Snowy Baker

Reginald Baker

Birth name	Reginald Leslie Baker
Date of birth	(1884-02-08)8 February 1884
Place of birth	Surry Hills, New South Wales, Australia
Date of death	2 December 1953(1953-12-02) (aged 69)
Place of death	Los Angeles, California, United States
Notable relative(s)	Harald Baker (brother)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Scrum-half International career Years Team Apps (Points) 1904 Australia 2 (0)
Medal record Men's boxing Representing Australasia Olympic Games 1908 London Middleweight

Reginald Leslie "Snowy" Baker (8 February 1884 – 2 December 1953) was an Australian athlete, sports promoter, and actor. Born in Surry Hills, an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Baker excelled at a number of sports, winning New South Wales swimming and boxing championships while still a teenager. Playing rugby union for Eastern Suburbs, he played several games for New South Wales against Queensland, and in 1904 represented Australia in two Test matches against Great Britain.^[1] At the 1908 London Olympics, Baker represented Australasia in swimming and diving, as well as taking part in the middleweight boxing event, in which he won a silver medal.^[2] He also excelled in horsemanship, water polo, running, rowing and cricket.^[3] 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."^[3]

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, 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.^[3]