26 Facts About Ox Baker

Douglas Baker, known professionally as Ox Baker, was an American professional wrestler and actor.

Ox Baker appeared in several films including Blood Circus and Escape from New York.

Ox Baker was trained by Buddy Austin, Pat O'Connor, and Bob Geigel, and debuted in 1964.

Ox Baker was known for his unique look with his shaved head and black bushy mustache and eyebrows and ability to cut a promo.

Ox Baker was famous for wearing T-shirts to the ring, declaring himself "The Great Heart Puncher".

In 1967 Ox Baker worked for the World Wide Wrestling Federation as The Friendly Arkansas Ox.

Ox Baker beat The Sheik to win the Detroit version of the US Heavyweight title; he won the NWA American Heavyweight Championship and the NWA Texas Heavyweight title several times.

Ox Baker teamed with Chuck O'Connor to win the WWA World Tag Team Championship in 1976.

Ox Baker teamed with Superstar Billy Graham to hold the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship.

Ox Baker is noted for a feud with Randy Savage in International Championship Wrestling, the southern promotion that Savage ran with his father Angelo Poffo and his brother Lanny Poffo.

Late in his career, Ox Baker appeared with Central States Wrestling as a face and feuded with Rip Rogers.

Ox Baker returned to the WWF in 1980 and was given The Grand Wizard as his manager.

In 1988, Ox Baker returned to the AWA and remained under contract with them until later that same year when he officially retired from wrestling.

Ox Baker did commentary for some IWCCW events in the early 1990s.

Ox Baker made an appearance in Ring of Honor in 2004 during their At Our Best event, confronting Dusty Rhodes before the show started and again during the main event that Rhodes was involved in.

Ox Baker made an appearance in Combat Zone Wrestling on December 8,2007, at Cage of Death 9 as the guest of Cult Fiction.

In June 2008, Ox Baker fought in two matches defeating Moonshine McCoy for Ultimate Championship Wrestling in Florida.

In December 2013, Ox Baker returned to the ring to be crowned the CCW Champion after being a surprise entrant in a thirteen-man battle royal in Ohio.

Ox Baker appeared as a fighter in Jackie Chan's The Big Brawl and as Kurt Russell's gladiatorial opponent in John Carpenter's Escape from New York.

On January 19,1981, Ox Baker was a contestant on the game show The Price is Right.

In 1985, Ox Baker played the Russian in the wrestling film Blood Circus, and in 2013, appeared in Chilling Visions: 5 Senses of Fear as The Butcher.

In 2011, Ox Baker self-published his own cookbook, which included recipes and stories during his time in the wrestling business.

Ox Baker was first married to Darlene Doyle Ox Baker from 1959 to her death in 1989.

Ox Baker was later married to Peggy Ann Kawa from 1996 to her death in 2010.

Ox Baker had one son, Garren, who died in 2022, and one daughter, Meghan, two grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Ox Baker died on October 20,2014, in Hartford, Connecticut, due to complications from a heart attack he suffered earlier that year.