![]() More likely, Louis simply omitted his last name to keep his boxing a secret from his mother. Legend has it that before the fight, the barely literate Louis wrote his name so large that there was no room for his last name, and thus became known as "Joe Louis" for the remainder of his boxing career. Louis made his debut in early 1932 at the age of 17. ![]() A classic story is that he tried to hide his pugilistic ambitions from his mother by carrying his boxing gloves inside his violin case. ![]() His mother attempted to get him interested in playing the violin. The Great Depression hit the Barrow family hard, but Joe still made time to work out at a local youth recreation center at 637 Brewster Street in Detroit. Louis attended Bronson Vocational School for a time to learn cabinet-making. Joe's brother worked for Ford Motor Company (where Joe would himself work for a time at the River Rouge Plant) and the family settled into a home at 2700 Catherine (now Madison) Street in Detroit's Black Bottom neighborhood. In 1926, shaken by a gang of white men in the Ku Klux Klan, Louis's family moved to Detroit, Michigan, forming part of the post- World War I Great Migration. Around 1920, Louis's mother married Pat Brooks, a local construction contractor, having received word that Munroe Barrow had died while institutionalized (in reality, Munroe Barrow lived until 1938, unaware of his son's fame). Munroe Barrow was committed to a mental institution in 1916 and, as a result, Joe knew very little of his biological father. Louis suffered from a speech impediment and spoke very little until about the age of six. He was instrumental in integrating the game of golf, breaking the sport's color barrier in America by appearing under a sponsor's exemption in a PGA event in 1952. He is widely regarded as the first person of African-American descent to achieve the status of a nationwide hero within the United States, and was also a focal point of anti- Nazi sentiment leading up to and during World War II because of his historic rematch with German boxer Max Schmeling in 1938. Louis's cultural impact was felt well outside the ring. Louis had the longest single reign as champion of any boxer in history. He was victorious in 25 consecutive title defenses, a record for all weight classes. He reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1937 until his temporary retirement in 1949. Nicknamed the Brown Bomber, Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. When he was about 18 months old, Marciano contracted pneumonia, from which he almost died.Joseph Louis Barrow (– April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Rocky had two brothers, Louis (aka Sonny) and Peter, and three sisters, Alice, Concetta and Elizabeth. His father was from Ripa Teatina, Abruzzo, while his mother was from San Bartolomeo in Galdo, Campania. Both of his parents were immigrants from Italy. Born Rocco Francis Marchegiano, he was raised on the south side of Brockton, Massachusetts to Pierino Marchegiano and Pasqualina Picciuto. Marciano is ranked #14 in The Ring magazine's list of the 100 greatest punchers of all time. His six title defenses were against Jersey Joe Walcott (from whom he had taken the title), Roland La Starza, Ezzard Charles (twice), Don Cockell and Archie Moore.Known for his relentless fighting style, formidable punching power, stamina, and exceptionally durable chin, Marciano is considered one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time.Marciano remains the only fighter to have stopped every opponent he ever faced for the world heavyweight title, and holds the highest knockout-to-win ratio in world heavyweight title fights at 85.7%.nb 2 His career knockout-to-win percentage of 87.8% remains one of the highest in heavyweight boxing history. He is the only heavyweight champion to have finished his career undefeated. Rocco Francis Marchegiano (Septem– AugItalian pronunciation: markeˈdʒaːno), better known as Rocky Marciano (/mɑːrsiˈɑːnoʊ/, Italian: marˈtʃaːno), was an American professional boxer who competed from 1947 to 1955, and held the world heavyweight title from 1952 to 1956.
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