduation for him. cries OF Why don't you take UP
boxing ?" and the like that finally Joe did buy himself
set of gloves punching bag and few other pugllstlc
necessities He worked out daily purely as hobby :
When time for the Golden Gloves matches rolled
around Joe fortified by the POINTERS he had picked up
around local GYM entered The Ford plant turned out
en- masse when it learned their new idol would fight
Imagine Joe's own surprise when ne trlumpned In
round after round of the amateur tournament IN Ccago
knocking out every opponent He scored smashing knock
out in brilliant upset to win the light heavyweight cnan-
plonship in halo OF glory. :.
Julian Black operating John w. Roxborough's lottery
business the Windy City, impressed with Joe 10 suh
an extent that the Detroit lawyer personal note
insisting he take over the boy and finance him as he would
he natural He had been sold on the Barrow Kid by
ioess Jack Blackburn who said with bright geam IN MS
usually lack-lustre eyes:
"The kids got sum thln-hes got sum Chln' .eh
YOU Man. here's your chance
Blackburn convinced Black he could make champion
out of the boy On Detroit visit Black in turn convinced
Roxborough he had nothing to lose.
Why not try it. John?" he asked 'You can afford it
and BESIDES the boys of those propo
sitions. Everybody says that"
Roxborough did take chance. You know the rest of
the story Louis launched out brilliant professional ca
reer in 1884 and from the time he started until his first
meeting Max Schmeing in 1885, he had not tasted de-
feat Over that space of time he earned close to half mil
lion dollars gross in the prize ring.
Be said to the everlasting credit of Frank Marshall
Davis former managing editor he wrote the first time he
saw the Brown Bomber these lines Lu 10 will forget
"Here is the heavyweight to end all heavweights."
Needless to say that ne appearing in the lead para
graph Mr. Davis feature story the Joe Louis Kngfsh
Levinsky fiasco, nothing short of prophetic.
n-AaH