1. (The “Black Uhlan”) by Mr. Aaron Tack (Markus)

2.  Born: September 28, 1905; Klein Luckow, Brandenburg, Germany (Some sources report Uckermar)  Died: February 2, 2005; Hollenstedt, Germany (Near Hamburg)  Height: 6’ 1”  Weight: 187 - 193 lbs  Managers: Hugo Abels, Willi Fuch, Max Machon, Arthur von Bulow, and Joe Jacobs  Trainer: Max Machon  Record: 70 fights 56 wins 40 knockouts with 4 draws and 10 loses

3. Nat Fleischer ranked Schmeling as the #9 All- Time Heavyweight;Herb Goldman ranked him as the #15 All–Time Heavyweight; He was inducted into the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame in 1970, the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1982 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992

4.  Schmeling shocked the world on June 19, 1936 a 10:1 underdog, Louis at the time had a record of 27 fights 27 victories 23 KO’s in 23 months (Louis was considered unstoppable) the Nazi regime trumpeted this as a sign of “Aryan supremacy”  Second fight with Joe Louis June 22, 1938 Schmeling is brutalized by Joe Louis he is beaten to a pulp and knocked out in less than two minutes (This fight is Louis’s best performance in the ring and of his career) this fight stands today as the most politically charged boxing matches of all times, it was veiwed more as democracy verses fascism  Schmeling shocked the world on June 19, 1936 a 10:1 underdog, Louis at the time had a record of 27 fights 27 victories 23 KO’s in 23 months (Louis was considered unstoppable) the Nazi regime trumpeted this as a sign of “Aryan supremacy”  Second fight with Joe Louis June 22, 1938 Schmeling is brutalized by Joe Louis he is beaten to a pulp and knocked out in less than two minutes (This fight is Louis’s best performance in the ring and of his career) this fight stands today as the most politically charged boxing matches of all times, it was veiwed more as democracy verses fascism First German and European Heavyweight World Champion, he became champion by beating Jack Sharkey in New York on June 19, 1930 after a fourth round DQ for a low blow

5.  Schmeling had lunch several times with Hitler and long discussions with propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels  In 1935 the Nazi bosses become angered by Schmelings refusel to fire his Jewish- American manager Joe Jacobs, divorce his Czech-born wife Anny Ondra, and join the Nazi party  Schmeling refuses to accept Hitler’s Dagger of Honor  During the brutal Nazi program of Kristallnacht in 1938 Schmeling risks his own life to hide two Jewish boys Henry and Werner Lewin, Schmeling helped smuggle the two out of Germany  Schmeling used his influence to help save Jewish friends

6.  After his 1938 annihilation by Louis Schmeling was of no use to the Nazis, Hitler took his defeat as and insult  In and act of revenge for his renegade ways Schmeling is drafted into the German Luftwaffe at age 34 Schmeling served as an elite Fallschirmjäger  In 1941 while parachuting into Crete to fight the British Schmeling is wounded and would spend months recovering he is still convalescing after the wars end  After his 1938 annihilation by Louis Schmeling was of no use to the Nazis, Hitler took his defeat as and insult  In and act of revenge for his renegade ways Schmeling is drafted into the German Luftwaffe at age 34 Schmeling served as an elite Fallschirmjäger  In 1941 while parachuting into Crete to fight the British Schmeling is wounded and would spend months recovering he is still convalescing after the wars end

7.  After the war Schmeling was near destitute and fought five more times clearly his prime well past  Schmeling needed the money and in 1948 at age 43 Max retires for good

8.  A former New York boxing commissioner who was now a Coca-Cola executive offered Schmeling the postwar soft drink franchise in Germany  Schmeling uses the money from his last five bouts to purchase the franchise  Schmeling becomes a successful buisnessman  At his death Schmeling was still one of the owners of Coca-Cola’s German branch

9.  After a 1954 meeting on the U.S. television program This Is Your Life Schmeling and Louis become friends  Schmeling and Louis meet another dozen or so times  Schmeling helps the down and finically destitute Louis helping pay medical bills  Schmeling is a pallbearers at Louis funeral in 1981 (Schmeling paid for the funeral)

10. Schmeling said of his 1938 defeat to Louis: “Looking back, I’m almost happy I lost that fight,” said Schmeling in 1975. “Just imagine if I would have come back to Germany with a victory. I had nothing to do with the Nazis, but they would have given me a metal. After the war I might have been considered a war criminal.”

11.  Christmas December 2005 Schmeling comes down with a cold  January 31 st Schmeling slips into a coma two days later at 3:55 pm in Hamburg the champion passes away  Schmeling is buried next to his wife of 54 years Anny Ondra, they had no children

12. " Max Schmeling." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 22 Apr. 2008 britannica.com guardian.co.uk cyberboxingzone.com Wikipedia.org Foxnews.com