Jacob Henry "Buddy" Baer (June 11, 1915 – July 18, 1986) 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.
In 1941, he came extremely close to boxing stardom at Washington's Griffith Stadium, when in the opinion of most ringside officials, Joe Louis gave him a disqualifying late sixth-round hit in a title match that should have made Baer the world heavyweight champion. He 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, Baer was chosen for The Ring magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. He was the younger brother of boxing heavyweight champion and actor Max Baer, and the uncle of actor Max Baer Jr.
Boxing career Baer was born in Denver, Colorado, on June 11, 1915, to father Jacob, a butcher, and mother Dora Bales. However, a few sources, such as his brother Max, list his birthplace as Omaha, Nebraska. He 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. Both Buddy and his brother Max had a large Jewish following, for they claimed Jewish ancestry on their father's side and frequently wore a Star of David on their boxing trunks. Neither brother, however, appeared to be observant or openly religious, and their claims of Jewish heritage were questioned by trainer Ray Arcel.The Jewish Boxer's Hall of Fame, Blady, Ken, (1988) Shapolsky Publishers, Inc., New York, NY, pgs. 208-9. Standing at 6' " (1.99 m), Baer fought from 1934 to 1942. Baer's manager during the largest portion of his boxing career was Ancil Hoffman, who also managed Max's career for a period.
Early career In his professional debut, Baer knocked out Tiny Abbott, 1:54 into the first round on September 23, 1934, in Eureka, California. A boxer of some repute, the towering 6' 8" Abbott had twice faced Baer's brother Max, and though it was Baer's first time in the ring, the more experienced Abbott was nearing the end of his career. Baer had a long winning streak following his debut fight until he met Babe Hunt. On January 10, 1935, Baer was defeated in a four-round bout, losing on points to Hunt at Boston's Rickard Recreation Center. The loss was Baer's first in thirteen straight fights, twelve of which Baer won by knockout. Though Hunt had a bad second round, he came back strongly in the third and fourth to win by unanimous decision."Buddy Baer Beaten", The Boston Globe, Boston, Massachusetts, pg. 27, 11 January 1935.
He completed a technical knockout of Jack O'Dowd at 2:10 into the second round at Detroit's Olympia Stadium on January 4, 1935. On a ticket that included Joe Louis, the total audience reached 15,853. The crowd witnessed a performance from Baer, who outweighed his opponent by 29 pounds, less than his typical advantage. In an odd victory, O'Dowd, who seemed to lack the will to fight, was down five times in the first round, in a few instances without actually being hit.Ward Charles, "Champion Baer Clowns Four Rounds", Detroit Free Press, Detroit, Michigan, pg. 13, 5 January 1935Down five times in the first in "Buddy Baer Beats O'Dowd", The Tampa Tribune, Tampa, Florida, pg. 15, 5 January 1935. Though O'Dowd had faced the great Joe Louis the previous year, he showed no desire to mix with Baer and appeared thoroughly outmatched.
Frank Connolly, a former Golden Gloves champion, fell to Baer on March 20, 1935, in a convincing first-round knockout at the Oakland Auditorium before a substantial early-career crowd of 9,500. The final blow was a right hook that started low and came up with enormous power to knock out Connolly, who weighed 245, only a pound heavier than Baer."Buddy Baer Puts Connolly Out in Opening Round", The Hanford Sentinel, Hanford, California, pg. 6, 21 Mar 1935.
Baer defeated Al Delaney on July 18, 1935, in a four-round knockout at Buffalo's Offerman Stadium. In a complete victory, Baer had Delaney down five times before the referee counted him out 34 seconds into the fourth round from a right behind the ear."Baer Gains Another Knockout", Times Union, Brooklyn, New York, pg. 11, 19 July 1935. In the opening round, Baer was knocked to his knees by a strong left, but he recovered, and had his own way for the rest of the match."Buddy Knocks Out Delaney in Fourth Round", The Tampa Tribune, Tampa, Florida, pg. 13, 19 July 1935.
Match with Ford Smith On the ticket of the Max Baer-Joe Louis match, he had one of his most lucrative bouts on September 4, 1935, when he lost a six-round wind-up match to Ford Smith in New York before an immense crowd of 90,000 fans at Yankee Stadium."Joe Louis Kayoes Maxie Baer", Santa Cruz Sentinel, Santa Cruz, California, pg. 7, 25 September 1935. Baer tried to overpower Smith in the early rounds with his punching ability, but Smith moved, blocked, and weathered the storm. In later rounds, Baer was less effective with intermittent looping blows that Smith countered with sharp, short punches to the body. 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. The more experienced Smith took four of the six rounds.Four of six rounds in "Buddy Baer is Given Licking", Stockton Independent, Stockton, California, pg. 6, 25 September 1935."Montana Boy Too Smart, Fast", The San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco, California, pg. 22, 25 September 1935. According to one source, his purse for the match, which was the most heavily attended in New York history, was $42,000. Louis, who won the title match against brother Max, had a purse of $200,000.
At this early stage of his career, Baer suffered a rare loss on April 22, 1936, dropping a six-round decision to Frenchman Andre Lenglet at Oakland's Municipal Auditorium. 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 Baer failed to score with a telling blow throughout the match. Lenglet scored well with short left jabs to the face, and followups to the midriff and his frequent changes of pace confused Baer's ability to use his strong right."Max's Brother Fails to Land Damaging Blow", The Press Democrat, Oakland, California, pg. 4, 23 April 1936.
In an important match on May 24, 1937, Baer outpointed Jack London, later the holder of the Commonwealth Boxing Council's Heavyweight title from 1944 to 1945. 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."Buddy Baer Wins", El Paso Times, El Paso, Texas, pg. 8, 25 May 1937. Two weeks earlier, Baer had defeated Jim Wilde at Harringay Arena in a fourth-round technical knockout. With dominance and punching power, he had Wilde down three times in the first round and for a count of eight in the third. After being knocked to the canvas for a count of five in the opening of the fourth, the referee called the match. British rules required ending a bout after five knockdowns."Buddy Baer Stops Wilde in Fourth", Star-Phoenix, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, pg. 18, 7 May 1937.Down for count of five in fourth in "Buddy Baer Halts Welsh Rival", The Salt Lake Tribune, Salt Lake City, Utah, pg. 26, 7 May 1937.
Match with top contender Abe Simon He 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. Though Simon punished Baer severely in the first and had him hanging from the ropes with a two-fisted attack, Baer rallied in the second with sharp left jabs and a stinging right cross and had Simon down and then staggering in the third when the referee called the fight. Both fighters had exceptional weight and reach and though Baer had a two-inch advantage in height, Simon, a giant himself, actually outweighed Baer by seven pounds."Prelim Kayo to Balsamo", Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, New York, pg. 21, 31 August 1937.Simon was down in third in "Buddy Baer Checks Abe Simon in Third", Boston Globe, Boston, Massachusetts, pg. 11, 31 August 1937.
Painful loss to Gunnar Barlund 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. Baer had a forty-pound weight advantage over Barlund, and -inch advantage in height, but lacked stamina and heart as the fight progressed. 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. In the second, however, Gunnar reached Baer with a few punches and then getting his range, took the second, third, and fourth. 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. In the seventh, Barlund drove Baer into the ropes with a heavy barrage. He 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 Baer, apparently hurt, if he wished to continue, and decided to stop the fight, 1:36 into the seventh. 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. Barlund successfully circled away from Baer's hard overhand right.Conrad, Harold, "Barlund's KO Yields Answer on Young Giant", The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn, New York, pg. 11, 5 Mar 1938Mahon, Jack, "Barlund Knocks Out Buddy Baer in the Seventh", Daily News, New York, New York, pg. 92, 5 March 1938.
Three wins; Savold, Mann, and Blackshear He defeated Lee Savold in an important match on October 30, 1939, in an eight-round newspaper decision before 3,500 in Des Moine, Iowa. After a brief exchange, Baer had his opponent down for a count of eight in the first round from a right uppercut, and though Savold battled hard in the remaining rounds, he struggled to connect blows after his rough first round.Cordero, Tony, Round-by-Round, The Des-Moines Register, Des-Moines, Iowa, pg. 8, 31 October 1930"Buddy Baer Gets Decision in Des Moine Over Savold", The Sacramento Bee, Sacramento, California, pg. 16, 31 October 1939 Most reporters gave five rounds to Baer with only two to Savold in the hotly contested match."Savold Beaten But Wins Followers", The Des-Moines Tribune, Des-Moines, Iowa, pg. 15, 31 October 1939
He defeated Nathan Mann on May 3, 1940, before 5000, in a seventh-round technical knockout at New York's Madison Square Garden. In the match, Baer took the first four rounds, but Mann took the next four with cutting hooks to the head and body. A savage right hook in the opening of the seventh severely cut Mann's eye, causing his handlers to end the fight."Buddy Baer Takes TKO over Mann", Napa Journal, Napa, California, pg. 5, 4 May 1940.