The Great Joe Louis Trivia Quiz

Answer: Brown Bomber

Born Joe Louis Barrow in Lafayette, Alabama on May 13, 1914, Louis' mother had him take violin lessons as a child in the belief that a musician could earn good money, even when times were tough. It did not take Louis' mother long to realize that playing the violin was not his greatest talent.

Answer: John Roxborough

John Roxborough served as his manager for most of Joe's professional career. Roxborough was born in Detroit, Michigan on February 21, 1892. One of the most important moves he made as manager, was the hiring of Jack Blackburn to coach Louis in the ring. Roxborough also was mindful of Louis' pubic image with white America and was very careful to not allow Joe to be seen drinking alcohol in public, and he forbade Joe from having any pictures of himself taken with white women.

Answer: Max Schmeling

Schmeling was born in Brandenburg, Germany on September 28, 1905. His first professional fight took place on August, 2, 1924. He served as the European Light Heavyweight Champion from 1927-1928. He won the heavyweight title on June 12, 1930 against Jack Sharkey. Schmeling passed away on February 2, 2005.

Answer: Primo Carnera

Hailing from Italy, the press at the time, took notice of Carnera's birthplace. At the time, Mussolini had directed Italy to invade Ethiopia, which at the time was one of the few independent black countries in the world. The fight itself was a lop-sided affair with Louis dominating the much larger Carnera.

Answer: James J Braddock

Braddock had won the title in 1935 by defeating Max Baer. Often referred to as the Cinderella Man, Braddock was no match for Louis. The fight took place in Comiskey Park, the home of the Chicago White Sox. Braddock did manage to knock Louis down in the first round, but Louis dominated the rest of the fight. The referee that night was Tommy Thomas.

Answer: Tony Galento

Born Dominick Anthony Galento on March 12, 1910, he was known by the sporting press as Two-Ton Tony. His career record of 80-26-5 was less than impressive. However, on one night in 1939, he briefly had the boxing world holding their breath when he knocked Joe Louis to the canvas.

Answer: Jersey Joe Walcott

Some boxing historians claim Louis attempted to leave the ring immediately after the fight because he left he lost the fight. Years later on in "The Way It Was", an interview with Curt Gowdy, Louis denied this. To his credit, he did give Walcott a rematch six months later. Louis knocked Walcott out in the 11th round in their rematch.

Answer: Ezzard Charles

Louis outweighed Charles by over 30 pounds the day of the fight. Charles easily won the fight, held in Yankee Stadium, by a unanimous decision. It was clear that Louis was way past his prime. Charles was also known as the Cincinnati Cobra.

Answer: Rocky Marciano

Rocky Marciano looked up to the much older Louis as this boyhood idol. According to writer Matt Bevan, Marciano actually cried in his dressing room after the fight, due to the brutal beating that Louis suffered at his hands. This would be the last professional fight of Joe Louis' career.

Answer: Wrestling

Most sports fans do not think of Joe Louis as a wrestler. One of his better known wresting matches was against Cowboy Rocky Lee. Ironically the referee for one of those fights was one of Joe's old opponents, Jersey Joe Walcott.