Reginald Baker
5838143
226043280
2008-07-16T15:59:51Z
144.134.93.20
/* Film career */ Correct spelling error
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{{MedalSport | Men's [[Boxing at the Summer Olympics|Boxing]]}}
{{MedalSilver | [[1908 Summer Olympics|1908 London]] | [[Boxing at the 1908 Summer Olympics - Middleweight|Middleweight]]}}
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'''Reginald ("Snowy") Leslie Baker''' ([[8 February]] [[1884]] – [[2 December]] [[1953]]) was an [[Australia]]n athlete, sports promoter and film actor, who was born in [[Surry Hills]], an inner-city suburb of [[Sydney, New South Wales]]. He died in [[Los Angeles, California]] ([[United States]])
== Athletics record ==
Baker played 26 sports during his lifetime and excelled at most of them:
* At the age of 13 Baker was the [[New South Wales]] open swimming champion for 110 and 220 yards (100 and 200m).
* At 16 he played in the [[Australian Rugby Union]] team against [[Great Britain]].
* At 17 he was middleweight boxing champion of New South Wales, and
* At 18 took the middleweight and heavyweight boxing titles of [[Australia]].
Baker was also prominent at polo, water polo, cricket and diving, and proficient in surfing, fencing, hockey, rowing, yachting and equestrian events. He appeared at the [[1908 Olympics|1908 London Olympics]], representing Australasia in the [[Swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics - Men's 4x200 metre freestyle relay|4x200m freestyle relay]], finishing fourth, and in the [[Diving at the 1908 Summer Olympics|diving]] where lost in the first round, coming seventh against the powerful Germans who dominated the sport at the time. He also took part in the Olympic boxing competition, where he lost the final match against [[Johnny Douglas]], winning a silver medal. Douglas' father, J H Douglas, as President of the Amateur Boxing Association, presented his son with the gold medal and Baker with the silver. The official report did not name referees, but a number of newspaper and magazine reports later claimed that Douglas senior had refereed the final and Baker confirmed this in an interview in 1952 with respected journalist Norman Bartlett. The pair met in a bare-knuckle return match at a London club and Baker knocked out Douglas.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sahof.org.au/hallOfFame/memberProfile/index.php?memberID=338&memberType=athlete|title=Reginald 'Snowy' Baker - Boxing, Rugby Union, Diving, Swimming, Polo|publisher=Sport Australia Hall of Fame |date=[[2008-05-01]]}}</ref>
== Olympic boxing results ==
*Defeated [[William J. Dees]] (Great Britain) KO 2
*Defeated [[William Childs]] (Great Britain) 2-0
*Defeated [[William Philo]] (Great Britain) KO 1
*Lost to [[John Douglas]] (Great Britain) 0-2
== Sports Administration ==
After his retirement from professional sport following a debilitating motor vehicle accident, Baker turned his hand to boxing promotion. Working with a dubious, larger-than-life character by the name of Hugh D. "Huge Deal" McIntosh, Baker became one of the premier boxing promoters in Australia, bringing to the country many of the best boxers of the day from North America and Europe. He was responsible for starting the careers of many of Australia's best pugilists, most notably [[Les Darcy]]. However, he and Darcy had a major falling out, resulting in the latter stowing away to the United States. When Darcy died in May 1917 from complications resulting from a botched dental procedure, many Australians blamed Baker for his death. It was this fall from grace in the eyes of the Australian public that would ultimately result in Baker's permanent relocation to [[California]].
== Film career ==
Baker became Australia's darling of the screen when his silent movie career took off. His movies included 'The Enemy Within', 'The Man from Kangaroo', and 'The Shadow of Lightning Ridge'. During this same time, he was also writing and editing a publication titled 'Snowy Baker's Magazine'. For many years, until he settled in the United States, Baker was Australia's leading actor and matinee idol. While residing in California he managed a polo club and coached such actors as [[Douglas Fairbanks]] in horse riding. He taught [[Elizabeth Taylor]], [[Shirley Temple]], [[Greta Garbo]] and [[Rudolph Valentino]] how to ride, fence and swim.
==References==
* [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A070152b.htm?hilite=Baker ADB biography]
==External links==
* {{imdb name|id=0048853|name=Reginald Baker}}
*[http://colsearch.nfsa.afc.gov.au/nfsa/search/summary/summary.w3p;adv=yes;group=;groupequals=;page=0;parentid=;query=Number%3A355696%20|%20Number%3A354609%20|%20Number%3A552885%20|%20Number%3A358976%20|%20Number%3A552861%20|%20Number%3A556066%20|%20Number%3A356514%20|%20Number%3A351402%20|%20Number%3A351724%20|%20Number%3A354504%20|%20Number%3A551289%20|%20Number%3A364454%20|%20Number%3A446244;querytype=;resCount=10 Reginald (snowy) Leslie Baker at the National Film and Sound Archive]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Reginald}}
[[Category:1884 births]]
[[Category:1953 deaths]]
[[Category:Australian film actors]]
[[Category:Australian boxers]]
[[Category:Australian divers]]
[[Category:Australian freestyle swimmers]]
[[Category:Australian silent film actors]]
[[Category:Olympic boxers of Australasia]]
[[Category:Olympic divers of Australasia]]
[[Category:Olympic swimmers of Australasia]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medalists for Australasia]]
[[Category:Boxers at the 1908 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Divers at the 1908 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Swimmers at the 1908 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Sportspeople of multiple sports]]
[[de:Reginald Baker]]
[[ru:Бейкер, Реджинальд]]