 Baker in 1977 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Douglas Baker (1934-04-19)April 19, 1934[3] Sedalia, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | October 20, 2014(2014-10-20) (aged 80) Hartford, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Myocardial infarction |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Doug Baker Ox Baker The Ox The Arkansas Ox |
| Billed height | 6 ft 6 in (198 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 320 lb (145 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Waterloo, Iowa |
| Trained by | Buddy Austin Pat O'Connor Bob Geigel |
| Debut | 1964[2] |
| Retired | April 19, 2014 |
Douglas Baker (April 19, 1934 – October 20, 2014), known professionally asOx Baker, was an Americanprofessional wrestler and actor. He was famous for his distinctive eyebrows and finishing move, theHeart Punch, sometimes called the "Hurt Punch", after Baker's famouscatchphrase "I love to hurt people!". He appeared in several films includingBlood Circus andEscape from New York.
Baker was an accomplished high school athlete in his adopted hometown ofWaterloo, Iowa, but he quit school. Later he began wrestling to provide financial support to his family, having married and had children at a young age.[1]
Baker was trained byBuddy Austin,Pat O'Connor, andBob Geigel, and debuted in 1964. As time went on, he was winning a majority of his matches by knockout caused by the Heart Punch; he later renamed the move the Hurt Punch whenStan Stasiak, from whom Baker adopted the move, objected. Initially debuting as a kind, horn-rimmed-glasses-wearing country simpleton, Baker later turned into avillain. He was known for his unique look with his shaved head and black bushy moustache and eyebrows and ability tocut a promo.[4] He was also famous for wearing T-shirts to the ring, declaring himself "The Great Heart Puncher".[2]
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In 1967 Baker worked for theWorld Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) as The Friendly Arkansas Ox. In his first appearance there, Baker teamed with Armand Hussein in ahandicap match versusGorilla Monsoon. Later on, Baker went to fight in different promotions through North America, includingStampede Wrestling in Canada, theWorld Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico, and the United States–basedAmerican Wrestling Association throughout the 1970s. On June 13, 1971, Baker and his partner the Claw were wrestling in anAWA Midwest Tag Team Championship tag team match against Alberto Torres and"Cowboy" Bob Ellis inVerdigre, Nebraska. Torres died shortly after the match with the cause determined to be a result of heart disease.[1] This was worked into an angle in which Baker's Heart Punch was blamed to reinforce Baker's wrestling heel persona. On August 1, 1972, Baker lost toRay Gunkel. Following the match, Gunkel also died; his death has been variously attributed to ablood clot, which led to aheart attack[5] or simply to heart disease.[1] Again, the death was worked into Baker's character, and in 1974, a riot erupted inCleveland, Ohio, when Baker continually Heart Punched his opponentErnie Ladd after the match was finished.[2]
During his career he defeated "Cowboy" Bob Ellis for theWorld Wrestling Association'sWorld Heavyweight Championship in Indianapolis andCarlos Colon for theWWC Universal Heavyweight Championship in Puerto Rico'sWorld Wrestling Council. Baker beatThe Sheik to win theDetroit version of the US Heavyweight title; he also won theNWA American Heavyweight Championship and the NWA Texas Heavyweight title several times. In addition, Baker was a multi-time tag team champion; he teamed withOle Anderson andSkandor Akbar to capture tag team championships in theNational Wrestling Alliance andNational Wrestling Federation. Baker teamed withChuck O'Connor to win theWWA World Tag Team Championship in 1976. He also teamed withSuperstar Billy Graham to hold theNWA Florida Tag Team Championship. He is noted for a feud withRandy Savage inInternational Championship Wrestling, the southern promotion that Savage ran with his fatherAngelo Poffo and his brotherLanny Poffo. Late in his career, Baker appeared withCentral States Wrestling as a face and feuded withRip Rogers.
He returned to the WWF in 1980 and was givenThe Grand Wizard as his manager. Baker appeared at a TV taping inAllentown, Pennsylvania, on March 25, but left shortly after and never wrestled for the WWF again.
In 1988, Baker returned to the AWA and remained under contract with them until later that same year when he officially retired from wrestling. The following year in 1989, he opened "Ox Baker's Wrestling School", becoming a renowned wrestling trainer. His students includeThe Undertaker,Bryan Clark,[6] and Ox Baker Jr (Ronald Schell) as well as NWA New England Superstar The Dark Angel and his Kayfabe twin brother Micky Byggs of Wrestling Spotlite Radio/TV. He also did commentary for some IWCCW events in the early 1990s. Baker made an appearance inRing of Honor in 2004 during theirAt Our Best event, confrontingDusty Rhodes before the show started and again during the main event that Rhodes was involved in. Baker also made an appearance inCombat Zone Wrestling on December 8, 2007, atCage of Death 9 as the guest of Cult Fiction (Halfbreed Billy Gram and Toby Klein). In June 2008, Baker fought in two matches defeating Moonshine McCoy for Ultimate Championship Wrestling in Florida. In December 2013, Baker returned to the ring to be crowned the CCW Champion after being a surprise entrant in a thirteen-man battle royal in Ohio.
During the midst of his professional wrestling career, Baker appeared in many films from time to time, most notably during the late 1970s and early 1980s. He appeared as a fighter inJackie Chan'sThe Big Brawl (1980) and asKurt Russell's gladiatorial opponent inJohn Carpenter'sEscape from New York (1981).[2] In addition, he was cast in the professional wrestling film named for his catch phrase,I Like to Hurt People. On January 19, 1981, Baker was a contestant on the game showThe Price is Right.[2] In 1985, Ox Baker played the Russian in the wrestling filmBlood Circus, and in 2013, appeared inChilling Visions: 5 Senses of Fear as The Butcher.[7]
In 2005, a documentary based on the life and career of Baker was filmed, directed by Halfbreed Billy Gram, with the working title ofI Love the People I Hurt: The Life and Legend of the Mighty Ox Baker. A short comedy feature titledMy Smorgasboard with Ox, co-written and co-starring Baker and Gram, was also filmed during this time, with both remaining in post-production status.
In 2006, the North Carolina–based indie bandthe Mountain Goats released a song on theirBabylon Springs EP titled "Ox Baker Triumphant", in which Baker is betrayed by the wrestling community and rises up to strike vengeance upon them. In 2011, Baker self-published his own cookbook, which included recipes and stories during his time in the wrestling business.[4] In 2015, Veteran Pro Wrestling out of Groton, Connecticut held the first annual Ox Baker Memorial Cup. The winner for 2015 was Bad News Walter Swan and US Army Veteran "The Patriot Paul Severe", aka Jared Keefe. In 2016, the winner was "Rescue 911", aka Christopher Annino.[8]
Baker was first married to Darlene Doyle Baker from 1959 to her death in 1989. He was later married to Peggy Ann Kawa from 1996 to her death in 2010. He had one son, Garren, who died in 2022, and one daughter, Meghan, two grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.
Baker died on October 20, 2014, inHartford, Connecticut,[9] due to complications from aheart attack he suffered earlier that year.[10][11]
Media related toOx Baker at Wikimedia Commons
,Internet Wrestling Database