Ernie Schaaf

Frederick Ernest Schaaf (September 27, 1908 – February 14, 1933) was a professional boxer who was a heavyweight contender in the 1930s but died after a bout.

Career Schaaf weighed in his prime which was typical for a heavyweight in that era (175 pounds and up). In the 1930s he went 2 wins, 1 loss with Tommy Loughran, easily outpointed two future heavyweight world champions in Max Baer in their first fight in 1930 and James J. Braddock in 1931. He also outpointed future title challengers Young Stribling and Tony Galento in 1932.

During a second fight with Baer, on 31 August 1932, Schaaf suffered a severe beating and knockout in the final round, hitting the mat two seconds before the final bell, which saved him from an official knockout – Baer won on points. It took several minutes for Schaaf to be revived. Schaaf complained of headaches thereafter, and some observers believe that he suffered brain damage.

Six months later, on 10 February 1933, Schaaf fought Heavyweight contender Primo Carnera, in a bout that would earn Carnera a heavyweight title shot if he won. Schaaf entered as a slight favorite. The bout was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Schaaf lost by KO in round 13. He left the ring unconscious and died four days later. An autopsy revealed that Schaaf had meningitis, a swelling of the brain, and was still recovering from a severe case of influenza which had briefly hospitalized him during his training camp.

Legacy The cause of Ernie Schaaf's death has been a point of contention for many years. Despite Carnera's knockout of Ernie Schaaf, and Schaaf's documented poor health before the bout, one narrative portrays Schaaf as never having recovered from a knockout by Max Baer six months earlier. A framing echoed in Cinderella Man (2005), “Max Baer's killed two men in the ring.” In The Harder They Fall (1956), Max Baer (essentially playing himself) is upset about not getting credit, and says, "Your joker tapped him. I did the work and he gets the glory. I don't like it."

In The Harder They Fall (1956) a character similar to Schaaf named 'Gus Dundee' is portrayed by boxer Pat Cominskey, who was inducted into the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame in 2006.

Record Schaaf has an official record of 55–13–2 with 1 no contest and 4 no decisions, but the no-decision bouts are due to the scoring practices of the era. Newspaper reports indicate that he won 3 of those, and lost one.

Professional boxing record All information in this section is derived from BoxRec, unless otherwise stated.

Official record

All newspaper decisions are officially regarded as “no decision” bouts and are not counted in the win/loss/draw column.

Unofficial record

Record with the inclusion of newspaper decisions in the win/loss/draw column.