Talk:Max Baer (boxer)

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Max Baer should not be linked to Nationalities, German as he was American born in Omaha, Nebraska Feb. 11, 1909.

From looking at the diffs: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Max_Baer&diff=0&oldid=14596395 I can see that some anonymous soul has added inflamatory heresay which tends to support Ron Howard's new film rather than giving anything factually supported. Ron Howard, is that you?  :P

he should be in the German-American area not the German area.

True enough, Max only killed one fighter. Ron, stop exagerating, the movie is far from the truth.

I am disappointed that someone would so drastically lie and dehumanize someone like this. If I were related to Max I would definetly make it a public issue. When I saw the movie I loved it, but now that I know it was a total lie...it hurts..James J. Braddock is still my hero, but I am going to make sure I clear Max's name to everyone I know. Ron should be ashamed..James was good enough without the lies. I hope no one turns agianst him because of the Ron Howard bull.

SM: Violette Aimez

A sensitive jolly butcher? Perhaps inspiration for the slug the carcass scenes in Stallone's films. Metarhyme 22:10, 25 April 2006 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Pic

There is a pic in the Winkler collection, but who has the copyright is unknown. Since a condition for use is to agree to indemnify Notre Dame in case of litigation, the picture can't be used. Reason: an agreement for use would have to be obtained from the copyright owner, which (for starters) would require doing what the Department of Special Collections of the University Libraries of Notre Dame has not, which is finding out who the copyright owner is. Metarhyme 22:10, 25 April 2006 (UTC)


[edit] His Parents' Religion

It's not entirely clear to me what were the religions of Baer's parents. Note these three passages from the article:
" . . . the son of German immigrant Jacob Baer (1875-1938), who had a Jewish father and a Lutheran mother, and Dora Bales (1877-1938)."
" . . . and Baer had a Jewish father, he became a hero to the Jewish people . . . "
" . . . although he was raised Catholic (his mother's faith)."

Was his father (Jacob) half-Jewish and half-Protestant, and was his mother (Dora) Catholic? And if Max Baer's father, Jacob, had a Jewish father and a Protestant mother, he would not have been Jewish in the eyes of practicing Jews since Judaism is matralineal. So, the second passage above would be incorrect.

[Yes, I know that a person with only a Jewish father might consider himself Jewish despite the restrictions of Jewish law. And yes, I know that many people considered Baer to be "Jewish" or his father to be "Jewish," despite the facts.]

Poldy Bloom 04:33, 29 May 2006 (UTC)


I've been researching every aspect of Max Baer's life for the last 12 months. You can visit my website, http://www.maxbaer.org to read what I've written so far. I am also a genealogist and have spoken with a Baer family genealogist. From her research and my own, I can state unequivocally:

Max was half Jewish from his paternal line. Max's grandfather Achille Baer, was an Alsatian Jew from France. The Baer family house and the synagogue that Achille's mother would have gone to still exist in Alsace. The Jewish section of a cemetery in one of the towns is full of Baer tombstones. Achille emigrated from France to Wyoming Territory about 1864. According to documented family records and family history, Achille's marriage to a lovely Jewess from Prague in Bohemia (now the Czech Republic), Frances "Fanny" Fischl, was arranged through a marriage broker. It is suspected by family members that the only way the couple could communicate would be in Yiddish, since both came from different countries with far different native tongues. Max's father, Jacob was born in 1875 in Michigan. Jacob married Dora Bales, an Iowa girl of Scots-Irish descent in about 1905 in Nebraska. Max's brother Jacob/Buddy stated that Jacob and Dora negligently raised their children in the Catholic faith, but allowed the children to practice whatever faith they chose.

Catherine Johnson 22:53. 24 August 2007 —Preceding unsigned comment added by Maxies Gal (talkcontribs) 05:53, August 25, 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Summary of minor rewrites to section: Professional boxing career

I located what appears to be an original quote from Max Baer Jr. in regards to how the Cinderella Man portrayed his father from the New York Daily News. This quote has been incorporated into the main article and I have done some editing to improve styling.

61.222.161.30 05:12, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Record

The records listed in the text (72-12) and the sidebar (71-13) do not agree. I changed the sidebar to match the international boxing hall of fame record of 72-12 (53 KO).

http://www.ibhof.com/baer.htm

[edit] Cinderella Man

I don't see the signifigance of this line: Perhaps more significantly, his depiction in Cinderella Man is much less hostile than the boxer Baer played in the movie The Harder They Fall, a role which was clearly based on himself. Why is the role clearly based on himself? And if it is, then what does that prove? Isolater 10:22, 29 January 2007 (UTC)


There is no significance to the statement and I plan to change/reference the truth. NO newspaper of the time that reviewed or discussed the movie ever stated that Max Baer was making a confession of sorts that he in fact thought he had a hand in Ernie Schaaf's death {Gus in the movie}. Max was playing a movie role, plain and simple. It wasn't until modern times that show business rags claimed his portrayal was a confession.

Catherine Johnson 22:57, 24 August, 2007

[edit] Star of David

Cinderella Man does show a Star of David on Baer's shorts, I came to this page to find out more about it.

[edit] Inconsistency?

As Poldy Bloom has already pointed out above, this article is inconsistent about Baer's ancestry. At the beginning of the article, it is stated that Baer was the son of a "Jewish German immigrant". Then, later on, it says that he had "a Jewish grandfather (on his father's side)". The latter statement would seem to imply that his father was only half-Jewish.
Which was it?
I mean, it's not of earth-shattering significance - but an encyclopedia should always try to get it absolutely right.
Flonto 21:46, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

I fixed it and referenced it. Let me know if my reference is not succinct enough.

Catherine Johnson 22:58, 24 August, 2007 —Preceding unsigned comment added by Maxies Gal (talkcontribs) 05:58, August 25, 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Nicknames

I originally added the dozen + nicknames to the site. They were deleted due to lack of source identification. I have the sources, but each instance would be, for example: "King of Kauliflowerdom" appeared in the Ogden Standard-Examiner on 4 August, 1933. Any suggestions how I should properly source the nicknames for inclusion on the page ? Another thought, would including the nicknames be too enticing to vandalism and simply best left out ?

Catherine Johnson 04:14, 28 August, 2007 Maxies Gal —Preceding unsigned comment added by Maxies Gal (talkcontribs) 23:15, August 28, 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Max Baer Heart Fund - FOE

Max Baer was a former heavyweight boxing champion and an active member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Known for his big heart and colorful sense of humor, Max was well loved by his fellow Eagles. When Max died of a heart attack in 1959, the Eagles created a charity fund as a tribute to his memory and as a means of combating the disease that killed him. The Max Baer Heart Fund’s primary purpose is to aid in heart research and education. Since the fund started in 1959, millions of dollars have been donated to universities, medical centers and hospitals across the United States and Canada for heart research and education. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.166.152.3 (talk) 14:32, 31 January 2008 (UTC)