Frederick Ernest Schaaf (September 27, 1908 – February 14, 1933) was a professional

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

who was a

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

contender in the 1930s but died after a bout.

Career

Schaaf weighed in his prime which was average in that era. In the 1930s he went 2 wins, 1 loss with

Tommy Loughran Thomas Patrick Loughran (November 29, 1902 – July 7, 1982) was an American professional boxer and the former World Light Heavyweight Champion. Statistical boxing website BoxRec lists Loughran as the #7 ranked light heavyweight of all time ...

, easily outpointed two future heavyweight world champions in

Max Baer Max Baer may refer to: * Max Baer (boxer) (1909–1959), American boxing world champion ** Max Baer Jr. Maximilian Adelbert Baer Jr. (born December 4, 1937) is an American actor, producer, comedian, and director widely known for his role as ...

in their first fight in 1930 and

James J. Braddock James Walter Braddock (June 7, 1905 – November 29, 1974) was an American boxer who was the world heavyweight champion from 1935 to 1937. Fighting under the name James J. Braddock (ostensibly to follow the pattern set by two prior world boxing ...

in 1931. He also outpointed future title challengers

Young Stribling William Lawrence Stribling Jr. (December 26, 1904 – October 3, 1933), known as Young Stribling, was an American professional boxer who fought from Featherweight to Heavyweight from 1921 until 1933. He was the elder brother of fellow boxer Her ...

and

Tony Galento Domenico Antonio Galento (March 12, 1910 – July 22, 1979) was an American heavyweight boxer. Nicknamed "Two Ton" for his reasoning to his manager for being nearly late to one of his fights: "I had two tons of ice to deliver on my way here". ...

in 1932. During a second fight with Baer, on 31 August 1932, Schaaf suffered a severe beating and knockout in the final round, hitting the mat two seconds before the final bell, which saved him from an official knockout – Baer won on points. It took several minutes for Schaaf to be revived. Schaaf complained of headaches thereafter, and some observers believe that he suffered brain damage. Six months later, on 10 February 1933, Schaaf fought the huge (more than )

Primo Carnera Primo may refer to: People *DJ Premier (born 1966), hip-hop producer, sometimes goes by nickname Primo * Primo Carnera (1906–1967), Italian boxer, World Heavyweight champion 1933–1934 *Primo Cassarino (born 1956), enforcer for the Gambino cr ...

, and suffered a knockout loss in the 13th round of 15. He fell into a coma, and was rushed to the hospital to undergo surgery. He died on

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...

. An autopsy revealed that Schaaf had

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...

, a swelling of the brain, and he was still recovering from a severe case of

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...

when he entered the ring with Carnera.

Record

Schaaf has an official record of 55–13–2 with 1 no contest and 4 no decisions, but the no-decision bouts are due to the scoring practices of the era. Newspaper reports indicate that he won 3 of those, and lost one.

Professional boxing record

All information in this section is derived from

BoxRec BoxRec or boxrec.com is a website dedicated to holding updated records of professional and amateur boxers, both male and female. It also maintains a MediaWiki-based encyclopaedia of boxing. The objective of the site is to document every profess ...

, unless otherwise stated.

Official record

All

newspaper decision A newspaper decision was a type of decision in professional boxing. It was rendered by a consensus of sportswriters attending a bout after it had ended inconclusively with a "no decision", as many regions had not adopted the National Sporting Club o ...

s are officially regarded as “no decision” bouts and are not counted to the win/loss/draw column.

Unofficial record

Record with the inclusion of

s to the win/loss/draw column.

References

External links

*
Fallen & Forgotten: The Ernie Schaaf Story
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schaaf, Ernie 1908 births 1933 deaths Deaths due to injuries sustained in boxing Boxers from New Jersey Sportspeople from Elizabeth, New Jersey Sports deaths in New York (state) American male boxers Heavyweight boxers