Born: May 13, 1914, Lafayette, AL

Education: Elementary and trade school, Detroit, MI

Died: April 12, 1981, Las Vegas, NV

When boxing phenom Joseph Louis Barrow debuted, sponsors (black Detroit businessmen) prepped him to avoid ex-champion Jack Johnson's flamboyance.

Thus he became Joe Louis. He took lessons in social graces, table manners, and public speaking. Go for the knock-out, they said; fancy footwork vexed racist judges. He could not smile or boast after winning and, urgently, never be seen alone with a white woman. He must be a race role model, a symbol of equality in America's fight against fascism and Nazism.

Louis was a hero and victim. Knocking out German boxer and former heavyweight champion Max Schmeling (1938), he won the undisputed World Championship and Americans’ hearts crossed the color line. Joining the army and unpermitted to defend the title, he performed more than 100 benefit fights, earning only his soldier's pay. However, when he faced financial and personal setbacks after retiring (1949), the government prosecuted and garnisheed him for income tax evasion. To subsist, he returned to the ring as a wrestler and worked as a casino greeter. Still, he helped blaze the trail for Jackie Robinson and other postwar black athletes. In 2005 the International Boxing Research Organization ranked Louis the number one heavyweight of all time.