James J Braddock

At 69 years old, James J Braddock has this physical status:

James Walter Braddock (1905-1905 – November 29, 1974) was an American boxer who competed under the name James J. Braddock (ostensibly to follow the pattern established by two recent world boxing champions, James J. Corbett and James J. Jeffries), Braddock was known for his spoiling, counterpunching style, strong right hand, and his iron chin.

During the Great Depression, he had missed several bouts due to ongoing hand pains and was forced to serve on the docks and get social assistance to feed his family.

He made a comeback in 1935, beating Max Baer for the heavyweight title and winning.

Damon Runyon gave him the nickname "Cinderella Man" for this strange occurrence.

Joe Gould was in charge of Braddock.

Early life

Braddock was born on June 7, 1905 on West 48th Street in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood. At an early age, he moved to North Bergen, New Jersey. He was one of seven children being raised by immigrant parents; Irish mother Elizabeth O'Tool and Anglo-Irish father Joseph Braddock were two of seven children born in the United States.

He said he had hoped to play college football for Knute Rockne at the University of Notre Dame, but that did not come true as he remarked that he had "more brawn than brains" before.

Personal life

Braddock married Mae Fox in 1930, and the pair had three children, James (Jay) Jr., Howard and Rosemarie.

Braddock enlisted in the United States Army in 1942 and became the first lieutenant. He served in the Pacific theater on the island of Saipan, where he taught enlisted soldiers in hand-to-hand combat.

On his return to work, he served as a marine equipment surplus contractor and helped build the Verrazano Bridge in the early 1960s.

Braddock was a member of the Fairview Teeko Club, New Jersey, where he was regarded as one of the finest teekoists in the area.

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Career

Braddock returned to boxing, battling as a light heavyweight. On November 27, 1923, his first fight in a ring took place. At the age of 21, he became a professional. Braddock's record was 44–2–2 (.938), with 21 knockouts.

Braddock pulled off a big surprise by knocking out highly regarded Tuffy Griffiths in 1928. He had a chance to fight for the title the next year, but he barely lost to Tommy Loughran in a 15-round decision. Braddock was greatly distraught by the loss of his right hand and severely fractured his right hand in several places in the process.

His next 33 battles were much less fruitful, with an 11–20–2 (3.64) record. Braddock was compelled to quit boxing and work as a longshoreman because his family was in poverty during the Great Depression. Braddock recovered by using his left hand more often during his longshoreman jobs, and his right hand became stronger than his right.

Braddock was angered by the fact that he had to receive government help the homeless and hungry, but he was inspired by the Catholic Worker Movement, a Christian social justice group founded in 1933 by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin to assist the homeless and hungry. Braddock returned the money he earned and made regular donations to various Catholic Worker Houses and fed homeless people by inviting them to meals with his family.

Braddock was fend over in 1934 by the well-known John "Corn" Griffin. Despite the fact that Braddock was intended simply as a stepping stone in Griffin's career, he knocked out the "Ozark Cyclone" in the third round. Braddock defeated John Henry Lewis, a potential light heavyweight champion. He was crowned in one of his career's most coveted fights. Braddock was crowned with a title fight against World Heavyweight Champion Max Baer after defeating another highly regarded heavyweight contender, Art Lasky, whose nose he broke during the bout on March 22, 1935.

Braddock, who was regarded less than a journeyman fighter, was hand-picked by Baer's handlers because he was seen as a quick payday for the champion amid his most recent victories. Braddock, on June 13, 1935, at Madison Square Garden Bowl, was the 10-to-1 underdog in what was described as the "most fistic upset since Jim Corbett's defeat of John L. Sullivan."

A beaten Braddock took a few heavy blows from the formidable younger champion (29 years versus 26 years for Baer), but Braddock kept coming, embarrassed by Braddock's ability to strike a punch. The judges awarded Braddock the honour at a unanimous decision in the end.

In the Madison Square Garden Bowl, Braddock's first title defense was against German Max Schmeling on June 3, 1937. Braddock, on the other hand, backed out of the bout in favour of a match with Joe Louis in Chicago. Braddock argued that he would have received only a US$25,000 purse against Schmeling, relative to $250,000 against rising star Louis. There was also fear that if Schmeling triumphed, the Nazi government would deny American fighters a chance to compete for the title. Finally, American commentators had voiced their opposition to the war in light of Schmeling's ties to Adolf Hitler, with whom the German fighter had been identified since his earlier victory over Louis. Braddock lost in the 8th round of his career in his first defense of the title.

Braddock and Louis used to visit each other over the years, and the Brown Bomber never said anything but 'Hello, champ,'" Jeremy Schaap wrote.

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