No boxing story has transcended the literal nature of the sport to become a grand symbol more than the story of James J. Braddock. His rise, fall, and comeback paralleled the struggle and hope of an entire nation. He was the man who rose from relief to royalty and inspired every man who was down on his luck and hoped to get back on his feet.
By 1929, James J. Braddock was an up and coming star in the sport, fighting for the light heavyweight title. But after his loss to Tommy Loughran, Braddock’s career and life took a turn for the worse. He lost 16 of his next 26 fights. From being a contender for the light heavyweight title at Madison Square Garden in front of tens of thousands of fans, Braddock slipped to fighting two-bit opponents in tiny clubs with an audience in the hundreds. He was booed and jeered by the crowds and skewered in the press by acerbic writers. He then broke his only good hand-his right-and “retired” from the sport. At the same time, Braddock lost the money he invested in a failed bank and taxi cab company. Like millions of other Americans during the Great Depression, he was out of work and out of money.
Without an education or a skill beyond boxing, Braddock searched for work of any kind to support his wife and 3 kids. Daily he would walk the 3 miles to the docks of Weehawken and Hoboken to see if work could be found. If there was, he would spend the day unloading railroad ties. If there wasn’t, he would walk another 2 miles to West New York. If there wasn’t any work to be found there either, he’d walk home to try to find some odd jobs like shoveling snow. It wasn’t unusual for him to walk 10-12 miles a day in search of a way to put food on his family’s table. His neighbors, who used to stop and shake his hand and slap his back, now crossed to the other side of the street when they saw him coming. He poured drinks at an athletic club for guys who used to take pride in his rise to prominence and now simply pitied the sad man behind the bar.
After 9 months without a fight, Braddock landed a bout against Corn Griffin. Although he was picked to be an easy win for Griffin, Braddock pummeled his opponent, causing the ref to stop the fight in the third round. From there Braddock won bouts against John Henry Lewis and Art Lasky and secured a spot fighting Max Baer for the heavyweight championship. His “fairytale” journey to being crowned the champ won him the name of “Cinderella Man” and is full of lessons for every man.
