During the Great Depression, an everyday common-man hero, James J. Braddock was to become one of the most surprising sports legends in history. With the Depression going strong in the early 1930s, the impoverished ex-boxer was seemingly as broken-down and out-of-luck as the rest of America. Driven by love and determination, he returned to the ring. He did not have much of a shot, but James was fueled by something beyond mere competition. He kept winning and suddenly, the ordinary working man became an icon who carried the hopes and dreams of the disenfranchised on his shoulders. Eventually, he rose through the ranks and went on to fight the heavyweight champ, the unstoppable Max Baer.