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Maximilian Adelbert "Max" Baer (February 11, 1909 – November 21, 1959) was an American
of the 1930s (one-time ) as well as a referee, and had an occasional role on film or television. He was the brother of heavyweight boxing contender
and father of actor
(best known as
on ). Baer is rated #22 on Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time.
Baer was born on February 11, 1909 in
to Jacob Baer (), who was half
German and half Jewish German, and Dora Bales (), who was of
American ancestry. Baer was nominally raised in a nonsectarian home. His eldest sister was Frances May Baer (), his younger sister was Bernice Jeanette Baer (), his younger brother was boxer-turned-actor Jacob Henry Baer, better known as
(), and his adopted brother was August "Augie" Baer.
In May 1922, tired of the
winters, which aggravated Frances's
and Jacob's , the Baers drove to the milder climes of the West Coast, where Dora's sister lived in . Jacob's expertise in the butcher business led to numerous job offers around the . While living in , Max took his first job as a delivery boy for John Lee Wilbur. Wilbur ran a grocery store and bought meat from Jacob.
The Baers lived in the
towns of ,
before moving to
in 1926. Livermore was cowboy country, surrounded by tens of thousands of acres of rangeland which supported large cattle herds that provided fresh meat to the local area. In 1928, Jacob leased the Twin Oaks Ranch in Murray Township where he raised more than 2,000 hogs, and worked with daughter Frances's husband, Louis Santucci. Baer often credited working as a butcher boy, carrying heavy carcasses of meat, stunning cattle with one blow, and working at a gravel pit, for developing his powerful shoulders (an article in the January 1939 edition of The Family Circle Magazine reported that Baer also took the
exercise course.)
Baer turned professional in 1929, progressing steadily through the Pacific Coast ranks. A ring tragedy little more than a year later almost caused Baer to drop out of boxing for good.
Baer fought
on August 25, 1930, in San Francisco in a ring built over home plate at San Francisco's
for the unofficial title of Pacific Coast champion. In the second round, Campbell clipped Baer and Baer slipped to the canvas. Campbell went toward his corner and waved to the crowd. He thought Baer was getting the count. Baer got up and flew at Campbell, landing a right to Campbell's turned head which sent him to the canvas.
After the round, Campbell said to his trainer, "Something feels like it snapped in my head", but went on to handily win rounds 3 and 4. As Baer rose for the 5th round, Tillie "Kid" Herman, Baer's former friend and trainer, who had switched camps overnight and was now in Campbell's corner, savagely taunted and jeered Baer. In a rage and determined to end the bout with a knockout, Baer soon had Campbell against the ropes. As he hammered him with punch after punch, the ropes were the only thing holding Campbell up. By the time Referee Toby Irwin stopped the fight, Campbell collapsed to the canvas. Baer's own seconds reportedly ministered to Campbell, and Baer stayed by his side until an ambulance arrived 30 minutes later. Baer "visited the stricken fighter's bedside", where he offered Frankie's wife Ellie the hand that hit her husband. She took that hand and the two stood speechless for a moment. "It was unfortunate, I'm awfully sorry", said Baer. "It even might have been you, mightn't it?" she replied.
At noon the next day, with a lit candle laced between his crossed fingers, and his wife and mother beside him, Frankie Campbell was pronounced dead. Upon the surgeon's announcement of Campbell's death, Baer broke down and sobbed inconsolably. Brain specialist Dr. Tilton E. Tillman "declared death had been caused by a succession of blows on the jaw and not by any struck on the rear of the head", and that Campbell's brain had been "knocked completely loose from his skull" by Baer's blows.
The Campbell incident earned Baer the reputation as a "killer" in the ring. This publicity was further sensationalized by Baer's return bout with , who had bested Baer in a decision during Max's Eastern debut bout at
on September 19, 1930.
An Associated Press article in the September 9, 1932 Sports section of the
describes the end of the return bout as follows:
Two seconds before the fight ended Schaaf was knocked flat on his face, completely knocked out. He was dragged to his corner and his seconds worked over for him for three minutes before restoring him to his senses... Baer smashed a heavy right to the jaw that shook Schaaf to his heels, to start the last round, then walked into the Boston fighter, throwing both hands to the head and body. Baer drove three hard rights to the jaw that staggered Schaaf. Baer beat Schaaf around the ring and into the ropes with a savage attack to the head and body. Just before the round ended Baer dropped Schaaf to the canvas, but the bell sounded as Schaaf hit the floor.
Schaaf complained frequently of headaches after that bout. Five months after the Baer fight, on February 11, 1933, Schaaf died in the ring after taking a left jab from the Italian fighter . The majority of sports editors noted, however, that an autopsy later revealed Schaaf had , a swelling of the brain, and was still recovering from a severe case of
when he touched gloves with Carnera. Schaaf's obituary stated that "just before his bout with Carnera, Schaaf went into reclusion in a religious retreat near
to recuperate from an attack of influenza" which produced the meningitis. The death of Campbell and accusations over Schaaf's demise profoundly affected Baer, even though he was ostensibly indestructible and remained a devastating force in the ring. According to his son, actor/director
(who was born seven years after the incident):
My father cried about what happened to Frankie Campbell. He had nightmares. In reality, my father was one of the kindest, gentlest men you would ever hope to meet. He treated boxing the way today's professional wrestlers do wrestling: part sport, mostly showmanship. He never deliberately hurt anyone.
In the case of Campbell, Baer was charged with . Baer was eventually acquitted of all charges, but the California State Boxing Commission still banned him from any in-ring activity within the state for the next year. Baer gave purses from succeeding bouts to Campbell's family, but lost four of his next six fights. He fared better when
took him under his wing.[]
Boxing has found in Max Baer the kind of fighter who can bring the game back to the old days—the days when big men fought to knock each other out...So I believe that boxing's comeback now rests right on Baer's shoulders. He is only 24 years old, he's the biggest, strongest man fighting today, and he hits with terrible power.
former world heavyweight champion
On June 8, 1933, Baer fought and defeated (by a technical knockout) German heavyweight and former world champion, , at . Schmeling was favored to win, and was 's favorite fighter. The Nazi tabloid
publicly attacked Schmeling for fighting a non-Aryan, calling it a "racial and cultural disgrace."
Hitler summoned Schmeling for a private meeting in April, where he told Schmeling to contact him for help if he had any problems in the U.S., and requested that during any press interviews, he should tell the American public that news reports about Jewish persecution in Germany were untrue. However, a few days after that meeting, Hitler put a national ban on boxing by Jews along with a boycott of all Jewish businesses. When Schmeling arrived in New York, he did as Hitler requested, and denied problems of anti-Semitism existed, adding that many of his neighbors were Jews, as was his manager.
Although the , then in full force, had lowered the income of most citizens, sixty thousand people attended the fight. NBC radio updated millions nationwide as the match progressed. Baer, who was one-quarter Jewish, wore trunks which displayed the , a symbol he wore in all his future bouts. When the fight began, he dominated the rugged Schmeling into the tenth round, when Baer knocked him down and the referee stopped the match. Columnist
wrote about Schmeling's loss, "That wasn't a defeat, that was a disaster", while journalist
claimed that Baer's win would come to "symbolize Jewry's struggle against the Nazis."
Baer became a hero among Jews, those who identified with Jews, and those who despised the . According to biographer David Bret, after the war ended, it was learned that Schmeling had in fact saved the lives of many Jewish children during the war while still serving his country.
Swedish film star
considered Baer's defeat of Schmeling to be a "mini-victory" over German fascism, and she invited him to visit her while she was filming
in Hollywood. His being allowed on the set was considered a "sacrilege" in Hollywood, however. Even MGM studio's head, , wasn't allowed on her set since she demanded total privacy while acting. Their friendship led to a romance, which lasted until he returned to New York to train for his next fight, this one against .
On June 14, 1934, Baer, after knocking him down 11 times, won by technical knockout over the massive, 275-pound (125-kg) , , to win the world title, which he would hold for 364 days.
On June 13, 1935, one of the greatest upsets in boxing history transpired in , as Baer fought down-and-out boxer
in the so-called Cinderella Man bout. Baer hardly trained for the bout. Braddock, on the other hand, was training hard. "I'm training for a fight, not a boxing contest or a clownin' contest or a dance", he said. "Whether it goes one round or three rounds or ten rounds, it will be a fight and a fight all the way. When you've been through what I've had to face in the last two years, a Max Baer or a
looks like a house pet. He might come at me with a cannon and a blackjack and he would still be a picnic compared to what I've had to face." Baer, ever the showman, "brought gales of laughter from the crowd with his antics" the night he stepped between the ropes to meet Braddock. As Braddock "slipped the blue bathrobe from his pink back, he was the sentimental favorite of a Bowl crowd of 30,000, most of whom had bet their money 8-to-1 against him."[]
Max "undoubtedly paid the penalty for underestimating his challenger beforehand and wasting too much time clowning." At the end of 15 rounds Braddock emerged the victor in a unanimous decision, outpointing Baer 8 rounds to 6 in the "most astounding upset since
went down before the thrusts of
back in the nineties." Braddock took heavy hits from Baer, but kept coming at Baer until he wore Max down.[]
Baer and his brother Buddy both lost fights to . In the second round of Max's September 1935 match, Joe knocked Baer down to one knee, the first time he had ever been knocked to the canvas in his career. A sizzling left hook in the fourth round brought Max to his knee again, and the referee called the bout soon after. It was learned weeks later that Baer fought Louis with a broken right hand that never healed from his fight with James J. Braddock. Max was virtually helpless without his big right hand in the Louis fight. In the first televised heavyweight prizefight, Baer lost to
on June 1, 1939, on -TV in New York.
Baer was awarded a belt declaring him the "" after he scored a first round T.K.O. over Pat Cominsky in a bout at Roosevelt Stadium in
on 26 September 1940, but it was a publicity stunt. The fight was not promoted as being for the white heavyweight championship, and Cominsky would not have won the belt had he beaten Baer.
The belt was a publicity stunt dreamed up by boxing promoters who were trying to pressure promoter
into giving the ex-world heavyweight champion a rematch with current champ . Jacobs did not give Baer another bout with Louis. Baer retired after his next fight, on 4 April 1941, when he lost to Lou Nova on a T.K.O. in the eighth round of scheduled 10-rounder at Madison Square Garden. Nova did get a shot at Joe Louis.
Max Baer boxed in 84 professional fights from 1929 to 1941. In all, his record was 71–13–0. 53 of those fights were knockouts, making him a member of the exclusive group of boxers to have won 50 or more bouts by knockout. Baer defeated the likes of , Walter Cobb, , , ,
and . He was Heavyweight Champion of the World from June 14, 1934 to June 13, 1935.
Baer was inducted into the
in 1968, the
in 1984, the
in 1995 and the
in 2009. The 1998 Holiday Issue of Ring ranked Baer #20 in "The 50 Greatest Heavyweights of All Time". In Ring Magazine's 100 Greatest Punchers (published in 2003), Baer is ranked number 22.
This section does not
any . Please help improve this section by . Unsourced material may be challenged and . (June 2011) ()
debut was in
() opposite
and . In this
movie he played Steven "Steve" Morgan, a bartender that the Professor, played by Huston, begins training for the ring. Steve wins a fight, then marries Belle Mercer, played by Loy. He starts seriously training, but it turns out he has a huge ego and an eye for women. Featured were Baer's upcoming opponent, , as himself, whom Steve challenges for the championship, and , as himself, former heavyweight champion, acting as the referee.
On March 29, 1934, The Prizefighter and the Lady was officially banned in
at the behest of , 's Minister of
and Public Entertainment, even though it received favorable reviews in local newspapers as well as in
publications. When contacted for comment at , Baer said, "They didn't ban the picture because I have Jewish blood. They banned it because I knocked out Max Schmeling." Baer enlisted, as well as his brother Buddy, in the United States Army when World War II began.
Baer acted in almost 20 movies, including
(1949) with , and made several television guest appearances. A clown in and out of the ring, Baer also appeared in a
act and on his own TV . Baer appeared in 's final movie,
(1956), opposite
as Toro Moreno, a Hollywood version of , whom Baer defeated for his heavyweight title. , who wrote the book from which the movie was made, portrayed the Baer character, "Buddy Brannen", as blood thirsty, and the unfounded characterization was reprised in the movie .
In 1951, Baer teamed up with
friend and Light Heavyweight champion (1929-'34) and boxer-turned actor/comedian, . Together, the two starred in
(written by Rosenbloom-uncredited). They embarked on a comedy tour, billed as
on . Baer would also take the stage at Rosenbloom's comedy club on Wilshire Blvd, , which was featured in the film . Baer and Rosenbloom remained friends until Baer's death in 1959.
Baer additionally worked as a
, and for a while he was a . He served as public relations director for a Sacramento automobile dealership and referee for boxing and wrestling matches.
Baer married twice, to actress
(married July 8, 1931-divorced October 6, 1933), and to Mary Ellen Sullivan () (married June 29, 1935-his death 1959), the mother of his 3 children: actor
(born 1937), James Manny Baer (born 1942), and Maudie Marian Baer (born 1944).
Baer never got to see his son perform as an actor on television. Baer Jr. played Jethro Bodine in the television series
and appeared on several other shows.
At the time of his death on November 21, 1959, Baer was scheduled to appear in some TV commercials in Los Angeles before returning to his home in Sacramento.
On Wednesday, November 18, 1959, Baer refereed a nationally televised 10-round boxing match in . At the end of the match, to the applause of the crowd Baer grasped the ropes and vaulted out of the ring and joined fight fans in a cocktail bar. The next day, he was scheduled to appear in several television commercials in , California. On his way, he stopped in , to keep a promise he had made thirteen years earlier to the then five-year-old son of his ex-sparring partner, Curly Owens. Baer presented the now 18-year-old with a foreign sports car on his birthday, as he had said he would.
Baer checked into the
upon his arrival on November 19. Hotel employees said he looked fit but complained of a cold. As he was shaving, the morning of November 21, he experienced chest pains. He called the front desk and asked for a doctor. The desk clerk said "a house doctor would be right up." "A house doctor?" he replied jokingly, "No, dummy, I need a people doctor".
A doctor gave Baer medicine, and a fire department rescue squad administered oxygen. His chest pains subsided and he was showing signs of recovery when he was stricken with a second attack. Just a moment before, he was joking with the doctor, declaring he had come through two similar but lighter attacks earlier in Sacramento, California. Then he slumped on his left side, turned blue and died within a matter of minutes. His last words reportedly were, "Oh God, here I go."
Baer's funeral was one of the largest ever attended in , where he had made his home for almost 30 years. A crowd of more than 1,500 – many with scarred eyebrows and smashed noses bade farewell. Among his mourners were four former world champions, politicians, people in wheelchairs and Cub Scouts. There were 'men of wealth and distinction' – and bums shuffling off skid row. There were women in mink stoles and diamonds – and women in cotton house dresses, and in slacks. There were babies in the arms of their young mothers – and elderly couples, helping each other's halting steps. Hundreds of others, unable to get into the funeral home, crowded around the outside. Some chose vantage points on car roofs and nearby scaffolding.
were among his pallbearers. There were tears in the eyes of 'Curly' Owens, his one-time sparring partner, as he took down Max's gloves from a big white floral arrangement. The cemetery service was concluded by an
honor guard, recognizing Baer's service in World War II. Baer's obituary made the front page of . He was laid to rest in a garden crypt in St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery in Sacramento. Bowing to his beloved wife's wishes, Max was buried by her faith, , even though Max was really a non-sectarian believer.
There is a park named for Max Baer in
even though he was born in Omaha. There is also a park in Sacramento named after him. He was honored by the
Baer was an active member of the . When Max died of a heart attack in 1959, the Eagles created a charity fund as a tribute to his memory and as a means of combating the disease that killed him. The Max Baer Heart Fund is primarily to aid in heart research and education. Since the fund started in 1959, millions of dollars have been donated to universities, medical centers and hospitals across the United States and Canada for heart research and education.
In Grant County, West Virginia, there is a road that is named "Max Baer Road", however, according to Thomas "Duke" Miller, a TV/movie/celebrity expert who resides in that state, there is no reference anywhere that the Baer family ever had any ties with West Virginia.
(1949) – with his brother, Buddy
(1957) as Gus Ortmann, with
in the title role
Alluded to in:
(1934) Disney. In this cartoon short, a tortoise is pitted against a hare in a race. The first time the hare appears on screen, he is wearing a robe similar to a boxer's robe. On the back of the robe is emblazoned "Max Hare". This cartoon came out the year that Baer won his heavyweight title.
Portrayed in:
(2005) – portrayed by
Baer was portrayed in a way that is very inaccurate to his real character. He was portrayed as a cruel and vicious boxer, and not someone who felt sad at Campbell's death
Carnera: The Walking Mountain (2008) by
(1957) (Screen Gems TV, CBS) … Mike … episode:
(1953) … Killer … episode: Killer's Wife
(1958) … Himself … episode: Rusty The Bully
68 Wins (52 knockouts, 16 decisions), 13 Losses (3 knockouts, 10 decisions), 0 Draws
, New York City
Nova was knocked down in the 4th round. Baer was knocked down twice in the 8th. Referee Donovan stopped the bout as the count was at two.
Pat Comiskey
Galento was unable to answer the bell for the 8th round.
Babe Ritchie
Ritchie was knocked down twice.
Big Ed Murphy
Attendance: 16,778. Fight stopped by the referee because of severe laceration of Baer's lower lip.
Hank Hankinson
, New York City
Farr was knocked down in the 2nd and 3rd.
, , London, England, United Kingdom
, , London, England, United Kingdom
Dutch Weimer
, , Canada
A light slap to Weimer's ribs ended the bout, causing the crowd to roar its disgust. Someone threw an empty whiskey bottle at Baer. Leaving the ring, he turned to the crowd and shouted, "Well, you paid to get in – suckers."
Willie Davies
The fight was billed as an exhibition, yet Referee Ted Jamieson gave an official decision. Baer floored Davies in the 2nd round.
Tim Charles
Charles downed eight times.
Bearcat Wright
from the Oelwein Daily Register (U.P. wire).
Cowboy Sammy Evans
Cyclone Lynch
Lincoln Field,
Don Baxter
Memorial Ball Park,
Al Frankco
Recreation Park,
Nails Gorman
Cecil Myart
Bob Williams
Cecil Smith
Convention Hall,
Junior Munsell
Munsell down in the 1st round. Munsell reportedly 22-0 entering contest. Source: .
James Merriott
Buck Rogers
Wilson Dunn
Tech Field,
Dunn announced at 183, was weighed after the fight and was actually 168. .
George Brown
Brown was floored 3 times in the 4th round before his manager tossed in the towel.
Harold Murphy
Murphy was floored in the 3rd, 4th & 5th rounds.
Bob Fraser
Ada Co. Fairgrounds,
Tony Souza
McCullough's Arena,
Souza was floored 4 times in the bout.
Attendance: 88,150.
was in Baer's corner. Baer was knocked down twice in the 3rd round. 1935
, New York City
titles. Baer feinted a knockdown in the 8th round.
This was scheduled as an exhibition, no decision to be given at the end of four rounds. But Levinsky came out swinging and Baer became extremely angry. In round 2 Baer rushed to meet Levinsky and in less than a minute had pounded him to the canvas dead to the world.
, New York City
titles. Baer floored Carnera 11 times, and had him wobbly on his legs, before Referee Donovan stopped the bout to protect Carnera from further punishment.
"The bell deprived Baer of a knock-out victory. Two seconds before the fight ended Schaaf was knocked flat on his face, completely knocked out. He was dragged to his corner and his seconds worked on him for three minutes restoring him to his senses." ().
Dempsey's Bowl,
Attendance: 8,000 "Baer piled up a big lead throughout the fight." (AP).
Walter Cobb
Paul Swiderski
, Los Angeles
, San Francisco
, New York City
Arthur De Kuh
Les Kennedy
Johnny Risko
Arcadia Pavilion,
Jack Van Noy
Arcadia Pavilion,
Race Track Arena,
Johnny Risko
Ernie Owens
Owens was down at the end of the 1st round from a right hand. After two more knockdowns in the 2nd, referee Tom Louttit raised Baer's hand.
, New York City
, New York City
picked up the count incorrectly. Knockdown time-keeper Arthur Donovan signaled Heeney out at Dempsey's count of 8. Heeney was waiting to hear "9" before arising. When he learned he had been counted out, he "protested strenuously", and the crowd "broke into a deafening roar of disapproval." .
, New York City
Schaaf "battered the Coast invader as thoroughly as ever a boxer has been pounded, to win a decision in as exciting a heavyweight encounter as has been seen here for some time". (James P. Douglas, ).
Onlookers claimed that Baer slugged Campbell after he was already unconscious but had held onto his feet by the ropes. Doctors worked over Campbell for half an hour and, failing to revive him, took him to a local hospital where other physicians and nurses worked over him for several hours. Campbell died from a severe concussion of the brain.
soon suspended Referee for his failure to stop the fight.
K O Christner
Baer sent Christner to the floor three times in the 2nd stanza.
Les Kennedy
, Los Angeles
Ernie Owens
Buck Weaver
Jack Linkhorn
Linkhorn down 3 times.
Ernie Owens
, Los Angeles
Owens knocked down for first time in career.
Jack Stewart
Tiny Abbott
Tiny Abbott
Arcadia Pavilion,
Baer was disqualified for hitting Abbott while he was fined $100 for fouls.
Tony Fuente
Arcadia Pavilion,
Chet Shandel
Arcadia Pavilion,
Tillie Taverna
East Bay A.C.,
Natie Brown
East Bay A.C.,
East Bay A.C.,
Chief Caribou
East Bay A.C.,
George Carroll
Frank Rudzenski
Arcadia Pavilion,
"Frank succumbed to a vicious left hook after being knocked half out of the ring with a right." (Hayward Review).
Jack McCarthy
Arcadia Pavilion,
Al Red Ledford
Arcadia Pavilion,
Benny Hill
Arcadia Pavilion,
Benny Hill
East Bay A.C.,
Al Red Ledford
Tillie Taverna
Sailor Leeds
Chief Caribou
Fellerath, David (). . . "My father is Jewish and my mother is Scotch-Irish" said Baer.
Brumbelow, Joseph, S. "Buddy Baer – Autobiography" 2003
Muscles by Mail, Stewart Robertson, Family Circle Magazine, January 20, 1939, Vol.14, No. 3
Shand, Bob, Oakland Tribune, September 26–31, 1930
Oakland Tribune, September 26, 1930
Associated Press, September 9, 1932
. New York Daily News. .
Dempsey, Jack. Oakland Tribune, June 9, 1933, p. 21
Margolick, David. Beyond Glory: Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling, and a World on the Brink, Knopf Doubleday Publishing (2005) pp. 39–40
Cavanaugh, Jack. Tunney: Boxing's Brainiest Champ and His Upset of the Great Jack Dempsey, Ballantine Books (2009) e-book
Bret, David. Greta Garbo: A Divine Star, Robson Press, U.K. (2012) e-book
Oakland Tribune, June 21, 1934 p. 13
Marcus, Norman. .
, March 30, 1934, pg. 12, Germany Bans Film of Baer
Achievements
Preceded by
June 14, 1934 – June 13, 1935
Succeeded by
Sporting positions
Preceded by
November 21, 1959 – August 31, 1969
Succeeded by
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