James J. Braddock

James J. Braddock

Statistics
Real name	James Walter Braddock
Nickname(s)	Bulldog of Bergen, Pride of the Irish, Pride of New Jersey, Cinderella Man
Rated at	Light heavyweight Heavyweight
Nationality	Irish-American
Birth date	June 7, 1905(1905-06-07)
Birth place	New York, New York
Death date	November 29, 1974(1974-11-29) (aged 69)
Death place	North Bergen, New Jersey
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	86
Wins	56
Wins by KO	26
Losses	23
Draws	4
No contests	2

James Walter "The Cinderella Man" Braddock (June 7, 1905 – November 29, 1974) was an Irish-American boxer who held the world heavyweight championship from 1935 to 1937.

Fighting under the name James J. Braddock (ostensibly to follow the pattern set by two prior world boxing champions, James J. Corbett and James J. Jeffries), he was known for his powerful right hand, granite chin, and his amazing comeback from a floundering career, which saw him lose several bouts before struggling to support his family by working on the docks during the Great Depression, and earned him the nickname "The Cinderella Man" from Damon Runyon. Braddock was managed by Joe Gould.

1 Early life
2 Career
- 2.1 Baer vs. Braddock
3 Death and legacy
4 Career record
5 See also
6 Footnotes
7 References
8 External links

Early life

Braddock was born in Hell's Kitchen in New York City on West 51st Street within a couple of blocks of the Madison Square Garden venue where he would later become famous. He stated his life's early ambition was to play football for Knute Rockne at the University of Notre Dame, but he had "more brawn than brains."

Career

Braddock pursued boxing, turning pro at the age of 21, fighting as a light heavyweight. After three years, Braddock's record was 44-2-2 with 21 knockouts.

In 1928, he pulled off a major upset by knocking out highly-regarded Tuffy Griffiths. The following year he earned a chance to fight for the championship, but he narrowly lost to Tommy Loughran in a fifteen-round decision. Braddock was greatly depressed by the loss and badly fractured his right hand in several places in the process. His career suffered as a result, as did Braddock's disposition.

His record for the next thirty-three fights fell to 11-20-2. With his family in poverty during the Great Depression, Braddock had to give up boxing for a little while and worked as a longshoreman. Due to frequent injuries to his right hand, Braddock compensated by using his left hand during his longshoreman work, and it gradually became stronger than his right. He always remembered the humiliation of having to accept government relief money, but was inspired by the Catholic Worker Movement, a Christian social justice organization founded by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin in 1933 to help the homeless and hungry. After his boxing comeback, Braddock returned the welfare money he had received and made frequent donations to various Catholic Worker Houses, including feeding homeless guests with his family.^[1]

Baer vs. Braddock

In 1934, Braddock was given a fight with the highly touted John "Corn" Griffin. Although Braddock was intended simply as a stepping stone in Griffin's career, he knocked out the "Ozark Cyclone" in the third round. Braddock then fought John Henry Lewis, a future light heavyweight champion. He won in one of the most important fights of his career. After defeating another highly regarded heavyweight contender, Art Lasky, whose nose he broke during the bout on March 22, 1935, Braddock was given a title fight against the World Heavyweight Champion, Max Baer.

Considered little more than a journeyman fighter, Braddock was hand-picked by Baer's handlers because he was seen as an easy payday for the champion. Instead, on June 13, 1935, at Madison Square Garden Bowl, Braddock won the heavyweight championship of the world as the 10-to-1 underdog in one of the most stunning upsets in boxing history.

During the fight, a dogged Braddock took a few heavy hits from the powerful younger champion (30 years vs 26 years for Baer), but Braddock kept coming, wearing down Baer, who seemed perplexed by Braddock's ability to take a punch. In the end, the judges gave Braddock the title with a unanimous decision.

James Braddock suffered from problems with his arthritic hands after injuries throughout his career, and in 1936 his title defense in Madison Square Garden against the German Max Schmeling was cancelled under suspicious circumstances. Braddock argued he would have received only a US$25,000 purse against Schmeling, compared to $250,000 against rising star Joe Louis, whom he fought—and lost to—instead.

Death and legacy

James J. Braddock North Hudson Park in North Bergen, New Jersey.

On his passing in 1974 at the age of 69, James J. Braddock was interred in the Mount Carmel Cemetery in Tenafly, New Jersey. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2001. James J. Braddock North Hudson County Park in North Bergen, New Jersey is named in his honor.^[2]

The 2005 biographical film Cinderella Man tells the story of James J. Braddock. Directed by Ron Howard, and starring Russell Crowe as Braddock with Renée Zellweger as his wife, Mae. The movie had an estimated budget of $88 million and grossed $108.5 million worldwide.^[3] Paul Giamatti, playing Braddock's manager Joe Gould, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The role of neighbor Sara Wilson was played by Rosemarie DeWitt, who is Braddock's real-life granddaughter (daughter of Braddock's daughter Rosemarie Braddock and husband Kenny DeWitt). The film received many positive reviews.^[4]

Career record

51 Wins (26 knockouts), 26 Losses, 7 Draws, 2 No Contests^[5]
Res.	Opponent	Type	Round/s	Date	Location	Notes
	Clarence Burman		5 (15)	1941-03-26	Charlotte, NC	Exhibition
Win	Tommy Farr	Win	10 (15)	1938-01-21	New York, NY
Loss	Joe Louis	Loss	8 (15)	1937-06-22	Chicago, IL	lost world heavyweight title
	Max Schmeling	Cancelled	0 (15)	1936-09-30	New York, NY	Cancelled
	Jack McCarthy	Exhibition	3 (15)	1935-11-20	Oakland, CA	Exhibition
	Jack McCarthy	Exhibition	3 (15)	1935-11-15	San Francisco, CA	Exhibition
	Jack McCarthy	Exhibition	2 (15)	1935-11-12	Portland, OR	Exhibition
	Jack McCarthy	Exhibition	3 (15)	1935-11-05	Seattle, WA	Exhibition
	Jack McCarthy	Exhibition	3 (15)	1935-08-27	Houston, TX	Exhibition
	Jack McCarthy	Exhibition	3 (15)	1935-07-18	Columbus, OH	Exhibition
Win	Max Baer	Win	15 (15)	1935-06-13	Long Island City, NY	Won Heavyweight Champion Of The World
Win	Art Lasky	Win	15 (15)	1935-03-22	New York City, NY