The rise & tragic fall of Lem Franklin

he always interested me as a genuine Contender, he lost and some of what you mentioned might indeed be factors in his psyche & condition... but I always include 'just life', we often forget Fighters Life outside of Boxing, not all of them had financial safety nets, many also worked, dealt with the pressures of life, tried (or not), to maintain busy fight schedules, work, training & family, plus the War broke out, that effects everyone's state of mind (look what the covid fiasco did to all of us), we forget much of this, 'if' a fighters got no or little financial woes, life's a joy, even amidst some of the other stuff...

but the grind if one doesn't, effects every person,
it couldn't have been easy for many of them. He was a Contender and by all accounts a top & capable fighter, and that says much of whats necessary for anyone.

 

I think Franklin was somewhat like Satterfield if he didn't get you,you got him.Franklin was very dangerous early on but seemed to fizzle out as a fight went longer,probably because he didnt pace himself.
Satterfield was a party animal, who swung for the fences,I don;t know if that was Lem's problem,he remains a "what might have been."

 

Lem Franklin vs Matthew Franklin would be fun

 

or they just were pretty good fighters...

 

Unless they are sadists

 

'Some' yes, not all.

 

In hindsight he lost to Pastor who had lost to Louis twice, but I don’t think Franklin should have needed to fight Bob to get that chance. He had just about the best win streak going in the division at that point, with several knockout victories over ranked contenders 1940-1941

during this streak lem went 19-0 with 17 knockouts

https://hunterboxing.net/2017/06/05/number-176-lem-franklin/

When Franklin beat Simon in their second fight he broke his hand which left him out of action for three months. Louis had just defended against his top two contenders so its not like he was ducking anyone. He could fight who he wanted. Franklin came back with two tuneups and then had the fight set with Pastor as an elimination.

 

Here’s a great post from a previous poster on Franklin


Mike Jacobs ruled the heavyweight division with an iron hand. He and he alone was the one who decided who Louis would fight. Jacobs was not inclined to match Joe with a Black challenger because he figured most of his paying customers were White, and in his mind they wouldn't support a title fight between two Black men. Jacobs was also not inclined to have Franklin fight Joe in New York, normally Jacobs' favorite venue, because Lem had been a total bust in his only previous New York appearance against Freddie Fiducia, and all the New Yourk boxing writers remembered that fight. The third factor militating against Franklin was that he was a pariah in his hometown of Cleveland because he had been stopped there in eight rounds by Eddie Simms in December 1939, in a performance so poor the local promoters had no interest in having him back.

So when Jack Hurley took control of Franklin, he had two major obstacles to overcome to rehabilitate Franklin's career: 1) get Franklin enough wins against some recognized contenders so Jacobs would think a Louis-Franklin fight would draw enough people to make money and 2) find a place where Franklin would be popular enough to draw the crowd that Jacobs demanded.

All this couldn't be done overnight. The logical place to start was to go back to Cleveland and build up Lem there. At first, the Cleveland promoters wouldn't even talk to Hurley about a Franklin fight. At the time, Hurley was promoting in Chicago, so he was able to match Lem there in July 1941 with Jimmy Bivins, a young Cleveland light heavyweight who had become hometown attraction with wins there over Anton Christoforidis, Teddy Yarosz, and Buddy Knox. Lem stopped Bivins in nine rounds. Franklin's victory didn't do much to improve his status as a heavyweight contender since Jimmy was only a light heavyweight and Lem outweighed him by more than 27 pounds (200-3/4 to 173), but it did help him in Cleveland where Bivins was popular since it gave Hurley the opportunity to start a dialog with the city's new matchmaker, Larry Atkins. After Franklin eased the stigma of his prior loss to Simms by stopping Eddie in Omaha in August, Atkins felt confident enough to give Lem another chance before his hometown crowd.

The opponent Atkins chose for Franklin's Cleveland comeback on September 24. 1941, was Tony Musto, the ninth-rated NBA contender, who had eked out a close decision there against Bivins a month earlier as well as having lasted nine rounds with Joe Louis the previous April. When Lem stopped Musto in two rounds, Tony told reporters he thought Franklin would "do all right with Louis. He hits just as hard as Joe." The victory over Musto gave Hurley the opportunity to step up his campaign for a title fight by writing letters to a raft of reporters emphasizing that it had taken Joe Louis nine rounds to stop Tony as compared to the two rounds it had taken Lem to do the job.

The success of the Franklin-Musto fight encouraged Atkins to match Lem with Abe Simon who had made a name for himself by lasting 13 rounds against Louis in March 1941. By this time, Lem had risen to No. 4 in the NBA ratings while Simon was No. 5. The fight took place on October 20, 1942, and resulted in an impressive fifth-round knockout by Franklin. After the fight, Hurley was heard telling the boxing writers at ringside: "Eight rounds faster than Louis tonight. Seven rounds faster when we stopped that Tony Musto in two. Is this fellow goin' some place, or what?" Just as impressive was the turnout. Attendance was reported at 13,256 and gross receipts at $31,624, both of which were indoor records for the city.

It was not until this point in time that Mike Jacobs began to seriously consider the possibility of staging a fight between Louis and Franklin, but he still needed convincing that the fight would be a worthwhile investment. At this time, Ring Magazine rated Lem No. 3 behind Bob Pastor and Billy Conn, and the NBA listed Franklin No. 2 with Conn at No. 1 and Pastor No. 3. Jacobs was holding the Louis-Conn rematch in reserve for a big ballpark show at New York in June, but he wanted to stage another show before the outdoor date.

For his next big show, Larry Atkins signed the bout between Franklin and Pastor. Unfortunately, Lem had broken a bone in his right thumb against Simon's sturdy jaw so the fight did not take place until February 24, 1942, with Jacobs in attendance. Seeing the standing-room-only crowd of 13,278 (gross receipts $52,447) was all it took to finally convince Mike that a Louis-Franklin fight would be a moneymaker. Before the bout, he met with Hurley and Franklin in the dressing room and assured them that if Lem defeatedPastor the Louis fight would be theirs.

As it turned out, Pastor, not known for his punching power, surprised everyone by kayoing Franklin in eight rounds and putting an end to Lem's title hopes. Subsequent one-round kayo losses to Harry Bobo and Joe Muscato and the onset of World War II further sealed tight the window which had been closed by Pastor's victory.

So to summarize, we can talk all we want about wins and losses and ratings, etc., etc. but the window that Franklin had to pass through for a title shot was the window in Mike Jacobs mind. That window was open for only a very brief period of time, and though Lem had set his foot on the window's sill for aninstant, it was closed forever by hisunexpected loss to Bob Pastor.

 

A Joe Louis interview in the run up to the Buddy Baer rematch.

"I'd fight Lem Franklin with the greatest of pleasure. Roxy and Chappie don't think much of him, but I know he's improved. I keep track of all them fellas. I'm going to see Franklin fight Bob Pastor in Febuary. I've seen him two or three times. I saw him lose a six round decision to Freddie Fiducia in the Garden. He hasn't hit Freddie yet but that was four years ago and Freddie knew to much for him. He's a right-hand puncher who depends on punching and has a brittle right hand. I hope that right hand stays in good repair and he keeps them fellas out untilSeptember. I'll be looking for an appointment around that time."


Here are some choice articles that are worth a read:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...IBAJ&pg=4578,4762659&dq=pastor+franklin&hl=en

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...AIBAJ&pg=3902,825911&dq=pastor+franklin&hl=en

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...AIBAJ&pg=1196,896908&dq=pastor+franklin&hl=en



Despite these impressive victories a title bout eluded Franklin. Louis had been immersed in his “Bum of the Month Club” fights, a point criticized in a flyer sent out by a Franklin publicity man which stated “Joe Louis is the only champion in boxing history allowed to conduct his own private tournament…made up of hand-picked, panty-waisted stooges, all of whom have been knocked out by the champion…this round-robin affair seems to have the support and blessing of the press and various boxing commissions…how much longer can they get away with this brazen racket?” Boxing scribes soon picked up on this chant and began to suggest that Louis and his promoter, Mike Jacobs, were ducking the man whom they were now referring to as “The Dark Destroyer”. They began to compare Lem’s plight to that of Sam Langford, the great heavyweight from the 1910s-20s who was so feared that it was all but impossible to get Champion Jack Johnson to give him the title shot he had so rightfully earned. “The ferocious Franklin has established himself now, and will be heard from every time Louis tackles anybody else…” wrote sportswriter Harry Grayson. Hurley vented his frustrations to the press as well: “Mike Jacobs has some boys down there that he’s protecting- Joe Louis, Billy Conn, Buddy and Max Baer and Lou Nova…they’re trying to keep Lem in the second flight by not offering one of these ‘untouchables,’” he complained. “I had the old ‘Fargo Express’ Billy Petrolle, for 5 years and couldn’t get him a title fight until he was too old…there wasn’t a better fighter around at the time and everybody knew it. It’s the same with Franklin.”

Joe Louis felt the pressure and promoter Jacobs knew he couldn’t circumvent Franklin for long. Elimination matches with Melio Bettina and Bob Pastor were suggested by Jacobs, with the winner to get a title shot with Louis in September of 1942. Bettina was an awkward southpaw who could make his fighter look bad, so Hurley instead chose Pastor. “Bicycle Bob” had a reputation as being a tricky spoiler, having dampened the prospects of such up and comers as Turkey Thompson, Booker Beckwith and Roscoe Toles. But Lem had a solid track record against such fighters already (Blunt, Reddish), and seemed like the safer route considering Franklin’s record against Louis’s former KO victims. The bout was set for February 24, 1942 in Cleveland with Lem installed as a heavy favorite. But fans still anticipated this classic boxer vs. puncher matchup; the spoiler of slayers vs. the slayer of spoilers.

13, 278 fans packed the Cleveland Arena, setting a record indoor gate. Private Joe Louis was at ringside along with Mike Jacobs to watch a fight sportswriters later described as “One of the game’s biggest surprises since Jim Braddock wrested the heavyweight crown from Max Baer.” Franklin took an early lead, pounding the defensive-minded Pastor with hard shots and opening a gash above his left eye. It looked bad for Bob. But by the fifth round Lem was tiring from his attempts for an early knockout. He began to flounder, giving Pastor the opportunity he’d waited for. He put on a boxing clinic, opening up with a steady stream of peppering jabs, hooks and crosses that found Lem’s face time and again over the next few rounds. A flurry of some thirty unanswered blows in the eighth round finally crumpled the hometown favorite to the canvas, where he was counted out.

 

great points agreed

Franklin was a very big puncher, had size too. He doesn’t beat the greatest puncher who ever lived, Joe Louis, but he certainly would have brought fireworks to the fight and presented a dangerous challenge