June 18, 1941: Joe Louis vs. Billy Conn

June 18, 1941: Joe Louis defends the Heavyweight Championship of the World against the Light Heavyweight Champion, Billy Conn. Conn might have been the toughest opponent -- figuratively and literally -- that Louis had ever faced.

Louis, 27 and born in Alabama but raised in Detroit, entered the fight with a spectacular record of 50-1. Conn, 23 and from Pittsburgh, was 59-9-1, but had won 17 straight, and had been Light Heavyweight Champion for 2 years. He was forced to give that title up to move up in weight class to fight Louis. (This would not be the case for later Light Heavyweight Champions.) "The Pittsburgh Kid" had been chosen by The Ring magazine, "The Bible of Boxing," as Fighter of the Year in 1940.

The fight was held outdoors, at the Polo Grounds in Upper Manhattan. Conn was, by all accounts, winning after 12 rounds. Then he made a mistake: Instead of running out the clock, he decided to go for the knockout in the 13th round, and left himself exposed. Louis, who won a lot of fights he probably should have lost, seized the opportunity, and knocked Conn out.

After the fight, Conn said, "I lost my head, and a million bucks." The U.S. soon got into World War II, and both Louis and Conn went into the Army. When The War ended in 1945, negotiations for a rematch began, and Conn asked Louis, "Why couldn't you let me hold the title for a year or so?" In other words, After a year, Conn would have happily offered Louis a rematch. Louis told him, "You had the title for 12 rounds, and you couldn't hold onto it."

On June 19, 1946, for the 1st time, a Heavyweight Championship fight was televised, live from Yankee Stadium in The Bronx. In the leadup to the fight, someone told Louis that Conn might try to finish what he started, outpointing him. Louis, in a saying that would become familiar throughout the world, said, "He can run, but he can't hide." Louis was right: He knocked Conn out in the 8th round, for all intents and purposes ending his career. He finished with a record of 64-11-1.

Louis held the title until 1948, then retired, then came back because he needed the money, but was a shell of his former self. He died in 1981.

In 1990, Conn was in a Pittsburgh convenience store when it was robbed. Then 72 years old, he swung his famous left fist at the robber. The punch knocked them both down, they grappled on the floor, and the robber got away -- leaving his coat behind. The coat contained his wallet. So not only did he not get any money or valuables, he'd left his own wallet behind, including his identification, so Conn made it easy for the police to find him.

Billy Conn died in 1993. He was 75, and a hero in the ring, in the Army, and in that store.

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June 18, 1941 was a Wednesday. These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Chicago White Sox, 3-2 at Yankee Stadium. Thornton Lee outpitched Spurgeon "Spud" Chandler. Chandler took a 2-1 lead into the top of the 8th, but gave up runs on a single by Taft "Taffy" Wright and a sacrifice fly by George Dickey (no relation to Yankee catcher Bill). Joe DiMaggio went 1-for-3 with a walk. This was the 31st game of his hitting streak.

* The New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Pirates were tied 2-2 after 11 innings, when the game was called due to darkness. Mel Ott hit a home run.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers lost to the Chicago Cubs, 5-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Joe Medwick hit a home run for Dem Bums, while Hank Leiber hit 2 for the Cubbies.

Charlie Keller hit a home run for the Yankees. Joe DiMaggio went 1-for-3 with a walk. It was the 31st straight game in which he'd gotten a hit. He would keep that streak going for a record 56 games.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-2 at Fenway Park in Boston. Jimmie Foxx hit a home run for the Red Sox, but Ted Williams went 0-for-3 with a walk. His batting average dropped... to .417.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 14-2 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Bob Feller went the distance for the win, and was backed by home runs from Lou Boudreau, Ray Mack, Ken Keltner, and 2 by Hal Trosky.

* The St. Louis Browns beat the Washington Senators, 3-2 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

* The Boston Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds, 4-2 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati.

* And the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-3 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.