Monday Milestone: Cinderella Man
“In all the history of the boxing game you find no human interest story to compare with the life narrative of James J. Braddock”
– Damon Runyan
This Week in History:
1935, June 13
James J. Braddock, defies remarkable odds to defeat Max Baer and become heavyweight champion of the world.
It was a different era.
Times were tough, food was scarce. The Great Depression had taken hold. Unemployment queues stretched around the block. Each morning men loitered around the docks in hope of a day’s work, to feed starving families. Jim Braddock, a professional fighter throughout the 1920s with over eighty fights to his name was not exempt.
As the Depression bit in the early 1930s, Braddock had been forced to give away boxing to earn money as a longshoreman. But work was not available every day, and he spent time on the soup line, taking welfare, just to keep his family alive. He’d never been knocked down in the ring, but life was another story.
And it was deep in these mires of desperation that he was coaxed out of retirement to take on John “Corn” Griffin. Seen as a stepping stone to advance Griffin’s career, nobody expected Braddock to actually put his highly-fancied opponent on the canvas by the third round. The return of James J. Braddock, the Bulldog of Bergen, had begun.
This unexpected success renewed Braddock. Suddenly the Pride of New Jersey had opportunities for bigger fights. Promoters saw him as easy fodder, but amazing defeats of contender John Henry Lewis, and then months later, after incredibly breaking the nose and the heavyweight aspirations of Art Laskey, he was on the cusp of a title. Just a year earlier, Braddock was standing in line, receiving government handouts, fighting for his very existence. Now, he was paying his welfare back, and preparing to fight for a title. They were calling him Cinderella Man.
Max Baer loomed large. The heavyweight champion of the world had already inflicted blows inside the ring, causing the deaths of two men. On the surface, it seemed a horrendous mismatch. There were fears for Braddock’s life. Bookies placed the Cinderella Man as a ten-to-one underdog.
But rumours suggest that Baer took the fight so lightly, he’d barely trained. Not Jim Braddock. In a downtrodden world against the backdrop of the Great Depression, heroes were scarce, and the Cinderella Man, the ultimate underdog was a symbol of hope. The Pride of New Jersey, the journeyman, had fought incredible odds just to be there. Braddock was determined not to be an easy payday for the champ.
An estimated 30,000 filled Madison Square Garden when they came out from the bell. Baer hit hard and many thought Braddock wouldn’t survive the first round. But instead Braddock blocked, jabbed, and held on. With each passing round, Braddock’s growing defiance was inspiring. Baer was younger, stronger, and some sixteen pounds heavier. Yet still Braddock persisted. By the championship rounds, Max Baer was perplexed. How could this fighter could absorb so much? The Bulldog of Bergen was no ordinary fighter.
When the fight went the distance, the unthinkable was suddenly possible. Fans dared to dream.
Then when the unanimous decision was announced, 30,000 people in Madison Square Garden roared, hardly daring to believe the news. James J. Braddock, the Bulldog of Bergen, the Cinderella Man had defied adversity in all forms, and was somehow, inexplicably, the new heavyweight champion of the world.
Milestone Five: Remarkable upsets in boxing history.
5. Muhammad Ali defeats George Foreman 1974. Using the rope-a-dope strategy, Ali was able tire out Foreman during the Rumble in the Jungle against long odds for an eighth round knockout.
4. Randy Turpin defeats Sugar Ray Robinson 1951. Turpin outboxed an all conquering Sugar Ray Robinson, who underestimated his opponent and suffered his first defeat in ninety bouts.
3. “Gentleman” Jim Corbett defeates John L. Sullivan. 1892. Nobody gave Corbett a chance, but after twenty-one rounds, a couple of remarkable shots to the jaw of the champ of ten years gave Corbett a stunning upset.
2. James “Buster” Douglas defeats Mike Tyson 1990. Everyone except Douglas expected a Tyson victory, but instead Tyson was on the mat, and remarkably Douglas was heavyweight champion. Many still can’t believe the result today.
1. Jim Braddock defeats Max Baer 1935. Nobody expected that a man could be on the absolute desperate fringe of poverty, only to return against all odds in a series of bouts to become the world heavyweight champion.
