Quote:
Originally Posted by southcrawler
Many thanks for the kind words, Jim - I really appreciate that! 
Regarding to toybulldog's photo/letter it is quite obvious that 1) the dedication on that one is nearly identical to the one on Jim's beautiful exemplar (the only differences being that "freundlichen" was abbreviated to "freundl." and Max added "gewidmet von" which only means "dedicated by"). 2) Much to my surprise, I have to admit that the quality of google's translation service has actually significantly improved within the past five years - the translation they have offered is indeed muuuuch more accurate than the other one which is...well, let's say "choppy" in order to avoid any kind of verbal slander towards the guys who programmed it...
Nevertheless, I guess a more accurate and correct translation wouldn't do any harm:
"Dear Mr Woller!
Thanks a lot for your kind letter.
I am gladly willing to accept the charge of referee in your dispute, but have to tell you in advance that you will have to suffer a knock-out defeat. The crucial punch was a right-handed one, about ten inches long [it appears as if he is referring to a cut that had ended a fight (of his?)] and invisible for the majority of the audience.
Enclosed you will find a photo of me.
Hoping you haven't bet [on the boxer who had lost the fight] I wish all the best to you and your discordant friends.
Yours sincerely
Max Schmeling"
Would be really interesting to unravel the mystery surrounding the fight both - Max and the person asking him for his advice - are referring to. First I thought it could have been a defeat of Schmeling himself, but as far as I know, he hadn't lost for almost a year in January 1929, so maybe it's more plausible to assume that the fight in question was one of his victories?
Dirk |
Dirk,
Thanks, this is most helpful. My best take is that perhaps Schmeling is referring to his bout just four days prior to this dated letter. Schmeling fought Austrian born Pietro Corri on January 21, 1929 at the Laurel Garden Arena in Newark, NJ knocking Corri out in 1:10 of the first round. It appears the person Schmeling has sent the letter to is having a dispute with a friend as to how the knockout of Corri occured. The recipient of the letter has written Schmeling prior asking him to be the referee in the dispute and has given both his and his friend's version of how the knockout occured. Schmeling is telling the recipient of the letter that his version is wrong and that he is going to suffer a knockout defeat in the dispute. Schmeling goes on to mention that the punch that caused the knockout was a short ten inch right-handed blow hence was hard to see by the majority of the audience. Schmeling then tells the recipient he has included the signed photo and hopes that he did not place a bet on his version of the dispute wishing best to him and his disagreeable friend/s.
With Schmeling's opponent sporting a 4-21-2 record at the time of this bout I could see him getting knocked out by a short ten-inch punch early in the first round. Most likely there for the modest payday rather than an actual expectation of winning. Also with Schmeling not really gaining any recognition or having any kind of a following until his very next bout against Johnny Risko, I can understand the quick response just four days later. All speculation of course but makes sense to me.
Best,
Mark O.