10 - 26 Sports History Marciano vs Louis

Mad Sports Radio

Seventy years have passed since Louis and Marciano squared off in Madison Square Garden, and the fact that a bejeweled belt was not on the line scarcely seems to matter now. Such changing-of-the-guard bouts stand as stark testimony that an era has expired and must give way to another, the same in the ring as it is in nature, where an old and proud lion eventually must yield as head of the pride to a younger, stronger version. Ironically, the same scenario had played out during the recently ended baseball season, also in New York City, with a Louis equivalent, Joe DiMaggio, playing out the string in center field for the Yankees while his designated replacement and Marciano stand-in, rookie Mickey Mantle, was temporarily stationed in right field.