www.nytimes.com/aponline/sports/AP-BOX-Obit-Schmeling.html?oref=login
Agence France-Presse - Getty Images The German heavyweight, whose bouts against Joe Louis set off a propaganda war between the Nazi regime and the US, died at age 99.
Associated Press Joe Louis, left, knocked out Max Schmeling in the first round of their rematch at Yankee Stadium on June 22, 1938. Max Schmeling, German Boxing Legend, Dies at 99 By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: February 4, 2005 Filed at 4:12 pm ET BERLIN (AP) -- Max Schmeling wanted to be a heavyweight champion, not a symbol of Nazi supremacy. Though he thrilled Germany by knocking out Joe Louis, there was another side to the fighter that Hitler tried to portray as an Aryan Superman. Schmeling, who fought Louis in two of the most politically charged sporting events ever on the eve of World War II, once hid two Jewish boys in his apartment from marauding Nazis and later reportedly helped some Jewish friends escape death camps. He said he feared only one thing in a long life that ended Wednesday at the age of 99. I don't want anyone to say I was a good athlete, but worth nothing as a human being -- I couldn't bear that,'' Schmeling said in 1993. Tributes poured in across his homeland, where he remained a huge idol renown for his generosity long after his fights with Louis sparked a propaganda war between the Nazi regime and the United States. He treasured his friendship with Louis and quietly gave the down-and-out American gifts of money. Gene Kilroy, Muhammad Ali's old business manager, said he talked to Ali on Friday. Kilroy said Ali told him: Max Schmeling had a lot of class. He had a lot of respect for Joe Louis in the ring and out of the ring. He meant a lot to us,'' said Vitali Klitschko, the WBC heavyweight champion. He sent us faxes by victories and comforted us in defeats. Pastor Olaf Koenitz said it was Schmeling's wish to be buried privately. Schmeling's extraordinary career will be remembered for his bouts with Louis, which produced a lasting bond between the boxers despite a charged atmosphere when they fought. He became the first German -- and European -- heavyweight world champion when he beat Jack Sharkey in New York on June 12, 1930, after the American was disqualified for a fourth-round low blow. He was the only German to be world heavyweight champion. But in a rematch at Yankee Stadium on June 22, 1938, Louis knocked out Schmeling in the first round. The fight was a huge event world wide and left a lasting impression on his era of Germans, who followed blow-by-blow on radio. Millions of people literally crawled onto the radio because of the tension -- I couldn't sit still, either,'' recalled German singer and actor Johannes Heesters, now 101. But by the time the rematch with Louis took place, he was viewed as a symbol of the Nazis. President Franklin D Roosevelt invited Louis to the White House to exhort the black boxer to beat Schmeling. Louis, then the champion, sent the German challenger to the canvas four times and knocked him out in 2 minutes, 4 seconds of the first round.
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