Mulcahey

Forgotten Champions: Max Baer
By Marty Mulcahey (April 11, 2005)

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A ring death showed Max Baer how precious life is, and that life should be experienced to the fullest possible extent. The problem with Baer's epiphany was that enjoying life at a maximum pace prevented him from becoming an all-time great heavyweight champion since Baer refused to take his craft, or anything else for that matter, seriously.

Baer even joked at death's door. As he was in the midst of a life ending heart attack, he called the hotel operator, telling the young lady he was having a heart attack. The operator asked Baer if he wanted her to call for the hotel doctor. Baer replied, "No! I want a people doctor."

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Baer is one of the ring's great 'Could have beens', with his physical skills dulled by long nights spent in nightclubs around America instead of gyms. Baer disdained training, and only did so sporadically under the eyes of his not so strict trainer Mike Cantwell – a personality trait Baer would take full advantage of as his career evolved. A shame really, since Baer was the most magnetic heavyweight boxing had seen since the retirement of Jack Dempsey. Instead of training, Baer hung out with friends like Al Jolson. He found new friends every night, telling jokes over drinks and flirting with the ladies. There are more pictures of Baer circulating with a pretty woman and a drink, than in a ring. Baer had too much fun to be great. But what should someone do when his skills lead him to a career that is not in line with his personality?

Baer was as exciting a heavyweight as you would wish to see - a huge puncher whose priority lay on the offensive side. Baer openly acknowledged his flaws, "My chin is as wide open as the Sahara desert. But so what? Nobody is tapping it. They are not conscious long enough to do that." Famed boxing writer Ed Schuyler ranked Baer at number six for his list of most exciting heavyweights, writing "Thirty years before Ali brought showmanship to boxing there was Baer, who fought hard and lived harder." A key for Baer was an exceedingly long reach that measured 81 inches (only matched by the mammoth Primo Carnera in his time), and a straight right hand which might well be the most powerful the heavyweight division has ever seen.

Baer's right hand was often of the looping variety, but when it landed the fight was seconds from ending. A 1993 Boxing Illustrated ranking of the hardest pound for pound punchers of all-time listed Baer at number two, only behind the freakishly powerful Jimmy Wilde. In 2004, The Ring magazine rated the best 100 punchers of all-time, and Baer came in at a respectable #22. The Ring commented "When he was in the mood to hurt a guy he was relentless. But a lot of the time he was happy enough to swap punches, have some laughs, collect his purse, then hit the clubs." On defense Baer was never great, but did manage to pick off many punches with his thick forearms. Like many punchers, Baer battled persistent hand problems, and like many punchers he sold out arenas at the mere mention that he would appear on a card.

Maximillian Adelbert Baer was born in Omaha, Nebraska on February 11, 1909, to German immigrant Jacob Baer. His father was a cattle dealer for Swift & Company who came to America with his French born wife in the late 1800’s. When Max (his brother Buddy Baer was a heavyweight prospect as well) was four, the family moved to Durango, Colorado for a couple years before settling down in Livermore, California when Max was nine years old.

Max attended one year of high school, where he did well as a football player and competed in discus, javelin and shotput events. At age 16, Max left school to work on his
father’s ranch, and was already six feet tall and 190 pounds. The physical labor enabled his body to fill out handsomely. During his prime, Baer stood six foot two, and weighed 210 pounds. With broad shoulders and wavy jet black hair he had the look of a movie star and the physical prowess of an Olympian. Sports writers of the time referred to him as "Radiantly handsome, his body a sculptured masterpiece of solid muscle."

Two stories circulate as to how Baer came to boxing. One has Baer taking up boxing after having to defend the honor of a girl he was dating from a rude comment of a cowboy. The second has Baer being discovered by Ham Lorimer, the son of a rich industrialist who was enamored with boxing, as Baer was picking up iron rods with ease at an iron factory. After talking with Baer, he sent him to Harry Fine's gym in Oakland where Baer showed a natural aptitude for boxing. The second seems more plausible, since Lorimer was awarded a $55,000 breach of contract settlement two years into Baer's career.

Lorimer knew he did not have the boxing savvy to take Baer to a world title, and found management help in the form of shrewd businessman Ancil Hoffman (who made his fortune in the avocado business), who quickly dubbed his new charge the "Livermore Larruper". Hoffman had a love hate relationship with Baer, as he was continually frustrated by Baer's lack of discipline. He described Baer after the Braddock embarrassment: "Max is the most emotional athlete I ever saw. He breaks into tears over trivialities. But in a fight he 'wants' to win, he works himself into a terror! A wild man."

In 1929, Baer turned pro with a two round kayo of Chief Caribou. Baer said he sang at the top of his lungs in the dressing room so his opponent would not hear his teeth chatter from fear. His opponent’s name sets a proper course for Baer's fun filled career. Baer knocked Chief down four times in the first round, and halted him in the second. After the win his nerves settled, and Baer became confident, if not arrogant, in his skills. By Baer's ninth fight, he was earning thousand dollar purses because of his popularity.

By his fourth fight, writers were paying attention to the big, hard punching heavyweight; "He can hit and absorb punishment and with a little seasoning, he should go far". Two fights after that declaration, Baer had his first setback when he was disqualified against Jack McCarthy. The Hayward Review wrote, "McCarthy draped on the ropes, didn't want to fight any more. Baer stepped aside and motioned him to come out. McCarthy refused the invitation. Thereupon, Max grabbed him around the waist and threw him forcefully to the floor." A second disqualification loss to undefeated Tiny Abbott was erased with a stoppage win over Abbott two weeks later.

Baer's first real test was against 52-14-19 Ernie Owens at The Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. Baer was 17-2, having won all but three fights via knockout. Baer won the fight on points over ten rounds, and duplicated the win via KO two months later. Baer was on his way to beating every heavyweight of worth on the West Coast. He did suffer
one setback a month after the Owens wins, losing to Les Kennedy on points, but he avenged the loss by third round kayo a year later. The only threat to Baer's dominance on the West Coast was Frankie Campbell, who had scored 14 consecutive knockouts over the last two years, including one over Baer conqueror Les Kennedy. They were matched in August of 1930 at San Francisco's Recreation Park.

Promoter Jack Kearns and former heavyweight greats Jim Jeffries and Jack Dempsey traveled to San Francisco to evaluate the two talents. As 15,000 fans watched Baer pummel Campbell, none could know that several hours later Campbell would be dead from injuries sustained in the fight. Campbell was known for his body work, and went to work on Baer's body early and often. But things quickly went wrong for Campbell. He was knocked down in the first round by a hard blow in the back of the head while crouching low and leaning forward to deliver a jab to the belly. Campbell got up and boxed his way to the bell behind glassy eyes.

In the second, Campbell delivered a punch and tripped an off balance Baer at the same time. Believing he had scored a knockdown, Campbell turned his back and walked to a neutral corner. The referee had not scored the blow as a knockdown, and Baer quickly charged after Campbell (there was no mandatory eight count in those days anyhow) landing a hard blow just behind the ear of Campbell's relaxed head. Campbell was hurt, but managed to stay on his feet and hold after receiving two more blows to the head. Campbell survived, but told his cornermen between rounds that it felt like something had "snapped" in the back of his head.

Baer walked through the smaller Campbell for the rest of the fight, scoring solidly while Campbell persisted with his body attack. Baer trapped Campbell along the ropes in the fifth and stopped him with a left hook followed by a series of accurate combinations. Some reports have Baer landing 20 solid blows as Campbell's body was pinned against the ropes unable to sag to the canvas. It was obvious that Campbell was badly hurt, and a medical crew worked on him for 30 minutes before transferring him to Mission hospital. Campbell died in the hospital as Max Baer waited outside the room with Campbell's wife. Baer said he only found solace in the words of Campbell's wife that day, "It's all right. It might have been you. It wasn't your fault."

Baer was charged with manslaughter by the San Francisco court system, and had to post a $10,000 bail. The city prosecutor dropped the charges before it could ever go to court when it was made clear to him that he had no chance of winning the case. Sportswriter Le Pacini succinctly evaluated the situation, "As for Baer, the 'killer' in him was replaced by the 'clown', and what might have been boxing's most vicious puncher lost that spark." In a moment of reflection, Baer stated, "I ask you not to forget the other man, the man they call 'murderer'. He needs your prayers too."

Baer was still suffering mental aftershocks from the Campbell bout when his management foolishly rushed him back into the ring. Only four months had passed, and Baer was put in against Ernie Schaaf at Madison Square Garden. It was a bad New York debut. The New York Times reported how 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". Even with the loss, Baer had made his mark in 1930 and made his first entry into The Ring’s annual boxing ratings at number 10. He would quickly fall out when he lost four fights within a year of the Campbell tragedy. The death of Campbell had obviously taken it's toll on Baer.

In January of 1931, Baer scored a good knockout win over Tom Heeney, but it was nullified by a one-sided loss to master boxer Tommy Loughran. Baer couldn’t do anything against Loughran, whose educated left jab kept Baer from setting up his right hand assaults while Loughran's feet danced circles around the awkward lunges of Baer. It would not be the last time a great left jab would cause Baer problems. In the next two months, Baer lost to Johnny Risko and Paolino Uzcudun in succession. While the loss to Uzcudun was bad, it had the pleasurable effect of landing Jack Dempsey squarely in Baer's corner for the rest of his career. Dempsey said he was an admirer of Baer for his willingness to soak up punishment while trying to beat Uzcudun. Dempsey was also the promoter of that fight, and rightfully awarded the fight to Paolino. The ringside temperature reached 110 degrees, and the corner of Uzcudun taped the soles of his shoes and poured water on his feet after every round because of the heat emanating from the canvas.

In 1932, Baer turned the corner mentally after the loss to Uzcudun, going on a fifteen fight winning streak that would lead him to a world championship. Tom Heeney lost a rematch with Baer, King Levinsky was twice defeated, and Ernie Schaaf was also conquered in a rematch. So brutal was the beating of Schaaf that ring historians agree it was Baer's fists that caused Schaaf to die of head injuries six months later, even though a slapping punch from Primo Carnera was the last Schaaf would absorb. Witnesses say they had never seen a boxer take a more frightful pasting, even though Schaaf managed to finish on his feet against Baer.

In 1933, Baer only fought once, but it was undoubtedly the best performance of his career. For the first time ever, Baer took training seriously, and 53,000 New Yorkers were awed by the results of Baer's diligence. Baer was a 3-1 underdog, but comprehensively took Max Schmeling apart over ten one sided rounds. This was a battle
between two of the best right hands the division had ever seen. Boxing writer John Dimambro noted, "Baer stepped into the ring, he arrogantly threw his head back and slowly rolled the muscles in his neck which glistened with sweat. His eyes seemed to be on fire as he stared at Schmeling." As the end drew near, Baer asked referee Arthur Donovan to step in, not wanting a repeat of the Campbell fiasco. Donovan did step in minutes later after Schmeling took a nine count from a big right hand. Famed boxing
writer Hype Igoe wrote of Baer's skills on that night as, "not seen since the best days of Jack Dempsey." Baer would never look as good again. On a side note, a politically motivated Baer wore the Star of David on his trunks (Baer's grandfather was Jewish) for the first time, and did so for every fight after.

The Schmeling win landed Baer on the May cover of The Ring, his first appearance there, hyping Baer's challenge of champion Primo Carnera. At the pre-fight weigh in, Baer was his comedic best, picking chest hairs from Carnera's massive frame saying "He loves me. He loves me not." It would be the only time anyone was laughing, as the fight turned into a massacre of horrendous proportions. 52,268 fans watched the brave Carnera pull himself off the canvas eleven times to accept further punishment. The poor Italian (who had been elevated to champion, unbeknownst to him, by the mafia through dives and payoffs) really thought he was unbeatable. It was a sickening sight to see the fear filled eyes of Carnera as Baer tore into him. It became a clumsy bout with both men falling to the canvas as Carnera wrapped his huge arms and torso around Baer, helplessly clinging on to Baer to prevent further punishment. At one point, as the men were getting
off the canvas, Baer could be heard joking to Carnera, "Last one up is a sissy." The knockdowns had started in the first round, and Carnera was still on his feet (even though he broke an ankle during one of the knockdowns) when the bout was mercifully stopped a minute into the eleventh round.

The clown prince of boxing had becomes its king. For a brief time, the boxing world seemed perfect with a young, heavy fisted, popular, and good looking champion at its helm. Still only 24, the future looked bright for Baer. Many thought this would be the start of a long and fun filled reign, but the two are opposing entities. Instead of training for his next fight, Baer starred in a movie. It was aptly titled 'The Prizefighter and The Lady', for which Baer got good reviews on his acting. Baer also had a radio show where he played a detective. Instead of fighting regularly (Baer's management reportedly turned down $300,000 to rematch Schmeling in Europe), Baer fought exhibitions in places like Des Moines, Kansas City, Flint, Boston, Tampa Bay, Miami, Cleveland, and Kalamazoo. Baer was working hard at living up to his nickname of "Madcap Maxie".

When Baer did return to the ring, it was not surprising that he did not take his opponent seriously. It made for a short title reign, with Baer losing to Jim Braddock in his first defense. The fight would unfortunately define Baer. Braddock had strung together good victories over Corn Griffin, John Henry Lewis, and Art Lasky to earn a title shot, but was still a heavy underdog at 10-1. From round one Baer clowned, patting his chest and giving an overacting grimace whenever Braddock touched him. Baer looked into the crowd to wink to friends, more often than looking into his opponent's eyes.

The template for the fight was set in the opening moments of the second round. Baer threw a murderous right hand, Braddock ducked it and fired a quick combination that landed before pivoting out to safety. So it went for the next 13 rounds, with Braddock circling left to avoid Baer's big right hand. Braddock's legendary trainer, Whitey Bimstein, instructed his charge between rounds to pile up the points using his jab and occasional right hand, as Tommy Loughran had, so the judges could appreciate his offense - which they must have since punches of any kind were few and far between, giving credence to the claim that Baer broke his right hand early in the bout. The fight
ranks as one of the most unexciting title fights of all time. For the last three rounds Baer followed Braddock around the ring trying to land a desperation punch. Baer even laughed openly in the ring at his inability to catch up with Braddock. The final scorecards read 11-4, 9-5-1, and 7-7-1 for Braddock.

After he lost his title Baer was not upset or disappointed, telling a radio reporter he was happy for Braddock because he was a family man. Baer also caused a controversy by stating afterwards that, "He (Braddock) has five kids...I don't know how many I have,"
which was unheard of in those more morally correct times, where being sexually frank was not in vogue. In the end, Baer got one thing right, "I was so busy clowning that I guess I forgot to fight." After the fight, Baer's relationship with manager Ancil Hoffman suffered, and they were never close again. Baer's image suffered with the public as well, as they were fed up with Baer's inability to take anything seriously. The heavyweight crown was nearly sacred back then, and Baer had practically given it away.

The Braddock loss was followed by a humiliating defeat to young sensation Joe Louis three months later. Baer only took the fight because it represented the largest purse of his career at $215,000. In the locker room, Baer was nervous and asked Jack Dempsey to call off the fight, saying that he was having chest pains. Dempsey could not let Baer walk away with a million dollar gate on hand. It looked like things would turn out O.K. for Baer when he hit Louis with an excellent left right combination in the opening minute. Baer looked shocked when Louis retaliated with his own combination that shook him and forced Baer into the corner, where Louis almost stopped him. Between rounds, Jack Dempsey told Baer, "You are doing great kid. He hasn't hit you." The quick witted Baer replied, "Then you better keep an eye on the referee because somebody in there is beating the hell out of me."

88,150 fans watched Baer suffer the first knockdown of his career in the third round, but he got up, only to be floored by two left hooks before the bell saved him from Louis. Nothing could save Baer in round four, when Baer was counted out on his knees. It looked as if Baer could get up, but even in his worst defeat Baer found humor. When asked why he did not get up again, "The fans paid to see a fight, not a murder." Baer was only 26, but his career was already over.

After the Louis loss, Baer began to barnstorm America, beating twenty three opponents in twenty three cities over a four month period. Baer's best post Louis wins were a one round destruction of prospect Pat Comiskey, and a win over Tony Galento (The Marquis of Queensbury rules were thrown out for the Galento bout, dubbed by fans of the time as 'The battle of the bums"). During the Comiskey bout, Baer wanted the referee to stop the fight, asking, "Well what else do you want me to do to him?"

Baer traveled to England as well, facing fancy boxing Tommy Farr. Baer staged a late rally behind a left eye that was swollen shut, to make it a close loss. Baer lost twice to Lou Nova as well. The New York Times described Baer's suffering in the first Nova fight: "The left side of his face battered out of shape after ten rounds of the most excruciating fighting he had ever undergone, Baer was bleeding so severely from a severe laceration of the lower lip he could hardly breathe".

Baer retired at age 32, and went into the Air Force at the start of World War II. After returning to civilian life Baer naturally opened his own nightclub. He also acted in several slapstick westerns, such as "Skipalong Cassidy" with fellow boxer-actor Maxie Rosenbloom. The duo was soon crisscrossing the country as a successful comedy team, appearing in nightclubs. Baer also dabbled in the used car business.

Baer was lucky to find love when he met Mary Ellen Sullivan (a nurse who worked in Buffalo), whom he married and stayed devoted to until his death. One of his three sons, Max Baer, Jr., found fame laying the role of Jethro Bodine on the television series "The Beverly Hillbillies."

During the 1950's, Baer grew large with his consumption of fun, food and alcohol. He tried to return to boxing through refereeing, often blowing kisses to the crowd and upstaging the boxers in the ring through his charm. He would die at age 50 in 1959. Famed writer Jimmy Cannon eulogized Baer best, "Baer was shaped to be a great pug, but his heart did not belong in that immense and thrilling body. It was a clown's heart. A heart that must have been hurt by terror and fear in the years Baer was forced to pretend he was a fighter. I'm positive Baer disliked punching another man."