NBA Quiz: Name the starting 5 for the 1972-73 Boston Celtics
team that went 68-14. Answer below.
Joe Louis, Part I
No discussion of black history would be complete without a
discussion of Louis. Born Joe Louis Barrow, May 13, 1914 on
a sharecropper”s farm near Lafayette, AL, Louis was the 7th of 8
children. Soon after his birth his father was committed to a
psychiatric hospital. Shortly afterwards, the family was told he
had died.but he lived 2 decades more.don”t ask me how this
happened. Joe”s mother Lillie remarried another farmer (hmmm.
No word on whether this “other” farmer was the cause of Joe
Sr.”s “disappearance.”)
When Joe was ten the family moved to Detroit. Because of his
poor schooling down South, he attended school in Detroit with
students much younger than himself. He developed a stammer as
a result of this humiliation. But his real interest lay in boxing.
He used to spend hours watching boxers spar and after leaving
school at 17 he began training on his own.
Joe lost his first amateur bout but over the next 3 years he had
over 40 knockouts and just a few losses. In 1934 he won a
national light heavyweight title, after which he turned pro. John
Roxborough and Julian Black, 2 black businessmen who were
also involved in illegal gambling and running numbers, agreed to
manage Louis. They advised him to drop Barrow from his name
to make it easier to remember. Jack Blackburn, an experienced
fight man, was hired as trainer. Louis had little foot speed so
Blackburn encouraged him to use a flat-footed shuffle. Coupled
with his compact punches, these became his signature traits.
Roxborough and Black were also aware of how the first black
heavyweight champion, Jack Johnson (champ from 1908-15)
was hated by white America (mainly because he used to gloat
over his opponents.he”d fit in well in today”s NFL.and he
also liked to have relationships with white women). Louis was
thus told to act like a real gentleman in the ring and to be careful
with the press. He was advised to avoid drinking, smoking and
being seen alone with white women in public. Joe followed this
advice and whites took to his modesty and dignity. He quickly
earned the nickname the “Brown Bomber.” Even white
southerners hailed him. [Privately, Louis had an active nightlife
but he didn”t drink.]
Of course, Louis became a real hero to black America. Boxing
was the only sport at the time that allowed blacks to compete
against whites, so they lived vicariously through his bouts,
certainly enjoying the punishing blows against whites.
The first year in the ring, Louis racked up more than 20 victories
without a loss, including knockouts of former heavyweight
champs Primo Carnera and Max Baer in 1935. [Friday, Part II]
Pope John Paul II…mea culpa
At a ceremony on March 12, Pope John Paul II is due to issue a
sweeping apology for 2,000 years of violence, persecution and
blunders (including anti-Semitism, violent evangelism, the
Inquisition and religious wars, including the Crusades). Vatican
hard-liners are none too pleased as they feel an apology isn”t
necessary. Among the apologies, the Pope is due to speak of the
failure to resist the Nazis (but without implicating Pius XII who
has been accused of ignoring the Holocaust).
With his health declining, John Paul has been determined to
bring the church into the jubilee of the millennium but he has felt
that the church could only do so with “purification of the
memory.” The hard-liners are trying to dilute the report. The
ceremony on March 12 comes right before the Pope”s trip to
Israel and the Holy Land later that month.
John Paul has previously apologized to folks like Galileo,
persecuted for suggesting the Earth was round (it is?!) and to
Muslims for atrocities committed by the Crusaders (not to be
confused with the jazz group of the same name). Said the
Reverend Edward Yarnold, a Jesuit theologian, “Many Catholics
will welcome (the apology) as a positive step; there”s a
momentum growing that we need to admit more faults. Some
conservative Catholics will be offended, though. They will
wrongly think that this apology is the thin end of a wedge which
will eventually challenge doctrine.” On the other hand, there are
those who feel the apologies won”t go far enough. [Source: The
Guardian. Before you jump all over me, I”m Catholic and I”m not
taking a stand on this issue.]
The Travellin” Chaplain
The current House chaplain, Reverend James D. Ford, a
Lutheran, has traveled to 29 countries (9 separate trips) at
taxpayer expense over the past six years. Primarily, the chaplain
opens each session of the House with a prayer, as well as
ministering to the spiritual needs of lawmakers (especially those
sleeping around.just a thought…not a fact).
Ford says the travel helps him get to know lawmakers better if he
accompanies them overseas. The Speaker of the House has to
approve these trips. Gary Ruskin, one of those fellows with a
watchdog group (who I normally don”t pay much attention to),
said “If he wants to get to know members of Congress better,
then he ought to be in Washington where they are and not in far-
flung regions of the world at taxpayers expense.” Right on,
Gary. Ford is retiring and there is a rather ugly debate taking
place over his replacement. Protestants vs. Catholics. It could
get real bloody. Stay tuned.
Tiger Woods
So my friend Carl goes, why don”t you write about Tiger for
Black History month? Heck, Tiger ain”t history…he”s writin”
history. You all know about his 6-in-a-row feat, tied with Ben
Hogan for 2nd longest next to Byron Nelson”s 11. But at age 24,
Tiger now has 17 career PGA wins. Among active players on
tour (non-Senior Tour members), only Ben Crenshaw (19) and
Greg Norman (18) have more.
Top 3 songs for the week of 2/5/66: #1 “My Love” (Petula
Clark…someday I”m doing a Broadway show with her tunes as
the focus. But don”t tell anyone) #2 “Barbara Ann” (The Beach
Boys) #3 “No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach”s In) (The
T-Bones).
Quiz Answer: John Havlicek (23.8 ppg) Dave Cowens (20.5)
Jo Jo White (19.7) Paul Silas (13.3) Don Chaney (13.1). Don
Nelson was the 6th man (10.8). *But, of course, the New York
Knicks actually won the championship that year, besting the
Celtics 4-3 and the Lakers 4-1.
Next Bar Chat, Friday…Joe Louis and War…the R&B group.
*Happy Birthday, Bro…
