, best known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or project ...

, was a Japanese

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

, promoter, and professional baseball player. He is best known as a co-founder of

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba ...

(AJPW), a promotion he founded in 1972 along with Mitsuo Momota and Yoshihiro Momota, the sons of his mentor

Rikidōzan (born Kim Sin-rak; ; November 14, 1924 – December 15, 1963), better known as Rikidōzan (), was a Korean-born Japanese wrestler who competed in sumo and professional wrestling. He was known as The Father of Puroresu, and one of the most i ...

. 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 Hulk Hogan in the United States. '' The 2006 Top 100 Historical Persons in Japan'' survey ranked Baba the 92nd greatest person in the history of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

, as voted for by the general public. Among his many accomplishments, Baba was a record seven-time winner of the Champion Carnival, a four-time PWF World Heavyweight Champion, three time NWA International Heavyweight Champion and a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion.

Early life

Shohei Baba was born on January 23, 1938, in Sanjo, Niigata Prefecture, the second son of Kazuo and Mitsu Baba. For most of his early childhood, Baba was one of the smallest children in his class, however, around the fifth grade, he began to grow at a rapid rate, and by the time he was in the ninth grade he was already 175 cm tall.ジャイアント馬場年譜 It soon became apparent he was suffering from

gigantism Gigantism ( el, γίγας, ''gígas'', " giant", plural γίγαντες, ''gígantes''), also known as giantism, is a condition characterized by excessive growth and height significantly above average. In humans, this condition is caused by ov ...

. Nevertheless, Baba excelled at baseball, becoming the top player at his local club. After graduating from elementary school, Baba enrolled in the department of

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, ...

at Sanjo Business High School. Baba was forced to give up baseball when he joined high school as he was continuing to grow at an incredible rate (190 cm at the age of 16) and no cleats could be sourced in his size. He soon joined the art club instead, but this didn't last long as the school ordered custom cleats and Baba was invited to join the baseball team. Baba continued to impress, recording 18 strikeouts during a practice game, which led to tabloids reporting on "Sanjo High School's giant pitcher" and Baba garnering the attention of

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

scouts. In 1954, Baba met with Hidetoshi Genkawa of the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

who invited Baba to drop out of high school and join the team full time. Baba accepted and began pitching for the Giants in January 1955 at #59.

Professional baseball career

Yomiuri Giants (1955–1959)

Although Baba joined the

in 1955, he did not play in the league at all in his first year with the team by recommendation of director Shigeru Mizuhara. Baba was relegated to the second team for his first year, but eventually debuted in 1956 and performed well, earning 12 wins and 1 loss in his rookie year and 13 wins and 2 losses in 1957. Both years, Baba won the

league's best pitcher award. 二宮清純『プロ野球「衝撃の昭和史」』、文藝春秋、2012年、 Despite his success, 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 technology 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.

Taiyo Whales (1960)

Fujimoto would leave for the

Taiyo Whales The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its curren ...

, and invited Baba to a training camp in an attempt to get him signed in 1960. Baba was invited for a tryout by Goro Taniguchi and eventually hired, requiring him to move to Kawasaki, however, just days after moving, Baba fell in the bathroom of his new apartment and crashed directly into the glass door of the shower, which required 17 stitches in his left elbow and led to Baba losing feeling in his hand for a while. Despite the injury not being serious, Baba retired from baseball shortly after and moved back to Niigata.

Professional wrestling career

Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance (1960–1972)

Baba first met

while he was playing baseball, who told him he would do well as a professional wrestler. With his baseball career over, Baba decided to pursue professional wrestling. Meeting with Rikidōzan again in April 1960, Baba began training in the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance (JWA) dojo along with Kanji "Antonio" Inoki, a Japanese emigrant whom Rikidōzan met during a trip to Brazil. Baba and Inoki debuted on the same show on September 30, 1960, with Baba beating Yonetaro Tanaka in his first match. In 1961, Rikidōzan arranged for Baba to wrestle and live in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

for a few months. Baba became a popular villain in America, wrestling on the west coast as the fan favourite "'Big' Shohei Baba", and as the villainous "Baba the Giant" in New York. He wrestled the likes of The Destroyer and Buddy Rogers numerous times, as well as

Bruno Sammartino Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino (October 6, 1935 – April 18, 2018) was an Italian-born American professional wrestler, best known for his work with the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF, now WWE). There, he held the WWWF World Heavy ...

for the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship in

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylv ...

in February 1964. 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. Baba also held the NWA International Heavyweight Championship on three occasions, and won the

World Big League The was the first professional wrestling promotion to be based in Japan. It operated from 1953 to 1973. History JWA under Rikidōzan (1953–1963) Rikidōzan, a former ''rikishi'' (sumo wrestling practitioner) who had debuted as a Western-st ...

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

debuted in October 1972, backed by Nippon Television. AJPW established the PWF Heavyweight Championship and Giant Baba as its top star, with Baba winning the Championship in 1973 and holding it for 1920 days, making 38 successful defences before losing to

Tor Kamata McRonald Kamaka (March 9, 1937 – July 23, 2007) was an American-Canadian professional wrestler known by the ring name Tor Kamata. He won several heavyweight and tag team championships, most notably the PWF World Heavyweight Championship in A ...

in 1978. Baba won the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship from

Jack Brisco Freddie Joe "Jack" Brisco (September 21, 1941 – February 1, 2010) was an American amateur and professional wrestler. As an amateur for Oklahoma State, Brisco was two-time All-American and won the NCAA Division I national championship. He tur ...

ending Brisco's year and a half run as champion on December 2, 1974. A week later he dropped the title back to Brisco. Baba would regain the title in America from

Abdullah The Butcher Lawrence Robert Shreve (born January 11, 1941), better known by the ring name Abdullah the Butcher, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He has a reputation for being involved in some of the most violent and bloody hardcore wrestling m ...

in 1979, making another 13 successful defences before dropping the title to

Harley Race Harley Leland Race (April 11, 1943 – August 1, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and trainer. Race wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federati ...

in 1982. Baba would go on to hold the title four times for a total of 3,847 days, or just over ten years. Baba's runs with the title made him synonymous with it, and promoted him to a new level of stardom in Japan. Between his debut in 1960 and April 1984, Baba wrestled 3000 consecutive matches and did not miss a single booking, only breaking the cycle after he suffered a minor neck injury. While continuing to be the promotion's top star, Baba also put a focus on using foreign wrestlers, inviting the likes of

Dory Funk Dorrance Wilhelm Funk (May 4, 1919 – June 3, 1973) was an American professional wrestler. He is the father of wrestlers Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk, and was a promoter of the Amarillo, Texas-based Western States Sports promotion. Early ...

, Bruiser Brody,

and Stan Hansen to compete for All Japan from the very beginning. Baba also focused heavily on training the next generation of wrestlers, particularly

Jumbo Tsuruta , better known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler who wrestled for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) for most of his career, and is well known for being the first ever Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, having won the PWF Heav ...

, who was his first student after forming AJPW, and Atsushi Onita, with whom Baba formed an almost parent-like bond. 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

Genichiro Tenryu , better known as is a retired Japanese professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter. At age 13, he entered sumo wrestling and stayed there for 13 years, after which he turned to Western-style professional wrestling. "Tenryu" was hi ...

and

as his successors. Baba ran his company with a schedule of eight tours a year travelling nationwide, and maintained this the entire time he was in charge. Baba remained an extremely popular figure among fans, and continued teaming with young wrestlers and veterans in opening matches into the late 1990s, maintaining a full-time schedule until December 1998. Under Baba's rule, All Japan Pro Wrestling reached unprecedented heights of popularity in the 1990s, thanks to Baba's booking and the performances of Baba disciples Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue and Kenta Kobashi, dubbed the "Four Pillars of Heaven" by publications. With the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship as the focal point, All Japan sold out more than 250 consecutive shows in Tokyo throughout the early to mid-1990s, routinely drawing houses in the $1,000,000 range eight times a year at Budokan Hall. At the peak of the company, tickets for the next Budokan show would be sold at the live event and completely sell out that night. In 1998, Baba finally agreed to run the Tokyo Dome on May 1, and despite it being a few years since the company peaked, they still drew 58,300 paying fans. It became well known that as a promoter, Baba would rather use a handshake agreement than a signed contract, as he had a great reputation for keeping his word when it came to match finishes and payrolls. Because of this, many regarded Baba as the most honest promoter in the professional-wrestling business. 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 5769 matches.

Private life

Little is known about Baba's life outside the ring. Said to be quiet and shy, he did not go out drinking with other wrestlers after shows. However, Baba was highly respected by foreign wrestlers, as he always made sure that they travelled first class, stayed in the best hotels, and had beer and food all pre-paid for by himself. Although not a huge drinker, Baba was known to have an incredible tolerance for alcohol and could drink for hours without getting drunk. He also smoked heavily, especially cigars, but quit after his friend Gyutsu Matsuyama, another heavy smoker, was hospitalised with stomach cancer. An urban legend states that, according to Japanese tabloids, Baba was rumoured to have been bisexual, although this hasn't been confirmed by reputable sources. On September 16, 1971, he married Motoko Kawai (born January 2, 1940) in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. Baba enjoyed staying in Hawaii and would regularly visit. The news of their wedding was not a matter of public record 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 due to the fear of the child possibly having gigantism. Despite having no children of their own, Baba and his wife developed a close relationship with Baba's student Atsushi Onita. Baba thought of Onita as one of his own children, and seriously thought about adopting Onita at one point. Onita has said "I learned the most important things as a human being from Mr. Baba". Motoko Baba died on April 14, 2018, from cirrhosis of the liver; she was 78 years old.

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 liver failure from complications of

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowe ...

at approximately 16:04 local time in the Tokyo Medical University Hospital. He was 61 years old. Present at his deathbed were his wife, his older sister, his niece, Sachiko, All Japan ring announcer Ryu Nakada and senior referee

Kyohei Wada is a Japanese professional wrestling senior referee best known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). He is the longest-tenured member of the All Japan Pro Wrestling roster, having worked for the company from 1972 to the present day. T ...

. 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,

, 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 big enough to fit his body. A memorial service was held publicly on April 17, 1999, at the Nippon Budokan the day after the 1999 Champion Carnival Final. Over 28,000 people attended, including the entirety of the

roster, as well as Baba's wife and family. His body was later cremated, and his tomb is located at Honmatsuji in Akashi City, Hyogo Prefecture.ジャイアント馬場「ファン葬」、4月17日武道館で
葬とれんど

Championships and accomplishments

** All Asia Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) ** NWA International Tag Team Championship ( 6 times) – with

NWA World Heavyweight Championship The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. The current champion is Tyrus (wrestler), ...

( 3 times) **

PWF World Heavyweight Championship The Pacific Wrestling Federation (PWF) World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship and one of the three titles that make up the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship. It was created in 1973 by All Japan ...

( 4 times) ** Champion Carnival ( 1973,

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, 1977,

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 ...

, 1981,

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C ...

) ** World's Strongest Tag Determination League (

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – In ...

) – with Jumbo Tsuruta ** World's Strongest Tag Determination League Distinguished Award (1977) - with Jumbo Tsuruta ** World's Strongest Tag Determination League Skill Award (1985) - with Dory Funk Jr. ** World's Strongest Tag Determination League Special Award (1988) – with Rusher Kimura ** World's Strongest Tag Determination League East Sports Special Award (1991) - with Andre the Giant *

International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame The International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (IPWHF) is an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum that is located in Albany, New York. The museum was founded by Seth Turner, Tony Vellano, the founder of Professional Wrestl ...

**Class of 2021 * 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) **

(6 times) * National Wrestling Alliance **

NWA Hall of Fame The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) Hall of Fame is an American professional wrestling hall of fame maintained by the NWA. It was established in 2005 to honor select wrestling personalities, mostly alumni of the NWA. Inductees receive commemora ...

( class of 2014) *

** Best Pitcher (1956, 1957, 1959) *

NWA Detroit Big Time Wrestling (also known as NWA Detroit) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Detroit, Michigan in the United States. History Professional wrestling debuted in Detroit in the 1920s when Nick Londos began promoting events ...

NWA World Tag Team Championship (Detroit version) The Detroit version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship was the top ranked professional wrestling championship for tag teams in the Detroit, Michigan-based promotion Big Time Wrestling, sometimes referred to as NWA Detroit, between 1965 and 19 ...

( 1 time) – with Jumbo Tsuruta * '' Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' ** Ranked No. 26 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the ''PWI Years'' in 2003 ** 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 ** Class of 2008 * ''

The Top 100 Historical Persons in Japan ''The Top 100 Historical Persons'' (超大型歴史アカデミー史上初1億3000万人が選ぶニッポン人が好きな偉人ベスト100発表 in Japanese), aired on Nippon Television on May 7, 2006. The program featured the results of a s ...

'' ** Ranked the 92nd greatest person from history by the people of Japan * '' Tokyo Sports'' ** 30th Anniversary Special Achievement Award (1990) ** Best Tag Team Award (1978, 1980, 1982) with Jumbo Tsuruta ** Lifetime Achievement Award (1999) ** Match of the Year (1979) with Antonio Inoki vs. Abdullah The Butcher and Tiger Jeet Singh on August 26, 1979 ** Match of the Year (1980) with Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Terry Funk and Dory Funk Jr. on December 11, 1980 ** Match of the Year (1981) vs.

Verne Gagne Laverne Clarence Gagne (February 26, 1926 – April 27, 2015) was an American amateur and professional wrestler, football player, wrestling trainer, and wrestling promoter. He was the owner and promoter of the Minneapolis-based American Wrestl ...

on January 18, 1981 ** Match of the Year (1982) vs. Stan Hansen on February 4, 1982 ** Outstanding Performance Award (1974, 1980) ** Popularity Award (1976, 1988) ** Special Award for breaking 5000 Matches (1993) ** Special Grand Prize (1983) ** Wrestler of the Year (1975, 1979) * ''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four W ...

'' ** 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

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baba, Giant 1938 births 1999 deaths All Japan Pro Wrestling Deaths from cancer in Japan Japanese baseball players Japanese male professional wrestlers NWA World Heavyweight Champions People with gigantism Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Professional wrestling promoters Professional wrestling trainers Baseball people from Niigata Prefecture Yomiuri Giants players 20th-century professional wrestlers All Asia Tag Team Champions NWA International Heavyweight Champions NWA International Tag Team Champions All Asia Heavyweight Champions PWF World Heavyweight Champions