Joe Gould was an American boxing manager, best known for representing boxer

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

 James J. Braddock

James J. Braddock

James Walter "The Cinderella Man" Braddock was an American boxer who was the world heavyweight champion from 1935 to 1937....

, who in 1935 upset Max Baer to take the world heavyweight championship.

Career

Gould, who was of Jewish descent, played a role in having Braddock fight Joe Louis

Joe Louis

Joseph Louis Barrow , better known as Joe Louis, was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949. He is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time...

 rather than Max Schmeling

Max Schmeling

Maximillian Adolph Otto Siegfried Schmeling was a German boxer who was heavyweight champion of the world between 1930 and 1932. His two fights with Joe Louis in the late 1930s transcended boxing, and became worldwide social events because of their national associations...

, in order to prevent a propaganda

Propaganda

Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....

 victory by the Nazi

Nazism

Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...

 regime.

As Braddock's manager, Gould negotiated as part of the deal for Louis' title shot 10% of Louis' future purses. Mike Jacobs

Mike Jacobs (boxing)

Michael Strauss Jacobs was a boxing promoter, arguably the most powerful in the sport from the mid-1930's until his effective retirement in 1946...

, who represented Louis, believed he would be able to talk his way out of the contract at a later date, but it is a little-known fact that Braddock and Gould became relatively rich men even after Braddock lost the title because of this deal.

Later life

Gould enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942, and rose to the rank of First Lieutenant, accidentally shooting Sergeant John Bender during a photo op in which he and Braddock did rifle calesthenics. He was dismissed from the Army and sentenced to three years hard labor after a court martial in 1944 for conspiracy to accept bribes.

Joe Gould died from leukemia

Leukemia

Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...

 on April 21, 1950.

Fictional portrayals

In the 2005 film

2005 in film

- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005...

 Cinderella Man

Cinderella Man

Cinderella Man is a 2005 American drama film by Ron Howard, titled after the nickname of heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock and inspired by his life story. The film was produced by Howard, Penny Marshall, and Brian Grazer.-Plot:James J...

, Gould is portrayed by actor Paul Giamatti

Paul Giamatti

Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti is an American actor. Giamatti began his career as a supporting actor in several films produced during the 1990s including Private Parts, The Truman Show, Saving Private Ryan, The Negotiator, and Man on the Moon, before earning lead roles in several projects in the...

. The role earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...

.