Giant Baba
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Giant Baba ジャイアント馬場 | |
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Colon cancer | |
Spouse(s) |
Motoko Kawai (m. 1971) |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Baba the Giant Giant Baba Shohei Baba Shohei Big Baba |
Billed height | 208 cm (6 ft 10 in)[1] |
Billed weight | 140.5 kg (310 lb)[1] |
Trained by | Fred Atkins Kazuo Okamura Rikidōzan |
Debut | September 30, 1960 |
Part of a series on |
Professional wrestling |
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Shohei Baba (馬場 正平, Baba Shōhei, January 23, 1938 – January 31, 1999), best known by his ring name Giant Baba (ジャイアント馬場, Jaianto Baba), was a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter, and professional baseball player. He is best known as a co-founder of All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), a promotion he founded in 1972 along with Mitsuo Momota and Yoshihiro Momota, the sons of his mentor Rikidōzan. For the first 10 years of its existence, Baba was the top star of All-Japan, while also serving as the booker, promoter, head trainer and president of the promotion from its inception in 1972 till his death in 1999. Baba was also responsible for recruiting much of the talent for All Japan, and was the public face of the promotion for much of his lifetime.
Considered one of the most beloved Japanese wrestlers ever, Baba was a national hero with a level of popularity in Japan comparable to that of
Early life
Shohei Baba was born on January 23, 1938, in
Professional baseball career
Yomiuri Giants (1955–1959)
Although Baba joined the Yomiuri Giants in 1955, he did not play in the league at all in his first year with the team by recommendation of director Shigeru Mizuhara.[4] Baba was relegated to the second team for his first year, earning 12 wins and 1 loss in his rookie year and 13 wins and 2 losses in 1957. Both years, Baba won the Nippon Professional Baseball second team league's best pitcher award.[5] However, at that time, professional baseball in Japan did not hold official games between the second team, and this career seems to be a lie. Baba began suffering eyesight problems in 1957 and was forced to take time off for surgery when it was discovered he had developed a brain tumour. Baba underwent craniotomy at the University of Tokyo Hospital on December 23, 1957. The success rate of the surgery at that time was very low, and the doctor warned Baba he was likely to lose his eyesight completely, however, the operation was successful, and Baba was discharged after a week. He returned to the camp with a bandage on his head in January 1958. Baba played for two more seasons, winning best pitcher for a third time in 1959. However, after Hideo Fujimoto, a coach who formed a bond with Baba and regularly advocated for him to start, left the team, Baba was released from the Giants in 1959 after five seasons.[6][7]
Taiyo Whales (1960)
Fujimoto would leave for the
Professional wrestling career
Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance (1960–1972)
Baba first met
While Baba was in America, his trainer Rikidōzan died, and the JWA began to struggle, and Baba returned to Japan full time in 1966. He formed a popular tag team known as "B-I Cannon" with Inoki, and the two won the NWA International Tag Team Championship from Tarzan Tyler and Bill Watts in 1968, going on to hold the titles four times in total.[11] Baba also held the NWA International Heavyweight Championship on three occasions,[12] and won the World Big League a record six times. As the JWA continued to struggle going into the 1970s, Baba and Inoki agreed to go their own separate ways. Inoki attempted a hostile takeover of the JWA in late 1971, for which he was fired, whereas Baba decided not to renew his contract in 1972. The JWA would disband the following year.
All Japan Pro Wrestling (1972–1999)
After leaving JWA, Baba and Inoki formed their own promotions. Rikidōzan's two sons followed Baba to his new promotion and helped co-found it. Baba's
While continuing to be the promotion's top star, Baba also put a focus on using foreign wrestlers, inviting the likes of
After losing the PWF Heavyweight Championship for the final time in 1985, Baba stepped back from the main event and instead focused on running the company while competing in lower-level matches, pushing
Throughout 1998, it was becoming clearer and clearer that Baba's health was deteriorating. Despite this, he worked a full-time schedule throughout the year, touring the country and competing on most shows. However, Baba was slowly losing a tremendous amount of weight, and looked much more pale and weak compared to his previous self. His final match, prior to being confined to a hospital bed, occurred on December 5, 1998, at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, where he teamed with Rusher Kimura and Mitsuo Momota to take on Masanobu Fuchi, Haruka Eigen, and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, bringing his career total to 5,769 matches.[16][17]
Personal life
Little is known about Baba's life outside the ring. A reserved and private man, he did not drink or carouse with other wrestlers after shows. Baba was highly respected by foreign wrestlers, as he always made sure that they travelled first class and stayed in the best hotels, and paid for all of their beer and food. Although not a heavy or frequent drinker, Baba was known to have an incredible tolerance for alcohol and consume it for hours without showing any effects. He was a heavy smoker who preferred cigars, but quit after his friend Gyutsu Matsuyama, another heavy smoker, was hospitalised with stomach cancer.
On September 16, 1971, he married Motoko Kawai (born January 2, 1940) in Hawaii, a place Baba enjoyed and regularly visited. Knowledge of their wedding was not widely publicized until almost ten years later, when they announced it at a press conference. A ceremony was held in 1983. Baba and his wife had no children fearing the child could also suffer from gigantism. Baba and his wife instead developed a close relationship with Baba's student Atsushi Onita who Baba considered like his own child; Baba and Motoko considered adopting Onita at one point. Onita has said "I learned the most important things as a human being from Mr. Baba".
Motoko died on April 14, 2018, from cirrhosis of the liver; she was 78 years old.[18]
Death
In January 1999, Baba was taken in to a hospital and confined to a bed. He saw his last wrestling match on January 22, as Toshiaki Kawada defeated Mitsuharu Misawa for the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship. Nine days later on January 31, 1999, Baba died of
Baba had known about his cancer diagnosis for at least a year prior to his death but kept it a secret, not wanting to cause worry about his condition. Baba's three closest employees, Jumbo Tsuruta, Mitsuharu Misawa and Joe Higuchi, did not know about it until after he died.
Baba's funeral was delayed due to the fact they could not find a casket large enough to fit his body. A memorial service was held publicly on April 17, 1999, at the
Championships and accomplishments
- All Japan Pro Wrestling
- All Asia Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- NWA International Tag Team Championship (6 times) – with Jumbo Tsuruta
- NWA World Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
- PWF World Heavyweight Championship (4 times)
- Champion Carnival (1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1981, 1982)
- World's Strongest Tag Determination League (1978, 1980) – with Jumbo Tsuruta
- World's Strongest Tag Determination League Distinguished Award (1977) – with Jumbo Tsuruta[20]
- World's Strongest Tag Determination League Skill Award (1985) – with Dory Funk Jr.[21]
- World's Strongest Tag Determination League Special Award (1988) – with Rusher Kimura[22]
- World's Strongest Tag Determination League East Sports Special Award (1991) – with Andre the Giant[23]
- International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Class of 2021[24]
- Japan Wrestling Association
- All Asia Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Toyonobori
- NWA International Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
- NWA International Tag Team Championship (6 times) – with Michiaki Yoshimura (1), Antonio Inoki (4), and Seiji Sakaguchi (1)
- World Big League(6 times)
- National Wrestling Alliance
- Nippon Professional Baseball
- Best Pitcher (1956, 1957, 1959)
- NWA Detroit
- 1 time) – with Jumbo Tsuruta
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Ranked No. 26 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003[25]
- Ranked No. 10 of the top 100 tag teams of the PWI Years with Jumbo Tsuruta in 2003
- Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
- The Top 100 Historical Persons in Japan
- Ranked the 91st greatest person from history by the people of Japan[2]
- Tokyo Sports
- 30th Anniversary Special Achievement Award (1990)[26]
- Best Tag Team Award (1978, 1980, 1982) with Jumbo Tsuruta[27][28]
- Lifetime Achievement Award (1999)
- Match of the Year (1979) with Antonio Inoki vs. Abdullah The Butcher and Tiger Jeet Singh on August 26, 1979[27]
- Match of the Year (1980) with Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Terry Funk and Dory Funk Jr. on December 11, 1980[28]
- Match of the Year (1981) vs. Verne Gagne on January 18, 1981[28]
- Match of the Year (1982) vs. Stan Hansen on February 4, 1982[28]
- Outstanding Performance Award (1974, 1980)[27][28]
- Popularity Award (1976, 1988)[27][28]
- Special Award for breaking 5000 Matches (1993)[26]
- Special Grand Prize (1983)
- Wrestler of the Year (1975, 1979)[27][29]
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Best Booker(1989–1991)
- Promoter of the Year(1990–1994)
- Worst Tag Team (1990, 1991) with André the Giant
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0.
- ^ a b "Japanese rank their favorite 100 historical figures". Japan Probe. Archived from the original on April 15, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
- ^ a b ジャイアント馬場年譜
- など新潟県出身の先輩がいるため、馬場の言う「新潟県第1号のプロ野球選手」は本人の記憶違いとしている。
- ISBN 9784166608812
- ^ "ジャイアント馬場 プロ野球デビューから現役断念までの足跡". NEWSポストセブン.
- ^ "馬場 正平(読売ジャイアンツ) | 個人年度別成績". NPB.jp 日本野球機構.
- ^ "WWWF " Events Database " CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
- ^ "WWA " Events Database " CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
- ^ "NWA Capitol Wrestling " Events Database " CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
- ^ "JWA New Year Championship Series 1968 - Tag 6 " Events Database " CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
- ^ "Titles " Giant Baba " Wrestlers Database " CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
- ^ "Title Reigns " PWF Heavyweight Championship " Titles Database " CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
- ^ "Giant Baba: Matches". cagematch.net.
- ^ "Title Reigns " PWF Heavyweight Championship " Titles Database " CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
- ^ "AJPW Real World Tag League 1998 - Tag 16 " Events Database " CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
- ^ "Giant Baba - Match Results: 1998". puroresu.com.
- ^ "Former AJPW Owner Motoko Baba Passes Away at 78". Won/F4W - Wwe News, Pro Wrestling News, Wwe Results, Aew News, Aew Results. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
- ^ ジャイアント馬場「ファン葬」、4月17日武道館で Archived November 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine 葬とれんど
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Open Tag League 1977 " Tournaments Database " CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Real World Tag League 1985 " Tournaments Database " CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
- ^ "PUROLOVE.com". www.purolove.com.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Real World Tag League 1991 " Tournaments Database " CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
- ^ "Induction Class 2021 | Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame". IPWHF. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Top 500 Wrestlers of the PWI Years". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on October 14, 2009. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
- ^ a b "The Great Hisa's Puroresu Dojo: Puroresu Awards: 1990s". Puroresu.com. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e "The Great Hisa's Puroresu Dojo: Puroresu Awards: 1970s". Puroresu.com. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f "The Great Hisa's Puroresu Dojo: Puroresu Awards: 1980s". Puroresu.com. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
- ^ 東京スポーツ プロレス大賞. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). Retrieved January 20, 2014.
External links
- Media related to Giant Baba at Wikimedia Commons
- Giant Baba's profile at Cagematch.net , Wrestlingdata.com , Internet Wrestling Database
- Pantozzi, John. "Giant Baba". Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. Archived from the originalon February 1, 2009. Retrieved March 18, 2008.
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference (Minors)