Terror in the City of Champions (55 page)

144.
“curl up and crackle”:
DFP
, August 24, 1935.

144.
“I just love to hear Mike cuss . . .”: Ibid.

Unwanted Attention

145.
“You’d see men walking down the street . . .”: Ernie Navarre oral history, Amann Collection, Box 15.

146.
“an undercurrent”: William Mellus oral history, Amann Collection, Box 15.

146.
“a stormy petrel in Ecorse politics”:
Wyandotte Herald
, August 9, 1935.

146.
James Bailey house fire: Maurice Sugar’s “Memorandum on the Black Legion,” Sugar Collection, Box 18.

147.
“Why not get rid of him? . . . bomb him”:
New York Sun
, June 5, 1936.

147.
Bombing of Mayor Voisine’s home:
DFP
, August 7–8, 1935, and
Wyandotte Herald
, August 9, 1935.

147.
“So far as I know, I haven’t an enemy in the world . . .”:
DFP
, August 8, 1935.

148.
Albert Bates scene and quotes:
DFP
, August 14–15, 1935,
DN
, May 24, 1936, and
DT
, May 25, 1936.

149.
S
POOKY
H
OODS
F
OUND IN
A
UTO
:
DFP
, August 14, 1935.

149.
Black Legion arrest in Adrian:
Adrian Daily Telegram
, August 21 and 28, 1935, and FBI reports of August 31 and October 16, 1935, FBI files.

150.
“very stout”: FBI report of October 16, 1935, FBI files.

150.
“one of the highest officers of the Black Legion”: Ibid.

151.
“Bill won’t be in office after tonight . . .”:
DN
, June 5, 1936.

151.
“There is room for only one ‘ism’ in America . . .”:
DN
, May 3, 1935.

151.
“This insidious propaganda of communism . . .”: Ibid.

151.
“An effort of the great barons . . . terms of the bill”: Ibid.

151.
“To my mind he is the best advised man . . .”: Benson Ford Research Center, Ford Family Papers, personal correspondence.

Zero Hour

153.
“No, no, no”:
DFP
, August 27, 1935.

153.
“The team went east and came back in second place”: Ibid.

153.
“The only way for the Tigers to lose . . .”:
DFP
, August 25, 1935.

153.
“Great as your team is today . . .”:
DFP
, August 27, 1935.

154.
“Those guys make me sick”:
DFP
, August 28, 1935.

154.
Meeting with J. Edgar Hoover: National Archives, J. Edgar Hoover scrapbooks.

154.
“Listen, Mr. Hoover . . .”:
DFP
, September 12, 1935.

154.
Gehringer and Al Capone: Bak,
Cobb Would Have Caught It
, 187.

154.
“After getting an eyeful of the machinery . . .”:
DN
, September 12, 1935.

155.
“General Upps . . . Ike White”: FBI report, May 24, 1935, FBI files.

155.
“lost his leg in a gun battle with the Purple Gang”: Ibid.

155.
“leave the house for a half hour”: Ibid.

155.
“the only registered communist . . .”: Ibid.

155.
“a modern two-family dwelling”: FBI report, June 24, 1935, FBI files.

156.
“This man derided both political . . .”: Letter to J. Edgar Hoover, April 26, 1935, FBI files.

156.
“I assume that it is of interstate character . . .”: Ibid.

156.
“Lixto”: Anonymous, “I Was a Captain in the Black Legion,” 54.

156.
“If you don’t go . . .”: Ibid.

157.
“I like to died”:
DFP
, September 8, 1935.

157.
“Sleeping powders—they’re only a joke”:
DFP
September 11, 1935.

157.
“But we haven’t won . . . beat us now”:
DN
, September 13, 1935.

157.
“In fact, every time Joe comes . . .”:
DN
, September 14, 1935.

158.
“Champions—Detroit Is Proud of You”:
DN
, September 22, 1935.

158.
“These Tigers are not my champions”:
DN
, September 23, 1935.

158.
“These two men gave me the greatest break . . .”: Ibid.

Louis vs. Baer

159.
Black Bottom and Paradise Valley: Description culled from various sources, including Williams,
Detroit
, and Bak,
Turkey Stearnes
. . . and
Joe
Louis
.

159.
“Housing is one of the basic . . .”:
DFP
, September 10, 1935.

159.
“We all knew him . . .”: Moon, 30.

160.
“because they churned ice cream on Sunday”: Moon,
Untold Tales, Unsung Heroes
, 111.

160.
“What impressed this observer . . .”:
Chicago Daily Tribune
, September 8, 1935.

160.
“Now, Louis of his own initiative . . .”: Ibid.

160.
“What am I going to do to Baer . . .”:
DFP
, September 24, 1935.

161.
“We aren’t going to let Joe do it . . .”:
DN
, September 21, 1935.

161.
“When will you be married? . . . we hope to have a quiet affair”:
Chicago Daily Tribune
, September 8, 1935.

161.
“Maybe Joe shouldn’t marry . . .”:
DFP
, September 21, 1935.

161.
“Marva was too beautiful . . .”: Louis,
Joe Louis
, 70–71.

162.
“These are the gloves we’ll use . . .”:
DFP
, September 25, 1935.

162.
“Give Max anything he wants . . .”: Ibid.

162.
“He’ll slaughter me . . . not quitting now.”: Schaap,
Cinderella Man
, 268.

162.
“scared to death”: Louis,
Joe Louis
, 72.

163.
“Although Joe Louis is colored . . .”: Mitchell, “Joe Louis Never Smiles,” 239.

163.
“fell like a marionette whose string had snapped”:
DFP
, September 25, 1935.

163.
“It was twice as noisy . . .”:
DN
, September 25, 1935.

163.
“He’s the Brown Embalmer now”: Ibid.

163.
“Something had popped loose, all right . . .”: Wright, “Joe Louis Uncovers Dynamite,” 22.

164.
“Since President Lincoln freed the slaves . . .”:
DFP
, September 30, 1935.

World Champions

165.
“Where’ve you been . . . do me any good”:
DN
, October 3, 1935.

166.
“The Babe wants his drink”:
DFP
, October 3, 1935.

166.
“Knowing the Tigers personally . . .”: Ibid.

166.
“If you play the same confident brand . . .”:
DFP
, September 28, 1935.

167.
“Grimm’s Fairy Tale”:
DN
, October 1, 1935.

167.
“Greenberg’s bat . . .”:
DN
, October 2, 1935.

167.
“Greenberg will be a star . . .”: Ibid.

167.
The Cardinals had told them so:
DFP
, October 5, 1935.