James Walter Braddock (June 7, 1905 – November 29, 1974) was an American boxer who was the world heavyweight champion 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 James John "Jim" Corbett (September 1, 1866 – February 18, 1933) was an American professional boxer and a World Heavyweight Champion, best known as the only man who ever defeated the great John L. Sullivan (hence the " man who beat the man" c ...

and James J. Jeffries), Braddock was known for his spoiling, counterpunching style, powerful right hand, and his iron chin. 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 The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. He made a comeback, and in 1935 he fought Max Baer for the world heavyweight championship and won. For this unlikely feat he was given the nickname "

Cinderella Man ''Cinderella Man'' is a 2005 American biographical sports drama film directed by Ron Howard, titled after the nickname of world heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock and inspired by his life story. The film was produced by Howard, Penny ...

" by

Damon Runyon Alfred Damon Runyon (October 4, 1880 – December 10, 1946) was an American newspaperman and short-story writer. He was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway in New York City that grew out of the Prohibition era. To ...

. Braddock was managed by Joe Gould.

Early life

Braddock was born on June 7, 1905 on West 48th Street in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, 59th Street to the north, Eighth Avenue to the ea ...

neighborhood. He moved to

North Bergen, New Jersey North Bergen is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a total population of 63,361. The township was founded in 1843. It was much diminished in territory by ...

at an early age. He was one of seven children being raised by immigrant parents;

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

mother Elizabeth O'Tool and

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

father Joseph Braddock. He stated his life's early ambition was to play college football for

Knute Rockne Knut ( Norwegian and Swedish), Knud ( Danish), or Knútur (Icelandic) is a Scandinavian, German, and Dutch first name, of which the anglicised form is Canute. In Germany both "Knut" and "Knud" are used. In Spanish and Portuguese Canuto is used ...

at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main c ...

, though this did not come to pass, as he remarked that he had "more brawn than brains".

Career

Braddock pursued boxing, fighting as a light heavyweight. His first fight in a ring occurred on November 27, 1923. He turned pro at the age of 21. After three years, Braddock's record was , with 21 knockouts. In 1928, Braddock 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 Thomas Patrick Loughran (November 29, 1902 – July 7, 1982) was an American professional boxer and the former World Light Heavyweight Champion. Statistical boxing website BoxRec lists Loughran as the #7 ranked light heavyweight of all time ...

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 next 33 fights were significantly less successful, with a record. With his family in poverty during the Great Depression, Braddock was forced to give up boxing and work as a

longshoreman A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes. After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number ...

. 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. Braddock felt humiliated by having to accept government relief money, but he was inspired by the

Catholic Worker Movement The Catholic Worker Movement is a collection of autonomous communities of Catholics and their associates founded by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin in the United States in 1933. Its aim is to "live in accordance with the justice and charity of Jesus ...

, a Christian social justice organization founded by

Dorothy Day Dorothy Day (November 8, 1897 – November 29, 1980) was an American journalist, social activist and anarchist who, after a bohemian youth, became a Catholic without abandoning her social and anarchist activism. She was perhaps the best-known ...

and

Peter Maurin Peter Maurin (; May 9, 1877 – May 15, 1949) was a French Catholic social activist, theologian, and De La Salle Brother who founded the Catholic Worker Movement in 1933 with Dorothy Day. Maurin expressed his philosophy through short pieces of ...

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, and fed homeless people by inviting them to meals with his family.

Max Baer fight

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 The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant porti ...

Cyclone" in the third round. Braddock then fought

John Henry Lewis John Henry Lewis (May 1, 1914 – April 18, 1974) was a hall of fame American boxer who held the World Light Heavyweight Boxing Title from 1935 to 1938. ''The Ring'' boxing magazine named Lewis the 16th greatest light heavyweight of all-time. His ...

, 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 Arthur Lakofsky (November 16, 1909 – April 2, 1980), also known as Art Lasky, was a heavyweight professional boxer from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Personal life Lasky was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota on November 8, 1908, and called Minneapoli ...

, 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, despite his recent impressive victories. Instead, on June 13, 1935, at

Madison Square Garden Bowl Madison Square Garden Bowl was the name of an outdoor arena in the New York City borough of Queens. Built in 1932, the arena hosted circuses and boxing matches. Its seating capacity was 72,000 spectators on wood bleachers. The idea of the stad ...

, Braddock won the Heavyweight Championship of the World as the 10-to-1 underdog in what was called "the greatest fistic upset since the defeat of

John L. Sullivan John Lawrence Sullivan (October 15, 1858 – February 2, 1918), known simply as John L. among his admirers, and dubbed the "Boston Strong Boy" by the press, was an American boxer recognized as the first heavyweight champion of gloved boxing, ...

Jim Corbett Edward James Corbett (25 July 1875 – 19 April 1955) was a British hunter, tracker, naturalist, and author who hunted a number of man-eating tigers and leopards in the Indian subcontinent. He held the rank of colonel in the British Indian ...

". During the fight, a dogged Braddock took a few heavy hits from the powerful younger champion (29 years versus 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.

Heavyweight Champion

Braddock's first title defense was to be against German

Max Schmeling Maximilian Adolph Otto Siegfried Schmeling (, ; 28 September 1905 – 2 February 2005) was a German boxer who was heavyweight champion of the world between 1930 and 1932. His two fights with Joe Louis in 1936 and 1938 were worldwide cultural ev ...

on June 3, 1937, in the

. However, Braddock backed out of the bout in favor of a fight with

Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed the Brown Bomber, Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He re ...

in Chicago. Braddock argued he would have received only a US$25,000 purse against Schmeling, compared to $250,000 against rising star Louis. There was also concern that if Schmeling won, the Nazi government would deny American fighters opportunities to fight for the title. Finally, American commentators had expressed opposition to the fight in light of the connections between Schmeling and

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

, with whom the German fighter had been associated after his earlier victory over Louis. In his only defense of the title, Braddock lost to Louis in the 8th round by a knockout, the only one of his career. Braddock and Louis saw each other frequently over the years, and the Brown Bomber always greeted him the same way: “Hello, champ.” As Jeremy Schaap wrote, “ ouisfought eight world heavyweight champions, more than any other fighter ever, but he never called anyone but Jim Braddock ‘champ.’”

Personal life

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

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

in 1942 and became a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

. He served in the Pacific theater on the island of

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

, where he trained enlisted men in hand-to-hand combat. Upon return, he worked as a marine equipment surplus supplier and helped construct the Verrazano Bridge in the early 1960s. Braddock was a member of the Fairview

Teeko Teeko is an abstract strategy game invented by John Scarne in 1937 and rereleased in refined form in 1952 and again in the 1960s. Teeko was marketed by Scarne's company, John Scarne Games Inc.; its quirky name, he said, borrowed letters from Tic-t ...

Club, New Jersey, where he was regarded as one of the strongest teekoists.

Death and legacy

After his death in 1974 at the age of 69, James J. Braddock was interred in the Mount Carmel Cemetery in

Tenafly, New Jersey Tenafly () is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 census the borough had a population of 15,409,

. He was inducted into the

International Boxing Hall of Fame The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The I ...

in 2001. James J. Braddock North Hudson County Park in

is named in his honor. The 2005

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...

'' tells Braddock's story. Directed by

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of '' The Twilight Zone''. ...

, it stars

Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor. He was born in New Zealand, spent ten years of his childhood in Australia, and moved there permanently at age twenty one. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maxi ...

as Braddock and

Renée Zellweger Renée Kathleen Zellweger (; born April 25, 1969) is an American actress. The recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards, she was one of the world's highest-paid ...

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 The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

nomination for

Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to the ...

Paul Giamatti Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti (; born June 6, 1967) is an American actor and film producer. He first garnered attention for his breakout role in '' Private Parts'' as Kenny "Pig Vomit" Rushton, leading to supporting roles in ''Saving Private R ...

, playing Braddock's manager Joe Gould, was nominated for the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Supporting Actor. The role of neighbor Sara Wilson was played by

Rosemarie DeWitt Rosemarie Braddock DeWitt (born October 26, 1971) is an American actress. DeWitt played Emily Lehman in the Fox television series '' Standoff'' (2006–07), co-starring with her future husband Ron Livingston, as well as Charmaine Craine on ''Un ...

, who is Braddock's real-life granddaughter. The film received mostly positive reviews.

Professional boxing record

All information in this section is derived from

BoxRec BoxRec or boxrec.com is a website dedicated to holding updated records of professional and amateur boxers, both male and female. It also maintains a MediaWiki-based encyclopaedia of boxing. The objective of the site is to document every profes ...

, unless otherwise stated.

Official record

All

newspaper decision A newspaper decision was a type of decision in professional boxing. It was rendered by a consensus of sportswriters attending a bout after it had ended inconclusively with a "no decision", as many regions had not adopted the National Sporting Club ...

s are officially regarded as “no decision” bouts and are not counted in the win/loss/draw column.

Unofficial record

Record with the inclusion of

s in the win/loss/draw column. W

Notes

References

* Joe Louis, Edna Rust, Art Rust Jr., ''Joe Louis: My Life'' * "Cinderella Man" by Eminem, 2010
''Joe Louis, 66, Heavyweight King Who Reigned 12 Years, Is Dead''
Obituary, ''New York Times'', April 13, 1981.
Louis' TAX issues
* Jenny Nolan
"The Brown Bomber – The Man Behind The Fist"
''

The Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on Februar ...

''
"Remembering Joe Louis"
WTVM * "The Long Loneliness", by Dorothy Day, 1952

External links

*

ESPN.com

Official James J. Braddock website
(includes videos of some rounds of Braddock's fights with Baer and Louis)
Braddock's career record
– from the Official James J. Braddock website *
Collection of critical opinion of ''Cinderella Man''
at

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

James Braddock vs Max Baer, 13 June 1935, all rounds

James Braddock vs Joe Louis, 22 June 1937, all rounds

Quits Docks To Win Three Great Fights: Half Starved, Braddock Battles His Way To Scrap With Baer, by Harry Grayson, Sports Editor, NEA Service, June 5, 1935
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braddock, James J. 1905 births 1974 deaths American male boxers United States Army personnel of World War II American people of English descent American people of Irish descent Boxers from New York (state) Burials in New Jersey Heavyweight boxers Light-heavyweight boxers Military personnel from New York City People from Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan People from North Bergen, New Jersey People from West New York, New Jersey World Boxing Association champions World heavyweight boxing champions Catholics from New York (state) Catholics from New Jersey United States Army officers Military personnel from New Jersey