42 Facts About Buddy Baer

Jacob Henry "Buddy" Baer was an American boxer and later an actor with parts in seventeen films, as well as roles on multiple television series in the 1950s and 1960s.

Buddy Baer lost to Louis in a rematch for the title the following year but remained solidly ranked among the top heavyweights in the early 1940s.

In 2003, Buddy Baer was chosen for The Ring magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time.

Buddy Baer was the younger brother of boxing heavyweight champion and actor Max Baer, and the uncle of actor Max Baer Jr.

Buddy Baer was born in Denver, Colorado, on June 11,1915, to father Jacob, a butcher, and mother Dora Bales.

Buddy Baer moved with his family to California in 1928, living first in Livermore in 1926 and then Hayward, before settling in the early 1930s in Sacramento, where he would later retire.

Buddy Baer had a long winning streak following his debut fight until he met Babe Hunt.

On January 10,1935, Buddy Baer was defeated in a four-round bout, losing on points to Hunt at Boston's Rickard Recreation Center.

Buddy Baer completed a technical knockout of Jack O'Dowd at 2:10 into the second round at Detroit's Olympia Stadium on January 4,1935.

Buddy Baer defeated Al Delaney on July 18,1935, in a four-round knockout at Buffalo's Offerman Stadium.

Buddy Baer tried to overpower Smith in the early rounds with his punching ability, but Smith moved, blocked, and weathered the storm.

In later rounds, Buddy Baer was less effective with intermittent looping blows that Smith countered with sharp, short punches to the body.

Buddy Baer was tired in the last round, and though he had an advantage in reach and weight, he did little damage in his final rally, having lost speed and precision in his blows.

At this early stage of his career, Buddy Baer suffered a rare loss on April 22,1936, dropping a six-round decision to Frenchman Andre Lenglet at Oakland's Municipal Auditorium.

Buddy Baer looked strong in the first and had a brief rally in the fifth but lost his chance when Lenglet snapped back with a defense.

One reporter, who wrote that Lenglet won each round by a large margin, noted that Buddy Baer failed to score with a telling blow throughout the match.

Buddy Baer won on points in a ten-round decision at Swansea, England, and though he had a significant advantage in height of nearly eight inches, he had only twenty pounds in weight over the sturdy London boxer.

Two weeks earlier, Buddy Baer had defeated Jim Wilde at Harringay Arena in a fourth-round technical knockout.

Buddy Baer brought a stop to seasoned Jewish heavyweight Abe Simon before 25,000 fans, on August 30,1937, scoring a technical knockout at Yankee Stadium in 2:38 of the third round.

Buddy Baer lost to gifted Finnish boxer Gunnar Barlund on March 4,1938, before 8,565 fans in a seventh-round technical knockout at Madison Square Garden.

Buddy Baer performed well in the first, cutting Barlund's forehead and nose with stinging left jabs and an occasional right, while Barlund lost points for low blows.

Buddy Baer maintained an edge in the fifth, and though both showed fatigue, Gunnar took the sixth, scoring at least ten straight rights and lefts without a return.

Buddy Baer followed him across the ring when Baer retreated and continued his attack, Baer seeming to give up, dropping his hands to his sides during the attack, and after coming from a clinch signaling the referee to end the fight.

The referee asked Buddy Baer, apparently hurt, if he wished to continue, and decided to stop the fight, 1:36 into the seventh.

Buddy Baer made no excuses for his performances but believed his layoff from the ring had affected his timing and ability to connect punches, particularly his right.

Buddy Baer defeated Lee Savold in an important match on October 30,1939, in an eight-round newspaper decision before 3,500 in Des Moine, Iowa.

Buddy Baer defeated Nathan Mann on May 3,1940, before 5000, in a seventh-round technical knockout at New York's Madison Square Garden.

Buddy Baer had the advantages of roughly five inches in reach, 5.5 inches in height, and 49 pounds in weight, as well as his superior punching ability.

Buddy Baer toyed with Blackshear for the first two-and-a-half rounds, before commencing a clubbing and brutal assault in the third that led to the end of the charity bout.

Buddy Baer lost to Eddie Blunt on January 15,1941, at the Auditorium in Oakland in a ten-round points decision.

Buddy Baer required stitches above both eyes, and it was evident he would need a break before his next fight.

Buddy Baer used his superior reach in the remaining rounds to keep Galento from boring in, and in the fourth, he staggered Galento with a hard right to the mouth.

Buddy Baer succeeded in connecting with solid lefts to Galento's head and both lefts and rights to his body.

Buddy Baer claimed that his third knockdown came shortly after the bell had rung to end the sixth round.

Buddy Baer, nonetheless, came closer to defeating Louis and taking the title than any of the other opponents Louis would face, until losing to Ezzard Charles in 1950.

Buddy Baer retired from boxing after the second Louis bout and enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces at McClellan Air Force Base in 1942, the early years of America's involvement in World War II.

Buddy Baer dabbled with less success in a variety of other businesses, including a health food store, a clothing shop, heavy equipment sales and real estate.

Buddy Baer later worked as a marshal or sergeant at arms for the California State Legislature in the 1970s.

Buddy Baer performed in 1952 with Pearl Bailey at the Paramount Theatre in New York.

Buddy Baer's body is buried in East Lawn Sierra Hills Memorial Park in Sacramento.

In 1957, Buddy Baer appeared in an episode of television's Gunsmoke, the episode entitled, "Never Pester Chester".

In 1958, Buddy Baer appeared in an episode of the syndicated Adventures of Superman TV series, playing the role of Atlas, a circus strongman, who is duped by his fellow circus performers into stealing for them.