Joe Louis (Wikipedia photo)
Joe Louis (Wikipedia photo)
The name of legendary boxer Joe Louis will vanish from Joe Louis Arena, which is slated to be demolished.
What next for Joe Louis?
Detroit Free Press columnist Rochelle Riley suggests the city rename Cobo Center after him. It now honors three-term Mayor Albert Cobo.
Riley's reasoning is compelling:
Louis was a boxing champion who became a global hero, defeating German Max Schmeling on June 22, 1938, in a blow to Nazism and a victory for democracy, uniting people of all colors at a time when the country needed it. He was one of the greatest and most beloved athletes in his field.
As I wrote last February, “he still holds the record as longest-reigning champion in his sport. His name is synonymous with the best of Detroit because he brought glory and honor to a city that craved it. So when the $600-million Little Caesars Arena opens next season amid fanfare and the celebration of surrounding neighborhoods — and the hockey lights go out on the massive house that bears the name Joe Louis — what happens then?” What happens to the man “who transcended his sport and was so beloved that his name graced an arena built for another sport? The Joe is second only to Madison Square Garden in longevity, but the Joe is the only sports arena in America named for a person. Children deserve to know his story, how Joseph Louis Barrow’s mother, Lillie Barrow, made him take violin lessons to keep him away from local gangs and how he spent that violin lesson money to train at Brewster Recreation Center, fighting under the name Joe Louis to keep his mother from finding out. They need to learn how he won the Detroit Golden Gloves light-heavyweight title in 1934 and then won 50 of his 54 matches as an amateur."
Mayor Albert CoboAnd Cobo? He was a candy store owner who successfully ran for mayor by campaigning against “the Negro invasion of white neighborhoods in Detroit,” according to news reports and historical accounts. That isn't something to commemorate. By the end of Cobo's three terms, Detroit had lost more than 150,000 residents in a decline in population that continued for decades. Still, Cobo ran for governor, and G. Mennen Williams won by a knockout.
Cobo served as Detroit City Treasurer of Detroit for seven terms before first running successfully for mayor in 1949. He went on to win re-election in 1951 and 1953. He died in 1957 at age 63, just months before his last term ended.
