One of Alabama's most famous sports figures is boxer Joe Louis, whose career ran from 1934 until 1951. Considered one of the all-time greats, Louis defended his heavyweight title in 25 consecutive contests and had the longest reign in heavyweight boxing history. His two fights against German Max Schmeling in the 1930's were spectacles of the first order. On June 19, 1936, Schmeling gave Louis his first professional loss when he knocked the "Brown Bomber" out in the 12th round. For the rematch on June 22, 1938, the pair met in Yankee Stadium before a crowd of more than 70,000. Louis defeated Schmeling in the first round. In 2010 an eight foot statue of Louis by Casey Downing, Jr., was erected on the Chambers County Courthouse lawn. Louis was born in Lafayette.
Naturally, Hollywood brought Louis to the screen in at least three biopics. In 1938 Louis himself had starred in a fictionalized account of his life, Spirit of Youth. The second one was The Joe Louis Story from United Artists and released on September 18, 1953. Louis was played in that film by a professional boxer, Coley Wallace. Ring of Passion, a made-for-TV movie with Bernie Casey as Louis, appeared in 1978.
Wallace was born April 5, 1927 in Jacksonville, Florida; he died January 30, 2005, of heart failure in Harlem, NY. At the time of his death he was married to Pearlie-May Wallace; she died in 2016. The couple had a daughter named Pat.
As an amateur, Wallace was New York Daily News Golden Gloves heavyweight champion in 1948 and 1949. In the 1948 semi-final he defeated Rocky Marciano in a split decision, an outcome unpopular with the crowd. Wallace is believed to be the only fighter ever to defeat Marciano. You can find more highlights from his amateur career here.
Wallace's first professional fight took place in April 1950 and his final one in April 1956. In that period he had 29 bouts, with 22 wins [16 by knockout] and seven losses [four by knockout]. His best known pro opponent was probably Ezzard Charles, who defeated Wallace by a knockout in December 1953. Charles held a world heavyweight title and in 1950 defeated his idol Joe Louis who was at the end of his career. Another opponent was Jimmy Bivins, who defeated Wallace by a knockout in September 1952. Bivins never had a title fight, but defeated eight of eleven world champions he faced. He lost to Joe Louis in an August 1951 bout.
Thus Wallace was in the midst of his professional boxing career when he made this film. In the early 1950's he also worked as a bouncer at the Savoy Ballroom, a legendary music and dancing venue in Harlem that operated from 1926 until 1958. Wallace was a referee in two bouts in 1974 and a judge in several fights in the 1980's.
Wallace had small roles as Joe Louis in two later films, the 1979 TV movie Marciano and Martin Scorsese's classic Raging Bull [1980] based on the life of boxer Jake LaMotta. In 1956 he starred in a non-boxing film, Carib Gold, along with Ethel Waters. It's also the first known film role of Cicely Tyson.
The Joe Louis Story has been released on VHS and DVD, and is available on Amazon Prime and for free on YouTube. The boxer's mother, Marva Louis, is played by Hilda Simms in the movie.
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Joe Louis [1914-1981] in 1941
Coley Wallace [1927-2005]
On May 14, 1953, Joe Louis and Coley Wallace stand in front of a 1951 poster for what turned out to be the Alabama heavyweight's last fight. Marciano won in the eighth round.
This issue of Look magazine 3 November 1953 included an article "Corey Wallace Plays Joe Louis" on pages 86-89. Five photographs by Wil Blanche show Wallace training at his New Jersey gym, etc.
Marciano was first broadcast on the ABC-TV network on 21 October 1979
Frankie Manning and Coley Wallace at the dedication of a Savoy Ballroom plaque 26 May 2002
Wallace's grave in the Calverton Cemetery, Suffolk County, New York
In
this 1978 TV movie actor Bernie Casey portrays #Alabama native Joe Louis as he
fights German Max Schmeling, losing the first fight 19 June 1936 but winning
the rematch 22 June 1938
An article about Louis by William Jerome appeared in the May-June 1937 issue of this magazine.
