The clock strikes 12 for the 'Cinderella Man'...
James J. Braddock earned that nickname from his fairy tale rise from an impoverished New York City fighter trying to keep the wolf away from his family's door to heavyweight champion of the world. He won the championship as a 10 to 1 underdog by beating Max Baer on June 13th, 1935 but now he would defend that title against "The Brown Bomber", the great Joe Louis...
On the night of June 22nd, 1937, 60,000 fans packed Chicago's Comiskey Park to witness Braddock deck Louis in the first round of the fight but Louis shook off that knockdown and would control the bout. The finish came at 1:10 of the 8th round when Louis ended the cinderella dream for Braddock, 32, with a devastating right, ending the fight. 23-year old Louis became the first black champion since Jack Johnson lost to Jess Willard in 1915. He would hold the title through 25 defenses until retiring as champion in 1949...
Braddock would retire after a final win in 1948. He was inducted into the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame in 1964 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2001. Braddock finished with a career record of 51 wins in 85 fights. On November 29th, 1974, James J. Braddock, the "Cinderella Man" died peacefully in his sleep...
More on Braddock and the movie in my commentary...
More June 22 Memories...
1870] Congress creates the Department of Justice...
1915] The BMT, then the Brooklyn Rapid Transit, begins subway service from Brooklyn to Manhattan...
1937] Joe Louis KO's James J. Braddock to become heavyweight champ (feature story)...
1938] Joe Louis defends his championship with a 1st round KO of Germany's Max Schmeling...
1944] President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the GI Bill of Rights, authorizing benefits for WWII veterans...
1946] Jet planes are used to transport mail for the 1st time (mail will now get lost faster than ever)...
1951] Gene Rayburn and Dee Finch ("Rayburn and Finch") premiere on WNEW (this show would morph into "Klavan and Finch" when Rayburn left to pursue other interests including NBC's "Monitor" and TV game shows)...
1959] Eddie Lubanski rolls 24 consecutive strikes in a bowling tournament in Miami...
1959] Chuck Berry releases "Memphis"...
1963] 13-year old Little Stevie Wonder's "Fingertips" is released by Motown...
1963] The Safaris' "Wipe Out" is released...
1968] Mason Williams' "Classical Gas" is released...
1969] Singer and actress Judy Garland dies of an overdose of sleeping pills at 47...
1970] President Richard M. Nixon signs a measure lowering the voting age to 18...
1973] George Harrison releases "Living in the Material World"...
1977] John N. Mitchell becomes the 1st former U.S. Attorney General to go to prison as he begins to serve 19 months for his role in the Watergate cover-up...
1981] Mark David Chapman pleads guilty to killing John Lennon...
1982] Manhattan institutes "bus-only" lanes (which would be fine if the buses stayed in their lane, but nooooooooo !)...
1987] Actor-dancer Fred Astaire dies at the age of 88...
1990] Billy Joel becomes the 1st rock star to perform at Yankee Stadium...
1993] Former first lady Pat Nixon dies at 81...
1994] New York Met pitcher Anthony Young ties a record for consecutive losses with 23...
1994] The Reds' Ken Griffey Jr. breaks Babe Ruth's record for most home runs by the end of June with 31...
1994] The Knicks lose Game 7 of the NBA finals to the Houston Rockets as John Starks goes 2 for 18 from the field, including 0 for 11 (ouch !) from 3-point range...
2002] St. Louis pitcher Darryl Kile is found dead of heart disease in the team's Chicago hotel at the age of 33...
2002] Syndicated advice columnist Ann Landers passes away at 83...
2004] Former President Bill Clinton's memoir, "My Life" is published and becomes a best-seller...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...
Commentary...
For those who saw "Cinderella Man" in 2005 you know that this is not just another sports movie. The Ron Howard movie is about "one man's extraordinary fight to save the family he loved" which was intoned by the voice over of the trailer. Russell Crowe as Braddock and Renee Zellweger as Braddock's wife are terrific in their roles, as is Paul Giamatti in a supporting role...
This is a "rags to riches" story that is worth downloading or renting. Incidentally, Braddock's granddaughter Rosemarie De Witt plays neighbor Sara Wilson in the movie. There's enough factual sports material if you're a sports fan but if you're not, you'll like it anyway...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday"...
1928] Ralph ("John Walton" of "The Waltons") Waite...
1936] Kris Kristofferson...
1941] "60 Minutes" Ed Bradley...
1944] Peter Asher (Peter and Gordon)...
1947] Howard (Turtles) Kaylan...
1948] Todd Rundgren...
1949] Meryl Streep...
1949] "The Bionic Woman" Lindsay Wagner...
1953] Cyndi Lauper (this is her correct birthday)...
1964] "Judging Amy" Amy Brenneman...
1973] MTV's Carson Daly...
[Today is the 173rd day of 2006 with 192 days remaining in the year and 12 days until July 4th]
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