Buddy Baer
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Buddy Baer (June 11, 1915–July 18, 1986) was an American boxer, and the brother of heavyweight champion Max Baer. He was born Jacob Henry Baer, but was known as "Buddy". Standing 6'6½ inches tall, Baer fought from 1934 to 1942 and was a good puncher. He and his brother Max knocked out colorful contender Tony Galento and fought Joe Louis. He boxed 57 professional fights, won 50 with 44 knockouts, and was defeated 7 times. Baer was chosen for the Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time.
The highlight of his boxing career occurred in his unsuccessful attempt to win the heavyweight boxing championship from Joe Louis. Baer caught Louis with a big left hook in the first round and knocked the champion out of the ring. Louis, however, climbed back in before the count of ten, and eventually won the fight on a disqualification. Baer claimed that he had been hit, and knocked down, after the bell in the seventh round, and refused to come out for the next round. The referee therefore disqualified him, and Louis knocked Baer out in the first round in their rematch. Later, Baer remarked "The only way I could have beaten Louis that night was with a baseball bat."
Buddy retired after the Louis bout and joined the US-Armed Forces, as did his brother Max. After the war Buddy appeared in movies and TV, owned a bar and worked as a Marshal at the California State Legislature.
Buddy appeared in several films. In 1949, Baer had a bit role in the Abbott and Costello romp, Africa Screams. He also appeared in Flame of Araby (1951), Quo Vadis (1951), Jack and the Beanstalk (1952) (another Abbott & Costello film), The Big Sky (1952), Slightly Scarlet (1956), The Giant from The Unknown (1958), and Snow White and the Three Stooges (1961). His television credits include guest roles in: Adventures of Superman, Captain Midnight, Cheyenne, Circus Boy, Climax!, Gunsmoke, Have Gun, Will Travel, Peter Gunn, Rawhide, Sky King, and Toast of the Town.
Buddy as well as Maxi were known as the "professional good guys" or "the genial giants". The Sacramento sports reporter Billy Conlin wrote: "When they died, the "sweet science" lost two of the sweetest!" Buddy is buried in East Lawn Sierra Hills Memorial Park, Sacramento.
