Joe Gould (August 13, 1896 – April 21, 1950) was an American

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

manager best known for representing boxer James J. Braddock, dubbed "The Cinderella Man," who in 1935 upset Max Baer to become the world heavyweight champion. He also managed

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight boxe ...

contende
Ray Miller
from 1930–1933.

Career

Gould met then 20-year-old amateur boxer James Braddock at Joe Jeanette's gym in

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 ...

in 1925. With Gould as his manager, Braddock turned pro in 1926 and went 14-0-2 before losing his first fight. After a completely one-sided loss to defending Light Heavyweight champion

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 ...

in July 1929, Braddock's career fell into decline as he lost more than won. By 1933, unable to support his family as a boxer, Braddock worked as a

longshoreman A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes. After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number ...

and went on public assistance. Gould was instrumental in forging a phenomenal comeback for Braddock in June 1934 when

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 ...

was scheduled to defend his Heavyweight title against Max Baer. The promoters needed an opponent for up and coming John “Corn” Griffin on the

undercard In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

. Gould pleaded for Braddock to be inserted as Griffin's opponent stating that Braddock needed money just to put food on the table for his children. They agreed to pay him $250 for a 6-rounder against Griffin which Braddock won in 3 rounds. Five months later Braddock decisively won a rematch against

John Henry Lewis John Henry Lewis (May 1, 1914 – April 18, 1974) was a hall of fame American boxer who held the World Light Heavyweight Boxing Title from 1935 to 1938. ''The Ring'' boxing magazine named Lewis the 16th greatest light heavyweight of all-time. His ...

in 10 rounds followed by an easy 15-round decision against

Art Lasky Arthur Lakofsky (November 16, 1909 – April 2, 1980), also known as Art Lasky, was a heavyweight professional boxer from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Personal life Lasky was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota on November 8, 1908, and called Minneapoli ...

. Braddock was then slated to face Max Baer, the reigning heavyweight champion of the world. On June 13, 1935, at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylv ...

, the 10-to-1 underdog Braddock won the world heavyweight championship in one of the most stunning upsets in boxing history. On June 27, 1937, Braddock lost the title to Heavyweight contender

Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed the Brown Bomber, Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He re ...

. Seven months later, in the final fight of his career, he defeated

Tommy Farr Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

in Madison Square Garden.

Later life

Gould enlisted in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

in 1942, and became a first lieutenant. He was dismissed from the Army and sentenced to three years hard labor after a

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

in 1944 for conspiracy to accept bribes. Gould died from

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

on April 21, 1950.

Fictional portrayals

In the 2005 film ''

Cinderella Man ''Cinderella Man'' is a 2005 American biographical sports drama film directed by Ron Howard, titled after the nickname of world heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock and inspired by his life story. The film was produced by Howard, Penny ...

'', Gould is portrayed by actor

Paul Giamatti Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti (; born June 6, 1967) is an American actor and film producer. He first garnered attention for his breakout role in '' Private Parts'' as Kenny "Pig Vomit" Rushton, leading to supporting roles in ''Saving Private R ...

. The role earned him an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nomination for Best Supporting Actor.Complete list of Oscar winners, nominees 2005

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gould, Joe American boxing managers 1950 deaths Sportspeople from Hoboken, New Jersey Jewish American military personnel Deaths from leukemia 1896 births United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army officers United States Army personnel who were court-martialed Deaths from cancer in the United States 20th-century American Jews Military personnel from New Jersey