On Jan. 9, 1942, heavyweight champion Joe Louis won his 20th straight title defense, knocking out Buddy Baer in the first round. The next day, he enlisted in the Army. For good measure, Louis donated ...

You wouldn’t think it to look at him — this short, fat, bowling ball of a man with the Jersey accent and the cinderblock head — but he was famous once. If you owned a radio and lived in the United ...