View source for Snowy Baker

{{short description|Australian athlete, sports promoter, and actor}}
{{Other people|Reginald Baker}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox rugby biography
| name = Reginald Baker
| image = Snowy Baker pose.jpg
| birth_name = Reginald Leslie Baker
| birth_date = {{birth date|1884|2|8|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Surry Hills, New South Wales|Surry Hills]], [[New South Wales]], Australia
| death_date = {{death date and age|1953|12|2|1884|2|8|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], United States
| height =
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| school =
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| relatives = [[Harald Baker]] (brother)
| spouse =
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| ru_position = [[Scrum-half (rugby union)|Scrum-half]]
| ru_currentteam =
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| repyears1 = 1904
| repteam1 = [[Australian national rugby union team|Australia]]
| repcaps1 = 2
| reppoints1 = 0
| website =
| medals = 
{{MedalSport | Men's [[amateur boxing|boxing]] }}
{{MedalCountry | {{ANZ}}}}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Boxing at the Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]] }}
{{MedalSilver | [[Boxing at the 1908 Summer Olympics|1908 London]] | [[Boxing at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Middleweight|Middleweight]] }}
}}

'''Reginald Leslie "Snowy" Baker''' (8 February 1884{{spaced ndash}}2 December 1953) was an Australian athlete, sports promoter, and actor. Born in [[Surry Hills, New South Wales|Surry Hills]], an inner-city suburb of [[Sydney]], [[New South Wales]], Baker excelled at a number of sports, winning New South Wales [[swimming (sport)|swimming]] and [[boxing]] championships while still a teenager. Playing [[rugby union]] for [[Eastern Suburbs District RUFC|Eastern Suburbs]], he played several games for [[New South Wales rugby union team|New South Wales]] against [[Queensland rugby union team|Queensland]], and in 1904 represented [[Australian national rugby union team|Australia]] in two [[Test match (rugby union)|Test matches]] against [[Great Britain national rugby team|Great Britain]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espnscrum.com/australia/rugby/player/1649.html|title=Snowy Baker, Australia|publisher=Scrum.com|accessdate=12 July 2010}}</ref> At the [[1908 Summer Olympics|1908 London Olympics]], Baker represented [[Australasia at the 1908 Summer Olympics|Australasia]] in swimming and [[Diving at the Summer Olympics|diving]], as well as taking part in the [[Boxing at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Middleweight|middleweight boxing event]], in which he won a silver medal.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/45153 |title=Snowy Baker |work=Olympedia |access-date=20 March 2021}}</ref> He also excelled in horsemanship, water polo, running, rowing and cricket.<ref name=ADB>Mandle W. F. "[http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/baker-reginald-leslie-snowy-5106 Baker, Reginald Leslie (Snowy) (1884–1953)]", [[Australian Dictionary of Biography]] 1979. Accessed 30 January 2015</ref> However, "His stature as an athlete depends largely upon the enormous range rather than the outstanding excellence of his activities; it was as an entrepreneur-showman, publicist and businessman that he seems in retrospect to have been most important."<ref name=ADB/>

Baker retired from competition after being injured in a motor-vehicle accident, and became involved in boxing promotion, bringing a number of top fighters from North America and Europe to fight in Australia. During this time, he began to act in a number of [[silent film]] roles which showcased his [[horsemanship]], including ''[[The Enemy Within (1918 film)|The Enemy Within]]'', ''[[The Man from Kangaroo]]'', and ''[[The Shadow of Lightning Ridge]]''. In 1920, Baker left Australia for the United States, where he became known as an entrepreneur and stunt coach. He died in 1953 in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], from [[cerebrovascular disease]].<ref name=ADB/>

== Athletics record ==
[[File:Snowy Baker stance.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Baker prior to the [[1908 Summer Olympics]], in which he won a silver medal.]]

Baker played 26 sports during his lifetime and excelled at most of them:<ref name=AOC />
* 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 [[British and Irish Lions|Great Britain]].
* At 17 he was middleweight boxing champion of New South Wales, and
* At 18 took the [[List of Australian middleweight boxing champions|middleweight]] and [[List of Australian heavyweight boxing champions|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 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay|4 × 200 m freestyle relay]], finishing fourth, and in the [[Diving at the 1908 Summer Olympics|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. Baker is the only Australian athlete to complete in three separate sports at the Olympic Games, and he did it all at the same Olympics.<ref name=AOC>{{cite web |url=http://corporate.olympics.com.au/athlete/reginald-snowy-baker |publisher=Australian Olympic Committee|title=Reginald 'Snowy' Baker |accessdate=14 April 2017}}</ref> Supporters of Snowy Baker, later claimed that Douglas' father was the referee and sole judge, but Douglas Sr was there merely to present the medals, in his role as president of the ABA, and had no part in the actual judging.<ref>[http://www.boxing-monthly.co.uk/content/0402/two.htm Boxing Monthly] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113102802/http://www.boxing-monthly.co.uk/content/0402/two.htm |date=13 November 2013 }}</ref>

==Rugby union career==
Baker was a [[scrum-half (rugby union)|scrum-half]] who claimed two 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 round 2
*Defeated [[William Childs (boxer)|William Childs]] (Great Britain) Decision
*Defeated [[William Philo]] (Great Britain) KO round 1
*Lost to [[Johnny Douglas]] (Great Britain) Decision<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200418075019/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ba/snowy-baker-1.html Snowy Baker] at sports-reference.com, accessed 30 January 2015</ref>

== Sports administration ==
After his retirement from professional sport following a motor vehicle accident, Baker turned his hand to boxing promotion. Working with a dubious, larger-than-life character by the name of [[Hugh D. McIntosh|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. Numbered among these was the New York light and welterweight [[Harry Stone (boxer)|Harry Stone]]. As general manager of Stadia Ltd in 1914, he led negotiations to bring [[Georges Carpentier]] to Australia.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article89309043 |title=Baker Leaves for America |newspaper=[[The Leader (Melbourne)]] |issue=3028 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=17 January 1914 |access-date=17 November 2021 |page=25 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> Baker 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. Having publicly denounced Darcy over his evasion of war service;<ref>{{cite book|author=W. G. McMinn |title=Australian Dictionary of Biography: 'Darcy, James Leslie (Les) (1895–1917) |chapter=Darcy, James Leslie (Les) (1895–1917) |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/darcy-james-leslie-les-5881/text10007 |year=1981 |access-date=17 November 2021}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Snowy Baker story|last=Growden|first=Greg|publisher=Random House Australia|year=2003|isbn=1740512367|location=Milsons Point, N.S.W.|pages=329–330}}</ref>

== Film career ==
Baker became Australia's darling of the screen when his silent movie career took off. His movies included ''[[The Enemy Within (1918 film)|The Enemy Within]]'', ''[[The Man from Kangaroo]]'', and ''[[The Shadow of Lightning Ridge]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|magazine=Filmink|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/good-sports-australian-athletes-act/|title=Good Sports: Australian Athletes Who Act|date=12 July 2019}}</ref>

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. He was called "Australia's first action movie star".<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|magazine=Filmink|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/australian-movie-stars/|title=Australian Movie Stars|date=18 August 2019}}</ref>

== US career ==
[[File:"The Sword of Valor" poster.jpg|thumb|right|150px|A poster for ''The Sword of Valor'', a 1924 film in which Baker played the lead role.]]
Baker moved to 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.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Snowy Baker story|last=Growden|first=Greg|publisher=Random House Australia|year=2003|isbn=1740512367|location=Milsons Point, N.S.W.|pages=317–318}}</ref>

==Filmography==
* ''[[The Enemy Within (1918 film)|The Enemy Within]]'' (1918)
* ''[[The Lure of the Bush]]'' (1918)
* ''[[The Man from Kangaroo]]'' (1920)
* ''[[The Shadow of Lightning Ridge]]'' (1920)
* ''[[The Jackeroo of Coolabong]]'' (1920) aka ''The Fighting Breed''
* ''[[Sleeping Acres]]'' (1921)
* ''Pals'' (1923)<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article120542026 Title] ''[[The Sunday Times (Sydney, Australia)|Sunday Times, Sydney]]'', 18 March 1923, at [[National Library of Australia#Trove|Trove]]</ref>
* ''[[His Last Race]]'' (1923)
* ''[[The White Panther]]'' (1924)
* ''[[The Empire Builders]]'' (1924)
* ''[[The Sword of Valor]]'' (1924)
* ''[[Fighter's Paradise]]'' (1924)
*''[[Big City (1937 film)|Big City]]'' (1937)
* ''[[The Kid from Texas (1939 film)|The Kid From Texas]]'' (1939)

===Stage===
*''The Bonded Woman'' (1922) - Los Angeles<ref>Schallert, Edwin. Review: "Show Has Large Map; ''Bonded Woman'', "Snowy" Baker, at Grauman's
''[[Los Angeles Times]] 8 August 1922: p.11.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==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]
* {{Find a Grave|13590699}}
{{Commons category}}
*{{sports links}}

{{1908 Australasian Olympic team}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Reginald}}
[[Category:1884 births]]
[[Category:1953 deaths]]
[[Category:Australia international rugby union players]]
[[Category:Boxers from Sydney]]
[[Category:Australian male divers]]
[[Category:Swimmers from Sydney]]
[[Category:Australian male silent film actors]]
[[Category:Australian boxing promoters]]
[[Category:Professional wrestling promoters]]
[[Category:Olympic boxers for Australasia]]
[[Category:Olympic divers for Australasia]]
[[Category:Olympic swimmers for 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:Olympic medalists in boxing]]
[[Category:Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian male actors]]
[[Category:Australian male boxers]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Middleweight boxers]]
[[Category:Rugby union players from Sydney]]
[[Category:Rugby union scrum-halves]]
[[Category:Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Sportsmen from New South Wales]]
[[Category:Eastern Suburbs RUFC players]]
[[Category:Australian rugby union players]]
[[Category:New South Wales rugby union team players]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian sportsmen]]