World War II Chronicle: October 27, 1941
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Sgt. Max SchmelIng, the 36-year-old former boxing heavyweight champion of the world, has been awarded with the Iron Cross (see front page). He was drafted into the Luftwaffe’s Fallschirmjäger, and parachuted into Crete where he was seriously injured by a mortar blast in May 1941. Although Schmeling is pictured flashing a “Heil Hitler” salute, he didn’t bend a knee to the Nazi regime: he refused to fire his Jewish promoter when the party wanted him to and he also saved the lives of two Jewish children by hiding them in his apartment. He was one of just three boxers to defeat Joe Louis (although Louis defeated Schmeling in the rematch) and the two became lifelong friends. Ezzard Charles and Rocky Marciano also defeated Louis and all three boxers served in the U.S. Army during World War II…
Bottom of page 1: The former ambassador’s analysis of Adolf Hitler and his inner circle are on target: Luftwaffe chief Hermann Göring was so bad that if an opportunity to kill Göring ever presented itself, the military actually would have prevented it… Sports on page 17
The Texas Longhorns destroyed Rice 40-0, tying Minnesota for first. This is as close as Minnesota will likely come to being knocked off of Number 1, as they beat No. 3 Michigan at Ann Arbor on Saturday. Navy moved up two spots despite playing unranked Harvard to a 0-0 tie. Len Casanova’s Santa Clara Broncos1 are no longer ranked after their loss 6-16 to unranked Oklahoma.
1: Santa Clara discontinues their football program during the war and Casanova joins the Navy, rising to the rank of commander. He is elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1977.
Evening star. (Washington, D.C.), 27 October 1941. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1941-10-27/ed-1/
