James J. Braddock
Cinderella Man
W ritten By
M A R C C ERAS INI
Based on the M otion Picture Screenplay By
CLIFF H O L L I N G S W O R T H and AKIVA G O L D S M A N
M otion Picture Story By
CLIFF H O L L I N G S W O R T H
Level 4
R e t o l d by P a u l S h i p t o n
Series E d it o r s : A n d y H o p k i n s and J o c e l y n P o t t e r
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Essex C M 2 0 2JE, E n gland
and A ssociated C o m p an ies th ro u g h o u t the w orld.
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Contents
page
Introductio n
V
C hapter 1
A Lucky M an
1
C hapter 2
H ard Times
7
C hapter 3
An Em barrassm ent
12
C hapter 4
A N ew Life
16
C hapter 5
B roken Prom ises
20
C hapter 6
O ne Fight Only
27
C hapter 7
Back in th e R in g
31
C hapter 8
A Second C hance
36
C hapter 9
N o t the Same Guy
41
C hapter 10
N ig h t in the Park
46
C hapter 11
Face to Face w ith the C ham pion
49
C hapter 12
The B ig Day
54
C hapter 13
The H opes o f the C row d
60
C hapter 14
The Luckiest M an
65
Activities
71
Introduction
As Jim Braddock stepped out into the bright lights, the crowd became
silent. The ring seemed so fa r away. Between him and it were thousands
o f people—Jim ’s people. He knew the looks on their faces— people who
saw no chance o f a future. Some had spent their last dollar to be here,
but tonight they all held their heads high. Their eyes follow ed him with the
wild hope that the story o f the Cinderella M an would have a happy
ending.
The
story
o f heavyw eight
boxer James
J.
B raddock— the
"C inderella M an"— is a tru e one. It begins in N ew York City in
the late 1920s. The 1920s had seen good tim es in the U nited
States. T he rest o f the w orld w atched as taller and taller buildings
w ere built in cities like N ew York. M ore and m ore A m ericans
were buying H enry Ford's cars, and H olly w ood was m aking
m ovies that w ere seen around the world. In the country's big
cities, it was a tim e o f new fashions, new m achines, and exciting
new music.
President H erb ert H oover th o u g h t that the good tim es w ould
never end, but he was w rong. The country was producing m ore
than it needed, and many historians believe that this was the cause
o f the problem . T here w ere still m any p o o r people in the U n ited
States— almost half the p o p u latio n — and these people couldn't
afford to buy new things. At the same tim e, the country's rich
people couldn't continue to buy things they already ow ned. The
end came suddenly, in O cto b er 1929, w h en the w hole system
crashed. T he econom y failed, banks closed, families around the
country lost their m oney, and millions o f people lost their jo b s
and their hom es. In 1932, the country voted for a popular new
president, Franklin D elano R oosevelt, w ho w orked hard to solve
the country's problem s. T here w ere no quick answers, th o u g h — in
v
1933, there w ere 15 m illion people w ith o u t jo b s in the country,
one in every four w orking p eo p le— and the 1930s continued to
be hard for many Am ericans.
T he true story o f Jim B raddock was similar to the story of
m any A m ericans. He m ade a lot of m oney in the 1920s as a
successful boxer, and he and his family had everything they
w anted. B ut for B raddock, too, the good tim es couldn't last.
He lost all o f his m oney in 1929, and he experienced bad luck
in his professional life w h en he began to lose fights. Like m any
A m ericans, B raddock had to take any w ork he could find. He had
to fight ju s t to put food on the table for his family. M ost people
believed that his life as a professional heavyw eight boxer had
ended. T he story of his second chance is one o f the sport's greatest
stories.
It was a story that the w riter and boxing supporter Cliff
H ollingsw orth kn ew well. T h in k in g that it w ould m ake a great
m ovie, he spoke to Jim B raddock's sons in 1994. They told him
that th eir father had been a national hero, but that now m ost
people h ad n 't heard o fh im . H ollingsw orth w anted to change that
situation so "this forgotten hero w ill be rem em bered once again."
A ctor R ussell Crowe becam e interested in m aking a m ovie
o f Braddock's story. Crowe, w ho was b o rn in N ew Z ealand and
grew up in Australia, told how B raddock did everything possible
to support his family. "I ju s t w anted people to hear this true
A m erican story," said the actor.
Film m aker R o n H ow ard learned m ore
about the possible
m ovie w h en he m ade A Beautiful M ind w ith Russell Crowe.
H ow ard already kn ew about B rad d o ck — w hen he was little, his
father had told him about the fighter.
It was clear to the film makers that B raddock's wife and family
w ere the m ost im portant things in his w orld, so they knew that
the character o f Jim's wife, M ae, was very im p o rtant to the movie.
Actress R e n e e Z ellw eger was interested in playing M ae because
M ae was a strong w om an at a tim e w h en m any w o m en had no
voice at all. "She's never afraid to tell Jim w hat's in her heart, even
w hen it's not w hat he w ants to hear," said Zellweger.
Before the m ovie could be m ade, Russell Crow e had a lot of
w ork to do. After his last m ovie, the actor w eighed 103 kilograms.
Jim B raddock fought at 81 kilogram s and he was taller than
Crowe, so the actor had to lose weight. He did this by m ethods
from B raddock's days— swim m ing, running, rid in g a bicycle, and
clim bing.
He also had to study boxing, w o rk in g long h ours at the
p u n ch in g bag and in the ring. He was helped by the m ost famous
trainer in boxing's history, A ngelo D undee, w ho has w orked w ith
Sugar R ay Leonard, M ike Tyson, and th e greatest cham pion of
them all, M uham m ad Ali. The trainer helped Crow e to box, and to
b o x ju st like Jim B raddock. D undee spoke o f the actor's speed and
skill in the ring. "Best of all, he has learned to th in k like a fighter,"
said the famous trainer.
Crow e was also not afraid o f pain. He was knocked dow n
several tim es and suffered loose and b roken teeth; one w eek before
filming began, his shoulder was badly hurt. W h en the m ovie was
m ade, some ofB rad d o ck 's opponents w ere played by real boxers,
w ho had to learn to throw punches that didn't h u rt so m uch. They
didn't always rem em ber! In one scene, boxer M ark Simmons hit
Crowe so hard that actor Paul Giam atti, playing Braddock's
m anager, heard the boxing glove hit Crowe's head. Giamatti's
look o f shock in the film w asn't acting! "I d o n 't know how he
continued w ith the fight," said Giamatti.
In the end, Cinderella M an is not ju st a story about boxing. It is
the story o f a family w ho stayed togeth er in hard tim es— the story
o f a m an w ho fought for w hat he loved and believed in.
vii
C h a p t er 1
A L uc k y Man
M adison Square Garden, New York, November 30, 1928
There w ere nin eteen thousand boxing supporters around the
center ring in M adison Square G arden, and m ost w ere w aiting
for ju s t one thing— for one fighter to m urder another. Tonight
they w ere w aiting for Gerald "Tuffy" Griffiths, the "Terror from
out West," to destroy N ew Jersey's Jim B raddock.
At the sound o f the bell, B raddock stood u nder the hot lights
and w atched Griffiths rush out into the ring. Tuffy Griffiths had
come to N ew York after w in n in g fifty fights. He had w on his last
fight w ith a k n o ck o u t in the first round. Everybody knew that
he w ould do the same to B raddock— everybody except B raddock
and his m anager, Joe Gould. G ould believed in Braddock.
A sudden ja b from B raddock knocked Griffiths back. The
fighters started m oving around the ring, throw ing and blocking
punches. Griffiths threw the same punches that had easily beaten
his other opponents, but B raddock stayed on his feet. B lood and
sweat p oured into his eyes.
N o n e o f the reporters around the ring expected the N ew Jersey
boxer to reach the end o f the second round. B ut by round two,
B raddock had tim ed his opponent's rushes. W ithin one m inute,
he hit Griffiths w ith his big p u n ch — his right cross— and Tuffy
w ent down. T he crowd stood, shouting. B ut the referee had only
counted to three before Griffiths was back on his feet and the
fight continued.
Tim e stretched for B raddock now, and his opponent's slightest
m ove seemed enorm ous. B raddock paid no attention to the
screams o f the crowd, to the pain he felt. This was his chance to
finish Griffiths. He threw his big right p u n ch again, and again
Tuffy was on the floor.
1
"O ne . . . tw o . . . three . . . four . . . " the referee counted.
For a second tim e, Griffiths got to his feet. B ut B raddock was
ready, stepping in close and thro w in g punch after punch. T hen
his right hand flew forward and found Griffiths' chin for the last
time. T he big fighter h it the floor again. He tried to stand, but
his legs w ere like rubber. N o m ore punches hit him , but he w ent
dow n— and stayed down.
"And from the great state o f N ew Jersey, by a knockout,
tonight's light heavyw eight w in n e r . . .Jim Braddock!"
The crow d was back on its feet. The local boy had won!
B raddock had b een b o rn in Hell's K itchen, a p o o r neighborhood
o f N ew York ju s t a stone's throw from M adison Square Garden.
B raddock p u n ch ed the air in celebration. He looked at the crowd,
at the m en in their suits and ties and the w om en w ith their
fashionable haircuts and expensive clothes. It was Friday night, the
w orld seemed to be having a party, and Jim Braddock's w in was
one m ore reason to celebrate!
Griffiths was Braddock's eighteenth k n o ck o u t since his first
professional fight in
1926. His tw enty-seventh win. The fight
organizers had had big plans for Griffiths. After this surprise w in,
maybe B raddock w ould have his chance to fight for the title of
heavyw eight cham pion. T hat was every boxer's dream.
Inside the ring, Joe G ould rushed out o fth e corner an d ju m p ed
onto his boxer's back. B oth m en looked at the crowd and listened
to its shouts. Jim smiled. He was a winner . . .
The tall boxer and his m anager stepped out through the side
entrance into a crow d o f about a hund red well-dressed supporters.
"Just sign y o u r nam e for a few of them ," said Joe. "Leave them
w anting more."
"Do you w ant to sign my nam e for m e, too?" Jim asked his
m anager w ith a smile.
2
People crow ded around Jim. He liked them ; he liked the fact
that they loved him.
"You w in some, you lose some, Johnston," said Joe.
Jim looked up. His m anager was talking to a big m an w ho had
com e out o f the same side entrance. Jim m y Johnston organized
the fights at M adison Square Garden. No boxer fought there
w ith o u t his perm ission. Jo hnston and m en like him ruled the
w orld o f boxing. Tonight Johnston had w anted Griffiths to w in
the fight. B raddock was supposed to be an easy w in for Griffiths.
Jim to u ch ed his m anager's arm. "Leave it," he said.
B ut Joe contin u ed talking. "M aybe you support the w rong
guys? Griffiths was heavier than my boy, and w hat happened? Jab,
cross . . . "
"Actually, it was jab , jab , cross," said Jim. He didn't like to see Joe
arguing w ith a m an as powerful as Johnston. B u t the little m anager
had always supported Jim , and the fighter couldn't let his m anager
stand alone now.
"Jab, jab , cross!" repeated Joe. "A nd then y o u r boy's out! So
maybe no one's a loser? R ig h t, Johnston?"
Loser. Jim hated that word. Some people had said that his early
opponents w ere no good. Easy fights. Losers. So w hat did that
make Jim? B ut after to n ig h t. . . after Griffiths . . . w hat could
they say now?
Joe G ould and Jim m y Jo hnston stared hard at each other. Just
like inside the boxing ring, tim e seem ed to stretch. A nd then
Johnston tu rn e d and w alked to his w aiting car.
Jim shook his head. His little m anager had no control over his
m outh. "I'll get us a taxi," he said.
B ut Joe p o in ted to a big, shiny new car across the street. "You
have to show you're doing well," he said. T he m anager organized
his life by this belief—expensive clothes, the best restaurants, and
now this car. A uniform ed driver opened the back door, and the
two m en got in.
3
T hrough the car's w indow s, N ew York seem ed alive. The city's
bright lights shone and people laughed and talked as they w ent
to shows and clubs. It was an exciting tim e to live in the city. Tall
buildings w ere going up everyw here, and everybody seemed to be
getting rich. Jim B raddock and Joe G ould w anted a piece o f that
success, too. They had even started their ow n taxi company.
"Let's go to a club," said Joe. "You should be seen in the right
places . . . "
B ut Jim ju s t said, "H om e, Joe."
W ith a shake of his head, Joe told the driver, and the car tu rn ed
tow ard N ew Jersey. This had b een Jim 's hom e since soon after his
birth. His parents had m oved from Ireland to N ew York, looking
for a b e tte r life. Later, for the same reason, they had m oved their
family across the H udson R iv er to N ew Jersey.
H ere Jim had grow n up a typical A m erican boy. By the tim e
he stopped going to school, his older b ro th er had started to box.
O ne day he and Jim began to argue, and soon they w ere fighting.
A lthough his b ro th er was bigger and had m uch m ore experience,
Jim didn't do badly. That's w h en he realized— maybe he could be
a w in n e r in the boxing ring.
N o t long after this, he had first m et Joe G ould in a local gym.
Joe needed som eone to train w ith one o f his boxers, and he
offered five dollars to the tall teenager. Jim had gone into the ring
and given Gould's boxer a lesson. The m anager had stayed w ith
Jim since then, th ro u g h one hun d red am ateur fights, and then
through all his professional fights.
N ow the car tu rn e d onto Jim 's tree-lin ed street in a nice, quiet
neig h b o rh o o d o f N ew ark, N ew Jersey's biggest city. Joe pulled
some cash out of his pocket and began to count out Jim's share of
the prize money.
'D o you w ant to com e in?" asked Jim as the car stopped
outside his house. "T he kids w ould love to see you."
Joe paused. "Are y ou still m arried to the same girl?"
4
"I was this m orning," answered Jim.
"I'll com e in another tim e," said Joe. "A nd tell her I didn't
charge you for the towels."
As Jim clim bed out, he forced him self not to laugh. Joe Gould
was afraid o f n o th in g in the w orld o f boxing, but he tu rn ed and
ran from Jim 's wife, M ae, w ith h er hard questions about the prize
m oney and Jim 's share o f it.
T he front d o o r o f the house was open now, and there, in the
golden light of the hall, was M ae. H e r pale face was serious as she
waited. From the first tim e he had m et her, Jim had loved her.
He m oved tow ard h er now, telling h im selfh e was a lucky m an to
have a wife like M ae.
W hen M ae B raddock saw h er husband, the dark cloud o f w orry
disappeared. She could breathe again. Feel again.
Fight night was always like this for M ae. In the afternoon,
Jim m y kissed h er goodbye. T hen she ju s t w atched the clock and
hoped that he was safe. The long hours full o f fear only ended
w hen Jim came hom e.
She knew that m en
died in the ring. N o t often, but it
happened. A nd if they didn't die, they w ere h urt, badly. M ae didn't
understand the sport. To h er it was a w orld o f pain and danger. B ut
she loved h er husband, and so she tried to support him.
M ae Theresa Fox had grow n up near the B raddock family in
N ew Jersey. She had always liked big Jim B raddock, and he loved
M ae from the tim e he first m et her. B ut Jim was shy, and it took
him a long tim e to ask M ae to m arry him. He said that he w anted
to w ait until he had enough m oney to buy a nice hom e. W hen he
had $30,000 from his prize m o n ey — a small fo rtu n e— he finally
asked. As he w aited nervously for h er answer, M ae noticed the
sweat on Jim's face. She couldn't stop herself from laughing. The
m oney didn't m atter to h er— o f course she w ould m arry him!
5
N o w M ae looked at h er husband. She knew that Griffiths had
been expected to w in tonight's fight. H er eyes asked the question,
and Jim's answer was a slow shake o f the head. M ae looked away.
She hated to see Jim m y in pain— that's w hy she never w ent to the
fights— and she hated to see him like this. B ut then she looked up
and saw Jim m y smile. He had won!
"I could kill you," said M ae, kissing h er husband.
Jim's tw o sons ran into the hall. They ju m p e d around their
father's legs, shouting w ith excitem ent.
"Daddy, did you w in?" cried four-year-old Jay.
H ow ard, w ho was only three, was ju s t happy that D addy was
hom e. Jim picked the boys up and kissed them . M y little men, he
thought. His eyes m et M ae's. M y little family.
Jim told them all about the fight, acting it out p u n ch by punch.
It wasn't easy for M ae to p u t the boys to bed after that. W hen she
had checked th eir sleeping baby girl, Rosy, she sat dow n to eat
d inner w ith Jimmy.
"So did Griffiths have a big punch?" she asked.
"You could com e and w atch me fight," suggested Jim.
B ut M ae looked away. "You get punched, and it feels like I'm
getting punched. B ut I'm n o t as strong as you . . . " She forced
herself to smile. "A nd w ho w ants new spaper stories about me
ru n n in g out from a fight again?"
Jim rem em bered w hen this had happened. H is opponent had
knock ed him dow n that day, and M ae had seen it. Jim still
rem em bered the look o f fear on h er face. It didn't seem to m atter
that Jim had w on the fight in the end. After that, M ae bravely
continued com ing to w atch Jim box. H e didn't know how painful
it was for h er until a few fights later. Jim was having a bad night
and he took a lot of punishm ent. N o t able to w atch anymore,
M ae had ru n off before the final bell. A rep o rter saw her go,
and the story was in the new spapers. M ae never w ent to a fight
again.
6
N ow she looked at h er husband. "W ere there any girls w aiting
outside after the fight?"
"M aybe," said Jim w ith a smile.
M ae m oved around the table. She spoke in a different voice
now, pretending to be one o f the w om en. "O h, Mr. Braddock,"
she said. "You're so strong. Your hands are so big."
M ae m oved in close, and she w asn't jo k in g now w h en she said,
"I am so proud o f you, Jimmy."
That night, as he got ready for bed, Jim stood in the bedroom of
his beautiful hom e. He looked at their w edding picture. T hen he
took off the gold cross from around his neck and kissed it, looking
at his ow n face in the m irror. It was the face o f a lucky man. A
lucky m an and a w inner.
Ch ap te r 2
H a r d Times
Newark, New Jersey, September 25, 1933
Jim B raddock looked through the drawers below the same m irror
that had shown him the face o f a lucky man. D ressing was quick
these days: h e ju s t put on w hat M ae had w ashed or fixed the night
before. He didn't have to kiss his gold cross for luck. He had sold it
years ago. Everyone's luck had gone now — even Jim Braddock's.
Som ething m oved outside the w indow , probably a rat. This
was ju st a part of life w h en you lived in a single room in a dirty,
crow ded
apartm ent building. B ehind Jim , his three
hungry
children shared a bed in the cold family bedroom . M ae had hung
a blanket across the room to tu rn one room into two.
He looked again at his and M ae's w edding picture. In the last
few years they had lost their house and m ost of th eir furniture, but
they w ould always have this. In the picture, M ae looked beautiful;
Jim stood next to her, w earing a suit he didn't ow n now. The
couple in the p h o to smiled, not kno w in g the hard future th at was
7
ahead. B ut Jim liked to look at the picture every day. It rem inded
him of the good things in his life.
He stepped into the kitchen, w here M ae was cooking breakfast.
She looked different n ow — thin n er, w ith dark circles u n der her
eyes. B ut to Jim she was still beautiful.
"I can't find my socks," he said.
"Jim!" w hispered M ae, b u t it was too late.
"M om , I w ant to eat, too," said little Rosy, pushing through the
blanket. M ae began to cut another thin piece o f meat.
"Sorry," said Jim.
R osy couldn't rem em ber living in a big house, surrounded by
nice things, w ith new clothes and plenty o f food. The girl clim bed
onto h er father, and Jim held h er close to him . H e hated seeing his
children grow up like this; it was harder than any fight.
"We got a final bill," said M ae, "for the gas and electricity."
Jim 's shoulders fell. He to o k dow n a j a r from the shelf, w here
they kept their m oney for a "rainy day." He shook it and listened
to the few coins in the jar.
"It's clearly been raining m ore than I th o u g h t recently," he said.
M ae picked up three dishes and p u t a th in piece o fh o t m eat on
each one. Jim began to cut up his daughter's food.
"I'm fig h tin g Abe Feldm an tonight," he told his wife. He didn't
tell her that Feldm an had lost only one fight in nineteen. Instead,
he told h er w hat he w ould earn— fifty dollars, m ore than he could
earn in one w hole w eek on the docks.
M ae couldn't hide the old fear in h er eyes. Since hard tim es had
hit their fam ily— and the w hole cou n try — she had started to hate
the ring, w ith its punishm ents and its em pty prom ises.
"M om m y, I w ant some m ore," said Rosy.
Jim looked at M ae and R osy w ith their em pty plates. "M ae,
I had a dream last night," he said, standing from the table. "I
dream ed that I was having dinner at an expensive hotel, and I had
a big, thick steak." He put on his old coat. "I had so m uch food,
8
I'm ju s t not hun g ry now." He spoke m ore quietly to his daughter.
"C an you help me? M om m y cooked this, and I don't w ant to hurt
her feelings."
R osy w asn't sure w h e th e r to believe him , but Jim m oved the
m eat from his plate to hers. W ith w ide eyes, the child im m ediately
began to eat.
"Jim m y— " M ae began, but he silenced her w ith a kiss.
You can’t w ork on an empty stomach, her eyes said to him.
Jim's answer was simple. "You're my girls."
W hen Jim stepped outside, he rem em bered that things w eren't
so bad for him and his family. Tim es w ere even harder for m any
other people. He w alked past old, broken cars next to trash can
fires. Those useless cars w ere hom es now, hom es to people w ith no
jo b s and no hopes.
This part of N ew ark was very different from Jim's old leafy
neighborhood. M ost o f the dirty brow n and gray buildings around
here had broken w indow s and paint com ing off. M ost of the
stores w ere closed, and garbage cans lay em pty in the street. People
threw n o thin g away these days.
Ten thousand factories in the N ew York area had been closed
down. E veryw here Jim looked, he saw people w ith o u t jobs.
Businessmen, teachers, office w orkers, lawyers, bankers ... all were
looking for work. T here w ere m en in four-year-old suits, happy
to clean a yard for a dollar. O thers stood in line at em ploym ent
offices from m o rn in g until night.
Disaster had struck on O cto b er 29, 1929. Some people called it
Black Tuesday, others the Crash. It was the end of A m erica's good
times in the 1920s. T he econom y failed, and suddenly millions of
people w ere out o f work. At first, Jim th o u g h t that the problem
w ouldn't last long. B ut th en his bank closed and his taxi com pany
w ent out o f business. By 1932, the Braddocks had lost every cent
o f Jim's boxing m oney
N ew York w asn't a city o f b rig h t lights and happy party-goers
9
now. The city was filled w ith a gray crow d of people w ithout
hope. They stood in endless lines for soup or bread; they froze on
street corners; they looked for w ork and found none. H ungry,
empty, hopeless people.
Jim 's only hope had been boxing. The prize m oney was less, but
boxing was still popular, cheap en tertainm ent. B ut, after the crash,
Jim's success as a boxer had ended. In
1 9 3 3 — he
1 9 3 0 , '3 1 , '3 2 — and
now
lost m ore fights than he w on. It was harder and harder
for G ould to get him good fights.
Jim had to look for oth er w ork. W ith so m any factories closed,
he tried N ew ark's busy docks. Early every m o rn in g, he jo in e d the
crow d look in g for w ork there. In the dark and the cold, they
w aited by the locked gate o f a high fence.
At last, the forem an pulled open the gate. He looked at the
tired, hungry faces o f the m en there. This m an had the pow er of
life or death; he could change the luck of every m an here.
"I need nine men," he said.
M en began pushing forw ard—M e! Pick m e!— as the forem an
counted out w orkers. "O ne, tw o, three . . ."Jim pushed forward,
too, b u t th en :". . . nine."
Jim closed his eyes. After all of that w aiting, it had ended in less
than thirty seconds. H e h adn't been picked.
"I've been here since four o'clock," said a m an's voice.
The m an had stepped forward to com plain. Jim had spoken to
him once. His nam e was B en and, like Jim , he had a wife and three
kids to support.
The forem an began to tu rn away, but suddenly B en was holding
a gun and p o in tin g it at the forem an's heart. His hand shook and
his eyes w ere wild. "I was here first."
The forem an lifted his eyes from the gun to Ben's face. "My
mistake," he said. "I need ten m en."
B en stepped through the gate. Jim w anted to look away but he
couldn't. B en h a d ju s t put the gun away w h en several m en fought
10
him to the ground. T hat was the end for B en now. H o w could he
help his wife and kids from prison?
Jim spent the w hole day w alking from place to place and
looking for w ork, w ith o u t luck. H ours later, he retu rn ed to the
apartm ent building. His eight-year-old son, H ow ard, was outside.
Jim gave his son a smile. H o w could a y o u n g boy u n derstand that
one in four w orking A m ericans had no jo b ? An eight-year-old
child didn't need to know that.
Suddenly, another child ran up to him. It was Rosy.
"Daddy, Daddy, D addy!" she cried. "Jay stole!"
Jim carried his daughter to their apartm ent, w here M ae was
standing over their oldest son. T he ten-year-old's face was red.
Jim put R osy down. "W hat's all this about?"
R osy po in ted at the m eat on the table. "See?" she said.
T here was enough to feed the family for a w hole week.
"It's from the b u tch er shop," said Mae. "H e refuses to say a w ord
about it. D o n 't you, Jay?"
"OK," said Jim to his son. "Pick it up. Let's go."
Jay looked up at his father and the message in his eyes was clear.
D on’t make me do this. C an’t you see that we need it?
"R ight now !" said Jim.
T hen he was out o f the building and m arching to the butcher
shop w ith o u t another w ord. H is son followed slowly behind, w ith
the stolen food in his hand. At the butcher's, Jay had to give the
m eat back and apologize. Jim m et the butcher's eyes. 1 am not
bringing up m y son to be a thief.
The b u tch er nodded. Father and son left the shop. As they
walked, Jim was silent, giving his boy time.
At last, Jay spoke. "M arty Joh n so n had to go and live w ith his
uncle. His parents didn't have enough for them to eat."
Jim tu rn e d tow ard his son. "You w ere scared," he said. "I
understand that. B ut we don't steal. It doesn't m atter w hat
happens. Prom ise me."
11
Jay m anaged a nod. "I promise," he said.
"H ere's my promise." Jim was eye to eye w ith his son. "W e're
never going to send you away, son."
The tears came p o u rin g from the little boy's eyes. Jim pulled Jay
into his arms and held him as tight as he could.
Ch ap te r 3
An E m b a r r a s s m e n t
M ount Vernon, New York, September 23, 1933
The dressing room was a mess. The floor was dirty and the doors
w ere broken. The air smelled of old sweat.
"He's a slow guy," said Joe Gould. "M y g randm other could beat
him! It'll be an easy fight."
Joe was w earing one o f his usual fine brow n suits. Jim knew
nobody else w ho hadn't been ru in ed by the Crash.
The m anager was taping up Jim's hands before the fight. He
squeezed Jim's right hand, then saw the look o f pain on the
fighter's face. He played w ith the hand, exam ining it carefully.
"This break needs a couple of w eeks to get better," he said.
"W hy didn't you tell m e, Jim ?"
Jim didn't look up. He had fought in M arch, although his right
hand was still h u rt from a fight in January. His o p ponent was
good, and Jim , fighting w ith a bad hand, had lost in four rounds.
B ut he couldn't stop fighting because he needed the prize m oney
for his family. He fought several m ore tim es, h urting his right
hand again and again. By now he had to use drugs to control the
pain. T here was never enough tim e for it to get b etter before the
next fight.
Joe G ould kn ew that it w asn't legal to let a boxer fight in this
condition. If som ething w ent w rong in the ring, it could m ean the
end for b o th Joe and Jim.
"I can't get any work," said Jim quietly. "We need the money."
12
The little m anager th o u g h t o fM a e and the children. "OK," he
said. "I'll tape y o u r hand double." G ould knew that double-taping
was against the rules, too. "Keep y o u r left hand in his face and,
w hen you can, hit him w ith a big right. If you finish early, I'll buy
you an ice cream!"
He led the boxer past the crow d tow ard the ring. This crowd
was very different from the one at M adison Square G arden years
earlier. These people looked p o o rer and hungrier.
As Jim clim bed into the ring, a radio rep o rter spoke into a
m icrophone. "Just five years ago, Jim B raddock was th o u g h t to be
ready to fight for the w orld heavyw eight title. B ut he has lost ten
fights in the last year."
The crow d started to shout louder w h en Abe Feldm an walked
toward the ring, p u n ch in g the air.
"N ow B raddock fights Feldm an," continued the radio m an, "a
young fighter w ho has w on seventeen tim es and lost ju s t once."
Jim froze. This was the boxer Joe's g randm other could beat?
Feldm an
was
the
crowd's
favorite.
He
was
y oung
and
handsom e, like B raddock had been years earlier w hen he had an
unbroken nose and tw o pretty ears. Braddock's gloves fell to his
sides.
Joe pulled Jim's gloves back up. "Jimmy, w hat are you going to
do?"
Jim closed his eyes and everything w ent away— the crowd's
shouts, M ae's w o rried looks, Ben's gun, Jay's silent tears, all the
mistakes of the last four years. He opened his eyes.
"I'm going to get an ice cream!"
Feldman's glove hit B raddock in the face, a hard punch. Jim tried
to hit back, but Feldm an blocked his punches.
'C om e on, Jim m y!" cried G ould from the corner. The m anager
was sweating almost as m uch as B raddock, as he ja b b e d the air
13
and shouted advice. B ut B raddock could only think about the
pain o f Feldman's punches. The you n g er m an h it him again and
again, but none o f B raddock's punches seemed to hit Feldm an,
w ho danced around his opp o n en t easily. Suddenly, Feldm an threw
a com bination o f punches that threw B raddock back onto the
ropes. T he crow d began to boo.
"D o n 'tju s t stand there!" shouted Gould.
B raddock saw an opening in Feldm an's defenses and threw a
right cross. It hit the fighter's chin and knocked him back. Jim
stepped in to finish his o pponent, but Feldm an p u t his head dow n
as B raddock threw his big punch. T he leather glove hit the top of
Feldman's head. T here was a sound o f bone on bone. The pain
in B raddock's right hand was terrible. He held on to Feldm an as
the bell announced the end o f the round. The referee had to send
b o th fighters back to their corners.
G ould quickly took B raddock's right glove off. Even un d er all
the tape, he could see that the hand was really broken.
"I can't let you continue," he said.
Jim th o u g h t of the prize money. "I can use my left," he said.
"D on't let Feldm an get too close," said G ould, quickly tying the
glove back up. "D o w hat you can w ith y o u r left."
B ut B raddock had never had a left-hand punch. N o w he
couldn't even block w ith his right, and his feet felt heavy and slow.
P unch after p u n ch fell on him.
Tim e usually slowed dow n for Jim in the ring, but now it was
flying past. He began to throw out his left hand in w ild jabs. These
missed, but then one p u n ch hit Feldm an on the chin and hurt
him. Again, the tw o boxers held on to each other. The crowd
began to boo again and shout insults: "Go hom e!"
B raddock decided that maybe he had one m ore good right
punch in him . H e pulled his arm back and threw the punch. It
h u rt Feldm an, but the pain was m uch w orse for B raddock. U nder
the double tape, his rig h t hand was com pletely broken. Feldm an
14
hit him back, and again B raddock held on to his opponent. He
almost fainted from the pain.
The angry boos from the crowd w ere so loud that he almost
didn't hear the bell.
"An embarrassment! That's w hat it was. An em barrassm ent!"
Jim m y Johnston, the big fight organizer, was shouting angrily
at Joe Gould, 'who was unusually quiet.
Thirty
m inutes
earlier the
referee
had
ended
the
fight,
announcing that nobody was the w in n er because B raddock
w asn't fit to continue.
"O K , O K, so he's fighting w hile he's hurt," said Joe. "M aybe
y our fighters can afford to have a m onth's rest b etw een fights."
"He almost never hits his opponents any more," answered
Johnston. "And now the referee has to stop the fight. A fighter like
that keeps the public away. Ticket m oney will fall." The big m an
paused. "W e're taking away his boxing license. W hatever B raddock
was going to do in boxing, he's done it."
W hen Jim heard the bad new s from his m anager, he couldn't
move, couldn't breathe. The dressing room was small and dirty, so
Joe led his boxer back into the hall. The lights threw long shadows
on the em pty ring. Joe began taping a piece o f w o od to Jim's
broken hand. "U ntil you get to the hospital."
As he taped the hand, Joe couldn't hold back the m em ories, all
the fights and all the dreams. All the hopes that Jim B raddock
w ould be cham pion one day. N o w those hopes lay as broken as
the fighter's hand.
Joe cleared his throat. "Jimmy . . . som etim es you ju st can't
change things. I'm telling you . . . It's finished."
The boxer didn't ju m p up, shout, or scream. He was quiet for a
long time. His face was w et w ith tears. "G et me one m ore fight,
Joe," said the fighter. "W e're dow n to our last dollar."
15
"I . . . I'm sorry, Jimmy."
After all they had been through together, Joe really was sorry.
They had stayed the best of friends through good times and bad.
N o w it really was the end. Tonight. This was goodbye.
Jim didn't even look up as his m anager walked away, leaving
him on the seats beside the dark ring. Alone.
Chapter 4
A N ew Life
"O h, dear God . . . "
Jim knew that this was the last tim e he w ould see this look on
M ae's face after a fight. "I don't have the money," he said, too tired
to find the w ords to make it easier. "They refused to pay me, took
away my license. They said that I'm finished as a boxer."
T he fear in M ae's eyes tu rn ed to anger. She didn't care about
boxing licenses or fight rules. She only cared about her husband.
"Jimmy, w hat happened to y our hand?"
"It's broken in three places."
M ae w asn't thinking about boxing now. "Ify o u can't w ork, we
w on't be able to pay the bills, buy food . . . W e'll have to send the
children to stay w ith my sister."
"M ae, I can still work," Jim said. "G et the black shoe polish
from the cupboard. N obody w ill give me a jo b if they see this cast
on my hand, so w e'll cover it up."
M ae saw it in her husband's eyes th en — Jim B raddock wasn't
going to be beaten. "I'll cut y o u r coat so you can put it on over
the cast," she said, opening the shoe polish and spreading it on the
w hite cast. "N ow we ju st need a piece o f steak for yo u r face, Jim
B raddock!" she laughed.
Six-year-old R osy's face appeared around the blanket. Jim
smiled at her, deciding, n o t for the first tim e, that he was a lucky
m an to have M ae as his wife.
16
It was early m o rn in g and Jim was standing outside the familiar
locked gate at N ew ark docks. As the sun appeared in the east, the
foreman, Jake, walked up. Jim put his broken hand behind him.
The doctor had said it w ould be useless for m onths.
"O ne, two, three . .
As usual, Jake w alked along the group,
p ointing to the w orkers he w anted. ". . . five, six, seven . . ."Jim
stood tall.". . . eig h t. . ."Jake's eyes fell on Jim , then the forem an
pointed at him: "N ine."
A win! Jim stepped forward, kno w in g that he was one o f the
lucky few w ho had w o rk that day.
M inutes later, Jim was m eeting his new partner. The young,
handsom e m an introduced him self as M ike W ilson.
"W hat happened to you?" he asked Jim , staring at the black and
blue marks on his face.
"I got into a fight," Jim told the man.
Together the tw o m en had to m ove a m o u n tain o f sacks from
one area to another. It to ok tw o strong m en to lift each sack, using
big hooks to pick the sacks up.
Jim found the w ork very difficult. He had never really used his
left hand for anything. It was really hard using the h o ok w ith it,
w hile trying to hide the cast on his rig h t hand.
"T here was a fighter called Jim Braddock," said M ike. "I
listened to his fights on the radio. There's another fighter using the
nam e now, but this guy's no good."
Jim saw the smile on M ike's face. He almost laughed himself,
but then the sack fell from the h o o k in his hand.
M ike saw Jim 's cast. "This isn't going to work," he said. "You
can't do this jo b w ith a bad hand, and you can't slow me down.
I need this job."
Jim gave his partn er a quick look. "Listen, I can do this."
17
Suddenly, a new voice shouted, "W hat's happening here?" It
was the forem an, and he was staring at Jim's bad hand.
Instead o f trying to explain, Jim sank the hook back into the
sack w ith his left hand. T hen he w aited, unable to do anything
until his p artn er moved. After a few terrible seconds, M ike sunk
the ho o k into his end o f the sack. The tw o m en lifted the heavy
sack tog eth er and carried it across the dock. T hen they m oved for
another sack, then another, and another.
Jake, the forem an, stood there w ith arms crossed, w atching
every move. Finally, he w alked away
Jim lifted his face to M ike. "Thanks," he said.
It was raining hard, but M ae didn't move. H e r place in this soup
line was too valuable. H undreds of people w ere ahead of her, but a
lot w ere behind her, too. They w ere all w aiting for free soup and
bread from the tru ck at the head o f the line. M ae held R osy in her
arms. The two boys ran around playing.
"You need to stand for a few m inutes, Rosy," said Mae.
"I don't w ant to!" cried Rosy. "T he sidewalk's wet!"
"W ho's m aking all this noise?"
Imm ediately, R osy's crying stopped. H e r father appeared beside
her, big and strong and w ith a smile on his face for her.
As he lifted Rosy, Jim told M ae, "I got a jo b at the docks."
M ae noticed som ething inside Jim 's coat. His boxing shoes. She
wasn't surprised to see them . A few boxing organizers in expensive
suits couldn't stop her husband from fighting, even if they had
taken away his license.
"Are you training today?" she asked him .
"I was thinking o f selling them ," said Jim. "T h en we can pay the
grocer by the end o f the w eek ."
M ae didn't know w hat to say. At last she said, "D on't take less
than a dollar, Jim."
18
He saw the tears in her eyes. "G o hom e. I'll stand in line."
She handed him the em pty pot and took the children hom e.
Jim's eyes followed them , and then he looked forward again,
turning his collar up against the w ind. The soup truck seem ed far,
far away, but Jim had becom e good at waiting.
H ours later, familiar sounds greeted Jim's ears— -jump ropes
hitting the w oo d en floors, leather gloves hittin g p u n ching bags.
This was the gym that Jim had trained in for years. It was the place
w here he had first m et Joe Gould. Even now, part o f him w anted
to get into the rin g and fight.
As he entered the gym, the usual smell o f leather and sweat hit
him. He looked at all the boxers training hard.
"Jimmy!" said a friendly voice. "Have you com e to train?"
It was Joe Jeannette, the ow ner o f the gym. T he old fighter had
never been a cham pion, but he had always been a hero to Jim. A
great boxer w ith quick hands and a kno ck o u t punch, Jeannette
had been one o f the best heavyw eights in the country. B ut he was
a black m an, and few w hite boxers agreed to fight him . Jeannette
never had the chance to fight for the title. B ut Jeannette couldn't
stay away from the fight game. He had becom e a referee, and he
had opened this gym. He was never too busy to give advice to a
young boxer.
Jim tried to retu rn Jeannette's smile, but he couldn't. H e put the
soup pot dow n and pulled his boxing shoes out of his coat.
A few m inutes later, Joe G ould stepped onto the gym floor. He
was here to see a new boxer, not Jim Braddock. Joe w atched as Jim
handed his boxing shoes to a young, black boxer, w ho paid Jim ten
cents. T hen Jim picked up his soup and bread and tu rn ed tow ard
the front entrance.
Joe Jeannette looked up and saw the m anager standing at the
back o f the gym. His eyes held a question for Joe, but Joe ju st
shook his head and stepped beh in d the door.
I t’s betterfor both o f us i f Jim doesn’t see me, Joe thought.
19
C h a p t er 5
Broken Promises
Jim sat at the kitchen table reading out P resident Franklin D elano
R oosevelt's speech from the newspaper. He tried to find hope in
the President's words. A ccording to R oosevelt, there was only one
th ing for A m ericans to fear— "fear itself." M ae counted out coins
from the rainy-day jar.
Jim 's w eek had becom e an unen d in g string o f gray m ornings
and sweaty afternoons o f hard w ork at the docks. Jim and M ike
w orked tog eth er every day, and Jim did all the w ork w ith his left
hand. In the evenings, he had another jo b — m o re long, hard w ork
w ith only his left hand. M ae was usually asleep on the sofa by the
tim e Jim got hom e at night.
That night she was w oken by the sound o f coins dropping into
the jar. She saw her husband walk tow ard th eir bed.
Jim looked dow n at the clean, w hite sheets. H e w anted nothing
m ore than to fall into them , but then he looked dow n at his own
dirty, sweaty body, and lay dow n on the floor.
"Jimmy," M ae w hispered. "We can wash the sheets."
B ut Jim was already asleep. M ae pulled the covers off the bed
and lay dow n on the floor, beside h er husband.
The w in te r o f 1933—34 was one o f the coldest in recent memory.
O ne m o rn in g , M ae and R osy walked w ith the boys to school.
They w ere w alking back dow n the snowy street w hen M ae saw a
shiny new car outside their building.
"M om m y, w ho's the m an at our house?" asked Rosy.
M ae walked up to the m an, w hose uniform showed that he was
the gas and electricity man. "C an I help you, sir?"
"I'm sorry, m a'am . You haven't paid the bills, and I have to cut
yo u r electricity off."
The m an was in his thirties, but his eyes looked older.
20
"You can't," said M ae. "We have kids. P lease."
"If I don't, I'll lose my jo b ," said the m an sadly.
W ork at the docks finished early that day. Jim and his w ork
partner M ike started w alking around local tow ns, looking for
work. T here was n one anyw here that day. Tired and cold, they
started for hom e.
"We have until tom orrow ," cried a loud voice.
Jim's steps slowed. Across the street, a y o ung m an was arguing
w ith tw o city police officers. His wife stood beside him , fighting
back tears. The couple's furniture was on the sidewalk all around
them . The officers w ere m oving them from their apartm ent.
The tw o officers w ore fine, new uniform s. T he y o u n g er o f the
two was polite. The older m an had heard every excuse before, and
he was tired o f listening.
Jim w atched as the you n g husband tried to pull a piece o f paper
out o f the officer's hand.
"This says we have another day," he cried.
"C om e on," said M ike, pulling Jim's arm. B ut Jim was already
m oving across the street and M ike w ent w ith him .
"You can't do this," the y o u n g w om an was saying. "W e'll never
get back in."
H er husband ju m p e d in front o f the officers as they m oved to
fit a new lock to the building's front door. "Please, I'm starting a
factory jo b next w eek . . . "
The officers pushed him away and p u t the lock on.
"Excuse me," said M ike politely, then lo u d er:"E x cu se m e!"T h e
officers stared at him . "Please can I have a look at that notice? The
law says that I'm allowed to." He stepped forward. "Let me ju st
have a look at the date on it. If everything's OK w ith it, w e'll ju st
walk away."
"O r else w hat?" dem anded the you n g er officer. The older
officer was look in g at Jim.
M ike smiled. "You guys know Jim B raddock, d o n 't you?"
21
The older officer's attitude changed immediately. "I've seen you
fight, Jim," he said.
M ike looked dow n at the docum ent in the older man's hand.
"W hat do you say, guys? M istakes happen all the time."
The officer nodded. "M aybe we got our days m ixed up," he
said, rem oving the lock from the door.
As the tw o officers w alked away, M ike and Jim began to help
the couple m ove their furniture back inside.
"So you're a lawyer?" asked Jim.
M ike shook his head. "A banker, but I hired enough lawyers to
have a good idea o f the law. It doesn't m atter now . . . I lost it all
in '29." He looked Jim in the eyes. "You know, there are people
living in C entral Park. The governm ent has failed us. We need to
organize. Fight back."
Jim shook his head. "Fight what? Bad luck? You have to trust
that the governm ent will solve things in the end. I like w hat
P resident R oosevelt says."
"Forget R oosevelt!" shouted M ike. "H e hasn't given me my
house back yet!"
Jim looked in surprise at the terrible anger in his friend's eyes.
The blanket didn't hang in the m iddle o f the room . N ow the
three children had it around them , as they lay in bed. Jim could
see th eir breath in the cold air. Every piece o f clothing in the
apartm ent was piled on top o f them .
He crossed the room and threw a piece o f a w ooden sign onto
the fire in the stove. M ae em ptied the rain y -d ay jar onto the table..
She began to push the coins around.
"Six dollars and seventy cents," said Jim , jo in in g his wife. "H ow
m uch w ould it cost to tu rn the electricity back on?"
T h irty -th ree dollars and ten cents," w hispered Mae.
If I w ork tw enty-six hours out o f every tw enty-four, it still
22
w on't be enough." Jim seem ed suddenly weaker. He looked at
Mae. "T hink o f all the o th er guys w ho w anted to m arry you."
"W hat happened to those guys?" jo k e d M ae, then she squeezed
his hand. "I m arried the guy I love."
A w et cough from across the room in terru p ted them . "It's
Howard," said M ae sadly. "He's been sick since this afternoon."
W hen M ae w oke up the next m orning, Jim had already gone
out into the terrible cold. She spent the m o rn in g try in g to keep
the children w arm , b u rn in g pieces o f w ood they had taken from
signs in the street. H ow ard lay close to the stove, his face red w ith
fever. Fighting back the tears, his m o th er held a glass o f w ater to
his lips. The boy was getting sicker.
N o t w anting h er children to see h er cry, M ae rushed out the
door and stood in the snow. B itter tears ran dow n h er face.
She cared only about keeping this family together. Jim was
killing him self trying to do this, but it w asn't w orking. N o w they
had lost their heat and electric power. M ae knew w hat she had
to do. She rushed inside to dress her children w arm ly for the trip
across the river to N ew York City.
As Jim stepped through the door, the apartm ent was as cold as the
air outside. He m et silence. N o little bodies ran to him w ith open
arms. By the stove, M ae sat alone, staring into the dying flames.
She couldn't m eet his eyes.
"H ow ard was getting worse,"
she explained. "T h en R osy
started to get sick."
"W here are they, M ae?"
"The boys are at my father's house. R osy's going to stay w ith
my sister. We can't keep them w arm , Jim."
Jim's em otions w ere almost too strong for words— fear, sadness,
anger. He p o in ted a finger at M ae. "You don't decide w hat
happens to o u r children w ith o u t me."
23
M ae stood and held his arms. "Jimmy, if they get really sick, we
d on't have the m oney for a doctor."
"Ify o u send them away, this has all been for nothing," he said
angrily. "It m eans that we lost." He shook M ae's arms off. "I m ade
a prom ise to Jay, do you understand? I prom ised that we w ould
never send him away."
W ith o u t another w ord, he tu rn e d
and w alked
across the
freezing room and out o f the door.
Later that afternoon, he stood at the w o o d en counter o f the
N ew ark relief office. An unsm iling w om an counted out twelve
dollars and eighty cents, w hich she placed in a w hite envelope.
Jim 's h and shook as he signed for the m oney, try ing not to blam e
him self for w hat he had done. A sham ed, he put the envelope into
his pocket.
He pushed his way th ro u g h the unhappy crowd. They were
lawyers and dock w orkers, teachers and factory workers. Bankers
and builders. N ow , unable to earn m oney them selves, they were
here to receive m oney from the state. Some w ere so ashamed that,
like Jim , they looked only at the floor. O thers looked straight
ahead w ith em pty stares.
After Jim crossed the river to M anhattan, he w alked past all the
hom eless people in the city w ho seem ed to have no hope. The
story was the same everyw here: No work. No money.
At last, Jim reached the streets around M adison Square Garden.
T here w ere no brig h t lights now, no people in expensive clothes
w aiting outside. Instead, hom eless people searched for anything
they could use.
Jim w ent to the familiar side door. The sign for the next fight
show ed tw o boxers standing w ith gloves up. Jim rem em bered
w h en his picture had been on signs like this. He rem em bered the
fight w ith Tuffy Griffiths, the dream o f that night w hen the future
looked b rig h t for Jim B raddock.
B ut then another, less happy m em ory came to m in d — the fight
24
against Tommy Loughran. It was July
1929— -just four m onths
before
for the
the
Crash. Jim
was
fighting
title
of light
heavyw eight cham pion, but it was the fight that tu rn e d B raddock
into a boxer of "failed promise."
The N ew York crow d had w anted B raddock to w in, and the
fight had started well, too. B ut things changed in the second
round. Loughran began to
dance
around the
ring, dodging
Braddock's punches easily. He had discovered B raddock's biggest
w eakness— no left-hand punch.
In the rest o f the fight, B raddock had hit the cham pion w ith a
few good punches, but it w asn't enough. The ju d g es all decided
that L oughran was the w inner. T he new spapers w eren't kind to
Braddock, w ho had looked slow in the last three rounds. His
dream o f w in n in g the title seem ed to be at an end.
Now, years later, Jim stood in the shadows
Garden and said the same w ords
that he had
in M adison Square
said after the
Loughran fight: "I don't know w hat w ent w rong."
He opened the side d oor and started up the stairs. The climb
to the M adison Square G arden boxing club was the hardest ofhis
life. The club was a place w here the rich m oney-m akers of N ew
York's boxing w orld could relax and do business. It wasn't high
above street level, but it was like another world.
At first, n o body noticed as Jim B raddock w alked into the
smoky room . H e w ent up to tw o m en in the center o f the room .
"Mr. Allen . . . P h il. . ."
The
m en
looked up
at the
fighter.
O thers
noticed
and
conversations around the room died. Jim cleared his throat.
"I'm here because we can't afford to pay the heating bills. We
had to send our kids away . . . I ju s t need enough m oney to get
my children back." Jim to o k off his hat and stretched it out.
The w ho le room was silent now. Mr. A llen put his hand in his
pocket. "Sure, Jim." He placed a few coins into Jim's hat.
"T hank you," replied Jim . T h en he offered his hat to the others
25
around the room . E verybody gave some m oney— even Jim m y
Johnston, the m an w ho had taken away Jim 's license.
Finally, Jim stopped in front o f Joe Gould. "I'm sorry, Joe," he
told his old manager.
"W hat do you have to be sorry about, Jim ?" said Joe. "H ow
m uch m ore do y ou need?"
"O ne dollar and fifty cents, I think," w hispered Jim. Joe placed
the exact am ount in Jim's hat.
W hen Jim left the club, it was dark outside and streetlights lit
the icy sidewalks. Jim w alked past a store that had gone out of
business. His face looked back at him from the dark glass of the
store w indow . He had seen that look before. It was on the face of
the m an in his old suit selling apples on the street corner. It was on
the face o f the banker w aiting in line for hours at the N ew ark
relief office.
Jim had never u nderstood how a proud m an could sink so low.
N ow, w ith the m oney in his p ocket to get his children back, Jim
knew. He finally understood.
•
The next night, M ae opened the apartm ent door and tu rn ed on
the electric light. Jay and H ow ard ran inside, followed by Jim , w ho
was carrying the sleeping Rosy.
Jim was happy to see his family togeth er and hom e again, but
he felt other em otions, too. He knew now h ow easily their w orld
could be destroyed.
He couldn't sleep that night. W hen the sun finally appeared, he
got up and dressed silently. Before he left for another long day of
w ork, he stood at the d oor and looked at his family. A boxer
entered the ring alone. If he was knocked dow n, he alone could
stand up and continue fighting. Jim was alone now, as he left the
house and w ent looking for work.
26
Chapter 6
One Fight Only
Spring had com e to N ew ark at last, and the B raddock family had
jo in e d other families at the local church. O nce a m o n th the priest,
Father R o rick , organized a birthday party for all the children
w hose parents couldn't afford a party.
Jim and M ae w atched as th eir children jo in e d all the others
around a large w oo d en table w ith tw o big cakes. Everybody
starting singing, "H appy birthday to you . . . Happy birthday to
you . .
Jim put his hand around M ae, happy that the cast was off at last.
W hen it was tim e to sing the nam es, the different families all sang
a different name.
"Happy
birthday,
dear Jay,"
sang the
Braddocks.
"H appy
birthday to you!"
H ow ard pulled his father's arm. "It was b etter w h en we had our
own cake," he said.
Father R o ric k heard him . "D o you know I boxed y o u r father a
long tim e ago?"
H ow ard couldn't believe it. He looked at his father in surprise.
"You hit Father R o rick ?"
"As often as possible," said Jim w ith a big smile.
M ae B raddock jo in e d the tw o m en. She looked w orried.
"Jimmy . . ." She looked across the road. M ike, Jim's w ork partner
at the docks, was sitting at the end of a long table. His wife, Sara,
held their baby daughter in h er arms and she was shouting at
Mike.
"You're always try in g to fix the w orld!" she shouted. "W hy
don't you fix y o u r ow n family? W hat kind o f father are you? Too
proud to let people k n o w that our daughter can't have h er ow n
birthday cake . . . "
M ike stared back angrily. "Are y o u jo k in g , Sara?"
27
Everybody w atched the argum ent. Even the children at the
party stopped playing.
Jim w alked over and separated the angry couple. "Hey, w here's
the referee?" he asked.
"This is betw een husband and wife, Jim ," M ike said angrily.
"H ow can you call y ourself that?" cried Sara.
M ike ju m p e d up angrily, and Jim stopped him w ith a strong
hand in the m iddle of his chest.
"C alm dow n, M ike," he said. "Have a rest."
B ut M ike couldn't calm dow n now. He pushed Jim.
"There's no need for this," said the boxer.
"Jim B raddock, big fighter . . . "
said M ike, and he threw a
punch at his w ork partner.
Jim knocked it away and then held M ike's arm. "M ike, I don't
w ant to fight you," he said.
"You couldn't do it in the ring . . . " said M ike angrily.
He rushed at Jim again. Jim pushed him to the side and M ike
fell, hittin g his head on the sidewalk.
"Jim, no!" screamed Sara.
As M ike got to his feet, blood ran dow n his face. Sara w ent up
to him , still hold in g th eir baby. M ike pushed h er away.
"Leave m e alone," he said to h er and Jim . H e tu rn ed and ran
dow n the street.
W h en he had gone, Sara tu rn e d to Jim . Tears p oured dow n her
face as she cried, "He w asn't going to hit me, Jim!"
Sara began to chase her husband dow n the street. Jim looked up
at M ae, w ho had tears in her eyes, too.
'W hy was it so h a rd ju st to com e over for cake?" she asked.
"M aybe he ju s t needed a little time," said Jim angrily. "It's not
always easy . . . M aybe he ju st needed a little tim e!"
M ae shook h er finger at h im ." N o t at m e, James Braddock!" she
cried. "D o you hear? I know it's hard. B ut don't get m ad at m e!"
28
Jim returned from w ork one afternoon and found his children
playing in front of the apartm ent building.
Rosy looked up at him. "Teach me how to fight," she said.
"I can't," said Jim . "I'll get in trouble w ith Mommy."
R osy ju st looked at her father w ith the same stare that M ae
had. Jim couldn't say no to that look.
"OK," he said. "It's all about how you hold y o u r body. P ut your
right hand here and y o u r left here . . . " Jim positioned her until
she was standing like a little boxer. T hen she threw a punch,
w hich Jim caught in his big hand.
"Look at that!" he cried. "You have a b e tte rja b than I did!"
As he and R osy laughed, a familiar car stopped outside the
building.
"You're a brave man," called Joe Gould.
Jim smiled. "N o t really. M ae's at the store."
Rosy, w ho w asn't yet finished w ith h er boxing lesson, threw
another punch. It hit Jim rig h t on the chin.
"O K , Rosy," he said. "G ood punch. N ow go and box shadows
while I talk to U ncle Joe."
Jim looked at the m anager's fine, new suit. "Still looking
fashionable, I see," he said.
"You have to show you're doing well," answered Joe. He gave
Jim a friendly p u n ch on the arm. "G ood to see you, Jimmy."
Then: "I've got you a fight."
Jim w asn't sure. "W hat about my boxing license?"
"T he organizers w ill let you fight one tim e only," said Joe.
Jim asked the m ost im portant question: "H ow m uch?"
"Two hun d red and fifty dollars," Joe replied. "You're on the
big show at the M adison Square G arden Bow l in Long Island
C ity . . ." He paused.". . . to m o rro w night."
29
Jim tu rn ed and walked away. He couldn't believe that his old
friend and p artn er w ould play a jo k e like this on him.
Joe chased after him. "You fight C orn Griffin, Jim m y . . . the
num ber tw o heavyw eight in the world. He needs a fight before
he boxes for the title."
Jim 's eyes w ere dangerous. "Joe, this isn't funny."
"N o one's trying to be kind to you. Griffin's opponent got cut
and can't fight. They needed som eone they could throw in the
ring immediately. N o b o d y w ill take a fight against Griffin w ithout
training, so . . ." Joe looked away. "I . . . told them that Griffin
could k nock out a guy w ho has never been knocked out before
. . . You're m eat, Jim m y . . . They ju s t need som ebody to stand
in that ring and be knocked out."
Finally, Jim smiled and p u t a hand on Joe's shoulder. T hen he
looked his m anager in the eye. "Joe. For tw o hundred and fifty
dollars, I'd fight y o u r wife."
W hen M ae got hom e later, she w asn't happy about the news.
Jim talked m o re— about how it was only one fight, about how
long he w ould have to w ork at the docks for so m uch money.
In the end, M ae told Jim to take the fight. B ut that night she sat
on the sofa in the dark and w atched her sleeping husband through
eyes red from crying.
The next m orning, the three children w ere outside early, but they
didn't go out to play. They w alked to the local b u tch er shop. R osy
knocked on the window.
Sam, the butcher, looked dow n at the three children. "W e're
closed today." His eye fell on Jay, rem em b erin g the tim e w hen the
boy had stolen from his shop. "Well, look w ho's here. Shall I lock
everything up?"
Jay's face was red, but he bravely stood by his sister, w ho w alked
up to the counter.
30
"I need a piece of m eat, please, sir," she said. "Steak."
"Do you have any m oney?"
R osy shook h er head and the look in Sam's eyes becam e softer.
"I ca n 'tju st give the m eat away."
"It's n o t for me . . . It's for my dad," R osy replied. "H e needs it
to w in a boxing fight."
Ch ap te r 7
B a c k in the R in g
Long Island City, New York, June 14, 1934
Jim's nam e w asn't even on the sign, but he didn't care. Two
hundred and fifty dollars and the chance to p u n ch som ething real
were the only things on his m ind.
Joe G ould didn't k n o w w hat to think about the fight. The
m anager had tried to get B raddock back in the rin g since the tim e
Jim had walked around the boxing club w ith his hat in his hand.
Joe had pushed his way into Jim m y Johnston's office again and
again, trying to get Jim a fight.
He had been outside Johnston's office w hen the fight organizer
got the bad new s about Griffin's o pponent, ju s t tw o days before
the big fight. This left Jo hnston w ith a problem . Griffin was a
prom ising y o ung star in the boxing w orld, and Jo h n ston w anted
to get the N ew York sports w orld interested in him . T he young
Southern boxer need ed to beat a fighter in the city w ho had once
been a big name. N ow it seem ed that Jim B raddock was the right
choice— especially as B raddock's m anager was w aiting outside
Johnston's office.
Joe had accepted the offer, but now, on fight night, he was
w orried. He knew that Jim h adn't fought in over a year. Except
for today, he hadn't trained in a long tim e. He had even sold his
boxing gloves and shoes. Joe had to b o rro w some so that his boxer
could fight.
31
As the m anager bent to tie up his boxing shoes, Jim smiled. "We
b o th know w hat this is, Joe. It's a chance for me to earn some
m oney for my family. A nd it's a chance to say goodbye to boxing
in a big fight in front o f a big crowd."
Suddenly, there was a loud noise from Jim's stomach.
"W hat was that?" cried Joe.
"We got to the soup line too late this m orning," said Jim . "T he
food was all gone."
Joe ju m p e d to his feet. "H ow are you going to fight w ith an
em pty stom ach?" he shouted. He ran from the room and appeared
a few m inutes later w ith a bow l of thick m eat soup in his hand.
"Eat fast," he said.
"W here's the spoon?" asked Jim. He began to put one hand
into the bowl.
"Stop!" cried Joe. "I don't have tim e to tape y our hands again.
I'll find a spoon!"
Joe rushed out again, but Jim couldn't wait. He pushed his face
into the bow l and began eating. He didn't notice the changing
room d oor opening.
"I don't believe it! Am I seeing a ghost?" said a voice. Jim
looked up, w ith food on his chin. A y o ung m an at the door was
giving Jim an unpleasant smile. "Isn't that James J. Braddock?
W hen I saw the nam e, I th o u g h t it must be a different guy." The
m an stepped into the room and took out a reporter's notebook.
"H ow 's y o u r right hand now, Jim ?"
Jim's eyes narrow ed as he recognized the reporter. He said the
man's nam e: "Sporty Lewis."
Jim rem em bered w hat Lewis had w ritten about his fight w ith
Tommy Loughran. He repeated the reporter's w ords to himself:
"Loughran destroyed the unskilled N ew Jersey fighter. The fight
was a funeral w ith the body still breathing."
Lewis saw the look in Jim's eyes and stopped smiling. "I don't
fight the fights, B raddock. I ju s t w rite about them ."
32
Jim stepped up to Sporty, toe to toe and eye to eye. "Save that
garbage for y our readers," he said.
Suddenly, the d oor opened and an official p o in ted at Jim . "It's
time," he said.
Jim left the room , keeping his eyes on Sporty Lewis's. Sporty
stared after him , pale and shaken.
"That guy," he said to the official. "W hat a loser!"
M inutes later, Sporty was back in his seat by the side o f the
boxing ring. A you n g rep o rter next to him asked, "W ho's Jim
Braddock?"
"G et yo u r pencil out, kid," Sporty Lewis said. "I have yo u r story
for you: 'T he w alk from the changing room to the ring was the
only tim e ton ig h t that Jim B raddock was seen on his feet.' "
"In this corner, C o rn Griffin!"
Griffin ju m p e d to the center o f the ring and lifted his thick
arms above his head. The tall y o u n g boxer w ore a confident smile
on his face. He was y o u n g and powerful, a natural heavyw eight
w ith long arms and a big punch.
"And in this co rn er . . . from N ew Jersey . . .Jim B raddock!"
The crow d w ere silent.
W hen the bell rang, Griffin came out p u n ch in g hard and
fast. B raddock danced and dodged, doing everything possible to
keep away from Corn's powerful punches. After thirty seconds,
Braddock decided that this fight was a bad idea. His opponent had
trained hard and was ready to fight. He tim ed his j abs and punches
to Braddock's body perfectly. Jim 's only goal now was to finish the
fight w ith o u t getting hurt. He had to be able to w ork at the docks
the next day.
Suddenly, a big left-hand p u n ch from Griffin hit B raddock on
the side o f the head. He w ent down. As he lay there, the clocks
seemed to stop.
33
"Braddock's dow n!" cried the an nouncer over the crowd's
boos.
"O ne . . . tw o . . . three . . . "
counted the referee. B raddock
tried to get to his feet. "F our . . . five . . . six . . ."
B raddock was on one knee, but the referee continued counting.
"G et up and use y our left!" Gould called to his fighter.
Finally, B raddock stood. T he referee w alked over to him and
checked his eyes and the cut in his m outh.
"It's finished, Braddock," he said.
B raddock looked across the ring at his o p p o nent and jo k e d ,
"He doesn't look so bad." B ut the referee began to lift his hand to
end the fight. Jim held his arm w ith tw o gloved hands. "Please. Let
me fight."
The referee paused, looking hard at Jim , and th en he stepped to
the side. T he fight could continue!
Griffin was w aiting to continue his attack. B raddock answered
one p u n ch w ith a left-handjab. It didn't h u rt Griffin, but Jim was
surprised that he could throw a left-hand p u n ch at all.
In the second round, Griffin continued to chase B raddock
around the ring. The you n g fighter w anted to w in by a knockout,
and Jim had to keep m oving to dodge C orn's punches.
At the end o f the round, Jim sat heavily in his corner. Joe
p oured w ater in the fighter's m outh. W h en it ran out again into
the w aiting bucket, it was pink w ith blood. Jim hardly heard his
m anager's w ords, th o u g h they w ere screamed into his face.
"He's half a step beh in d you!" shouted Joe. "M ove to the side
and see w hat happens. H it him w ith tw o jabs and then the big
punch."
The bell rang for the third round. B raddock m oved out o f his
corner slowly; G riffin came out punching. R e m e m b e rin g Gould's
advice, B raddock m oved his shoulders to one side. Griffin didn't
see the m ove and B raddock h it him w ith a right that sent Griffin
to the floor. The referee started counting.
34
"That's it!" screamed Gould. The little m anager started to dance
and throw punches in the air.
"T hree . . . " The referee's count continued.
Joe's eyes, shining w ith happiness and surprise, m et Jim's.
"W here have you been, Jim m y B raddock?"
Griffin was back on his feet, but now Jim was the one m oving
w ith confidence. B raddock rushed forward, throw ing p unch after
punch.
Gould was screaming. "That's it! Send him hom e. Send him
back South or w herever he com es from!"
The punches didn't stop. They fell like rain on the soup line,
like snow on the N ew ark docks. Finally, B raddock delivered a hard
right punch and stepped away. The crow d ju s t w atched as Griffin
fell forward. He landed on the floor and stayed there.
In the silence that followed, Jim saw Sporty Lewis next to the
ring. The reporter's eyes w ere big w ith surprise. The next second,
the crowd w ent wild.
"I can't believe it!" the radio an nouncer was saying. "C o rn
Griffin, the n u m b er tw o challenger for the heavyw eight title, has
been knocked out by Jim B raddock in the third round!"
Before he left the dressing room w ith Joe G ould, Jim finished the
bowl of food.
"Im agine w hat I could do i f l had steak," h e jo k e d .
On their way out, they paused to w atch the end o f the evening's
main event. The heavyw eight cham pion o f the w orld, Prim o
C am era, was defending his title against a strong, y o ung boxer
called M ax Baer. Baer's p u n ch was so powerful that he had once
killed a m an in the ring. This was the fight the crow d had really
come to see.
In the last ro u n d of the fight, M ax Baer's powerful punches
were falling on C am era w ith o u t end. C am era fell to the floor.
35
"Im agine a p u n ch like that hitting you," Joe said.
C am era was an enorm ous m an, but B aer was m uch faster. All
night he had danced and dodged C am era's fists. Now, C am era was
bloody and beaten as he got to his feet, holding the rope w ith
one glove. B a e rju st laughed at the defending cham pion, knocking
away his w eak punches easily.
"P rim o C am era has been knocked dow n eleven times!" the
radio announcer was saying. "A nd M ax B aer looks sure that he
will be the next cham pion!"
C am era m oved his tired body tow ard his opp onent for a final
attack. The challenger w aited patiently w ith an ugly smile on his
handsom e face. W h en C am era reached the center o f the ring,
Baer decided to end the fight, throw ing p u n c h after punch at the
cham pion. It was so terrible that even Joe couldn't watch.
Chapt er 8
A Second Chance
Jim stepped out of the car in front of his apartm ent house.
"Are you sure you w o n 't com e in and say hello?" he asked.
"Are you still m arried to the same girl?" asked Joe.
Jim gave the usual answer. "I was the last tim e I looked."
Joe smiled. "G ood night, Jimmy."
The car drove off, and Jim stood outside the building. The
Braddocks had sold their radio, so M ae and the kids didn't know
the result o f tonight's fight.
The d oor opened and Jay, H ow ard, and R osy looked up at him
w ith hopeful faces. M ae stood silently.
"I won," he said.
The children screamed and rushed tow ard him. Rosy pulled on
his arm. "Daddy, Daddy, you have to see w hat I got you!" She ran
to the ice box. "Put it on y o u r eyes," she said, pushing a thick steak
into h er father's hands.
36
Jim looked at the m eat. "W here did you get this?"
"They all w ent to the b u tch er shop," said M ae. "I tried to take it
back, but the b u tch er says he gave it to her."
"It's a steak," said Rosy. "It'll fix y o u r face."
Jim held the thick steak up. He could almost smell it, hear it
cooking. He w ent dow n on his knees to speak to his daughter—
fighter to fighter. "Rosy, we have to eat this."
B ut R osy shouted, "N o! You have to p u t it on y o u r face."
Jim knew that it was useless to argue. He lay back and placed
the cool steak across his eyes. He w aited a few seconds, and then
lifted one edge o f the meat.
Jay tu rn ed to his m other. "D o the announcer's voice, M om ."
"C om e on, Mae," said Jim w ith a smile. "D o the announcer."
Mae's voice becam e loud. "Introducing the h o lder o f the
amateur title for light heavyw eight and heavyw eight. . . from
N ew Jersey . . . the future heavyw eight cham pion o f the w orld
. . . James J. Braddock."
These last w ords w ere shouted. The kids w ent w ild, laughing
an d ju m p in g around the room . Jim to o k the steak from his face.
"This really w orked," he told his daughter."L et's eat!"
He crossed to the stove and started cooking the meat. Soon the
sound and the delicious smell filled the apartm ent.
"Jim," M ae w hispered. "Is it really ju s t one fight, or are they
letting you back in?"
Jim kissed h er head. "It w a sju st the one fight."
R e lie f swept through M ae. As she w ent to the stove to get the
steak, she said silent thanks that h er husband w ould never step
inside the rin g again.
The early m o rn in g w alk to the docks was the same as usual, but
Jim felt different. His body ached, but his steps w ere quicker than
they had been in m onths.
37
He jo in e d the group o f m en at the fence. Finally, the forem an
Jake appeared and began p o in tin g to m en.
"Six, seven, eig h t. .
Jake's eyes passed Jim , then retu rn ed to
him. The forem an said Jim's nam e and everybody tu rn ed to look.
"Nine."
Jim closed his eyes in relief. As he passed th ro u g h the gate, Jake
said to him , "I listened to the fight last night." He took out his
newspaper. Jim's eyes ran over the words:
BRADDOCK KNOCKOUT OVER GRIFFIN IN 3
Jim shook his head, n o t believing it. A few m en crow ded round
to hear w hat he had to say. They seem ed surprised that he had
com e to w ork today.
"It was one night only," explained Jim. "M y share was a
hundred and tw enty five dollars. We had bills o f one hundred
and tw enty to pay. T hat left me w ith five dollars."
Jake laughed. "T hat makes you a rich man." T hen he said
seriously, "G o o d fight."
Jim could see that these m en around him , w ith th eir old clothes
and tired faces, had found hope w atching him fight. H e had
fought som ething real, som ething he could see— they all w ished
for that chance.
He jo in e d his partner, M ike. W ords w eren't necessary. The two
picked up their hooks and began to w ork, m oving the heavy sacks.
"W hy didn't you tell me you w ere going to w in again?" said
M ike. "I didn't put any m oney on you."
M ike smiled, but it w asn't the smile Jim rem em bered. It was
tired. Less happy.
"C om e on," M ike said. "Talk me th ro u g h that last round."
Jim started describing the events o f the last round again. Since
the cast had com e off his arm, he w orked w ith b o th hands.
W ith o u t thinking, he m oved the h o o k to his left hand and
continued w orking w ith sm ooth, strong m ovem ents.
38
A w eek later, M ae was w alking back from the stores w ith Rosy
w hen she saw a shiny new car drive away from their apartm ent
house. Joe Gould's car.
She found Jim standing in the yard beh in d the building. He
looked so happy, so handsom e and confident in the sun, w ith his
square chin and his brig h t eyes up to the blue sky. T h en he turned
and M ae felt h er heart stop. She saw it in his eyes— the old
excitem ent.
"Joe was here," said Jim. "H e thinks they'll let me box again."
It was hard for M ae to speak. "You said it was one fight."
"It's my chance, M ae, to m ake you and the kids proud."
M ae fought to control her fear and anger. "I am proud . . .
and grateful. B ut w hat w ould we do if som ething bad happened
to you? Som ething w orse than a broken hand, so you couldn't
w ork?"
She couldn't even tell her w orst fear: What will happen i f you're
killed?
"W hat w ould happen to us?" dem anded M ae. "To the children?
W e're hardly m anaging now."
Jim shook his head sadly. He waved a hand at the broken
building, the em pty yard. C ouldn't she see? He was already killing
himself— and for w hat? A few coins at the end of a long day's
work? "I have to do b etter than I'm doing," he replied.
M ae stepped closer. "Things are better now. Please, Jim . . . "
He w anted to take her in his arms, but he stopped himself. He
had to th in k about the family's future. The strength was clear in his
voice. "I can still take a few punches. At least in the ring you know
w ho's hittin g you."
M ae felt helpless as she w atched him walk to the building's dark
back door. This isn't over, James Braddock, she prom ised.
39
The next m o rn in g Jim left early for the
gym. M ae left the
apartm ent house, too. She took the kids to h er sister's house, and
then she crossed the H udson R iv er to N ew York City.
She was going to the small part of the city kn o w n as the U pper
East Side. It was an area of beautiful houses, expensive apartm ent
buildings, and fine hotels. Some o f the richest people in the
country lived on the blocks along the city's C entral Park.
Two streets away, the buildings w eren't quite so beautiful, but
they w ere still hom e to wealthy people. In front o f each apartm ent
building, a uniform ed d oorm an stood guard.
W hen she reached the tall building, she looked up, trying to
guess how many floors it had. She w ent th ro u g h the beautiful
entrance hall to the elevator. On the fifteenth floor, she m oved
dow n the line o f doors.
She knocked on one and called politely, "O pen the door,
Joe." T here was no answer. She tried again, and again, but nobody
came to the door. "Joe, open this d oor now !" M ae shouted.
"You're not going to hide in y o u r expensive apartm ent w hile
you tu rn my husband into a pun ch in g bag. I w o n 't let you get
him hu rt again!"
The door opened. "You'd b e tte r com e in," said Joe Gould.
As she pushed past him , M ae's anger died. She had expected the
manager's hom e to be beautiful. B ut she looked around now at a
com pletely em pty apartm ent.
M inutes later, she sat on a cam ping chair, d rinking tea w ith Joe
and his wife Lucille. She h ad n 't expected this friendly welcom e.
"Sorry," said Joe, p o in tin g to the door. "People have to think
you're doing well."
"I th o u g h t. . ." said M ae.
"That's the plan," said Joe, to u ch in g his fine b row n suit. "Show
people you're doing well, even if you're not. We sold the last of the
furniture last week," he continued, "so Jim m y could train."
"W hy?" M ae asked.
40
"Som etim es you see som ething in a fighter, som ething to hope
for," answered Joe. "Jimmy's w hat I hope for."
M ae shook her head. "This is crazy. You don't even know if you
can get him a fight, do you?"
"I'll get him a fight," Joe said, "if it's the last thin g I do."
Ch ap te r 9
N o t the Same Guy
The gym owner, Joe Jeannette, looked pleased. "You've been
training, Jimmy."
"I've been w orking, Joe. N o t training."
"Show m e w hat w ork y ou did."
"I was lifting sacks at the dock," explained Jim. "We used a
hook, like this." He showed the m ovem ent.
"That's the perfect p u n ch in g exercise," said Jeannette. "You've
been getting a powerful left hand, and you didn't even know it."
In the next few w eeks, B raddock trained hard. After all those
m onths of hard w ork, it was like a vacation to train w ith Jeannette.
B ut the trainer pushed him hard. Every w eek there were new
exercises, new skills to learn and practice.
W hile B raddock w orked at the gym, Joe G ould was busy in
other ways. At M adison Square Garden, he w alked into Jim m y
Johnston's office and sat down.
"You're going to arrange a fight betw een Jim B raddock and
John H enry Lewis."
Johnston looked up from the papers he was signing. "N ow why
w ould I do that?"
Joe smiled confidently. "Lewis is n u m b er tw o in line to fight
for the heavyw eight title, and he's already b eaten B raddock once
before. So put B raddock against Lewis. IfL ew is w ins, y o u r boy has
had a good practice fight before his next opponent, and you make
some money. If, by some chance, B raddock beats Lewis, you have a
41
people's favorite, w hich m eans you m ake more money. W hatever
happens, you're rich er w ith B raddock back in the ring." Gould sat
back. "So w hat do you say?"
As soon as he got an answer, Joe rushed back to the gym.
"I got you a fight," he told Jim from the ropes. "You're going to
fight Jo h n H en ry Lewis again."
Jim clim bed out o f the ring. "I could kiss you."
Joe took a step back. "Please don't!" The m anager becam e
suddenly serious. "I w on't lie, Jimmy. You're in this fight because
you're m eat. B ut if you w in it, I can get you another one. If you
w in the next, th en everything changes."
Jim understood. He tu rn ed tow ard the heavy p u n ching bag.
"Jimmy," Joe called.
Jim tu rn e d and saw the old fire in his m anager's eyes.
"W in!" said Joe.
It was the afternoon before the fight. Jim was still at hom e.
"I know this isn't w hat you w anted," he said softly to M ae. "But
I can't w in if you d o n 't support me."
M ae put the pile of clean clothes dow n and stepped up to her
husband. "I always support you," she w hispered.
W hile their parents w ere kissing, the three children took their
chance to ru n out o f the apartm ent. They walked through the
small crow d that stood outside the building. Soon they stood again
in the b u tch er shop.
"W hat can I do for you today?" Sam, the butcher, asked.
"My dad's fighting a m an w ho beat him badly once before,"
said R osy anxiously. "W hat kind o f steaks do you have?"
D ow n the block, Jim stepped out o f the apartm ent house and
was m et by a small crow d of neighbors.
"W e're all supporting you," said an old man.
"Take him dow n, Jim !" cried another.
42
Suddenly, a familiar face
appeared in front o f Jim — M ike
W ilson. They shook hands.
"I put some m oney on you," M ike said.
"M ike, everybody expects Lewis to win," said Jim.
B ut M ike ju s t gave a confident smile. "Do you need some help
in y o u r corner?" he asked.
Jim shook his head. "I have my regular guys for that. You know
how it is, M ike."
M ike's shoulders dropped, but he tried to laugh. "Sure I do, Jim.
N ow go and w in the fight!"
The powerful ja b pushed B raddock back against the ropes. John
H enry Lewis was a y o u n g black boxer w ith quick hands and a lot
of skill. His perfectly tim ed com binations o f punches pushed Jim
on to the ropes again.
"Lewis is here to repeat his w in over Braddock," said the radio
announcer.
For three rounds, the tw o fighters danced around the ring,
looking for the oth er m an's w eak areas. T hen, in the fourth round,
the fight becam e serious. The fighters w ent toe to toe, refusing to
step back.
In his co rner at the end of the round, Lewis looked confused.
"You beat this guy easily last tim e!" his m anager screamed.
L ew isju st shook his head. "H e isn't the same guy."
In the opposite corner, G ould checked B raddock's face. The
boxer was tired and breathing hard, his body covered w ith sweat.
"He's even faster than I rem em ber," said Jim.
G ould spoke into the boxer's ear. "He's fast, but he'll be slower
after a few m ore punches. W atch h im — he always m oves to the
right."
B oth fighters started round five like m ad animals. Leather
gloves flew, and n eith er m an backed away. Suddenly, B raddock
43
hit his o p p o n en t w ith a powerful cross and Lewis was dow n on
one knee. W h en the fight continued, Lewis w asn't able to protect
himself, letting B raddock knock him back on to the ropes.
In the end, the ju d g es gave the fight to B raddock. Some sports
reporters said that he had deserved to w in. O thers said that he had
ju st hit Lewis w ith a few lucky punches.
As Joe G ould gave Jim his share of the prize money, he said,
"Take care ofyourself. O u r luck has ch an g ed — I'm sure o f it."
A m o n th later, in D ecem b er 1934, Jim m y Jo hnston made the
announcem ent that Joe
G ould
expected.
H e was
going to
organize fights am ong the top heavyw eight boxers. Finally, one
m an w ould be chosen to fight the cham pion, M ax Baer, for
the heavyw eight title. Jo hnston had several boxers in m ind, but
B raddock w asn't one o f them . He didn't think that B raddock was
lucky— he was good. Jo hnston didn't want the N ew Jersey boxer to
stop another o fh is you n g stars.
B ut G ould refused to take no for an answer. Again and again he
w ent to Johnston's office, try in g to get a fight for his man.
"H ow about a fig h t w ith A rt Lasky?" he tried.
At first Jo hnston refused. B ut, after hearing how confident
Lasky's people w ere, he changed his m ind. Braddock's next fight
was going to be w ith A rt Lasky. He was a you ng fighter from
M innesota w ho had w on a few fights in the West. He wasn't as fast
as Lewis, but he was big and strong.
The Lasky fight started w ell for B raddock. In the early rounds, his
o p pon en t couldn't get past B raddock's gloves. T he boxer from
M innesota took a lot of p unishm ent and soon his nose was bloody.
E verything changed in the fifth round. Lasky started hitting
B raddock w ith p u n ch after punch to the body. Fighting w ith new
44
confidence, he took the next few rounds from the N ew Jersey
man. In the eleventh round, B raddock found him selfback on the
ropes, as Lasky's fists flew at him.
"Art Lasky is ending the story o f Jim B raddock's second chance
in boxing," said the radio announcer.
A
big p u n ch
hit
the
side
of B raddock's
head
and
his
m outhguard flew out. The crowd w aited for B raddock to drop.
Instead, he stood there, eye to eye w ith Lasky. T hen he calmly
walked over and picked up his m outhguard.
"I can't believe my eyes," said the announcer. "B raddock ju st
took Lasky's best p u n ch and it had no effect on him !"
B raddock was a different fighter after that. He fought from a
distance, throw ing jab s at Lasky's bloody face. In the fifteenth
round, B raddock's glove hit the o th er man's nose. B lood showered
the ring.
"This is unbelievable!" shouted the radio announcer. "N o th in g
can stop B raddock now."
As Lasky m oved w ith increasing difficulty, B raddock hit him
w ith a com bination o f punches that sent him into the ropes at the
side o f the ring. Those ropes w ere the only thing that kept Lasky
on his feet.
"And the w in n e r is . . .Jam es J. Braddock!"
The shouts of the crow d reached the streets outside. By radio,
they reached across the country. They w ere heard in Branson,
M issouri, w here A ncil Hoffman ran to another room in the hotel
he was staying in. He knocked at the door urgently.
M ax Baer, the heavyw eight cham pion o f the w orld, opened the
door and looked dow n angrily at Hoffman.
"Jim B raddock ju st beat Lasky," said the cham pion's manager.
"He's the n u m b er one challenger for y o u r title."
Baer replied w ith an ugly smile. "T he guy's a loser," he said.
"Tell Johnston to find me som ebody w ho can fight back." T hen
he shut the door in Ancil's face.
45
Cha pt er 10
N i g h t in the P ark
The streets around M adison Square G arden w ere quiet, but as
soon as Jim stepped outside, a crow d of around fifty m en closed in
around him and Joe. They w ere very different from the crow d that
had w aited after the Griffiths fight years ago. These m en looked
tired and hungry. B ut w h en they saw Jim B raddock, hope lit up
their faces and they stood taller.
"Just sign y our nam e for a few," said Joe w ith a smile. "Leave
them w anting more."
"N o, Joe. Tonight I sign th em all!"
Jim m oved am ong the crowd, shaking hands and signing his
nam e and talking for over an hour.
Joe did m ost o f the talking on the drive to N ew Jersey. W hen
they reached the apartm ent building, Jim opened the door.
"G ood night, Joe."
"H aven't you forgotten som ething?" asked Joe. He reached into
his coat for Jim's share o f the prize money. He began to explain
how he had decided on the am ount.
"I trust you, Joe," said Jim . "A nd M ae trusts you, too."
Joe pushed the m oney into the fighter's hand and waved
goodnight.
W hen Jim entered the little apartm ent, he put some o f the cash
in the ja r on the shelf. He p u t the rest in a w hite envelope.
Jim didn't sleep m uch that night and he left the apartm ent
before M ae and the children w oke up. The sidewalks were empty
as he w alked to the center o f tow n. He jo in e d the line inside the
relief office and w aited patiently.
Finally, he stepped up to the counter and nodded at the
w om an. He gave h er the w hite envelope.
The w om an was confused w h en she looked at the cash. "So
. . . you're giving us the m oney back?"
On the way hom e, Jim b o u g h t twelve roses for M ae. They were
46
very expensive, but he w anted to apologize for not w aking h er to
tell her about the Lasky fight. He hadn't w anted to celebrate until
he had paid back the m oney to the relief office.
B ut w h en he got hom e, it w asn't the tim e for celebrating. M ike
W ilson's wife, Sara, was sitting on the sofa w ith her baby girl in
her arms. H er eyes w ere red from crying.
"M ike's gone," said M ae seriously. "It's been three days now."
"A bout a w eek after you left the docks, Jim , the forem an
stopped picking him for work," cried Sara. "I w ent to stay w ith my
brother. T here w asn't room for M ike, so he's been sleeping in
Central Park." Sara looked straight at Jim . "H e said he was going
to do some w ork for you. We w ere going to m eet last night, but
M ike never came."
Silently, M ae p o in ted at the ja r that contained their money. Jim
nodded. "Listen, Sara, you and M ae go and get som ething for the
baby's cough."
B ut Sara was crying. "Som ething's w rong. I know it is!"
Jim m oved tow ard the front door. "I'll go and find him."
H ours later, Jim entered C entral Park. As the sun sank, he knew
that the enorm ous park w asn't as em pty as it looked. Since the
Crash o f 1929, tens o f thousands of N ew Yorkers w ere living in
cars, or on the streets, or in the subway. A lot of people had started
living in C entral Park. Some o f them built huts or tents from
any materials they could find. O thers slept w herever they could.
They ate any food they could find or catch or steal.
Jim had heard that there had been a lot of sheep in Central
Park. M ost had been m oved away. N ow , as he searched for M ike,
Jim saw park w orkers guiding the last sheep into enorm ous
wagons. Jim w atched until a policem an on a horse waved at him
to m ove away.
The shadows becam e longer as night came, and soon trash can
fires were the only lights in the park. Jim w ent deeper into the
park, past huts and tents. T he sound o f w et coughs filled the air.
47
"Mike! M ike W ilson?" he called.
Suddenly, two ru n n in g policem en shouted at him to get out of
the way. He looked to see w here they w ere going and saw a crowd
o f people around several policem en on horses. Jim heard angry
shouts and saw flames. He ran to the crow d and had to push his
way through a wall of people to reach the center.
A group o f m en had fought the police here, tu rn in g one o f the
sheep w agons over and b u rn in g huts. The police w ere in control
again and w ere guiding the m en away like sheep.
There w ere tw o policem en on horses near Jim. "We w ere ju st
trying to m ove the sheep," one o f them told the other. "B ut one of
these guys started shouting at us. He was angry, very political.
T hen they attacked us."
Jim closed his eyes and rem em bered all M ike's angry talk. He
knew this m ust be M ike. He began looking for his friend am ong
all the fallen m en on the grass. He got closer to the w agon that lay
on its side.
"A guy tried to free the sheep," a policem an was saying. "The
horses w ere scared and the w agon tu rn e d over."
There was som eone w ith his legs u n d er the enorm ous w heels
of the wagon. A group o f m en lifted the w agon up, and that's
w hen Jim realized that there was a second m an u n d er the w agon,
lying in a pool of blood. It was M ike.
Jim's friend w asn't dead yet. Jim m oved the hair from M ike's
eyes.
"D id you w in?" M ike asked. His voice was soft and filled w ith
pain.
Jim nodded. "You're going to be OK, M ike," he said.
M ike m anaged a w eak nod. "I know it. . ."
But, in the cold and dark o f N ew York's C entral Park, as the
smoke from the b u rn in g huts blew over them and took away the
last o f the light, b o th m en knew that this w asn't true.
48
Few people came to M ike's funeral. It was a w ork day and m ost
people couldn't afford to lose a day's money. Only Jim and M ae
B raddock and their three children stood w ith Sara W ilson and her
baby daughter as M ike's body was p u t into the ground.
Jim spoke of M ike's love for his family, his wife. He didn't say
w hat he felt— that M ike's death was a waste, a stupid, unnecessary
waste. Jim understood w hy people got angry, but M ike's anger
h adn't helped his wife or his daughter. Jim w ished he had know n
how bad things had becom e for his friend. He couldn't forget
how kind M ike had been to him w hen he started w orking at the
docks.
M ae's attention was on Sara, w hose eyes w ere far away. She
seemed to be staring into the long future that w aited for her
w ith o u t h er husband.
As she looked at Sara, part o f M ae w ondered if she was looking
into a m irro r o fh e r ow n future. M aybe n o t today or to m o rro w —
but one day she m ight lose Jim.
C h a p t e r 11
F a ce to F a ce w i t h t h e C h a m p i o n
M adison Square Garden, M arch 24, 1935
Jim B raddock and Joe G ould smiled for the cameras. T hen it was
tim e for the rep o rters' questions.
"Jim, do you have anything to say to our readers?"
"N ot everybody gets a second chance," answered Jim. He
looked at M ae, w ho sat at the front in a new yellow dress, smiling
nervously. "I have a lot to be grateful for."
A second rep o rter stood. "C an you tell our readers why you
gave yo u r relief m oney back?"
Jim nodded. "This great country o f ours helps a m an w hen he's
in trouble. I've had some good luck, so I th o u g h t I'd retu rn the
money."
49
A no th er rep o rter stood. "M ax Baer says that he's w o rried he's
going to kill you in the ring. W hat do you say?"
M ae looked dow n at h er hands. Jim looked the reporter in the
eye. "M ax B aer is the cham pion," he said. "I'm looking forward to
the fight."
The next question was from a familiar face. Sporty Lewis stood
and tu rn e d tow ard Mae. "M rs. B raddock, how do you feel about
the fact that M ax Baer has killed tw o m en in the ring?" M ae
could find no words. "M rs. B raddock, are you scared for your
husband's life?" continued Lewis.
A camera appeared in front of M ae's face. Jim ju m p e d to his
feet. "She's scared for M ax Baer!" he shouted.
Joe G ould lifted his arms like a referee. "O K , OK, one m ore
question . . . "
W hile Jim answered the last question, his eyes searched for M ae.
She refused to look up, not w anting him to see the doubts and fear
in her eyes.
W hen Jim B raddock and Joe G ould entered M adison Square
Garden's boxing club, Jim m y Jo h n sto n was w aiting for them . The
rich, powerful businessm an waved a new spaper at the fighter and
his manager.
"It says here that this fight is as good as murder," Johnston said,
stepping close up to Braddock. "This is my business, and I'm going
to protect myself. You will know exactly w hat B aer can do before
you get in that ring."
A door opened and a small m an in a suit entered the room . This
was Johnston's lawyer, and he was followed by a secretary.
Johnston w ent to a m achine and began to show a film. It
showed tw o boxers getting ready to fight. O ne was M ax Baer.
Johnston said the oth er man's nam e. "That's Frankie Cam pbell . . .
A good fighter w ho know s how to take a punch."
50
The fight began. Johnston tu rn ed to B raddock. "Is Campbell's
style familiar, Jim? It's like looking in a m irror, isn't it?"
"He doesn't need to see this," com plained Joe.
"H e'll see it or there'll be no fight!"Johnston w arned.
On the film, C am pbell stepped forward w ith a good left jab ,
almost as good as Jim's. B aer blocked it easily, then hit back w ith
his right. T he p u n ch was too fast to see, and it had a strange,
terrible power. Cam pbell ju st stood there in confusion, w ith his
gloves dow n by his side. The second p u n ch h it the side o f his
head. A nd then Cam pbell was dow n, his legs w ide, his eyes open
but seeing nothing.
"It was the second p u n ch that killed him ," said Johnston.
"You've w arned us," saidJoe. "N ow stop the film."
"No," said Jim , surprising both Joe and Johnston. "Show it
again."
W hen
the
lights w ere
back
on, Johnston stared
at
Jim.
"R em em b er E rnie Schaff ? He was a good fighter. E rnie took
one o f Baer's punches on the chin. He was dead and didn't know
it. In his next fight, the first ja b killed him ." He satback in his
chair. "Do you w ant to think about this fight?"
Jim hit his hands on the desk angrily. "Do you think you're
telling m e som ething I don't know ?" he shouted. "H ow m any
guys died because they didn't have enough food? Or because they
had to w ork long hours and dangerous jo b s to feed th eir families?
I've th oug h t about it as m uch as I'm going to."
"O K , then." Jo hnston looked away. "W hy don't you both eat
here tonight w ith your wives?"
The fight organizer smiled, but there was som ething about the
look in his eyes that Jim didn't trust.
Later that day, the tw o m en retu rn ed to the club's restaurant
w ith their wives. The four ate, talked, and laughed, as a piano
played quietly in the corner.
After the meal, Joe pulled a new spaper out o f his pocket. He
51
tu rn ed to the sports pages and began to read. "Jim B raddock is
back from the dead to give hope to every A m erican."
Jim was surprised. "W ho w rote that?"
"Sporty Lewis. The new spaper is calling you the Cinderella
Man."
"C inderella M an?" Jim didn't look happy. Cinderella was a
children's story. W asn't Cinderella the girl w ho had to stay at hom e
and clean w hile h er sisters w ent to a w onderful party at the
palace?
"I like it," said M ae, squeezing his hand.
Suddenly, an enorm ous m an w ith tw o you n g w om en on his
arms w alked in through the front door. C onversations died around
the room . The m an had thick black hair and the brightest blue
eyes. He was w earing an expensive w h ite jack et, but he looked
dangerous. As usual, all eyes in the room tu rn ed to him . This was
M ax Baer.
Jim tu rn ed to his manager. "D o you thin k Jo hnston planned
this?" he asked angrily.
Joe nodded. "Sure. M ore pictures for the papers."
Physically, Baer was the perfect boxer. He had a narrow waist,
w ide shoulders, strong legs, and long arms. He was young, to o — at
tw enty-six, three years younger than Jim. A nd he had the strongest
punch Joe G ould had ever seen— probably the strongest punch in
the history o fboxing.
Joe kn ew that there w ere ways to beat the cham pion. His righthand p u n ch was so powerful that he h adn't really w orked on
im proving his left hand. B ut Joe couldn't forget the sight o f Baer
destroying P rim o C am era. The big Italian had been knocked
dow n eleven tim es in that fight.
Joe's attention m oved away from B aer w h en a w aiter arrived
w ith a bottle o f w ine and four glasses.
"From the gentlem an at the bar . . . Mr. B aer said I should w ish
you good luck."
52
Jim looked at M ae. The blood had ru n from her face, leaving
h er pale w ith worry. He stood. "G et the coats, Joe." T hen he
began w alking tow ard the bar.
B aer gave a big smile w h en he saw Jim com ing. "Look, it's the
C inderella M an!" he shouted.
Jim stood toe to toe w ith the cham pion. "You keep saying in
the new spapers that you're going to kill me in the ring. I have
three little kids. You're upsetting my family."
B aer m oved closer. H is voice was quiet as he said, "Listen to me,
Braddock. I'm asking you n o t to take this fight. People admire
you. You seem like a nice guy, and I don't w ant to h u rt you. It's no
jo k e. They're calling you the C inderella M an. Well, people die in
children's stories all the time."
Suddenly, a small crow d o f reporters and p hotographers ran
into the club. B aer tu rn e d to face the cameras and smiled. His
voice was loud again as he started p erform ing for the cameras. "If
you're smart, y ou'll fall over in the first round," he told Jim.
Jim 's eyes m et Baer's. "I thin k I'll try for a few rounds," he said.
Baer noticed M ae, standing behind Jim now. "You should talk
to him ," he said. "You're m uch too pretty to lose y our husband."
Jim squeezed his fist into a ball, ready to attack, but Baer
continued to look at M ae. "M aybe I can take care of you after he's
gone."
This tim e Joe G ould ju m p e d , waving his fists at the cham pion.
Jim pulled him back.
M ae stepped up to the bar. Baer's bright blue eyes followed her
as she picked up his drink, then threw it in his face.
B aer ju s t laughed as he dried his face. "Did you get that,
boys?" he said to the reporters. "B raddock has his wife fighting
for him."
Jim stepped up to M ax Baer. T he tw o boxers w ere nose to nose.
T hen Jim turned, took his wife's hand, and led h er away. As they
left, the sound o f Baer laughing followed them into the street.
53
Chapter 12
The Big Day
"Keep y our head dow n and give me a com bination— left, right,
left."
Jim was teaching Jay and H ow ard how to box. Jay threw out
a right fist and lifted his chin. Jim reached forward and gently
hit his son's chin. "D o n 't take y o u r eyes off y our opponent,"
he said.
"That's enough, now," said M ae from the kitchen sink.
Jim looked at his boys proudly. "T here's m ore than one fighter
in the B raddock family."
As the tw o boys continued to box, they knocked over a chair.
M ae turned. "I said that's enough!" she cried. "N o boxing in
the house!" She p o in ted at h er tw o sons. "You are going to stay
in school. T h en college. You are going to have professions. You
are not going to have y our heads b roken in the boxing ring. Is
that clear?"
The boys froze. Before they could reply, M ae ran out of the
apartm ent. As she stood outside, she could still hear Sporty Lewis's
words in her head: M ax Baer has killed two men in the ring.
She didn't tu rn w hen she heard Jim's steps. "W hen you boxed
before, som etim es I h o p ed that you w ould get hurt. Just enough
so you couldn't fight again . . . I always kn ew a day w ould come
w hen a fight could kill you. A nd now it's here." She looked her
husband in the eye. "W hy? W hy fight him ?"
"This is w hat I know how to do," said Jim simply.
M ae w aited for Jim to take h er in his arms, to say that he had
changed his m ind, but he didn't. Part o f him w ished that he could,
but it was impossible. She didn't understand how it felt for m en
like Jim or M ike W ilson— strong, hardw orking m en w ho w ere
told that they w ere useless. T here w ere thousands o f people like
this now, and they found h ope in the fighter they called the
Cinderella M an. Jim had to fight, for them .
54
M ae's fear tu rn ed to anger. "I supported you until now," she
said. "B ut n o t for this, Jim. I ju s t can't . . ." H er voice w ent cold.
"You find a way out of this fight. Break y o u r hand again, if you
have to. B ut if you leave this apartm ent to fight M ax Baer, I w on't
support you."
As the day o f the fight grew closer, M ax B aer helped reporters fill
their sports pages. His latest dem and was that there m ust be an
am bulance outside M adison Square Garden, ready to rush Jim to a
local hospital after B aer hit him.
Jim ju s t continued training. Joe Jeannette chose good partners
for him to w ork w ith in the ring. Each one helped Jim improve
one skill— one p artn er helped him w ork on his hand speed;
another p artn er allowed him to practice dodging big punches;
another helped him m ove around the ring quickly.
Jim , Joe, and Jeannette also w atched film of Baer's fights for
hours every day. "W atch him," said Jeannette, pointing. "His
punches are strong, but you can see them coming."
W ith ju s t a few w eeks to go, B raddock's training becam e even
harder. Joe and Jeannette started changing his boxing partners
m ore and m ore often, so Jim fought a fresh fighter every round.
O ne o f the new spaper sports pages included som ething that Joe
had said: "B raddock is going to be really prepared for this fight, if
he lives th ro u g h training!"
Joe laughed w h en he read that, until his wife rem inded him that
M ae B raddock w ould read it, too.
Finally, the big day arrived. W h en Joe G ould arrived at the gym
that m orning, Jim was sitting alone, w ith a jack et tight around his
chest.
"W hat's w rong w ith him ?" the m anager asked Joe Jeannette.
55
Jeannette shook his head. "H e's fitter than ever, b u t he's old. His
ribs aren't strong since the Lasky fight."
Gould already knew about the problem w ith Jim's ribs, but
he th o u g h t there was som ething else w rong. G ould knew that
Jim 's wife w asn't happy about his profession, and about this fight
especially. B ut w hatever the problem was, there was no tim e to
solve it now. T he fight was ju s t h ours away.
"T he reporters will be here soon," he told Jim. "Take off that
jack et or Baer will see that you have a rib problem ."
Jim clim bed into the training rin g as a crow d o f sports w riters
rushed into the room . H e w orked hard, but he still w anted to train
m ore after the last rep o rter had gone.
Joe Jeannette refused. "G o hom e and get some rest. Y ou'll be
w orking hard enough in the ring tonight."
So Jim w ent hom e. He retu rn ed to a house that was empty
except for M ae. She stood silently, looking at the newspaper:
WORLD CHAMPION FIGHT TONIGHT
MANY WORRY FOR B R A D D O C K ' S LIFE
W ith o u t a w ord, she tu rn ed and w alked away.
As the m o rn in g becam e afternoon, Jim lay in bed, unable to
sleep. A taxi came for him at four o'clock.
M ae followed Jim outside, w here a small crow d o f neighbors
was waiting: "C om e hom e w ith that title!" "K nock him out!"
Jim kissed his three children. T h en his eyes m et Mae's. "I can't
w in if y ou don't support me," he said.
"T h en don't go, Jimmy."
Tim e seemed to stretch, w ith each o f them w aiting for the
other to say som ething. T h en M ae tu rn e d and pulled the children
close to her. Jim w atched as she pushed h er way back through the
crowd. T h en he clim bed into the w aiting taxi.
The taxi drove past the tall buildings of M anhattan, th en crossed
the East River. Jim was silent, ru n n in g the film s of Baer's fights
56
through his head, rem em b erin g Jeannette's advice— anything to
help him forget the look on M ae's face as he left.
They reached the M adison
Square
Garden B ow l and Jim
looked out at the w aiting crowd. He could see that these people
had kno w n hard times. B ut there was som ething else, too, a
b rig h t look in their eyes— hope.
Jim saw his ow n face in the glass o f the car w indow. He had
beaten Tuffy Griffiths so confidently, but that m an was gone
forever. He had passed his hat hopelessly around the boxing club,
b u t that m an, was gone, too. N o, he was looking now at the face of
every m an w ho had ever been beaten dow n by hard times but
refused to stop fighting.
That's w h en Jim knew. N o m atter w hat h appened tonight, he
w ouldn't give up. He w ould die trying.
It was a h o t day and getting hotter. Jim sat in his dressing room
w aiting to go out and be w eighed.
"C om e on, cham pion," said Joe G ould w h en there was a knock
on the door.
"W ait a m inute," said Jim. "T he last tim e I looked, I was the
challenger, n o t the cham pion."
"I know w hat I said," replied Joe.
On his way to the w eighing room , M ax Baer had seen an old
trainer w ho had w orked w ith him years before. T here w ere angry
words and B aer hit out at the man. Cam eras recorded the attack.
W hen there was peace in the room again, officials and reporters
w atched the tw o boxers b ein g w eighed. It was very hot in the
crow ded room .
M ax B aer w ent first, stepping up w ith his fists above his head
and an ugly smile on his face.
"N inety-five and a half kilograms," th e ju d g e announced.
T hen it was Jim 's turn. "Eighty-six and a half kilograms."
57
M ax B aer was w aiting for him w h en he stepped down. "H ow
does the story go?" said Baer, loud enough for all the reporters to
hear. "T he clock strikes m idnight, and then Cinderella loses her
skirt!"
People laughed and m ore p hotos w ere taken, but Jim didn't
care. He w ould have the chance to reply later, in the ring. He w ent
back to his dressing room to get ready for the fight.
M ax Baer retu rn ed to his dressing room . His trainer was
w aiting w ith som ething for the cham pion to w atch— a film of
B raddock's fight against A rt Lasky.
"Look, right there!" said the trainer, as Lasky hit B raddock in
the ribs, clearly h u rtin g him. "Braddock's ribs are weak. If you can
hit them w ith a few good jab s, you'll really h u rt him."
"I don't need to," answered Baer. "I can knock this loser dow n
any tim e. I ju s t need to give the crow d a good show before I kill
him."
Baer's m anager, Ancil Hoffman, came into the room .
"D id you get it?" asked the cham pion.
Hoffm an nodded. "T he am bulance is w aiting outside. There's a
doctor there, too."
M ax looked in the m irror. "That's all I can do for him. N ow
B raddock's on his own."
M ae spent the rest of the day at h er sister's house. As the children
played, she and Alice sat and talked, but they didn't discuss the real
reason for M ae's visit.
As the afternoon shadows grew longer, M ae becam e quieter.
At five o'clock, she stood. "N o radio, Alice," she said. "I'll be back
soon."
M ae w alked th ro u g h the em pty streets o f N ew ark until she
came to the family's church. Father R o ric k stood at the door.
T here w ere crowds inside.
58
"Father?" M ae asked, confused by the crowd. "I came to say a
few words in church for Jim."
"All these people are doing the same," said the priest. "They
think Jim's fighting for them ."
M ae looked at the crow d again. All o f these people w ere beaten
dow n by hard times. They adm ired her husband. If he could fight
and w in, maybe they could .. .
"Yes, I understand now," said M ae. She tu rn ed and hu rried
dow n the street. She could hear radios through open w indow s
and doors. E verybody was getting ready to listen to the fight—
at the docks, in hom es and bars, in Sam the butcher's. Beyond
N ew ark, too— across the cou n try — p eople w anted the Cinderella
M an to w in. They w anted him to becom e the prince, the king,
the champion.
Joe G ould was taping Jim's hands in the dressing room . They could
hear the sound of the crow d beyond. Suddenly, there was a knock
on the d oor and a small, familiar shape stood th ere— it was Mae.
"Excuse me for a m inute," said Joe. He left, closing the door
behind him.
Finally, M ae spoke. "You can't w in if I don't support you."
"I keep telling you that," said Jim.
M ae handed him a brow n paper bag. "I th o u g h t it was going to
rain, so I used the m oney in the rainy-day jar." Jim opened the bag
and stared at the new pair o f boxing shoes inside.
"M aybe I understand." M ae's eyes shone. T he tw o kissed and,
smiling through h er tears, M ae said, "I always support you, Jimmy.
Just you rem em ber w ho you are! You're everybody's hope and your
kids' hero and you're the cham pion o f my heart, James J. B raddock!"
It was almost fight time. "See you at hom e, okay?" M ae
w hispered, as she m oved to the door. "Please, Jim m y . . . "
Jim nodded. "See you at hom e."
59
C h a p t e r 13
T h e H o p e s o f th e C r o w d
M adison Square Garden Bowl, Long Island City,
New York June 13, 1935
As Jim B raddock stepped out into the b rig h t lights, the crow d
becam e silent. The ring seem ed so far away. B etw een him and it
w ere thousands o f people— Jim 's people. He knew the looks on
th eir faces— people w ho saw no chance o f a future. Some had
spent their last dollar to be here, but tonight they all held their
heads high. T h eir eyes followed him w ith the w ild hope that the
story o f the Cinderella M an w ould have a happy ending.
It was the strangest walk to the rin g Jim had ever made. As he
passed, people got to th eir feet. They smiled and nodded and
waved at th eir hero, but they w ere still silent. Finally, som eone
called his nam e and the shout broke the silence for everybody. The
w hole crow d— thirty-five thousand p eo p le— began to shout, and
the noise w ent up to the star-filled sky.
M ae's sister Alice was looking for Jay, H ow ard, and Rosy, to call
them to supper. T here was no sign of the children. W ere they
hiding? She was going to look outside, w h en she heard a sound
from the closet u n d er the stairs.
All three children w ere sitting around a radio. They looked up
at their aunt, and Alice knew that she couldn't stop them . W ith o u t
saying a w ord, she sat dow n next to the children and listened to
the announcer on the radio.
I don't know if you can hear me," the
announcer was
shouting. "I can't hear myself! T he crow d is on its feet and the
noise is deafening."
Back in the M adison Square G arden B ow l, the crowd was silent
again w h en they realized that M ax B aer was w alking to the ring.
The cham pion felt the crowd's fear. He enjoyed it. W h en he had
60
clim bed into the ring, B aer ran around and accepted the crowd's
boos w ith a confident smile on his face.
The referee called the boxers and their corner m en to him.
"I w ant a clean fight," he said. "W hen I say break, step back
immediately.
A nd
re m e m b e r"— he
looked
at Jim — "protect
yourself at all times."
As the fighters to u ch ed gloves, Baer's co rn er m an held a gold
w atch in front o f B raddock's face. " O ne m inute to m idnight,
Cinderella!" he laughed.
The fighters retu rn ed to th eir corners. Baer's manager, Ancil
Hoffman, w hispered final w ords o f advice to the cham pion, but
B aer w asn't interested. Jim closed his eyes. Finally, the sound of the
bell broke the silence and the fight began.
Ro u nd 1 B raddock came out fast and hard, h o p ing to surprise
the cham pion. Show ing no fear, he hit Baer w ith a right hand, and
th en followed it w ith a left to the body. T he cham pion tried to
p unch back, but B raddock danced away.
On B raddock's next attack, B aer was ready. His left fist hit
B raddock's ribs hard. B raddock's answer was a com bination of
punches— a long right to the face, another right, a left, and a final
right to the chin. T he cham pion knew now that B raddock had a
good pu n ch , b u t he refused to show any pain.
"C alm dow n, old man," Baer laughed as the fighters held on to
each other. "I'll let the fight go a few rounds."
As the bell rang, B aer knew that he had lost the round on
points, but he didn't care. He was confident that he could end this
fight at any tim e w ith one punch.
In the corner, G ould m et B raddock w ith a big smile. "D id you
see the look on Baer's face w h en you h it him ?"
Jim too k out his m outhguard. "Yes, he was laughing."
"So use y o u r left hand to k nock that smile off his face!"
61
In the opposite corner A ncil Hoffman was shouting, but Baer
waved him away. "I'll kill him w h en I'm ready."
"Your left, Jimmy," Joe said again. "R em em b er y our left."
Ro u nd 2 B raddock came out w ith his fists m oving at the start of
the second round, too.
"N obody expected this fight to go one round," the radio
announcer was saying. "B ut it's only reached ro u n d two because
Baer is playing w ith B raddock. H e's throw n almost no punches
and he's laughing at the challenger."
B ut soon Baer started throw ing m ore punches, aim ing at
B raddock's w eak ribs. T he strength o f Baer's punches knocked the
breath out o fh im .
"T he
cham pion has really h u rt the
challenger,"
said the
announcer. T he crow d began to boo.
"That's the right place, isn't it, old m an?" said Baer.
The referee separated the fighters at the sound o f the bell. One
ofB raddock's corner m en w orked on the fighter's cuts, w hile the
other gave the boxer water. Jim coughed it back up. He needed
air, not water.
Joe exam ined Jim's ribs. "T hey're not broken," he said. "N ot yet."
Across the ring, B aer was playing and acting for the cameras.
As he w atched this, Jim realized that he him self didn't care about
pleasing the crow d now. He w asn't even fighting Baer. He was
fighting to beat the thing that had beaten him. He was fighting for
his family's future.
Ro u nd 3 F or the third tim e, B raddock came out fast. H e threw
his punches at Baer's head, but the cham pion's punches w ere
aim ed at his opponent's body. Baer continued to hit Braddock's
ribs hard w ith b o th hands. He h it B raddock w ith a low punch,
and the referee w arned the cham pion to keep his fists up.
Before the fight started again, G ould saw that Braddock's gloves
were dow n by his side, but there was no tim e to shout a w arning.
62
Baer had seen it, too. He hit the side o f B raddock's head w ith a big
left-hand punch. Jim's legs bent. He was clearly in terrible pain—
was he going to fall? G ould froze in fear. He th o u g h t about giving
in, ending the fight.
"Give him a chance, Joe," said the co rn er man.
A few seconds later, Jim stood straighter and reached for the
ropes.
Baer couldn't believe it. He attacked again, but this tim e
B raddock h it back w ith a long right, then a left jab that m ade
Baer's head look like a p u n ch in g bag.
"That's it!" shouted G ould, ju m p in g up and down.
Ro u nd 4 From the start o f the next round, b o th m en stood toe to
toe, throw ing jabs. B raddock's feet w ere quicker and his punches
m ore effective, so B aer started aim ing for the body again. After a
few good punches to the ribs, he was sure that every breath caused
B raddock terrible pain.
The tw o m en held each oth er again and the referee called for
them to break. B ut Baer continued to hold Braddock.
"D irty fighting!" shouted G ould angrily from the corner.
"I w arned you," the referee told Baer. "W h en I say 'Break!' you
break!"
The crow d b o o ed as Baer finally stepped back. He shook the
sweat from his thick black hair and held up his hands to apologize.
O ut o f the co rn er of his eye, he could see that B raddock wasn't
protectin g himself.
W ith o u t w arning, B aer tu rn ed and delivered an enorm ous
punch to Braddock's ribs. To everybody's surprise— especially Baer's
— B raddock replied w ith a com bination o f left-right punches
before stepping back.
Ro u nd 5 Baer's m anager, A ncil Hoffman, couldn't understand
it. The challenger's ribs w ere in bad condition, but B raddock was
63
still controlling the fight, ja b b in g B aer again and again and tiring
him. The tim ing o f the cham pion's punches w asn't right, and
Hoffman knew that he was w aiting for the chance to deliver his
big k n o ck o u t punch instead of tirin g his opponent. B ut Baer
w asn't able to hit B raddock, w ho dodged and danced away
skillfully.
The cham pion was getting angry now. He hit B raddock w ith
an illegal backhand p u n ch as the referee separated the two
fighters. The referee w arned Baer, but the tw o m en continued
fighting before holding on to each other again.
"Step back!" shouted the referee, but the tw o m en didn't let go.
B raddock h it the cham pion's chin w ith his head. The cham pion
shouted in anger. He lifted B raddock and threw him into the
ropes, paying no attention to the boos o f the crowd.
W hen the ro u n d was over, Hoffm an shouted angrily at Baer,
"W hat are you doing?"
"R elax," the cham pion told him.
"I'll relax," replied Ancil, "w hen we walk out o f here w ith the
title."
Ro u n d 6 B aer hit B raddock w ith three good punches in the first
seconds o f the round. B lood p oured from the challenger's nose
and m outh.
B ut then, suddenly, it seem ed to B aer that a train had hit him. It
was B raddock's rig h t hand, and it h it the cham pion on the chin
w ith enorm ous power. B aer stepped back, fighting for air. But
B raddock gave him no space, throw ing p u n ch after punch w ith
his left hand. O ne of them hit the cham pion ju s t above the eye.
Baer fought back, but his aim w asn't as good as the challenger's.
His right eye began to close.
For the first tim e in this fight, Baer felt relief w hen the bell
rang. He prom ised him self that he w ould end the fight in the next
round, even if he had to kill the Cinderella M an to do it.
64
Ro u nd 7 As soon as the ro u n d began, it was clear that B aer had a
new attitude. Joe G ould could see it. The crow d could also feel the
change. B aer w anted to finish this fight now.
B ut B raddock w asn't afraid. He m et the cham pion in the
m iddle o f the rin g and the tw o fighters continued the fight. Baer
hit B raddock w ith several punches to the body. The last o f these
h it below the belt.
"Keep y o u r punches up, M ax," said Braddock.
Baer smiled and delivered a com bination of punches to his
opponent's body and head. "Is that up enough?"
B raddock forced him self to smile through the pain. "That's fine,
Max."
As the bell rang, B aer continued throw ing punches. B raddock
h it back as hard as he could, but M ax B a e rju st laughed.
"I can't believe this!" said the radio announcer. "Everybody
expected the cham pion to w in easily. B ut now, after the seventh
round, neith er fighter is ahead. E ither of them could win."
Ch apter 14
The Luckiest Man
"Alice?" The house seem ed empty. M ae looked at the uneaten
m eal on h er sister's kitch en table. T hen she heard noises from the
closet in the hall. They w ere all there— M ae's three children and
h er sister— listening to the fight on the radio.
"T he crow d was expecting big things from cham pion M ax
Baer in the eighth round," the radio announcer was saying. "But
Jim B raddock refused to be beaten."
R osy looked up and saw h er m other. "It's the police," she said
to the others.
"By the ninth round, it was a fact that B raddock had fought
b etter than anybody expected," continued the announcer. "But
some people w ere saying that B aer allowed this to happen. In the
tenth round, the cham pion was in com plete control o f the fight."
65
M ae reached to tu rn off the radio. Jay's eyes m et hers. "Please,
M om ."
She looked into their hopeful faces and knew that she couldn't
say no. B ut she refused to listen herself. W ith o u t a w ord, she
tu rn ed and walked away, as the eleventh ro u n d began.
Ro u nd 11 Baer was m ad as he rushed out. He chased B raddock
around the ring, throw ing punches at the challenger . . . and then
it came—B aer's big punch, the one that had killed two men.
W hen it h it him , B raddock's m ind was in a fog. He felt heavy
and light at the same tim e, and his legs could only ju st support
him. He felt the ropes on his back.
Suddenly, a m em ory of his family came into Jim 's head— his
wife and children. The reason why he was here. He let the ropes
support him for a few seconds, and then he pushed forward, back
on his feet.
Baer ju s t
stared at B raddock, unable
to believe that the
challenger had taken the p u n ch and not been knocked out. Jim
looked back into Baer's b roken face and smiled.
For the rest of the round, B aer tried to finish his opponent, but
his w ild punches missed. B raddock hit back w ith a jab , a cross,
another jab . W ith each punch, he felt his strength returning. There
was blood on Baer's face now.
At the end o f the round, B raddock's co rn er m en w orked
urgently on the cut und er the fighter's eye. Joe G ould seemed
close to tears. "Jimmy," said his m anager. "W in, or lose . . ."
"Thanks, Joe, for all o f it." Jim lifted a bloody glove. "N ow stop
talking."
Ro u nd 12 Baer started the twelfth round still trying to finish
the fight w ith one big punch. B ut the challenger was faster and
dodged the punches.
"He's slow!" shouted G ould from the corner.
The crow d was shouting in b o th happiness and fear.
66
"You're right, it is a funeral," shouted the you n g rep orter next
to Sporty Lewis. "M ax Baer's funeral."
B ut Lewis didn't hear. He was on his feet, shouting like
everybody else. The crowd's shout was like a wave of noise.
"Braddock! Braddock! B raddock!"
It was too m uch for M ax Baer. He ran at B raddock, m oving his
fists fast and hard. The punches h it the challenger, the last one
below the belt. B raddock bent over in pain as the round ended.
Joe G o u ld ju m p e d over the ropes, shouting angrily at Baer. The
referee and the fight's d o cto r had to lift the little m anager back out
o f the ring.
B aer ju s t stood in the center o f the ring.
"T hat low p u n ch lost you the round," the referee told him.
Baer waved him away and m oved back to his corner. Ancil
Hoffman was w aiting for him. "You're losing! Are you listening to
me? Do you w ant to lose the title to this nobody?"
At h er sister's house in N ew Jersey, M ae had stopped pretending
to herself that she was reading the new spaper— that she wasn't
listening to the radio.
She w ent back to the hall, w here the others still sat listening.
M ae hid around the co rn er so her children couldn't see her. She
stood in the dark and listened to the th irteen th and fourteenth
rounds w ith grow ing fear.
At last, w h en there was ju s t one m ore round in the fight, she
stepped out o f the shadows. R osy m oved to the side. "Sit here,
M ommy." M ae jo in e d h er children. Pale w ith w orry, she listened
to the announcer.
"It's the fifteenth and final round. The crow d is shouting at
B raddock to stay away because B aer is looking for the knockout
. . . but B raddock is not staying away, and B aer is delivering the
biggest punches of his life."
67
M ae saw the fear now in h er children's eyes. W ould their father
com e hom e tonight?
"B ut B raddock is not only standing . . . he's com ing forward!"
Ro u nd
15 In the ring, M ax B aer and Jim B raddock were
beaten, bloody and tired. They fought for air as they circled each
other, looking for a chance to get past their opponent's defenses.
Baer's fists flew and all of his punches w ere strong enough to
knock a m an out, but they w ere w ild and anxious. B raddock
rem ained on his feet. He kept com ing forward, brin ging the fight
to Baer.
The final seconds of the fight seem ed to stretch forever. For the
boxers, the crow d seem ed to disappear; the referee, the judges, and
the m anagers w ere gone, too. F or each m an there was only the
other fighter.
B raddock danced to the side and th rew a jab . B aer saw his
chance. He threw his famous rig h t p u n ch and hit B raddock right
in the head. It knocked the challenger to the side, and now Baer
could hit him w ith the second punch. Silence fell over the crowd.
Was this the end?
No. B raddock tu rn e d and ju s t m anaged to dodge the next
punch. He h it back, and the tw o m en w ere still throw ing punches
w hen the final bell rang. T he fight had ended!
Everybody w aited to hear the fight officials announce a winner.
It was clear w hich fighter the crow d w anted.
"Braddock! Braddock! Braddock!"
M inutes later, B raddock was still resting on the ropes w hile the
fight doctor exam ined him and Joe G ould to o k his boxing gloves
off.
I don't like it," said Joe. "T he ju d g es are taking too long."
A shadow fell across their corner. It was M ax Baer, w ho looked
Jim Braddock in the eye. "You beat me. It doesn't m atter w hat
they say."
68
Jim tried to find the rig h t w ords, but B aer was gone before he
had a chance to say them .
At last, the ju d g es h anded a small, w hite card to the fight
announcer. He clim bed over the ropes and m oved to the
m icrophone in the m iddle o f the ring.
"Ladies and gentlem en, the w in n er . . . and new heavyw eight
cham pion of the w orld . . . "
The rest of his w ords w ere lost in an explosion o f noise.
The same noise filled the streets o f N ew ark. People poured
from th eir houses into the streets to celebrate. They poured out of
Father R o rick 's church to jo in everybody else in an unplanned
street party. People laughed and cried w ith happiness. Faces that
looked old w ith w orry becam e suddenly you n g again.
At h er sister's house, M ae's cry cut the night. As the family
celebrated, little R osy smiled proudly at h er m other. "It's the
steak," she said.
Back at the M adison Square G arden Bow l, the crow d pushed
forward for a better look at the Cinderella M an. E verybody
w anted to shake his hand, to to u ch him , to take hom e a little of his
m agic for themselves.
James J. B raddock stood in the center o f the ring w ith his arms
lifted over his head. Tears p oured from his eyes. He listened to the
crowd's shouts, but his heart was in another place. It was in a little
N ew Jersey apartm ent, w here his wife and three children w ould
soon be w aiting for him to com e hom e. In the end, they were the
reason why he was n o t only the heavyw eight cham pion o f the
world, but also the luckiest m an in it.
A nd
so James J. Braddock, at the
age
of 29, becam e
the
heavyw eight cham pion o f the w orld on June 13, 1935. N o n e of
the ju d g es disagreed w ith the decision. F or the public and the
press, his w in was one of the biggest surprises in the history of the
69
sport. M ost agreed that Baer had been beaten by a b etter boxer on
the night.
For tw o years, B raddock didn't box again. Finally, a fight was
arranged w ith Joe Louis, the "B row n B om ber" from D etroit. On
June 22, 1937, the tw o fighters m et in Chicago.
By this tim e, B raddock was not as strong or healthy as he had
been. His left arm was very w eak, b u t he still m anaged to knock
Louis dow n in the first round. By the fourth round, Joe Louis was
controlling the fight. A ccording to B raddock, "After a couple of
rounds, I knew I was in there w ith a great fig h ter." T he end came
w hen Louis knocked B raddock out in the eighth round. "W hen
he hit me w ith that right, I ju s t lay there." Joe Louis later becam e
one o f the greatest heavyw eight title holders in the history of
boxing.
James J. B raddock fought one m ore fight after that, in 1938,
against a you n g boxer from Wales, Tommy Farr. Farr had lasted all
fifteen rounds against Louis, and m ost people expected him to
beat Braddock. Again, B raddock surprised everybody by w inning
the fight. T hen he decided to leave the sport as a w inner. "I have
w on my last fight," he announced to the press.
After he stopped boxing, Jim B raddock rem ained friends w ith
Joe Gould. A nd B raddock had a lot to thank his m anager for.
W hen G ould had allowed Joe Louis to challenge B raddock for
the title in 1937, he had dem anded m oney from all Joe Louis's
heavyw eight title fights for the next ten years if Louis w on. Jim
and M ae B raddock w ere never p o o r again. T he couple lived in
the same N ew Jersey house that they b o u g h t after Jim w on the
heavyw eight title. Jim spent the rest o f his life surrounded by
friends and neighbors w ho adm ired and loved him .
L ooking back, Jim B raddock said that, w h en B aer hit him w ith
his best p u n ch and Jim didn't fall, he was "the happiest guy in the
world." T he story o f the Cinderella M an did have a happy ending.
70
ACTIVITIES
Chapter 1
Before you read
1 Do you like to watch boxing? Why (not)? Discuss the sport with
another student. Who is or was your country's greatest boxer?
2 Look at the Word List at the back of the book. Check the meaning
of unfamiliar words; then discuss these questions with another
student. Use the Internet or library books to help you if you don't
know much about boxing.
a Who is or was the greatest heavyweight champion in the history
of boxing? Why?
b In your opinion, how many rounds should there be in an amateur
boxing fight? How many should there be in a professional fight?
Why?
c If a boxer is being hit often and is not throwing any punches
back, should the referee always stop the fight? Why (not)?
d What would you like to be the world champion of? Why?
e When is the last time you heard people booing? Why were they
booing?
f In your opinion, which of these jobs is the hardest? Why?
butcher priest worker at the docks boxer
3 Read the Introduction to the book and answer these questions,
a What caused hard times in the U.S. in the 1930s?
b How was Jim Braddock like millions of other unlucky Americans?
c Why did actor Russell Crowe want to play Braddock?
d How did Crowe train for the film?
While you read
4 Are these sentences correct? Write yes or no.
a Jim Braddock is expected to beat Tuffy Griffiths..........................
b Braddock wins the fight by a knockout.,
c Joe Gould decides which boxers fight at Madison
Square Garden..
d Braddock was born in New Jersey..
71
e Braddock still lives in New Jersey.,
f Jim likes to go to clubs after a fight..
g Joe Gould likes to see Mae Braddock..
h Mae refused to marry Jim until he had enough money................
i Jim and Mae have three children.,
j Mae goes to all of Jim's fights..
A fte ryou read
5 Discuss how these people feel about each other. Give reasons for
your answers.
a Jim and Joe
c Jim and Mae
b Joe and Jimmy Johnston
d Joe and Mae
6 Describe Mae's attitude to Jim's job. How would you feel in her
situation?
Chapters 2-3
Before you read
7 Life changed for many Americans on October 29, 1929. What do
you think happened on that day? What happened afterward?
8 You are going to read about the Braddock family's money problems.
How do you think these will affect Jim? How will they affect Mae?
9 Jim's next fight is described as "an embarrassment." Why, do you
think?
While you read
10 Write the name of the character.
a Who is afraid about Jim's next fight?...........................................
b Who pulls out a gun at the docks?...............................................
c Who steals food?.........................................................................
d Who promises that the Braddocks will
never send their children away?..................................................
e Who says he will buy Jim an ice cream?.....................................
f Whose hand is broken?...............................................................
g Who takes away Jim's license?...................................................
h Who tells Jim, "It's finished"?.......................................................
72
A fteryou read
11 How has life changed for Jim and his family since 1928? Make a list
and compare it with the lists of other students.
12 Why are these important to the story?
Jim and Mae's wedding picture ajar a piece of meat
13 Work in pairs and have these conversations.
Student A: You are Jim Braddock. Pick one of these times in the
story and tell your friend what your thoughts are.
a waiting for work at the docks
b before the Feldman fight
c after you lost your license
Student B: You are Jim's friend. Ask questions.
Chapters 4-5
Before you read
14 Look at the titles of these chapters and discuss the questions.
a What will Jim's new life be like? How do you think he will earn
money for his family with a broken right hand?
b What promise will be broken? Who will break it?
15 In Chapter 5, Jimmy goes back to Madison Square Garden, but
not as a boxer. Why do you think he goes there? Think of some
possible reasons.
While you read
16 Number these events in the correct order, from 1 to 10.
a Jim sells his boxing shoes at the gym..
b Joe Gould gives Jim money.,
c Mae takes the children to her relatives..
d Jim is chosen to work at the docks.,
e The electricity is turned back on.,
f The Braddocks' electricity is cut off..
g Jim goes to the relief office..
h Jim covers his cast with black shoe polish...................................
i Jim and Mike help a young couple.,
j Jim meets Mike Wilson..
73
A fter you read
17 Why:
a does Mike Wilson help Jim at the docks?
b doesn't Joe Gould speak to Jim when he sees him at the gym?
c does Mae take the children to her relatives?
d does Jim become angry that the children are gone?
18 You are Jim Braddock. Pick one of these times in the story and tell
the class your thoughts.
a working at the docks
b seeing Joe Jeannette at the gym
c in the line at the relief office
d when the electricity is turned back on
Chapters 6-7
Before you read
19 Discuss these questions with another student.
a In Chapter 6, Joe Gould offers Jim something. What will this be?
b In Chapter 7, Joe Gould says, "Where have you been, Jimmy
Braddock?" Why do you think he says this?
While you read
20 Read the questions and circle YES or NO.
a Is it Howard's birthday?
b Had Jim hit the priest?
c Does Jim hit Mike Wilson?
d Is Mae happy about the children boxing?
e Is Mae happy about the Griffin fight?
f Does Jim train hard for the Griffin fight?
g Does Jim fight Corn Griffin on an empty stomach?
h Does Sporty Lewis think that Jim will win?
i Does Jim beat Griffin by a knockout?
Camera?
j Does Max Baer beat Primo
74
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
A fter you read
21 Answer these questions.
a Why is there a party at the church?
b Why does Joe come to see Jim at his apartment?
c Why do the Braddock children go back to the butcher shop?
d Why does Joe Gould look for a spoon?
e Why does Sporty Lewis get a surprise?
f Why can't Joe Gould watch Max Baer's fight?
22 The writer includes a description of the fight between Max Baer and
Primo Camera. Why? What effect does this scene have? Discuss
your opinion with another student.
Chapters 8-9
Before you read
23 Which of these do you think will happen in the next two chapters?
a Jim leaves his job at the docks,
b Mae tries to make Jim stop fighting,
c Jim loses his next fight.
d Jim becomes the challenger for the heavyweight title of the
world.
While you read
24 Match the speakers with the words,
a "Put it on your eyes."
b "Why didn't you tell me you were going
to win again?"
c "You said it was one fight."
d "I'll get him a fight if it's the last thing
I do."
e "You've been training, Jimmy."
f "I can't win if you don't support me."
g "He isn't the same guy."
h "The guy's a loser."
75
Jim Braddock
Joe Gould
Joe Jeannette
John Henry Lewis
Mae Braddock
Max Baer
Mike Wilson
Rosy Braddock
A fte ryou read
25 Answer these questions.
a Why are the men at the docks surprised to see Jim?
b Why is Mae surprised at Joe's apartment?
c Why is Joe Jeannette surprised when Jim starts training?
d Why is the radio announcer surprised during the Lasky fight?
26 Imagine Mae's thoughts as she returns home after seeing Joe
Gould in New York. Make notes; then have this conversation.
S tudentA: You are Mae. Tell Jim about your visit to Joe's
apartment.
Student B: You are Jim. Ask questions. Say what you think about
Joe and about Mae's visit.
Chapters 10-11
Before you read
27 In the 1930s, some people with no money lived in New York's
Central Park. What do you think life was like for them?
28 In Chapter 11, Jim Braddock meets the champion, Max Baer,
outside the ring. What do you think happens?
While you read
29 Circle the correct word.
a Jim gives money back to Joe Gould/the Newark re lie f office.
b He buys some flowers/chocolates for Mae.
c Sara tells Mae that Jim/Mike is missing,
d Jim looks for Mike in Central Park/at the Newark docks.
e A lot o f/fe w people go to Mike's funeral,
f Sporty Lewis asks Mae/Jim questions.
g Joe Gould/Jim Braddock asks Jimmy Johnston to stop the film of
Baer's fights.
h Max Baer/Jim Braddock tells his opponent, "I don't want to hurt
you."
i
Mae throws a drink/a punch at Max Baer.
76
A fter you read
30 Pick one of these people. Imagine what they are thinking at Mike's
funeral. Discuss it with a partner.
Jim Mae Sara
31 Do you know the complete story of Cinderella? Tell the story.
Explain the meaning of the name "Cinderella Man."
32 Work in pairs. Act out the conversation between Jim and Mae after
they have met Max Baer at the club.
Student A: You are Mae. You are afraid that Jim will get badly hurt
or killed. Ask him not to fight Baer.
Student B: You are Jim. Tell Mae why you have to fight and try to
make her feel better.
Chapters 12-13
Before you read
33 It is time for the big fight. How do you think these people feel about
it?
Jim Mae the Braddock children Jim's neighbors Max Baer
While you read
34 Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?
a Joe Jeannette thinks that the champion's ribs are w e a k ............
b The champion is heavier than the challenger...............................
c Jim's children are at their aunt's house during the fight...............
d Mae stays to watch the whole fight..
.
.
.
.
e Max Baer is worried in the first round..
f Baer breaks Jim's ribs in the second round..................................
g The champion stays calm in the fight..
A fter you read
35 Discuss these questions.
a What helps Mae to change her mind about the fight?
b How is Jim Braddock's attitude to boxing different in 1935 than it
was in 1928? Explain your answer.
77
Chapter 14
Before you read
36 How do you think these people will feel if Braddock wins? How will
they feel if he loses?
Mae Ancil Hoffman Sporty Lewis
37 Who do you think will win the fight? Why do you think that?
While you read
38 Number these events in the correct order, from 1 to 6.
a Mae listens to the fight with her children.
b Joe Gould jumps into the ring,
c The judges' decision is announced,
d Mae walks away from the radio,
e Max Baer comes over to Jim's corner.
f Jim takes Baer's big punch and smiles at the champion............
A fte ryou read
39 What was Max Baer trying to do in the fight? How were Jim's
attitude and fighting style different from the champion's?
40 In your opinion, why did poor people across the country support Jim
Braddock?
Writing
41 You are Sporty Lewis. Write about the Braddock-Baer fight for your
newspaper.
42 You are making the movie of Cinderella Man. Write a scene when
Jim first sees Mae and the children after winning the title.
43 Imagine that you are Mae many years after the big fight. Tell Jim's
story to one of your grandchildren in a letter.
44 You write about books for a magazine. Write about Cinderella Man,
telling your readers why they should—or shouldn't—read the book.
45 You are a sports reporter for the radio and you are going to
interview the heavyweight champion of the world, Jim Braddock,
before his fight with Joe Louis. Write a list of the ten questions you
would most like to ask.
78
46 Write a character description of one of these people:
Jim Braddock Mae Braddock Joe Gould Mike Wilson
Max Baer
Support your description with examples of the person's words or
actions.
47 All of the people in the book are real except Mike Wilson and his
family. You are the writer of the movie. Write an e-mail to the
filmmakers explaining why you put this character in the story.
48 Think about a time in your life when you had to fight for your beliefs.
Describe it in a diary page.
49 What does this book tell you about life in the United States in the
early 1930s? Write a description of what life was like for many poor
Americans at that time. Include examples from Cinderella Man.
50 Professional boxers have to be very fit. Write a weekly exercise
program for a boxer or for yourself.
WORD LIST
am ateur (n) som eone w ho does som ething because they enjoy it, not
because it is th eir jo b
a n n o u n ce (v) to tell people about som ething officially
boo (n/v) a shout show ing dislike o f a person or th eir perform ance
butcher (n) som eone w h o ow ns or w orks in a shop th at sells m eat
c a st (n) a hard cover used to p ro te c t a b ro k e n b one
c h a lle n g e (v) to try to beat the best person in a sports event
ch am p ion (n) som eone w h o is the best in a sports event
co m b in a tio n (n) in boxin g , tw o or m ore punches that are p u t to g eth er
c r o s s (n) in b ox ing, a p u n ch th at goes from right to left or left to right
dock (n) the place in a p o rt w h ere things are taken on and off ships
d o d g e (v) to m ove quickly so th at som ething d o esn 't h it you
fist (n) a closed hand
forem an (n) a w o rk er in charge o f o th er w orkers
funeral (n) a religious service for som eone w h o has ju s t died
h ea v y w eig h t (n/adj) a b o x er from the heaviest w eig h t group; a lig h t
h e a v y w e ig h t is a box er from a lo w er w eig h t group
hook (n) a curved piece o f m etal used for p ick in g things up
jab (n/v) a quick p u n ch in w h ich a b o x er's hand goes straight forward
k n ock ou t (n/adj; k n o c k ou t, v) a hit by a b o x er w h ich is so hard that
the o th er boxer falls dow n and ca n 't get up again
nod (n/v) a m o v em en t o fy o u r head to say yes or to show ag reem ent
op p o n en t (n) som ebody w h o is against y o u in a sports event
p o lish (n) som ething used to m ake things shine, for exam ple shoes
p riest (n) som eone w ho perform s religious services in some religions
pun ch (n/v) a hit w ith y o u r closed hand
referee (n) som eone w ho m akes sure th at rules are follow ed in sports
relief (n) m oney, food, or clothes given to those w ho need them ; the
feeling that you can stop w o rry in g about som ething
rib (n) one o f the curved bones in y o u r chest
ring (n) a square area, surrounded by seats, w h ere boxers fight
round (n) one stage o f a b oxing fight, usually lasting th ree m inutes
sw ea t (n/v) liquid that com es from the skin o f a ho t or nervous person
w a g o n (n) a strong vehicle w ith four w heels, usually pulled by horses
Penguin Readers Factsheets
Level 4 - Intermediate
Teacher’s Notes
Cinderella Man
By M arc Cerasini
( Sum m ary
J
The story begins in 1928, when the Am erican econom y
is thriving and Braddock is a popular and successful boxer.
He has a prom ising boxing career ahead of him, plenty of
m oney and a h appy home life in New Jersey with his wife
and three children. But by the early 1930s Jim B ra d d ock’s
career has hit rock bottom. Am erica is suffering from the
Great Depression and, like m any of his fellow Am ericans,
B raddock finds himself unable to pay the bills or support
his young family. After a crushing defeat in the boxing ring,
B raddock loses his boxing license and is forced to work
for a few dollars a day in the Newark, New Jersey, docks.
Despite being so desperately poor that he has to beg his
form er m anager for money, B raddock never loses his pride
or his determ ination to keep his fam ily together.
Just when the fam ily are most desperate, B raddock is
offered a second chance in the ring. He returns to fighting
having sold his boxing shoes and with no recent training.
But his work at the docks has strengthened B ra d d o ck’s left
hand punch ... and his resolve. He wins his fig h t and goes
on to win more. He becom es the cham pion of the Am erican
comm on man - fighting against the o d d s and carrying the
hopes and dream s of his countrym en with every punch. He
works his way up the boxing ranks until, finally, he faces Max
Baer - the notoriously violent world heavyweight cham pion.
With his wife beg ging him not to fight on one side, and the
dem oralized, im poverished Am erican population urging him
to win on the other, B raddock enters the ring for the fig h t of
his life. After a long and dram atic fight, the ju d g e s announce
B ra d d o c k ’s victory. The fig h te r’s trium ph over great adversity
both in and out of the ring is a truly inspirational tale.
(About the authors
J
Cliff H ollingsworth and Akiva Goldsm an worked together
to write the story for the movie Cinderella M an . Before the
movie, Jim B ra d d o ck’s story was not well known in the United
States. Hollingsworth wanted to tell m odern Am ericans
about this great man, so he contacted Jim B ra d d ock’s sons,
Jay and Howard. They read H ollingsw orth’s first script and
loved it! At last their fa th er’s heroic story would be told.
III
© Pearson Education Limited 2006
Akiva Goldsm an is an experienced Hollywood scriptwriter.
He worked with Hollingsworth on the Cinderella M an script
once the main story was ready. Before Cinderella Man, he
adapted two John Grisham movies, The C lient and A Time
to Kill, as well as w orking with the actor Russell Crowe on
the Oscar-winning movie, A B eautiful M ind. (You can read all
these stories in the Penguin Readers series, too.)
Marc Cerasini wrote the book Cinderella M an from the
movie. He has worked as a m agazine editor and w riter for
over twenty years. He often works on novelizations for some
of the big movie com panies in Hollywood.
( Background and them es
J
Cinderella M an begins in New York in 1928, during the
“ Roaring Twenties.” This was an exciting tim e of great
econom ic prosperity and social change in the United States.
After W orld War I, the Am erican econom y grew faster than
ever before. Thousands of people were m aking money
quickly on the stock market, the developm ent of massproduced goods m eant that industry was thriving, and
new music, movies, and literature were inspiring peo ple ’s
creativity and optim ism everywhere. But this all cam e to a
sudden end on Black Tuesday, 29th O ctober 1929, when the
US stock market collapsed.
The book highlights the sudden and dram atic change
in the B ra d d ocks’ fortunes as the United States (and the
industrialized w orld) was plunged into the Great Depression.
Although President Herbert Hoover insisted that the only
thing to fe a r was “fear itself,” the Am erican econom y did not
recover and millions of A m ericans lost their jobs and their
homes. Cinderella M an shows the suffering of the average
Am erican citizen during the Depression. We see Mae forced
to wait in line for soup to feed her fam ily and to burn street
signs to keep her children warm and Jim reduced to begging
for a few dollars (C hapter 5) to keep his fam ily together. We
also see homeless New Yorkers living on the streets, in cars,
on the subway and in Central Park. All over the
United States, people began building shanty
towns - also known as “ H oovervilles” to live in.
Man
Cinderella M an tells the true story of Am erican boxing
legend, Jam es J. Braddock. A man of the people, Braddock
fights against poverty and o b scu rity as hard as he does
against his sporting opponents. This book is based on the
2005 movie, directed by Ron Howard and staring Russell
Crowe and Renee Zellweger.
Hollingsworth wanted to keep as close to the true story as
possible. When Jim B raddock pays m oney back to the relief
office in C hapter 10, it may seem like a Hollywood fantasy,
but it was really true. Jim B ra d d ock’s sons, too, agreed that
their parents’ characters and the movie story itself is very
accurate. As Hollingsworth says, Jim B raddock “was a
character who was too good to be true - but he was tru e !”
Cinderella M an was Cliff H ollingsw orth’s first big movie.
Cinderella
J
Penguin Readers Factsheets
[ Com m unicative ac tivites
j
The follow ing teacher-led activities cover the same sections
of text as the exercises at the back of the Reader, and
supplem ent those exercises. For supplem entary exercises
covering shorter sections of the book, see the photocopiable
Student’s Activities pages of this Factsheet. These are
prim arily for use with class Readers but, with the exception
of discussion and pair/group work questions, can also be
used by students w orking alone in a self-access center.
AC TIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK
1 Ask students what they know about the story of
Cinderella M an before they start reading the book. Have
any of the students seen the movie? If so, ask them to
tell the rest of the class about it. Ask them to look at
the front cover, too. Elicit ideas about the story from the
students. Do they recognise the actors (Russell Crowe
and Renee Zellweger)? Ask them to look closely at the
crow d. Can they guess when and where the story takes
place?
2 Ask students to write down their favorite sport on a
piece of paper. They should spend a few minutes
thinking about w hy they like that sport, and make notes
if they need to. Walk around the class and help students
with vocabulary. (If any students d o n ’t like any sport,
ask them to write down the reasons why.) Then, choose
some students to tell the rest of the class about their
favorite sport. How m any other students also chose that
sport as their favorite? Do they like it for sim ilar reasons?
What are the most popular sports in the class?
AC TIVITIES A FTER READING A SECTION
Chapter 1
Ask students to write a character profile of Jim B raddock for
a popular magazine. Students should include information
about his sport, home life and other interests. Ask students
to use their im aginations and add some details, such as
favorite food, h obby etc.
III
© Pearson Education Limited 2006
Students work in small groups. Give each group a large
piece of paper and ask them to make a list of the problem s
that the B raddocks face at the end of C hapter 3. After a
few minutes, the groups should swap their pieces of paper
and try to think of a solution for each of the problem s. As a
class discussion, ask students how easy it will be for the
B raddocks to find solutions to their problem s. What other
problem s m ight they fa ce in the next part of the book?
Chapters 4 -5
When the B ra d d ock’s e lectricity and heat are turned off,
Mae takes the boys to her father and Rosy to her sister. Ask
students to write a page in Ja y’s diary about this day. How
does he feel about being sent away? W hat did he see on the
trip to his gran d fa th er’s house? How does he feel about his
sick brother and sister? Does he like it at his gran d fa th er’s
house? Jim prom ised not to send the children away. Does
Jay feel differently about his father now that this prom ise has
been broken?
Chapters 6 -7
Students work in pairs. Ask them to prepare and then act out
the follow ing conversation:
Student A: You are Jim Braddock. Joe Gould has just told
you that you will fig h t Corn Griffin for $250.
You know it is dangerous but you want to fight
because your fam ily needs the money. Talk to
Mae about it. Tell her it’s only one fight. Explain
that you only get a few dollars for a d a y ’s work at
the docks. You need her support. Will she give
it?
Student B: You are Mae Braddock. Your husband, Jim, will
tell you that he has a fig h t against Corn Griffin.
You’re not h appy about it because yo u ’re scared
for your h u sb a n d ’s safety. What will happen to
your fam ily if he is injured and c a n ’t work. Or if
he dies? Ask him how much m oney he will get.
Will you support your husband, or not?
Chapters 8 -9
Students work individually or in pairs. In Chapter 9, John
Henry Lewis says that Jim is “not the same guy.” Ask
students to make two lists: one about the changes in Jim ’s
fighting style and the other about any other changes in
Jim ’s character and attitude since 1928. Ask some students
to read their lists to the rest of the class and encourage
classroom discussion. W hat has m ade Jim change so much
in just a few years?
Chapters 10-11
Students work in small groups. Ask each group to choose
one of these scenes and prepare it to be acted out in front of
the class. Encourage students to expand the scene from the
book to include more dialogue and action.
• Jim goes home and finds Sara W ilson there with Mae.
She tells him that Mike is missing.
• Jim finds Mike, dying, under a wagon in Central
Park.
• M ike’s funeral.
• Jim, Mae and Joe answer reporters’ questions about
the fig h t with Max Baer.
Jim, Mae and Joe go to the boxing club for dinner and
Max Baer com es in.
Published and distributed by Pearson Longman
Factsheet written by Clare Gray
Factsheet series developed by Louise James
Man
Against the background of the Great Depression,
Cinderella M an tells a story of a loving and courageous
fam ily man. He is determ ined to keep his fam ily together
and to bring his children up honorably, even in the most
difficult circum stances. When Jay steals some meat to feed
the family, Jim m akes him take it back to the butcher. Even
in the good times, at the beginning and end of the story,
Jim B raddock is more interested in spending time with his
wife and children than in a superstar lifestyle. They are “the
reason why he was not only the heavyweight cham pion of
the world, but the luckiest man in it.”
Chapters 2 -3
Cinderella
With the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt as the new
Am erican president, the governm ent began injecting money
into the econom y and handing out m oney to the co u n try’s
poor. Jim and his fellow Am ericans are asham ed to receive
m oney from the governm ent - but they know it is their only
chance of survival. When Jim eventually wins some prize
money, he im m ediately goes to the relief office to pay back
what he has received. Books and movies set during the
Great Depression are popular in A m erica today because
the people are proud of their fam ilies’ abilities to survive and
remain proud during this difficult time.
Level 4 - Intermediate
Teacher’s Notes
Penguin Readers Factsheets
)
Chapters 1 2 -1 3
Students w ork in pairs. In each pair, one student is a radio
or television interviewer and the other is Jim Braddock.
Students should prepare and act out a short interview (about
6 -8 questions) before the big fight. The interviewer should
ask Jim about his preparation for the fight and his feelings
about it, too. Some students can act out their interviews for
the rest of the class.
Chapter 14
© Pearson Education Limited 2006
2 Use a video or DVD of a sport that your students may be
fam iliar with. Show the students the video/DVD with the
sound turned off. Tell them that they will need to supply
the sports com m entary for the rest of the class. You will
need to show the video several tim es and allow plenty
of time for the students to make notes and practice.
Alternatively, you could ask students to supply their
own video/DVD and to prepare their com m entary for
homework.
( Word list
~^)
It will be useful for your students to know the new words
found on page 80 of the Reader. They are practiced in the
“ Before you read” sections at the back of the book. (The
definitions are based on those in the Longm an Active Study
Dictionary.)
Published and distributed by Pearson Longman
Factsheet written by Clare Gray
Factsheet series developed by Louise James
Man
■la
1 Discussion: “ Cinderella M an is a sports movie for boxing
fa n s.” Do students agree or disagree? What m ight
som eone who is uninterested in boxing enjoy about the
movie?
Cinderella
Students work individually or in pairs. After years of poverty,
Jim B raddock wins a lot of m oney in his fight against Max
Baer. What will he spend it on? Ask students to write a
shopping list for the B raddock fam ily three things for Jim,
three for Mae, three for the whole family, and one each for
the children (total 12 things). Then, as a whole class activity,
com pare the lists and choose the best or most popular
ideas to make a m aster shopping list on the board. Ask
students what they would buy if they suddenly received a
lot of money.
ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK
Level 4 - Intermediate
( Teacher’s Notes
Penguin Readers Factsheets
Cinderella Man
W
By M arc Cerasini
-
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- \ ... .
Level 4 - Intermediate
^ Student’s Activities
<: i i k Et ■111l h l M a n
These activities can be done alone or with one or more other
students. Pair/group only activities are m arked*.
(e) Ben points his gun at the forem an’s heart because
2 Look at the Contents (page iii) and read the chapter
titles. Do you think the story has a h appy ending? What
happens, do you think?
AC TIVITIES W HILE READING THE BOOK
2 W hy does Jay steal the meat? W hat does Jim do about
it? If you were Jim, what would you do?
3 Answer these questions.
(a) W hat does Joe Gould say about Jim ’s opponent
before the fight?
(b) How has Joe G ould been affected by the Crash?
(c) Joe Gould breaks the rules of boxing for Jim ’s fight
in two ways. W hat are they?
(d) Jim has broken his hand badly. What other dam age
has he suffered in the ring?
(e) W hat reason does the referee give for ending the
fig h t early?
4 Read chapter 3 carefully; then close the book. How
m uch can you rem em ber about Jim ’s fight with Abe
Feldman? W hy did Jim m y Johnston take away Jim ’s
boxing license? Was he right, do you think? Give reasons
for your answer.
Chapters 4 and 5
1 Com plete these sentences. Use these words.
ashamed beaten destroyed
useless worried worse
failed
Chapter 1
1 Who
(a) had com e to New York after winning fifty fights?
(b) organized the fights at M adison Square G arden?
(c) has no control over his mouth?
(d) had m oved from Ireland to the United States for a
better life?
(e) finds it difficult to watch Jim ’s fights?
2 Joe Gould is Jim B ra d d ock’s manager. W hat work does
he do and how does he earn m oney? W hy does Mae
ask him questions about Jim ’s prize m oney? From this
chapter, do you think Joe G ould is a good m anager?
Give reasons for your answers.
Chapter 2 and 3
1 Finish these sentences in your own words. Try not to
look at the Reader.
(a) Jim ’s w edding photograph rem inds him o f ____
(b) Jim gives his meat to his daughter, Rosy, even
th o u g h ____
(c) When the United States econom y fa ile d ,____
(d) It’s harder and harder for Joe G ould t o ____
III
© Pearson Education Limited 2006
(a) Mae is _______ about Jim ’s hand because he
cannot work.
(b) Jim ’s hand is broken, but he will not b e _______ .
(c) The d octor says that Jim ’s right hand will
b e ________ for months.
(d) W ithout heat and electric power, H ow ard’s cough
becam e _______ .
(e) Jim feels _______ when he collects m oney from
the Newark relief office.
(f) Jim ’s fig h t with Tommy Loughran turned him into a
boxer of “ _______ prom ise.”
(g) When Mae takes the children away, Jim realises
how easily their life can be ________ .
2 Joe Jeanette “had always been a hero to Jim .” Do you
have a hero? Who is it and why do you admire him or
her? Are heroes still im portant in to d a y’s world? W hy/
why not?
Chapters 6 and 7
1 Who says these things? What are they talking about?
(a) “ It was better when we had our own ca ke .”
(b) “You’re always trying to fix the w o rld .’
Photocopiable
1 Cinderella M an was a successful m ovie in 2005. Read
about it in the Introduction (pages v-vii). Then close the
book and read these sentences. Are they true (T) or
false (F)?
(a) Cinderella M an is a true story about a fam ous
Am erican boxer.
(b) Film maker Ron Howard and actor Russell Crowe
worked together for the first time in Cinderella Man.
(c) Jim B ra d d ock’s wife, Mae, is played by Renee
Zellw eger in the movie.
(d) Russell Crowe had to put on weight to play Jim
B raddock in the movie.
(e) M uham m ad Ali, the fam ous boxing trainer, trained
Russell Crowe for the movie.
(f) Some of B ra d d ock’s opponents are played by real
boxers in the movie.
Jay stole enough meat t o ____
Man
(f)
AC TIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK
H tiD f nt
Cinderella
* I H a Lp I H
Penguin Readers Factsheets
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
“ M aybe he just needed a little tim e.”
“You have a better jab than I d id !”
“You’re meat, Jim m y.”
“ It’s not for m e... It’s for my d a d .”
“Am I seeing a ghost?”
“ I c a n ’t believe it!”
2 After Jim has won his fig h t against Corn Griffin, he
watches Max Baer fight Primo Carnera. You will meet
one of these boxers again in this story. W hich one, do
you think? Can you im agine what will happen?
1 After Joe Gould visits Jim ’s apartm ent in C hapter 8, Jim
says “At least in the ring you know w h o ’s hitting yo u .”
W hat does he mean? How are his w ords connected to
his w ork partner, Mike?
1 Choose the right answer.
(a) Jim used some of his prize m oney to pay back
(1) Joe Gould. (2) the butcher. (3) the relief
office.
(b) After the Crash, tens of thousands of New Yorkers
lost their m oney and becam e
(1) homeless. (2) political. (3) useless.
(c) Jim found Mike in a pool of blood under a
(1) wagon. (2) trash can. (3) subway.
(d) Jim felt that M ike’s death was a stupid,
unnecessary
(1) funeral. (2) waste. (3) future.
2 W hat kind of future will Sara Wilson have with her baby
daughter, do you think? Write a paragraph about Sara’s
life after her h u sb an d ’s death. How will she get money?
Who will help her? W here will she live?
3 Choose one or more of these words for each person.
angry cham pion confident journalist
m anager mean rich scared smart
successful thoughtful violent
(a) Jim Braddock
(b) Mae Braddock
(c) Joe Gould
(d) Jim m y Johnston
(e) Sporty Lewis
(f) Max Baer
iS
■la
© Pearson Education Limited 2006
2
Read this paragraph about the first seven rounds of the
big fight. There are ten wrong words. Circle them and
write the correct words.
Jim won the first round on punches, but Baer was not
worried. He was confident he can end the gam e at any
tim e with one punch. In the second round, Baer threw
more punches at Jim ’s weak ribs. In the third round, too,
Baer punched Jim ’s body and the m anager warned the
cham pion to keep his fists down. Baer kept punching
Jim ’s ribs in the fourth and fifth rounds, but Jim ’s feet
were quieter and he danced away easily. Baer got angry
and hit Jim with an illegal h a n db a ck punch. Then he
threw Jim into the crowd. In the sixth round, Jim kept
punched Baer hard. Baer wanted to finish the fight,
but by the end of the seventh round either fighter was
ahead.
Chapter 14
1 Read these sentences about C hapter 14. Are they true
(T) or false (F)?
(a) Jim hits Baer below the belt in the twelfth round
(b) Baer isn’t hitting as hard as he usually does.
(c) Mae d o e sn ’t listen to any of the fig h t on the radio.
(d) Baer wanted to end the fig h t with a knockout, but
he c o u ld n ’t do it.
(e) After becom ing heavyweight cham pion of the
world, Jim B raddock never fought again.
2 At the end of the big fight, both boxers were still throwing
punches. W hy did the ju d g e s de cid e that Jim Braddock
was the winner? Read about the fight again and make a
list of possible reasons.
ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK
1 On the back of the book you will find a “ b lu rb ” — a
short description of the story. A good blurb should make
readers want to read the book and find out more. Write
your own blurb for Cinderella Man. Don’t look at the
back cover!
2 W hat have you learned about the sport of boxing from
this book? Has it changed the way you feel about the
sport in any way?
3 Jim B raddock has two great loves in his life: boxing and
his family. W hich is most im portant to him, do you think?
Give reasons for your answers.
Published and distributed by Pearson Longman
Factsheet written by Clare Gray
Factsheet series developed by Louise James
Photocopiable
Chapters 10 and 11
1 Jim ’s wife, Mae, asks Jim not to fight. She is scared for
her h u sb an d ’s life and for her fa m ily’s future. Is she right
to ask him not to fight, do you think? Is Jim right to fight
without his w ife ’s support? W hat w ould you do? Give
reasons for your answers.
Man
2 When do these things happen? Put these sentences in
order (1-8) starting with the thing that happened first (1).
(a) Jim m y Johnston agrees to give Jim B raddock a
fig h t with John Henry Lewis.
(b) Mike tells Jim he’s put some m oney on him for the
fight.
(c) Joe G ould visits Jim ’s apartm ent.
(d) Jim starts training with Joe Jeanette .
(e) Jim wins his fig h t against Art Lasky.
(f) Jim wins his fig h t against Lewis.
(g) Mae visits Jo e ’s apartm ent.
(h) Jim m y Johnston announces that he will organize
fights am ong the top heavyweight boxers.
Chapters 12 and 13
Cinderella
Chapters 8 and 9
4 Jim m y Johnston knew that the Braddocks w ould meet
M ax Baer at the c lu b ’s restaurant. W hy did he organize
this, do you think?
Level 4 - Intermediate
Student’s Activities
Stadtbibliothek Berlin - Mitte N 11 < 06499037456
II v
Jim Braddock is a successful boxer in N e w York. Life is good fo r
him and his young family. But in O c to b e r 1929 the Am erican
econom y fails, and at the same tim e Jim starts to lose in the
boxing ring. H o w will he support his wife and children now? W ill
he get a second chance to return to the ring? Does the tru e story
o f Jim Braddock— the Cinderella Man— have a happy ending?
Philipp-Schaeffer-Bibl.
(456)
Penguin Readers are s im plifie d texts which provide a step-by-step
approach to the joys o f reading for pleasure.
Series Editors: Andy Hopkins and Jocelyn Potter
E a s y s ta rts
200 headwords
L e vel
1
300 headwords
Beginner
L e vel
2
600 headwords
Elementary
L e vel
3
1200 headwords
Pre-Intermediate
Level 4
1700 h e a d w o rd s
In te rm e d ia te
L e vel
5
2300 headwords
Upper-Intermediate
L e vel
6
3000 headwords
Advanced
Contemporary
American English
Number o f words (excluding activities): 15,600
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