Louis Abele by Al Urban in 1940. (Thanks B.B.)
Louis was on the brink of making his mark in the sport of weight lifting in early 1940. At a preliminary contest for the upcoming Olympics -- scheduled to be held in Tokyo -- Louis took second place and made the U.S. Olympic team Unfortunately, soon after making the team, Japan invaded China and the Games were cancelled.
He would have been given a chance at the 1944 Olympics scheduled to be held in London, but fate stepped in again. By that time, the war in Europe was in full swing and those games were also cancelled. Many of Louis' fans thought he would have been a star in Olympic weightlifting, if the war hadn't taken that opportunity from him in his prime.
