| To: Bwe who wrote (10072) | 6/11/2005 3:22:27 AM |
| From: freelyhovering | Read Replies (1) of 10454 |
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I finally saw Cinderella Man this evening and was entertained. I was surprised by the harsh portrait of Max Baer whom I always thought of as a genial clown. The portrait below tells a different story about him then Ron Howard did. After killing a guy in the ring, he lost several fights, holding back for fear of killing someone else. Another article I saw said he had an injured hand when he fought Braddock. Braddock still did a great thing in beating him and later knocking Joe Louis down. Buddy Baer may have been the better fighter. Myron
Max and Buddy Baer
They were genial giants, brothers who enjoyed puns as much as punches.
In the 1930s, and for decades thereafter, Max and Buddy Baer were fixtures on the Sacramento scene as world-class heavyweight boxers, movie actors and professional good guys.
"I never liked to hurt people," Buddy once said, "and I never liked to get hurt myself."
Max was the eldest, born in Iowa in 1909. Jacob, known as "Buddy," was born six years later in Colorado. The family moved to California in 1928, eventually coming to Sacramento in the early 1930s.
As boxers, the Baers were hard punchers -- and big targets. Max was 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, Buddy 6-6 and 250. Both had early success in the ring, although Max's career had been stymied after an opponent died in the ring in 1930. Max became frightened of his own punching power and lost four of his next six fights.
In Sacramento, however, the Baers took on a local bar owner named Ancil Hoffman as their manager. By 1934, Max was fighting for the heavyweight championship of the world against Primo Carnera. Baer won a bloody brawl, and Sacramento had its first and only world heavyweight champ. Max held the title for one day less than a year, when he lost it to James Braddock, a heavy underdog.
"I clowned away the title," Max said later, shrugging.
After losing the title, Baer fought Joe Louis in a bid to become the No. 1 contender. But Louis knocked him out in the fourth round.
"He hit me so hard I saw seven of him," Max joked afterward. "I kept hitting the one in the middle, but those other six just beat the hell out of me."
Max continued to fight until 1941 but never had another title shot. His brother had the dubious privilege of fighting Louis twice for the title. In the first fight, Buddy knocked Louis out of the ring in the first round but eventually lost. He lost a subsequent fight the following year and retired in 1942 to join the Army.
The Baers were as well known outside the ring as in it. After their boxing careers ended, both had film careers and appeared in nightclub acts. They owned several local businesses, from a saloon to a clothing store for big men. For a time, Buddy was an assistant sergeant-at-arms in the State Senate. They were also active in community and civic groups, helping to raise money for various causes by entertaining at fund-raising events.
Max Baer died in 1959, Buddy in 1986.
"When they died," wrote long-time Sacramento sports columnist Bill Conlin, "the 'sweet science' lost two of the sweetest."
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