Jacob Henry "Buddy" Baer (June 11, 1915 – July 18, 1986) was an American boxer and later an actor with parts in seventeen films, as well as roles on multiple television series in the 1950s and 1960s.

[2][3] In 1941, he came extremely close to boxing stardom at Washington's Griffith Stadium, when in the opinion of most ringside officials, Joe Louis gave him a disqualifying late sixth-round hit in a title match that should have made Baer the world heavyweight champion.

[7][8] Though O'Dowd had faced the great Joe Louis the previous year, he showed no desire to mix with Baer and appeared thoroughly outmatched.

[citation needed] Frank Connolly, a former Golden Gloves champion, fell to Baer on March 20, 1935, in a convincing first-round knockout at the Oakland Auditorium before a substantial early-career crowd of 9,500.

The final blow was a right hook that started low and came up with enormous power to knock out Connolly, who weighed 245, only a pound heavier than Baer.

In a complete victory, Baer had Delaney down five times before the referee counted him out 34 seconds into the fourth round from a right behind the ear.

Baer was tired in the last round, and though he had an advantage in reach and weight, he did little damage in his final rally, having lost speed and precision in his blows.

[2][1] At this early stage of his career, Baer suffered a rare loss on April 22, 1936, dropping a six-round decision to Frenchman Andre Lenglet at Oakland's Municipal Auditorium.

One reporter, who wrote that Lenglet won each round by a large margin, noted that Baer failed to score with a telling blow throughout the match.

Lenglet scored well with short left jabs to the face, and followups to the midriff and his frequent changes of pace confused Baer's ability to use his strong right.

Baer won on points in a ten-round decision at Swansea, England, and though he had a significant advantage in height of nearly eight inches, he had only twenty pounds in weight over the sturdy London boxer.

[17][18] He brought a stop to seasoned Jewish heavyweight Abe Simon before 25,000 fans, on August 30, 1937, scoring a technical knockout at Yankee Stadium in 2:38 of the third round.

[19][20] Baer lost to gifted Finnish boxer Gunnar Barlund on March 4, 1938, before 8,565 fans in a seventh-round technical knockout at Madison Square Garden.

Baer maintained an edge in the fifth, and though both showed fatigue, Gunnar took the sixth, scoring at least ten straight rights and lefts without a return.

Baer made no excuses for his performances but believed his layoff from the ring had affected his timing and ability to connect punches, particularly his right.

A savage right hook in the opening of the seventh severely cut Mann's eye, causing his handlers to end the fight.

Although he pocketed $2,500 for the contest, Baer had faced stronger opposition in the recent past, as Blackshear had dropped his last two fights, suffering a loss and a strong knockout.

Regardless of the decision, many ringside believed Louis would have eventually won the fight, as he punished Baer repeatedly in the sixth, and had fully recovered from his knockdown in the first.

[33][34] In their rematch in Madison Square Garden, on January 9, 1942, before an estimated crowd of 19,000, Louis knocked Baer out in the first, after downing him two previous times.

After rising to his feet again, Baer was battered around the ring and floored for the last time with a straight right to the head that put him down for a seven count.

[2] With the war over, and his Army discharge complete in September 1945, he returned to Sacramento and started his most successful business, Buddy Baer's Bar of Music at 1411 11th Street, which he opened with Fred Cullincini.

He dabbled with less success in a variety of other businesses, including a health food store, a clothing shop, heavy equipment sales and real estate.

[5] For a number of years he supported himself as a nightclub singer, putting his bass-baritone voice to use at such places as New York's Leon and Eddie's, and the Charles Club in Baltimore.

Baer's other television credits included guest roles on The Abbott and Costello Show, Adventures of Superman, Captain Midnight, Cheyenne, Circus Boy, Climax!, Have Gun – Will Travel, Peter Gunn, Rawhide, Sky King, Wagon Train, Tales of the Vikings, Toast of the Town, and in the adventure series Sheena, Queen of the Jungle.