German Boxing Legend Max Schmeling Dies

Yahoo ^ | 02/04/2005 | ROY KAMMERER

[crz]

Max was one of those silent heros. He actually never had a mean bone in his body. I have read some things on him that would make you wonder why he took up boxing. He and Joe Louis were the best of friends.

[uncbob]

Googled his bio. He hid two Jews in his apartment on Crystal Night then later helped them leave the country. He enraged Hitler by refusing to join the Nazi Party. Hitler had him drafted into the parachute troops and made sure he was assigned suicide missions.

Yeah it was a damn shame that for decades his 2nd fight with Louis was portrayed as a fight against Hitler's Nazism
There was a TV special about 3 years ago that told the true story
It was especially nice that he came over to this country to visit and aid Louis when he was old and infirm and others in the uSA had abandonned him

[Mad Mammoth]

And don't forget the Sugar Ray Robinson/Jake LaMotta grudge matches.

I daresay that Schmeling's saving those two Jews in his apartment was NOT forgotten when he showed up before the Almighty.

Rest In Peace.

[Michael81Dus]

Max was one of those silent heros. He actually never had a mean bone in his body.

So true. One of the good guys has perished from earth. He shall be us all a leading spirit, having done so much to help others.

[Monterrosa-24]

Right-o ! He was a nice guy, a tough guy, and had an amazing walk through history.

It was said he was the only man to win the heavyweight championship lying down (on a foul) and lose it standing up (on a close decision).. But he is the only boxer who beat Joe Louis in Louis's prime years. He was an even match for Sharkey who beat the great Harry Wills (the Black who did not get a shot at Dempsey when he was in the top five).

He jumped out of a JU-52 into Crete to see that costly and fierce campaign. After the war he was a well-to-do businessman with a reputation for giving money away and being very kind to his mere mortal fans.

[Time is now]

After the war, Schmeling was nearly destitute and fought five more times for the money. He retired after a 10-round loss to Walter Neusel in 1948 at age 43 with a record of 56-10-4 with 39 knockouts.

Schmeling used the money from the bouts to buy the license to the Coca-Cola franchise in Germany and grew wealthy in the postwar era. He also marketed his name, retaining his huge popularity with his countrymen despite his problems with the Nazis.

Schmeling remained married to Anny Ondra for 54 years until she died in 1987. The two, who met on the set of a film Schmeling appeared in, married in 1932.

"I had a happy marriage and a nice wife. I accomplished everything you can. What more can you want?" Schmeling said in 1985.

Over the years, Schmeling treasured his friendship with Louis and quietly gave the down-and-out American gifts of money. He also paid for Louis' funeral in 1981.

In his final years, Schmeling spent three or four hours a day watching television in his home. He attributed his long life to his happy marriage. The couple had no children.

[Finalapproach29er]

I bet he didn't want to hear about the crappy Ken Burns documentary on Jack Johnson any longer.

[speedy]

Yes, there were lots of great middleweight bouts in the 1950s, and you named the best of the lot. You also had people like Carmen Basilio, Randy Turpin, Gene Fullmer and Paul Pender taking turns at the crown. Concur on Schmeling. Prior to him, the longest-lived ex-champ was Jack Sharkey, the man he beat to win the title (but subsequently lost it back to him.) Max must have been about the last surviving great athlete of the 1930s.

[Monterrosa-24]

What I hated about the long TV special on the Schmeling-Louis fights was that it claimed "Joe Louis was not free.......he was not allowed to buy the house he wanted in the New Jersey neighborhood where he trained." So it said Schmeling was no Nazi and Louis was "not free".

Well it appears to me that when you are an idolized millionaire being allowed to blow your money and your marriages with abandon, you're still pretty free even if a snobby Yankee neighborhood doesn't want you.. In fact, when Joe Louis was hauling cotton to the gins in Camp Hill, Alabama, he was free and he took advantage of his freedom, went north for industrial employment, got into boxing, and worked his way up. Louis did not have the great life that Schmeling had but freedom was something he enjoyed.

[bowzer313]

"Schmeling remained married to Anny Ondra for 54 years until she died in 1987. The two, who met on the set of a film Schmeling appeared in, married in 1932."

"I had a happy marriage and a nice wife. I accomplished everything you can. What more can you want?" Schmeling said in 1985."

"(Schmeling) attributed his long life to his happy marriage. The couple had no children."

What a beautiful love story! In my opinion, this should be remembered, rather than his fights with Louis.

[TalBlack]

"Hitler had him drafted into the parachute troops and made sure he was assigned suicide missions."


Hitler lives a few more years and Schmeling makes it to 99. Doom on you, Adolph...

Favorite quote; "I zee somezing"

[EmilyGeiger]

Wow, I just saw a history channel show on him. I didn't realize he was still alive.

[dfwgator]

It's very reminiscent of Jesse Owens main German rival Lutz Long at the 1936 Olympic games. Lutz was paraded by Hitler as the ideal German athlete and he was the favorite to win the long jump. Long gave Owens some advice before Owens jumped, and Owens broke the world record. Long publicly congratulated Owens, much to Hitler's chagrin. Sadly Long did not survive the war.

[gopwinsin04]

[Zionist Conspirator]

I too was not aware he was still alive until I saw the headline in Yahoo news.

A true gentleman.

[Mr. Mojo]

Schmeling was a dead-ringer for Jack Dempsey.

[Mr. Mojo]

RIP, Max.

[gopwinsin04]

Didnt Jack Johnson train Schmeling for the Joe Louis fight?

[Bommer]

I bet he didn't want to hear about the crappy Ken Burns documentary on Jack Johnson any longer.

Obviously you didn't even watch it. One of Burn's best documentary's since "The Civil War."

[WhatPriceFreedom?]

Thanks, Joanie. Sad it is. Schmeling was great, not only in the ring but as a man. I see his greatest accomplishment as his knockout of Joe Louis. It was really the only fight Louis ever lost when he was in his prime, and the only fight Louis would have ever lost if it hadn’t been for the IRS hounding him out of retirement and into poverty.