5326-M-TEE-VWT-01
$48 USD
"Friendships are born on the field of athletic strife and the real gold of competition. Awards become corroded, friends gather no dust."
Like many ROF icons, the legacies of Black History icons are as entwined as they are inspirational. In the case of track and field legend Jesse Owens, he found an unlikely friend in heavyweight fighter Joe Louis. Importantly, their lives crossed over and over in a one-two punch to the systemic racism that plagued the early 20th century. Both from Alabama sharecropping communities, they met at the start of their careers. A year before Owens shattered Hitler's decree that whites would dominate the 1936 Summer Olympics in Germany, three years before Louis took the world title from the Führer's favorite boxer, Max Schmeling. Despite the significance of these victories to African Americans across America, both men also shared a common struggle to transition their fame and success from the sporting arena to new careers in the face of discrimination back home. But the experience only bonded them more deeply. Louis even famously agreed to face off with Owens for an exhibition race in an effort to help Owens make some money during a time when he was strapped. They lead by example, breaking down racial barriers along the way. In supporting one another’s success, they passed the torch of black pride and power far beyond their individual sports to the much bigger arena of life.
Officially licensed by Jesse Owens.
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