Schaap, Jeremy 1969–

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Schaap, Jeremy 1969–

PERSONAL: Born 1969, in New York, NY; son of Dick Schaap (a journalist, radio broadcaster, and television broadcaster).

ADDRESSES: Office—ESPN Radio, ESPN Plaza, Bristol, CT 06010.

CAREER: Journalist, radio broadcaster, and television broadcaster. Entertainment & Sports Network (ESPN), New York, NY, national correspondent, 1998–, radio host of Classic Sports Reporters and The Sporting Life, television host, Outside the Lines and The Sports Reporters.

WRITINGS:

Cinderella Man: James J. Braddock, Max Baer, and the Greatest Upset in Boxing History, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 2005.

Contributor of articles to Sports Illustrated, ESPN: The Magazine, Time, Parade, and New York Times.

SIDELIGHTS: In his book Cinderella Man: James J. Braddock, Max Baer, and the Greatest Upset in Boxing History, Jeremy Schaap tells the story of Braddock, a mediocre boxer working during the Great Depression who beat Max Baer for the heavyweight championship in 1935. "This is one of those guys that history kind of forgot," Schaap told Mediaweek contributor Anne Torpey-Kemph. In his book, Schaap looks at the careers of both Baer and Braddock leading up to the big fight. He recounts how a fighter that died as the result of a deadly right-hand punch from Baer catapulted the boxer into the limelight. But Baer, according to the author, never really cared for boxing and devoted little time to physically training for the sport. Instead, the brash fighter focused on having a good time, which included dating beautiful Hollywood starlets and others. Braddock on the other hand, was the classic, quiet underdog who was dedicated to training. Braddock had given up boxing due to a broken hand that led to several follow-up defeats. He ended up working on the docks of Hoboken, New Jersey, and sometimes collecting government checks to survive. He eventually returned to the ring at the urging of his manager Joe Gould, and within twelve months, Braddock, a ten-to-one underdog to Baer, would stun the boxing world.

A Publishers Weekly contributor noted that Schaap "goes into captivating detail on the brawny, reserved Braddock." The reviewer added, "Not overly emotional, the story hits a nerve at just the right moments." As an Economist reviewer commented, "Professional boxing is sometimes a renowned noble art, and sometimes just a brutal, dirty business. In this ringside history, a classic of its kind, Jeremy Schaap throws both aspects of the fight game in sharp relief with a dramatic yet intelligent account." Jim Burns, writing in the Library Journal, remarked that the author "skillfully steers the men on their collision course toward a meeting that could have been conceived in Hollywood."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Advertising Age, May 30, 2005, James Brady, review of Cinderella Man: James J. Braddock, Max Baer, and the Greatest Upset in Boxing History, p. 46.

Economist (U.S.), May 7, 2005, review of Cinderella Man, p. 80.

Entertainment Weekly, June 10, 2005, Gilbert Cruz, "The Book on Braddock: Author Jeremy Schaap Tells a Different Story of Cinderella Man," p. 38.

Library Journal, May 15, 2005, Jim Burns, review of Cinderella Man, p. 125.

Publishers Weekly, April 11, 2005, review of Cinderella Man, p. 42.