The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-10-12
LOUIS HANGS UP GLOvESl
 M. JACOBS CALM
Promoter Not Surprised ; No Plans for Successor;
 Joe Earned $2,2zS,OOO
By T. ". INGTLDsBY United Press Stan Correspondent

United Press Stan COrreSpOn0ent
 Omaha, Neb., Oct. 12.- (UP) = Sgt. Joeph Louis, busiest champion and most destructive puncher in heavyweight history, has retired from the ring to concentrate gon fighting for Uncle Sam.
 Louis, second negro to wear pugi- 1ism's most coveted crown, admit ted his retirement and abdication of the throne on the day he orig inally was scheduled to make his 22nd defense against Billy Conn in their cancelled return battle. The fight was cancelled at direction of Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson.
 Jolting Joe explained that the war and his increasing years had rung down the curtain on his career. At 28, the man who had developed from an Alabama plantation pick aninny into one of the rings great est fighting machines, said he was hanging up his gloves.
 He said:
 By the time I'll be out of the Army. I'll be in the 30's, and that's too old for champion. I'm too old now.'
 Louis, who participated in an ex- hibition drill here yesterday with the Fort Riley, Kans.. cavalry team, evinced little emotion at quitting the business of leather-tdBsing in which his purses during eight years totaled approximately $2,228,000.
 Tt doesn't make much difference now, guess" Louis said.
 Although Sergeant Joe declined to amplify this statement, apparently he referred to the recent order from Stimson, which cancelled the Louis- Conn bout for Army relief when he learned that both fighters were tc be piad. No Army boxers will be permitted to fight for profit, hence forth.
 Not "Surprised''
 Promoter Mike Jacobs, who had staged all of Bomber Joe's impor- tant bouts, was informed of the re- tirement at his Rumson, N. J., es- tate. Jacobs said the retirement didn't surprise him much.
 ''To tell you the truth, I thought he quit the ring when he enlisted in the Army Jacobs said. 'No, | don't know if his title will be de- clared vacant" He added that he had no plans concerning 8 pos- Sible title successor.
 Since Billy Conn also is in the Army, the next three ranking heavyweights are Bob Pastor of New York, Lee Savold of Des Moines and Tami Mauriello of New York.
 Louis has been the most active of heavyweight champions. He defend- ed the crown he wrested from James J. Braddock on an eight round knockout at Chicago, June p, 1887 no less than q times.
 Bomber Joe enlisted in the Army as private on Jan. IA at the height of a career that began eight years ago in Chicago-July 1, 1884. Since his professional debut, he fought 57 times, scoring 47 knockouts for the most destructive punching average of any heavy champ. He earned seven decisions, won one bout on a disqualification, and was defeated but once-when knocked out in the l2th round by Max Schmeling in 1856 before he won the title. In a return bout with Schmeling, Louis achieved the quickest knockout vic- tory in heavy championship history, putting Naz Maxie away in two minutes, four seconds of the first rounds.
 Short of Cash
 Although Louis earned more than two-and-a-quarter million dollars for himself and his managers, John Peterborough and Julian Black, dur ing eight busy years, and although he has considerable property, Joe was so short of actual cash when he enlisted in the Army that an Army representative was reported to have promised him "tax fight" later So that he could pay up his back in- come tax. Moreover, when final plans for the return Louis-Conn fight were announced, it was re- vealed that Louis owed Mike Jacohs $59,805 and Manager Roxborough $41.14S.
 Louis was born in Lexington, Ala, May l3, 1914, but when he was quite young his family moved to Detroit, Mich, where he was working in the Ford motor car plant when, he began amateur boxing. He won the Ma. tional A. A. U. Nght-heavyweight crown before turning pro, and was put under the wing of that great trainer, the late Jack Blackburn.
 The noly other heayyweight champion to retire undefeated was Gene Tunney, who relinquished the title In 1928 after defending it against Jack Dempsey (from whom ne wop the crown) and Tom Heeney Tunney now Is a comman- der in the Navy.