Макс Баер: Америкалық боксшы және әлем чемпионы

American boxer (1909–1959)

Maximilian Adelbert Baer (February 11, 1909 – November 21, 1959) was an American professional boxer and the world heavyweight champion from June 14, 1934, to June 13, 1935. He was known in his time as the Livermore Larupper and Madcap Maxie. Two of his fights (a 1933 win over Max Schmeling and a 1935 loss to James J. Braddock) were rated Fight of the Year by The Ring magazine. Baer was also a boxing referee, and had occasional roles in film and television. He was the brother of heavyweight boxing contender Buddy Baer and father of actor Max Baer Jr. Baer is rated #22 on The Ring magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time.

Baer was born on February 11, 1909, in Omaha, Nebraska, to Jacob Baer (1875–1938) and Dora Bales (1877–1938). His father was the son of Jewish immigrants from Alsace Lorraine and his mother was of Scottish descent. His elder sister was Frances May Baer (1905–1991), his younger sister was Bernice Jeanette Baer (1911–1987), his younger brother was boxer turned actor Jacob Henry Baer, better known as Buddy Baer (1915–1986), and his adopted brother was August "Augie" Baer. For a while Jacob Baer worked for the Graden Mercantile Company as the manager of their meat packing plant in Durango, Colorado.

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 Frankie Campbell on August 25, 1930, in San Francisco in a ring built over home plate at San Francisco's Recreation Park 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, thinking that Baer was getting the count. In response, 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 he 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 could have been you," she replied. She forgave him. 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 Ernie Schaaf, on August 31, 1932. Schaaf had bested Baer in a decision during Max's Eastern debut bout at Madison Square Garden on September 19, 1930. An Associated Press article in the September 9, 1932, sports section of the New York Times 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 on 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 Primo Carnera. The majority of sports editors noted, however, that an autopsy later revealed Schaaf had meningitis, a swelling of the brain, and was still recovering from a severe case of influenza 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 Boston 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 Max Baer Jr. (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 manslaughter. 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 Jack Dempsey took him under his wing.

On June 8, 1933, Baer fought and defeated German heavyweight and former world champion Max Schmeling at Yankee Stadium, by technical knockout. Schmeling was favored to win and was Adolf Hitler's favorite boxer. The Nazi tabloid Der Stürmer publicly attacked Schmeling for fighting a non Aryan, as Baer's father was Jewish, calling it a "racial and cultural disgrace." Although the Great Depression, then in full force, had lowered the income of most citizens, sixty thousand people attended the boxing match. Columnist Westbrook Pegler wrote about Schmeling's loss, "That wasn't a defeat, that was a disaster", while journalist David Margolick claimed that Baer's victory would come to "symbolize Jewry's struggle against the Nazis." 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. Film star Greta Garbo considered Baer's defeat of Schmeling to be a "mini victory" over Nazism, and she invited Baer to visit her while she was filming Queen Christina in Hollywood. Their friendship led to a romance, which lasted until he returned to New York to train for his next match against Primo Carnera. 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 Lou Nova on June 1, 1939, on WNBT TV in New York.

Baer was awarded a belt declaring him the "White Heavyweight Champion of the World" after he scored a first round TKO over Pat Cominsky in a bout at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, New Jersey, on September 26, 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 Mike Jacobs into giving the ex world heavyweight champion a rematch with current champ Joe Louis. Jacobs did not give Baer another bout with Louis. Baer retired after his next fight, on April 4, 1941, when he lost to Lou Nova on a TKO in the eighth round of a scheduled 10 rounder at Madison Square Garden. Nova did get a shot at Joe Louis, losing to the champion by TKO in the sixth round of a scheduled fifteen round bout held at the Polo Grounds in New York.

Baer boxed in 84 professional fights from 1929 to 1941. In all, his record was 71–13. Fifty three of those wins 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 Ernie Schaaf, Walter Cobb, Kingfish Levinsky, Max Schmeling, Tony Galento, Ben Foord and Tommy Farr. He was Heavyweight Champion of the World from June 14, 1934, to June 13, 1935. Baer was a 1968 inductee into The Ring magazine's Boxing Hall of Fame (disbanded in 1987) and was inducted to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1995. He was inducted to the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame 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.

Baer's motion picture debut was in The Prizefighter and the Lady (1933) opposite Myrna Loy and Walter Huston. In this MGM 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, Primo Carnera, as himself, whom Steve challenges for the championship, and Jack Dempsey, as himself, former heavyweight champion, acting as the referee. On March 29, 1934, The Prizefighter and the Lady was officially banned in Germany at the behest of Joseph Goebbels, Adolf Hitler's Minister of Propaganda and Public Entertainment, even though it received favorable reviews in local newspapers as well as in Nazi publications. When contacted for comment at Lake Tahoe, Baer said, "They didn't ban the picture because I have Jewish blood. They banned it because I knocked out Max Schmeling." Baer, along with his brother Buddy, enlisted in the U. S. Army Air Force when World War II began. Baer acted in almost 20 movies, including Africa Screams (1949) with Abbott and Costello, and made several television guest appearances. A clown in and out of the ring, Baer also appeared in a vaudeville act and on his own TV variety show. Baer appeared in Humphrey Bogart's final movie, The Harder They Fall (1956), opposite Mike Lane as Toro Moreno, a Hollywood version of Primo Carnera, whom Baer defeated for his heavyweight title. Budd Schulberg, who wrote the book on which the movie was based, portrayed the Baer character, "Buddy Brannen", as bloodthirsty, and the unfounded characterization was reprised in the movie Cinderella Man. In 1950, Baer teamed up with another titleholder, friend and Light Heavyweight champion (1929–34) and boxer turned actor/comedian, Maxie Rosenbloom. Together, the two starred in four slapstick comedy shorts for Columbia Pictures (produced by the makers of the Three Stooges comedies) and one feature film, Skipalong Rosenbloom (written by Rosenbloom, uncredited). The team embarked on a comedy tour, billed as "The Two Maxie's". Baer would also take the stage at Rosenbloom's comedy club on Wilshire Blvd, Slapsy Maxie's, which was featured in the film Gangster Squad. Baer and Rosenbloom remained friends until Baer's death in 1959. Baer checked into the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel upon his arrival on November 19. Hotel employees said he looked fit but complained of a cold. As he was shaving on the morning of November 21, he experienced chest pains. He called the front desk and asked for a doctor. The desk clerk said that "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 heart 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." unless otherwise stated.

All newspaper decisions are officially regarded as "no decision" bouts and are not counted in the win/loss/draw column. No. (Number)ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes81Loss66–13 Lou NovaTKO8 (10), April 4, 194180Win66–12 Pat ComiskeyTKO1 (10), September 26, 194079Win65–12 Tony GalentoRTD (Referee technical decision)7 (15)July 2, 194078Win64–12 Babe RitchieKO2 (10), September 18, 193977Win63–12 Big Ed MurphyKO1 (4), September 4, 193976Loss62–12 Lou NovaTKO11 (12), June 1, 193975Win62–11 Hank HankinsonKO1 (10), October 26, 193874Win61–11 Tommy FarrUD15March 11, 193873Win60–11 Ben FoordTKO9 (10)May 27, 193772Loss59–11 Tommy FarrPTS12April 15, 193771Win59–10 Dutch WeimerKO2 (10), October 19, 193670Loss58–10 Willie DaviesPTS6October 8, 193669Win58–9 Tim CharlesKO4 (6)October 6, 193668Win57–9 Andy MillerNWS6September 21, 193667Win57–9 Bearcat WrightNWS (Newspaper decision)6September 14, 193666Win57–9Cowboy Sammy EvansKO3 (6)September 7, 193665Win56–9Cyclone LynchKO3 (6)September 4, 193664Win55–9Al GaynorKO1 (6)September 2, 193663Win54–9Don BaxterKO1 (6)August 31, 193662Win53–9Al FrankcoKO2 (6)August 29, 193661Win52–9Cecil MyartPTS6August 25, 193660Win51–9Nails GormanTKO3 (6)August 24, 193659Win50–9Bob WilliamsKO1 (6), July 24, 193658Win49–9Cecil SmithPTS4July 17, 193657Win48–9Junior MunsellKO5 (6), July 16, 193656Win47–9James MerriottKO2 (6)July 13, 193655Win46–9Buck RogersKO3 (6)July 2, 193654Win45–9Wilson DunnTKO3 (6)June 24, 193653Win44–9George BrownTKO4 (6)June 23, 193652Win43–9Harold MurphyPTS6June 19, 193651Win42–9Bob FraserTKO2 (6)June 17, 193650Win41–9Tony SouzaPTS6June 15, 193649Loss40–9Joe LouisKO4 (15), September 24, 193548Loss40–8James J. BraddockUD15June 13, 193547Win40–7Primo CarneraTKO11 (15), June 14, 193446Win39–7Max SchmelingTKO10 (15), June 8, 193345Win38–7Tuffy GriffithsTKO7 (10), September 26, 193244Win37–7Ernie SchaafMD (Majority decision)10August 31, 193243Win36–7King LevinskyPTS20July 4, 193242Win35–7Walter CobbTKO4 (10)May 11, 193241Win34–7Paul SwiderskiTKO6 (10)April 26, 193240Win33–7Tom HeeneyPTS10February 22, 193239Win32–7King LevinskyUD10January 29, 193238Win31–7Arthur De KuhPTS10December 30, 193137Win30–7Les KennedyKO3 (10)November 23, 193136Win29–7Johnny RiskoPTS10November 9, 193135Win28–7Santa CamarãoKO10 (10)October 21, 193134Win27–7Jack Van NoyTKO8 (10)September 23, 193133Loss26–7Paulino UzcudunPTS20July 4, 193132Loss26–6Johnny RiskoUD10May 5, 193131Win26–5Ernie OwensKO2 (10)April 7, 193130Loss25–5Tommy LoughranUD10February 6, 193129Win25–4Tom HeeneyKO3 (10)January 16, 193128Loss24–4Ernie SchaafUD (Unanimous decision)10December 19, 193027Win24–3Frankie CampbellTKO5 (10)August 25, 193026Win23–3KO ChristnerKO2 (10)August 11, 193025Loss22–3Les KennedyPTS10July 15, 193024Win22–2Ernie OwensKO5 (10)June 25, 193023Win21–2Buck WeaverKO1 (10)June 11, 193022Win20–2Jack LinkhornKO1 (10)May 28, 193021Win19–2Tom TonerTKO6 (10)May 7, 193020Win18–2Ernie OwensPTS10April 22, 193019Win17–2Jack StewartKO2 (10)April 9, 193018Win16–2Tiny AbbottKO6 (10)January 29, 193017Loss15–2Tiny AbbottDQ3 (10)January 15, 193016Win15–1Tony FuenteKO1 (10)December 30, 192915Win14–1Chet ShandelKO2 (10)December 4, 192914Win13–1Tillie TavernaKO2 (10)November 20, 192913Win12–1Natie BrownPTS6November 6, 192912Win11–1Alex RoweKO1 (6)October 30, 192911Win10–1Chief CaribouTKO1 (6)October 16, 192910Win9–1George CarrollTKO1 (6)October 2, 19299Win8–1Frank RudzenskiKO3 (6)September 25, 19298Loss7–1Jack McCarthyDQ (Disqualification)3 (6)September 4, 19297Win7–0Al Red LedfordKO2 (6)August 8, 19296Win6–0Benny HillPTS4July 31, 19295Win5–0Benny HillPTS (Points decision)4July 24, 19294Win4–0Al Red LedfordKO1 (4), July 18, 19293Win3–0Tillie TavernaKO (Knockout)1 (4), July 4, 19292Win2–0Sailor LeedsTKO (Technical knockout)1 (4), June 6, 19291Win1–0Chief CaribouTKO (Technical knockout)2 (4)May 16, 1929

Record with the inclusion of newspaper decisions in the win/loss/draw column. No. (Number)ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes81Loss68–13Lou NovaTKO8 (10), Apr 4, 194180Win68–12Pat ComiskeyTKO1 (10), Sep 26, 194079Win67–12Tony GalentoRTD (Referee technical decision)7 (15)Jul 2, 194078Win66–12KO2 (10), Sep 18, 193977Win65–12Big Ed MurphyKO1 (4), Sep 4, 193976Loss64–12Lou NovaTKO11 (12), Jun 1, 193975Win64–11Hank HankinsonKO1 (10), Oct 26, 193874Win63–11Tommy FarrUD15Mar 11, 193873Win62–11Ben FoordTKO9 (10)May 27, 193772Loss61–11Tommy FarrPTS12Apr 15, 193771Win61–10Dutch WeimerKO2 (10), Oct 19, 193670Loss60–10Willie DaviesPTS6Oct 8, 193669Win60–9Tim CharlesKO4 (6)Oct 6, 193668Win59–9Andy MillerNWS6Sep 21, 193667Win58–9Bearcat WrightNWS (Newspaper decision)6Sep 14, 193666Win57–9Cowboy Sammy EvansKO3 (6)Sep 7, 193665Win56–9Cyclone LynchKO3 (6)Sep 4, 193664Win55–9Al GaynorKO1 (6)Sep 2, 193663Win54–9Don BaxterKO1 (6)Aug 31, 193662Win53–9Al FrankcoKO2 (6)Aug 29, 193661Win52–9Cecil MyartPTS6Aug 25, 193660Win51–9Nails GormanTKO3 (6)Aug 24, 193659Win50–9Bob WilliamsKO1 (6), Jul 24, 193658Win49–9Cecil SmithPTS4Jul 17, 193657Win48–9Junior MunsellKO5 (6), Jul 16, 193656Win47–9James MerriottKO2 (6)Jul 13, 193655Win46–9Buck RogersKO3 (6)Jul 2, 193654Win45–9Wilson DunnTKO3 (6)Jun 24, 193653Win44–9George BrownTKO4 (6)Jun 23, 193652Win43–9Harold MurphyPTS6Jun 19, 193651Win42–9Bob FraserTKO2 (6)Jun 17, 193650Win41–9Tony SouzaPTS6Jun 15, 193649Loss40–9Joe LouisKO4 (15), Sep 24, 193548Loss40–8James J. BraddockUD15Jun 13, 193547Win40–7Primo CarneraTKO11 (15), Jun 14, 193446Win39–7Max SchmelingTKO10 (15), Jun 8, 193345Win38–7Tuffy GriffithsTKO7 (10), Sep 26, 193244Win37–7Ernie SchaafMD (Majority decision)10Aug 31, 193243Win36–7King LevinskyPTS20Jul 4, 193242Win35–7Walter CobbTKO4 (10)May 11, 193241Win34–7Paul SwiderskiTKO6 (10)Apr 26, 193240Win33–7Tom HeeneyPTS10Feb 22, 193239Win32–7King LevinskyUD10Jan 29, 193238Win31–7Arthur De KuhPTS10Dec 30, 193137Win30–7Les KennedyKO3 (10)Nov 23, 193136Win29–7Johnny RiskoPTS10Nov 9, 193135Win28–7Santa CamarãoKO10 (10)Oct 21, 193134Win27–7Jack Van NoyTKO8 (10)Sep 23, 193133Loss26–7Paulino UzcudunPTS20Jul 4, 193132Loss26–6Johnny RiskoUD10May 5, 193131Win26–5Ernie OwensKO2 (10)Apr 7, 193130Loss25–5Tommy LoughranUD10Feb 6, 193129Win25–4Tom HeeneyKO3 (10)Jan 16, 193128Loss24–4Ernie SchaafUD (Unanimous decision)10Dec 19, 193027Win24–3Frankie CampbellTKO5 (10)Aug 25, 193026Win23–3KO ChristnerKO2 (10)Aug 11, 193025Loss22–3Les KennedyPTS10Jul 15, 193024Win22–2Ernie OwensKO5 (10)Jun 25, 193023Win21–2Buck WeaverKO1 (10)Jun 11, 193022Win20–2Jack LinkhornKO1 (10)May 28, 193021Win19–2Tom TonerTKO6 (10)May 7, 193020Win18–2Ernie OwensPTS10Apr 22, 193019Win17–2Jack StewartKO2 (10)Apr 9, 193018Win16–2Tiny AbbottKO6 (10)Jan 29, 193017Loss15–2Tiny AbbottDQ3 (10)Jan 15, 193016Win15–1Tony FuenteKO1 (10)Dec 30, 192915Win14–1Chet ShandelKO2 (10)Dec 4, 192914Win13–1Tillie TavernaKO2 (10)Nov 20, 192913Win12–1Natie BrownPTS6Nov 6, 192912Win11–1Alex RoweKO1 (6)Oct 30, 192911Win10–1Chief CaribouTKO1 (6)Oct 16, 192910Win9–1George CarrollTKO1 (6)Oct 2, 19299Win8–1Frank RudzenskiKO3 (6)Sep 25, 19298Loss7–1Jack McCarthyDQ (Disqualification)3 (6)Sep 4, 19297Win7–0Al Red LedfordKO2 (6)Aug 8, 19296Win6–0Benny HillPTS4Jul 31, 19295Win5–0Benny HillPTS (Points decision)4Jul 24, 19294Win4–0Al Red LedfordKO1 (4), Jul 18, 19293Win3–0Tillie TavernaKO (Knockout)1 (4), Jul 4, 19292Win2–0Sailor LeedsTKO (Technical knockout)1 (4), Jun 6, 19291Win1–0Chief CaribouTKO (Technical knockout)2 (4)May 16, 1929

Los Angeles Times, March 30, 1934, pg. 12, Germany Bans Film of Baer
Los Angeles Times Magazine, Mad Max, J. R. Moehringer (Times Staff Writer), January 7, 2007
Sussman, Jeffrey. 2016. Max Baer and Barney Ross: Jewish Heroes of Boxing. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.