Could have today's heavyweights have survived during The Great Depression?

One never knows

 

There was probably a lot of crying going on then as it was.

They call it the Great Depression, not the Great Happy Time.

 

Yes but they had more about em then. More steel, less pampering.

 

Certainly less pampering but not necessarily more steel.

Coming up in hard times doesn’t make everyone in that time tougher than those who came up under easier circumstances. We’ve seen fighters who came up in rough and deprived environments who have thrived and also those with less heart and determination than others.

The Depression didn’t just harden people. It broke many of them, fighters included. And some who had good careers also didn’t have hearts of stone.

 

Yeah, we can't just assume, that growing up during harder times, meant bigger hearts in the ring. We have obviously no way of knowing that!

 

It did break a lot of people. Not everyone was superman granted.
But my point is, times were generally hard before then and after.
They didn't have everything on tap for them like today. Life expectancy shorter, just basically a tougher harder life in general.
If we had the exact same thing happen now, I'm certain that it would hit home a damn sight harder.

 

Yes most people today live in comparative luxury … at least in America. There are some people in the third world who would happily trade up for a Great Depression lifestyle.

The Roaring Twenties were a generally prosperous time which also came on the heels of a pandemic (the Spanish Flu claimed some 675,000 U.S. lives). Many people were living high on the hog before the Great Depression hit, so I think most who lived through it would tell you it hit pretty hard then.

 

It's really hard to predict, but if the current field was fighting under 1930s conditions, I suspect it would change who some of the top guys were.

 

Depends on who. I mean Tyson Fury, what would he have eaten? Other boxers?

 

We need to ask @djanders and @Richard M Murrieta what it was like; how much money did you get from your parents for your weekly allowance during the depression?

 

I remember hearing my Dad say, in the very early 30's that his factory was starting to pay in cash, and that his wages had been reduced. I guess most of the banks were either closed or had failed. My Grandfather (Mom's Dad) came to live with us. He died in our house. The 1st election I really remember clearly is 1932. FDR won that. Nothing that I could detect really changed for us after that. Then, later, my Grandmother (Dad's Mom) came to live with us as well. She died in our house, too. My recollection is that my Dad did keep his job throughout the Depression, so, aside from a few shortages, we did ok. Of course, I had a kid's view of things. Any serious financial problems belonged to my parents, not me. I rarely noticed anything happening to us that seemed bad. My Mom and Dad just kept plugging away. Mom took in sewing, and even made clothes, since she seemed to be really good at that. Most around us seemed worse off than we were. Sometimes we had kids in at supper time to eat with us. Occasionally 2 parents would join us. I didn't really think much about it. Looking back, it's obvious that we had more food to eat than most around us had. And it seems my parents shared some of that, especially at supper times. I know that my Uncle, within walking distance of us, owned a farm. That probably helped us, too. We had chickens so eggs for breakfasts. Mostly I tended to the chickens after I was old enough to do it right by myself, but I helped Mom before then.

I didn't even know what an allowance was until I was 10 years old. When I was old enough to get a paper route, I gave the money to my Mom. (When I was very young, I even sold Salve door to door.) When I was 10 (1935), Mom started giving me back 25 cents a week to spend as I wanted. I could buy a candy bar and 2 comic books with that at the gas station across the street from where we lived. When I was 12 (1937), I worked with a guy who moved, culled, and vaccinated chickens, in the Summers. When I was 16, I worked with roofers in the Summer as a helper. By then it was 1941, so I guess the Depression was over. After I graduated High School I joined the Army as a volunteer.

 

Excellent post, with vivid images.
You’d enjoy the documentary film, “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime”. At 107 minutes it is a terrific blend of everything of that time, with great impact.

 

Thanks. I'll check it out!

In my post my ages were off a year for parts of the years. I was born in late May, 1924, so age 10, for instance, should be taken to mean 10/11, etc.

 

Off topic but what was the first film you saw in the theaters?