Joe Louis' Personal Irons, Putter & Woods w/Bag Tags in 'The Champ' Wilson Golf Bag c.1952
Fearless inside the boxing ring and out, in 1952 Joe Louis was the first black golfer to break the color barrier competing in a PGA Tour sanctioned event - the San Diego Open. Joe Louis' show-stopping personal 'THE CHAMP' boxing glove-red and gold painted bag here carries his individually stamped set of irons, woods and putter! As documented in sports news outlet "The Athletic's" article titled 'The Bomber, the Babe and the hunt for a piece of history' the only known Joe Louis personal bag and set of clubs resides at the USGA Museum. That is until now. Sourced through the Babe Zaharias estate and equally worthy of museum inclusion, these were used by the trailblazer that same significant history book writing year of 1952 in an exhibition at the Koganei Golf Club in Tokyo, Japan.
Heavyweight champion Joe Louis teamed up with PGA Tour stars Jack Burke and Lloyd Mangrum to take on three professional Japanese golfers on their home soil. This astounding set of clubs, as mentioned each personalized, includes Wilson top notch gooseneck 2-9 irons and goose neck pitching wedge with 'Joe Louis' head stamp, Wilson top notch driver and 2-4 laminate woods (persimmon tree burned creating temporary shortage) with J.L.B. (legal name was Joseph Louis Barrow) sole stamp, Freddie Haas mallet putter stamped 'JOE LOUIS.', and his personalized Wilson Country Club branded golf bag hand painted and embroidered on the front to properly display the complete set. There are 4 matching headcovers stamped Koganei Golf Club, Tokyo Japan, the aforementioned site of that 1952 bout in which this set was used.
After the surprising 2 and 1 Japanese team victory and all the festivities were over, Joe Louis sought out his host Pete Nakamura to thank him for his hospitality and gave him his set of golf clubs and his golf bag. In the early 1950s, Babe and George Zaharias met Mr. Nakamura during a visit to Japan where they were promoting Babe’s brand of Wilson golf clubs to the female Japanese golfing market. Throughout the years Mr. Nakamura kept in touch with George while he was creating the ladies professional golf tour in Japan. During a visit with George where they were discussing the final stages of the JLPGA, Pete gave Joe Louis’ clubs to George as a gift for his years of friendship and help with creating the JLPGA. George Zaharias passed away in 1984 and the Joe Louis clubs have been in the Babe and George Zaharias Foundation storage since his passing and is now proudly presented here. The world-class athlete Louis dominated the field of his boxing cohorts starting as a 20-year old in 1934 until 1951, reigning as the world heavyweight champion from 1937 until 1949. Louis passed away in 1981 at age 66, but not before solidifying himself as one of the first African-American nationwide heroes outside the ring.
This will be the first time these clubs have been offered for sale by the Zaharias estate.
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