Max Schmeling

Maximillian Adolph Otto Siegfried Schmeling (September 28, 1905 – February 2, 2005) was a German boxer whose two Heavyweight championship fights with Joe Louis transcended boxing and became worldwide social events which will forever be linked to the rivalry between Americans and Germans before World War II.

Business and retirement

The early postwar years were financially difficult for Schmeling. A former New York boxing commissioner who had become a Coca-Cola executive offered him the postwar soft drink franchise in Germany, and he became a successful businessman and one of Germany's most respected philanthropists. At his death, he was still one of the owners of Coca-Cola's German branch.

Related Topics:
New York - Coca-Cola - Soft drink

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After 1948, Schmeling had retired from boxing. He and Louis became friends following a 1954 meeting, and he helped to pay the latterly impoverished Louis' medical bills. He was one of the pallbearers at Louis's funeral in 1981, which he reputedly paid for. Until shortly before his death, he made several trips a year around the world to attend activities related to his boxing career. He has been the object of several books, including a biography, and in 2001, STARZ! produced a movie about him and Louis named Joe and Max.

Related Topics:
1948 - 1954 - 1981 - 2001 - STARZ!

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He is a member of the International Boxing Hall Of Fame, and he compiled a record of 56 wins, 10 losses and 4 draws with 40 wins by knockout. Among his other wins, he had a knockout in eight rounds over former world Welterweight champion, Middleweight champion and fellow Hall Of Famer Mickey Walker.

Related Topics:
International Boxing Hall Of Fame - Mickey Walker

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After celebrating his 99th birthday in 2004, Schmeling vowed to live on to celebrate his 100th birthday. However, that Christmas, he came down with a bad cold, and his health never recovered. He later slipped into a coma on January 31, 2005 and died two days later at 3:55 pm. He was buried next to his wife, the Czech-born film actress Anny Ondra, to whom he was married for 54 years. They had no children.

Related Topics:
2004 - January 31 - 2005 - Czech - Anny Ondra

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