Ox Baker

Ox Baker
Ox Baker speaks at the Killer Kowalski Memorial Show in Malden, Massachusetts on October 26, 2008.
Born	(1934-04-19)April 19, 1934 Sedalia, Missouri, United States
Died	October 20, 2014(2014-10-20) (aged 80) Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Doug Baker Ox Baker The Ox The Arkansas Ox
Billed height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Billed weight	340 lb (150 kg)
Billed from	Waterloo, Iowa
Trained by	Buddy Austin Pat O'Connor Bob Geigel
Debut	1964

Douglas A. Baker (April 19, 1934 – October 20, 2014) was an American professional wrestler and actor, better known professionally as Ox Baker. He was famous for his finishing move, the Heart Punch, sometimes called the "Hurt Punch", after Baker's famous catchphrase "I love to hurt people!". He appeared in several movies including Blood Circus and Escape from New York.

Baker, the oldest of five siblings, began as an amateur high school wrestler, boxer and football player in his adopted hometown of Waterloo, Iowa before getting thrown out of school. He also played football for two years in the armed forces.

Baker was trained by Buddy Austin, Pat O'Connor, and Bob Geigel, and debuted in 1964. As time went on he was winning a majority of his matches by knock out caused by the Heart Punch; he later renamed the move the Hurt Punch when Stan Stasiak, from who Baker adopted the move, objected. Initially debuting as a kind, horn-rimmed glasses wearing, country simpleton, Baker later turned into a villain. He was known for his unique look with his shaved head and black bushy mustache and eyebrows and ability to cut a promo. He was also famous for wearing t-shirts to the ring, declaring himself "The Great Heart Puncher".

In 1967 Baker worked for the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) as The Friendly Arkansas Ox. In his first appearance there, Baker teamed with Armand Hussein in a handicap match versus Gorilla Monsoon. Later on Baker went to fight in different promotions through North America, including Stampede Wrestling in Canada, the World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico, and the United States-based American Wrestling Association throughout the 1970s. On June 13, 1971, Baker and his partner the Claw were wrestling in an AWA Midwest Tag Team Championship tag team match against Alberto Torres and Cowboy Bob Ellis in Verdigre, Nebraska. Torres was injured during the match and died three days later. Though evidence indicated that Torres died of a ruptured appendix, Baker's Heart Punch was blamed; the death was worked into Baker's wrestling persona, reinforcing his heel character. On August 1, 1972, Baker lost to Ray Gunkel. Following the match, Gunkel died in the locker room; his death was attributed to a blood clot, which broke off from a hematoma caused by Baker, which led to a heart attack. Again, the death was worked into Baker's character, and in 1974, Baker caused a riot in Cleveland, Ohio, for continually Heart Punching an opponent after the match was finished.