Description
Buddy Baer (right) and detective Fred Hartman confers at the libel trial. Wire photo
Buddy Baer
Birth name: Jacob Henry Baer
Record: 56-7-0 52 KOs 2 KOs
Bouts: 63
Career: 1934-1942
Debut: 1934-09-23
Nationality: USA
Residence: Sacramento, California, USA
Birth place: Denver, Colorado, USA
Like his more famous older brother, former World Heavyweight Champion Max Baer, Buddy Baer was a popular heavyweight boxer during the 1930s and early 1940s.
Though he possessed little of Max’s show-stealing charisma and never won the World Heavyweight Championship, Buddy did defeat a few noteworthy contenders and earned himself two shots at World Heavyweight Champion Joe Louis during his eight-year pro career.
Known primarily for his size (6′ 6″) and punching power (49 knockouts in 53 wins), Buddy Baer was ranked as the 69th greatest puncher of all-time by The Ring Yearbook in 2003. Max Baer was ranked 22nd.
After retiring from boxing, Buddy followed Max into a career as a bit-part player in films and television from the 1940s through the 1960s. Among his television credits were appearances on the shows Sheena: Queen of the Jungle, Have Gun – Will Travel, Gunsmoke, Adventures of Superman, Peter Gunn, and Rawhide. His nephew, Max Baer, Jr., earned fame portraying the character Jethro on the Beverly Hillbilles television show.
Buddy Baer died on July 18, 1986, at age 71. He had been suffering from diabetes, hypertension and Alzheimer’s disease.
