Cinderella Man: James Braddock, Max Baer, and the Greatest Upset in Boxing History (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "On the night of June 14, 1934, James J. Braddock walked into the Madison Square Garden Bowl, an enormous outdoor arena in Queens, New York..." (more)
Key Phrases: light heavyweight championship, heavyweight division, boxing commission, New York, Max Baer, Jim Braddock (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In retelling the story of a near-impossible sports comeback in 1935, Schaap intricately chronicles the history of boxing during the Depression. Jimmy Braddock, an Irish-American heavyweight who began his career as a light heavyweight, was determined to win the title until a series of jinxes hit: the stock market crashed, he broke his dominant hand and a succession of losses crushed his spirit. Schaap, host of ESPN's Outside the Lines, goes into captivating detail on the brawny, reserved Braddock, who, at his lowest moments, was reduced to living off government relief and doing grueling work on the Hoboken, N.J., docks. But the story is as much about Max Baer, the lovably clownish and handsome heavyweight Braddock defeated as a 10-to-one underdog. The account is inspiring: no one ever thought Braddock would come back, especially against Baer, who'd previously killed two men in the ring. Braddock succeeded with the help of his manager, the short, fast-talking Joe Gould; the two were "the sport's favorite odd couple." Boxing enthusiasts will be more than satisfied by Schaap's meticulous account, which includes round-by-round details of the fight, as well as profiles of other fighters of the era. Not overly emotional, the story hits a nerve at just the right moments and features many of the same elements that made Seabiscuit a hit. Photos.
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From Booklist

Just a few months removed from receiving welfare to supplement his income as a dockworker, a small, slow, washed-up fighter became heavyweight champion of the world. James J. "Cinderella Man" Braddock's life makes a heck of a story, but there hasn't been a biography of him in decades. Schaap, an ESPN veteran, portrays Braddock as a man of his time. After a promising start in the late 1920s, Braddock--a lovable family man with three kids--ended up as broke and beaten as the country. But with the help of a fast-talking manager whose passion for the sport was equaled only by Braddock's own, the fighter managed to emerge from his Great Depression to make an improbable run at the title, culminating in the defeat of the gargantuan Max Baer in 1935. Like a SportsCenter puff piece, Schaap's account can get repetitive and doesn't always delve deep. But the fights here are crisply drawn, and Braddock's upsets have that Hoosiers thrill factor. Plus, it's refreshing to find a boxing story where the right guy wins, nobody cheats, and most everyone lives happily ever after. John Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (May 3, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618551174
• ISBN-13: 978-0618551170
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #516,692 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There are second acts to American lives, June 3, 2005

By	Mykal Banta (Boynton Beach, FL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

F. Scott Fitzgerald once said that there were no second acts to American lives. Yet, a fellow Irishman (one much less gloomy) proved him very, very wrong.

This book is the homage that James J. Braddock has always deserved. Braddock's amazing story has been slowly fading from public memory, as well as the memory of modern boxing fans, steadily over the years. This book puts things right.

Author, Jeremy Schaap, has written a Godsend of a book for Braddock fans, and his clean, direct style is perfectly suited to telling this story. If Schaap were a boxer, he would be referred to as a cagey, "cute" fighter; meaning that it might appear that he isn't doing much, but what he does counts and he will be there at the end of the fight with his glove raised.

To put it another way, there is nothing prosy in Schaap's writing; but he really knows the way to hit the right spots. Like any very good writer, he recognizes true moments of drama and plays these moments with a pure economy of words that come at you from the blue. Bang! Suddenly I found myself very moved and didn't even see it coming.

James J. Braddock was in so many ways the perfect product of the Great Depression. He was a washed-up fighter, his best years behind him. He had been cleaned out by the depression, desperately trying to feed his family by taking odd jobs at the docks in New Jersey, even going on relief (which so humiliated him he wouldn't tell anyone, not even his mother). Yet dock work had made him lean and tough, so when his second chance came, the hard knocks of life had prepared him.

People loved him not because he was white, or Irish. Americans loved him because he was like them - all of them - and he represented a hope. He had been crushed and humiliated by life, yet he did not quit. He literally fought his way back. One of the most telling moments in the book, described beautifully by the author, was when Braddock walked into the pubic relief office. He had the amount that he had been given in cash in his pocket, and he wished to pay it back.

While this book is a pleasure for the mainstream reader, hard-core fight fans will have nothing to complain about either. His descriptions of the fights of Braddock's career make it plain the author knows his boxing as well. As an unexpected bonus, Schaap has portraits of many other fighters that entered Braddock's sphere; among them Primo Carnera, Max Bear and the great light-heavy, Tommy Laughran.

This book is a long-needed and wonderful portrait of a champion, as well as an important addition to boxing literature.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Could not put it down, May 16, 2005

By	Alan Ross "weekly reader" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It is the best sports book I have ever read! The author pulled no punches in detailing the amazing story of Braddock. The boxer's highs and lows were vividly portrayed. You could smell the gym, feel the training, and taste the victory. Moreover, the political, economic and social state of the world in those times was marvelously woven into the fabric of the story. This book was truly a joy to experience. By the end of the story, two champions emerged, Braddock and Schaap.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This has been a great read!!!, May 14, 2005

By	Simply Wooden (Great Lakes Midwest U.S.) - See all my reviews

I am in the process of reading this book. It is a great story told by Jeremy Schaap. (Yes the son of the late Dick Schaap)

Jeremy Schaap has done a masterful job of weaving this story together and giving us the cultural perspective that was present in early 20th Century of the United States. As with all great stories there will be a movie made about Braddock. It should have the same type of commercial success as Seabiscuit. Read this book before going to the movie theater because it really does a nice job of telling us about the background of Braddock.

P.S. This book reminds me of how the sport of boxing has changed over the years. Boxing is now perceived by Americans more for its actions in the court room and greed by its promoters. Community identity with a boxer like Braddock is non existant in this American culture. Maybe it is not fair to compare this generation of boxers with those of Ali. Yet Ali stood for something that a society rallied around other than money. You can disagree with Ali but the respect I have for this man is incredible. Braddock might not have talked that much but he represented something that all of us could identify with. Hard work. A work ethic that people could identify with no matter where a person lived, their religion or their race.