James Walter "Cinderella Man" Braddock was an American boxer who was the world heavyweight
champion from 1935–37.
Fighting under the name James J. Braddock, he was known for his powerful right hand,
solid chin and comeback from a floundering career.
He had lost several bouts due to chronic hand injuries and was forced to work on the docks
and collect social assistance to feed his family during the Great Depression.
In 1935 he fought Max Baer for the Heavyweight title and won.
For this unlikely feat he was given the nickname "Cinderella Man" by Damon Runyon.
Braddock was managed by Joe Gould.
Early life Braddock was born in Hell's Kitchen in New
York City on West 48th Street, within a couple of blocks of the Madison Square Garden venue,
where he later became famous.
He was the son of Irish-American parents Elizabeth and Joseph Braddock.
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 title, but he narrowly lost to Tommy
Loughran in a 15-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 his disposition.
His record for the next 33 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.
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.
Baer hardly trained for the bout.
Braddock, on the other hand, was training hard.
"I'm training for a fight.
Not a boxing contest or a clownin' contest or a dance," he said.
"Whether it goes 1 round or 3 rounds or 10 rounds, it will be a fight and a fight all
the way.
When you've been through what I've had to face in the last two years, a Max Baer or
a Bengal tiger looks like a house pet.
He might come at me with a cannon and a blackjack and he would still be a picnic compared to
what I've had to face."
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,
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.
Heavyweight Champion 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 canceled 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.
There was also concern that if Schemling won, the Nazi government would deny American fighters
opportunites to fight for the title Louis was considered to be the more dangerous
opponent and the fact that he, being a black man, could be heavyweight champion made many
boxing insiders against his getting a title shot.
Braddock agreed to the fight with the stipulation that he would receive 10% of promoter Mike
Jacobs' future fights.
So if Braddock beat Louis or Louis retired, the deal was for any fight and any boxer that
Jacobs was handling for the next ten years.
This money did not include the purse, just money from the concessions i.e. hotdogs, drinks,
tee shirts programs etc.
So win or lose Joe Gould got Braddock a great deal.
Braddock was able to knock down Louis in the fight, but Louis went on to win, knocking
Braddock out for the first and only time in his career.
Louis was quoted as saying that Braddock was the bravest man he ever fought.
Personal life Braddock married Mae Fox in 1930 and the couple
had three children, James, Howard and Rosemarie.
He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942 and became a 1st Lieutenant.
Upon return, he worked as a marine equipment surplus supplier and helped construct the
Verrazano Bridge in the early 1960s.
Death and legacy
On his death 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.
The 2005 biographical film Cinderella Man tells Braddock's story.
Directed by Ron Howard, it stars Russell Crowe as Braddock and Renée Zellweger as his wife,
Mae.
The film had an estimated budget of $88 million and grossed $108.5 million worldwide.
Crowe's performance earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor.
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.
The film received mostly positive reviews.
University of Michigan Football coach Lloyd Carr used Cinderella Man to inspire his team
during their 2006 season.
Professional boxing record See also
List of heavyweight boxing champions Boyle's Thirty Acres
Joe Louis Arena Cinderella Man
Notes
References Joe Louis, Edna Rust, Art Rust Jr., Joe Louis:
My Life Joe Louis, 66, Heavyweight King Who Reigned
12 Years, Is Dead, Obituary, NY Times, April 13, 1981.
Louis' TAX issues Jenny Nolan, "The Brown Bomber -- The Man
Behind The Fist", The Detroit News "Remembering Joe Louis", WTVM
"The Long Loneliness," by Dorothy Day, 1952 External links
Official James J. Braddock website "James J. Braddock".
Find a Grave.
Retrieved 2008-02-07.
Braddock's career record - from the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame
Collection of critical opinion of Cinderella Man at Rotten Tomatoes
Braddock's short biography at the International Boxing Hall of Fame
James Braddock vs Max Baer, 13 June 1935, all rounds
James Braddock vs Joe Louis, 22 June 1937, all rounds
Professional boxing record for James J. Braddock from BoxRec