Athletes - James J. Braddock

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	Athletes - James J. Braddock

James Walter Braddock (June 7, 1905 – November 29, 1974) was a champion boxer. Fighting under the name James J. Braddock (ostensibly because two prior champions, James J. Corbett and James J. Jeffries had), his amazing comeback from a floundering career (that saw him lose several bouts before struggling to support his family by working on the docks during the Great Depression) earned him the nickname The Cinderella Man.

Born in New York City into a poor Irish family and following a successful amateur career, Jim Braddock turned pro at the age of 21, fighting in the light heavyweight division. After three years, Braddock's record was 34-5-7 with 21 knockouts. In 1928, he pulled off a major upset by knocking out highly regarded Tuffy Griffith. The following year he earned a chance to fight for the championship but he narrowly lost to Tommy Loughran in a 15-round decision. Braddock was greatly depressed by the loss and badly injured his hand in the process. His career suffered as a result. His record for his following 33 fights was 11-20-2. At one point Braddock had to stop fighting for a period and work as a longshoreman. This was during the Great Depression and the Braddock family suffered near poverty. Braddock always talked of the humiliation of having to go on relief.

Then in 1934, the boxer was given a fight with the highly touted John "Corn" Griffin. Although Braddock was intended as a stepping stone in Griffin's rise, Braddock scored an upset victory. Braddock then fought John Henry Lewis, a future light heavyweight champion and won in one of the most important fights of his career. After defeating another highly regarded heavyweight contender, Art Lasky, he was given a title fight against the World Heavyweight Champion, Max Baer. Considered no more than a journeyman fighter, Braddock was chosen by the champion's handlers because he was seen as a guaranteed easy payday for the champion. In one of the biggest upsets in championship boxing, on June 13, 1935, in Long Island City, New York, Braddock won the heavyweight championship of the world as the 10 to 1 underdog. The fight showed a dogged Braddock taking heavy hits from the powerful champion, but Braddock kept coming until he wore Baer down. At the end, the judges gave Braddock the title with a unanimous decision.

Jim Braddock suffered from problems with his arthritic hands after several injuries and in 1936 his title defense in Madison Square Garden against the German, Max Schmeling had to be cancelled in suspect circumstances. Braddock himself argued he would have received a $25,000 purse against Schmeling compared to $250,000 against rising star Joe Louis. When ready to fight, the 32-year-old Braddock chose to defend his title against the then 23-year-old star, Joe Louis. Realizing that Louis would be a heavy favorite and being an astute businessman, Joe Gould negotiated an agreement whereby Braddock would receive 10% of Louis' future earnings. Braddock knocked Louis down in the first round of their June 22, 1937 bout, but Louis recovered and dominated the bout, earning an 8th round stoppage. Louis is on record as saying that Braddock, "was the toughest fighter I fought."

Braddock always said he wanted his hand raised in his final fight. His last ring performance was in 1938 when he fought Welsh boxer Tommy Farr. Braddock came from behind to win a unanimous decision. The last two rounds were considered by many sportswriters to be the best of Braddock's life. He retired afterwards and worked in construction. Braddock also went on to serve honorably in World War II. In 1954, he was given the James J. Walker Award in recognition of his long and meritorious service to the boxing industry.

On his passing in 1974 in New Jersey, James Braddock was interred in the Mount Carmel Cemetery in Englewood, New Jersey. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2001. A park in the city of North Bergen, New Jersey is named in his honor.

Motion Picture

The 2005 biopic Cinderella Man tells the life 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. Paul Giamatti, playing Braddock's manager Joe Gould, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

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