There's nothing more difficult for a heavyweight fighter then to hang up his gloves for the last time. Jimmy Braddock knew he was at the end of the road but how could the promoters let such a great man go out without one more chance?

Madison Square Garden would be the place for the event and the fighter who would give Jimmy his last professional career bout was a Welshman by the name of Tommy Farr. Tommy was a good fighter and he went into this match the favorite at 8 to 5. He figured this would give him the boost he needed for a shot at the world championship and if he won, he'd be right.

January, 21, 1938 was the date of the bout. When it was scheduled it created quite a row between Mae and James.

They were in the backyard talking. Something they did often after the kids went to bed. Mae sat on the big swing and she had herself crunched up in the corner. Her tiny hand was wrapped so tight around the chain that her knuckles were white.

"I thought this was over. I thought you were done after what happened with Joe Louis."

"Mae, honey, I can beat Farr."

"You said that about Louis, too. James, you got hurt. I can't look at you again with your face all busted up like that."

If there was ever pain on his face it showed now. His eyes carried every blow that ever met his flesh and his heart throbbed with anxiety. "Please, Mae. I have to give it one more chance. I need to fight at the Garden one more time."

She hated it; she hated the entire fight game and everything that went with it. Well, almost everything. It was her love for James that made her nod her head. "Okay, one more fight, just one more."

The stress left his face and he lowered his hand to hers. She let go of the chain and took his hand. In seconds flat she was in his arms and he held her tight. "Thank you, Mae. You don't know what this means to me."

"Jimmy, God knows I want you home with me, the kids want you home. I won't sleep until this is behind us."

He felt like he was between a rock and a hard place. Joe Gould was the rock and Mae was the hard place. It didn't feel right to Joe for Jimmy to end his career with a defeat in Chicago and it sure as hell didn't sit well with Jimmy Braddock but Mae didn't see it. To her he was one step closer to getting his head caved in just like some of Max Baer's opponents did. Dead before they hit the canvas. She was more afraid of losing him than she was of being on relief.

The day he left for the fight he found something with his gear. It fell to the floor when he picked up his gloves and he knew who put it there. It was a rabbit's foot charm that dangled on a chain and Mae had put it in his right hand glove for luck.

A couple hours later he stood alone in the dressing room. Jimmy's hands were taped and he shadow boxed to warm up. One incandescent bulb lit the room and he didn't see an aging boxer as his opponent, he saw a young fighter with more heart and soul than David before he went up against Goliath. For every right there was a block. For every jab and uppercut there was an exchange. What a real ripper. Pop, pop, bang! It was his anthem and he never forgot it. Silence was met with the grunts of a fighter who put every ounce of himself in his work but then there was an interruption. The sound of footsteps broke the revelry of the quiet bout, footsteps that were not associated with the sweet science of boxing.

"You feeling good, Braddock?"

James turned around to see an old man standing there. "Who's asking?"

"I'm a fan. My name is John Condon but my friends call me Jafsie. I was hoping you'd call me Jafsie, Mister Braddock."

"I figure if you want me to call you Jafsie, you better call me Jimmy. Ain't you the guy who got the letters in that trial." He was talking about the Lindburgh kidnapping trial. Jafsie was a major witness for the prosecution and a kind of a celebrity around New York in those days.

"I am. It was my little bit of fame that got me in here before the herd of reporters. I just wanted to bring something for you." Jafsie reached into his coat pocket and produced a hand painted horse shoe. "It's for luck, James. It was given to me by a fighter by the name of Bob Fitzsimmons way back in the day." He held the piece up for James to take.

"I could use all the luck I can get. Much obliged, Jafsie."

"My pleasure. How you calling this fight?"

"I'm gonna send dat bum back to Wales with a shiner or two."

Jafsie laughed pretty hard at Jimmy's statement. His raspy old voice filled the dressing room like nails on a chalkboard but it didn't rattle Jimmy Braddock. Nothing would rattle him ever again short of losing his family.

"That's what I wanted to hear, my boy. Give 'em all you got. I'll be watching and, hey, good luck." With that Jafsie left him alone again.

Soon enough the reporters would be there to get some pre-fight photos but this time alone gave him a chance to reflect on everything that had happened to him in the past decade or so. Nothing came easy for Jimmy Braddock. Nothing was ever handed to him on a silver platter. His blood sweat and tears were in every single dime that he ever held. As for this fight, he wasn't doing it for the money, he was doing it because it was time to sing his swan song.

Once the reporters left, James got his usual pep talk from Joe Gould.

"Dis guy's a bum, you know?"

"Yeah."

"You gonna beat him?"

"Maybe if you put dis horseshoe in my glove."

Joe gave him one of those sideways looks. "Where'd you get that piece of shit?"

"From Jafsie. He gave it to me for luck. I got dis, too." Jimmy raised his hand and the rabbit's foot dangled from his curled taped up fingers.

"You don't need that crap, Jimmy. You got heart and that's all you need."

"Yeah. I know, but Mae give me dis."

"For Christ's sake, I can understand you better when you got your teeth in. Let's get this over with so we can at least hold a decent conversation."

"Okay, Joe."

"You ready?"

"I'm ready."

18,000 fight fans filled the Garden to witness the bout on that chilly night. The crowd was on its feet when Jimmy Braddock slipped under the ropes. His blue robe swaged tight around his waist, Jimmy didn't wear the mask of anxiety he did when he stepped into the ring with Max Baer. He was relaxed and almost stoic.

The British heavyweight champion entered the ring looking much the same. Being the favorite had its advantages as did being younger and fitter. He looked confident and as the opening bell rang the betting public felt that confidence. Braddock didn't show them anything. The two men clinched and danced around taking useless shots at each other.

Round one ended with both men bouncing back to their corners as fresh as the moment they started the fight.

"This is a cakewalk huh, Jimmy?" He slipped his mouthpiece out and rinsed it off.

"Yeah."

"You're doing great. Doing what you always do, boyo. Easy in the early rounds. Save it up."

"Yeah."

Joe slipped the mouthpiece back in just before the bell rang. Both men met in the center of the ring and the dance continued. Everything was even up, round after round, even exchanges with enough excitement to keep the crowd happy. There was no clear dominator in this match until the bell rang for the start of the ninth round. Braddock toed his way into the ring like someone had lit a fire under him. No one really knows what his manager said to him just before it but something lit him up. His first barrage of shots were kind of sluggish but he was active on his feet. By the time Farr knew what hit him the end of the tenth round came. His nose was broke along with a couple of ribs and he looked like a man defeated. By the time the scores came in he fit the description. James J. Braddock won his final professional match in a split decision.

..And the crowd went wild.

Over in New Jersey, Mae Braddock looked at her watch. She turned her Magnavox radio on and sat down in her rocker to listen to the post fight report. She caught the tail end of the announcer's call.

"There we have it ladies and gents, James J. Braddock has defeated Tommy Farr in this ten round split decision bout."

"Oh, thank Christ." Mae covered her face with her hands and began to cry. She listened on as a reporter caught her husband for a post-fight comment.

"Jimmy, Jimmy Braddock. Congratulations, buddy. You fought a good fight. How you doing? What's next for you? Are you going to take a shot at the heavyweight title again?"

"Thanks. I'm doin' great, ya know."

Mae uncovered her face and gazed at the radio. She could hear Joe Gould's voice in the background as he too lauded Jimmy's win. Jimmy's voice was the prominent one, though.

"I ain't gonna go for the title. I promised Mae and the kids that this was my last fight and I'll be retiring. Outta fairness to my wife and kids, ya know. They been puttin' up with me for a long time. I gotta stick to my woid."

"C'mon Jimmy! We're going out. We're gonna get drunk and stay that way for a week."

Hearing Joe Gould say that made Mae wonder if she should wait up or just go to bed. She waited and James came home within an hour or two. He had a dozen roses and barely a mark on his face. Her prayers were all answered.

"It's over, Jimmy?"

"It's all over, Mae."

"No more fightin'?"

"Not unless you intend on puttin' a pair of gloves on, honey."

"No more fighting. It's settled. You went out a winner, baby."

"Mae, I've been a winner since the day I met you."

Jimmy once said that the Braddock's were always fighters. He stated his dad was a handy fellow with his fists in the old country and he used to hang around the boxing booths at the county fairs and stiffen those pound-a-round pros. He even bragged that he knocked out a horse with a single blow between the eyes one time. Jimmy always suspected his old man picked on a pony, though, and he spoke of it with a laugh. Of course his uncle Jim was a well known rough and tumble fighter in Ireland so it's in the Braddock bloodline.

Here's the rub. In 1942 the United States was at war. Now what's a red-blooded, all- American Irish bloke who's considered a hero supposed to do for his county during a time like that? If Uncle Sam had anything to say about it, he and his manager were going to be role models for every eighteen year old lad who didn't have flat feet in the entire country. All Jimmy had to do was explain this to Mae. Would there be a better way than to spirit her up to the Catskills for a second honeymoon?

Mae's sister watched the kids for a few days and the two of them took the drive up to a small lakeside resort in upstate New York. He didn't hint about him and Joe enlisting in the Army and she'd have no idea. He was in his late thirties now and surely far too old to be drafted into the service.

They had a new car and Mae sat up close to him like they were a couple of teenagers. New York was beautiful that time of year and they'd left early in the morning.

"Jimmy, look, deer. Lots of them," Mae pointed to a grazing herd of white tail on the side of the road.

"Ain't dey beautiful, baby?"

"They sure are. I wish the kids could get a chance to see them. You think we could bring them up here, maybe later this summer?"

Now he was stuck. In a few short weeks he'd be up here alright, training at Fort Slocum but his wife and kids wouldn't be with him.

"We'll talk about it." There, that ought to do it for now.

"I'm serious. It's been a long time since we've hadda vacation together. I think we should do something. Maybe the Poconos would work."

He could only hope she'd let this rest until they'd had a day or two together. "Hey, Mae. I think there's a flock of turkeys over there. Looka!" He quickly pointed to the right and feeling pretty proud of himself he dropped his arm around her shoulders.

"Shoot, baby. I think I missed them."

"Ya want I should turn around?"

"Naw. Let's just get to the cabin. Maybe we could fool around a little in the after-noon like we usta, huh?"

Jimmy laughed wryly. "Now you're talking."

It didn't take them long to get to the wonderful wooded resort. During the forties the Catskills were the place for family vacations on the east coast and Mae and Jimmy had spent their first honeymoon there. They'd come often with friends during the years but this was the first time they'd returned alone. There was a lot of romantic potential on this little woodsy wander as long as it happened before Jimmy dropped the bomb.

They had the same cabin they always stayed in. It was lakeside with a screened-in porch and an outdoor stone grill. The place never changed. It always smelled of clean linen and beach towels, charcoal and citronella candles. The propane gas bottles for the stove were never empty and the windows were never open when they arrived, but for some reason it always felt like a home away from home.

Jimmy parked the car and Mae reached around to the back seat to get her favorite blanket to bring in while he grabbed a Styrofoam cooler full of food they'd brought. Walking side by side to the door felt like old times except they did finally notice that they were alone. Jimmy set the cooler down on the lawn and winked at Mae. She raised a shoulder and winked back. Within seconds Mae was running for the main bedroom of the cabin with Jimmy in hot pursuit. The rest is a little private.

The sound of the steak sizzling and its enticing smell provided little distraction for Jimmy as he gazed over at the woman he'd just made love to, twice. She lay back in one of those white-washed wooden chairs with her hair let down. Mae still had a body to die for. How could she look so good after those lean years and having three kids and all?

He shoveled the big T-bone onto a plate and carried it over to her. "Here you go, honey. Nice and rare, just like you like it. That's my idea of a good steak and you're my idea of a good wife. I just wanna say tanks for everything, Mae. For da kids, for puttin up with me, for everything."

Mae balanced the plate on her lap and gave him a withering look. "Jimmy, ya know I love you more than anythin' but what do you want, baby? What are you tryin' to tell me?"

Here goes nothing, he thought as he knelt down in front of her. He took the plate off her lap and placed it on the table beside her.

"Mae." He paused for a moment. "Me and Joe, we joined the Army. Gonna ship out in a coupla weeks."

She frowned then smiled then frowned then smiled. "April fools, right, Jimmy? Happy Dingus day?"

"It's June."

"You're serious?"

"Yeah, baby. Joe was thinkin'..."

"God damn it, Jimmy. How did I know Joe Gould was behind this? It's another one of his publicity stunts? It is, isn't it? Fuck this, Jimmy."

"Mae Fox Braddock, I never heard ya talk like dat before. It ain't nothing. We's just gonna do it to encourage some of the young boys to join up to help the war effort, ya know?"

Mae stood up and pushed him back away from her. "What if one of those boys was our son, Jimmy? Then how'd ya feel? What if Jay or Howie was goin' to fight in the war?"

He tried to put his arms around her but she'd have no part of it. "Mae, you gotta understand. I'd be proud of them. Look at the Sullivan boys."

"Yeah, and look at their mama cryin'."

"Ah, for Christ's sake, Mae."

The fight didn't end there but just like Mae couldn't stop Jimmy from fighting in the ring, she didn't stop him from doing his bit for his country. It wasn't like he actually got into any combat situations but he did his part. They made amends as usual and shortly after he left for Fort Slocum, New York, Mae got her first letter.

Dearest Mae,

I can't tell you how much I miss you, baby. I'll be home shortly for a week before I go off to Saipan.

Joe and I got commissioned already as first lieutenants in the transportation corps. I guess that's a fancy name for a truck driver or something like that. I don't know how we managed to move up in rank so quick because Joe went and shot Sergeant Bender by mistake when we was doing some exercise the other day. There was some guy from the war office taking pictures when it happened but I don't think you'll be seeing it in the paper anytime soon. The photographer was laughing; he said Joe might give the Jerry's or Tojo the wrong idea.

How's the kids doing? Is Rosie behaving for you? Is Jay taking care of things like he should be? Make sure Howie gets all of those beetles off the roses, okay?

Tell them I love them and I miss them. Mae, baby, I miss you and I love you.

Your loving husband,

Lieutenant James J. Braddock

Her next ten letters would come from Saipan, and thank God no one else would get shot by Joe Gould.

Chapter 5 Epilogue