Reginald Baker

Olympic medal record
Competitor for  Australasia
Men's Boxing
Silver	1908 London	Middleweight

Reginald Leslie "Snowy" Baker (8 February 1884 – 2 December 1953) was an Australian 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 London Olympics, representing Australasia in the 4x200m freestyle relay, finishing fourth, and in the diving where he 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. (This is denied in the article on Douglas). The pair met in a bare-knuckle return match at a London club and Baker knocked out Douglas.^[2]

Rugby Union career

Baker was a scrum-half who claimed a total of 2 international rugby caps for Australia. His debut game was against Great Britain, at Sydney, on 2 July 1904.

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 Johnny 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.

US Career

Baker moved to the California in the 1920s. While residing there he acted in some films, 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.

Selected Filmography

• The Enemy Within (1918)
• The Lure of the Bush (1918)
• The Man from Kangaroo (1920)
• The Jackeroo of Coolabong (1920)
• The Shadow of Lightning Ridge (1921)

Biography

The Snowy Baker Story, Greg Growden, 2003, ISBN 1-74051-236-7

References

• ADB biography

External links

• Reginald Baker at the Internet Movie Database
• Reginald (snowy) Leslie Baker at the National Film and Sound Archive