Giant Baba

Giant Baba was a famous star in Japan.

He was a very tall man. He grew very fast when he was young.

He first played professional baseball. He was a great pitcher.

But he had to stop playing baseball.

Then he tried wrestling. He became a huge hero.

He even started his own wrestling group.

He was a very honest leader. He always kept his word. People loved watching him compete.

He worked hard for many years. He did thousands of matches. He was a legend in his land.

Giant Baba was a famous star in Japan.

He was a very tall man. He grew very fast as a boy. This was due to a condition called gigantism.

He first played professional baseball.

He was a great pitcher for the Yomiuri Giants. He had to stop playing after five seasons.

Then he tried professional wrestling.

He became a national hero. In 1972, he helped start a group called All Japan Pro Wrestling. He was the top star and the leader.

He won many big titles. One title was the PWF World Heavyweight Championship. He held it for over ten years.

Baba was a very honest leader. He was known for keeping his word. He also trained many new wrestlers. Some fans called his best students the "Four Pillars of Heaven." He worked hard for many years. He wrestled 5,769 matches in his life. He was a true legend in Japan.

Giant Baba was a legendary figure in Japanese sports and entertainment.

He was a professional wrestler, a promoter, and a baseball player. People in Japan loved him very much. Some say his fame was like Hulk Hogan in the United States. He was even ranked as the 93rd greatest person in Japanese history in a 2006 survey. This shows how much he meant to the public. He was a man who built a whole world of wrestling for his fans.

His life changed quickly when he was a young boy.

He grew at a very fast rate due to gigantism. By age 16, he was 190 cm tall. He first tried to be a professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Yomiuri Giants starting in 1955. He was a great pitcher for the second team. However, he had to face a hard job when he found a brain tumor. He had surgery at the University of Tokyo Hospital in 1957.

The doctors said he might lose his sight, but the surgery worked.

After baseball, Baba turned to professional wrestling.

He trained with the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance. He met his mentor, Rikidōzan, who told him he would be a good wrestler. Baba even traveled to the United States to wrestle. In New York, he was known as "Baba the Giant." He later teamed with Antonio Inoki to win the NWA International Tag Team Championship four times. These early years helped him become a world-class athlete.

In 1972, Baba helped start All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW).

He worked with Mitsuo Momota and Yoshihiro Momota to build it. Baba was the president and the top star for many years. He won the PWF World Heavyweight Championship many times. He held it for a total of 3,847 days.

He also won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in 1974. He was a very successful leader who brought in many foreign wrestlers.

Baba was known for being a very honest man. He often used handshake agreements instead of long contracts.

People trusted him because he always kept his word. He also spent a lot of time training new wrestlers. His students, like the "Four Pillars of Heaven," became huge stars. He worked a very busy schedule for many years. By the end of his career, he had wrestled 5,769 matches. He remained a hero to his fans until the very end.

Giant Baba, born Shohei Baba, was a monumental figure in Japanese sports and entertainment.

He was a professional wrestler, a promoter, and a professional baseball player. His popularity in Japan was immense, comparable to the fame of Hulk Hogan in the United States. In a 2006 survey, the Japanese public ranked him as the 93rd greatest person in the history of Japan. Baba was more than just an athlete; he was a national hero and a foundational leader in the wrestling industry. He spent his life building a professional wrestling culture that resonated across the country.

His journey began with a dramatic physical transformation during his youth. Born in Sanjo, Niigata Prefecture, on January 23, 1938, he was initially one of the smallest children in his class. However, during the fifth grade, he began growing at a rapid rate. By the ninth grade, he stood 175 cm tall. By age 16, he had reached 190 cm due to a condition called gigantism. This height initially made playing baseball difficult because custom cleats were hard to find. Eventually, he joined the baseball team and became a standout pitcher, earning the attention of professional scouts.

In 1955, Baba joined the Yomiuri Giants as a professional baseball player.

He spent his first year on the second team, where he earned the best pitcher award in the second team league in both 1956 and 1957. His baseball career faced a serious challenge in 1957 when a brain tumor was discovered. He underwent a craniotomy at the University of Tokyo Hospital on December 23, 1957. Although doctors warned him he might lose his eyesight, the surgery was successful. He returned to his team with a bandage on his head in January 1958. After a brief stint with the Taiyo Whales in 1960, an injury led to his retirement from baseball.

Following his baseball career, Baba transitioned into professional wrestling.

He began training at the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance (JWA) dojo under his mentor, Rikidōzan. In 1960, he debuted alongside Kanji "Antonio" Inoki. During his early years, Baba traveled to the United States to gain international experience. In New York, he performed as the villainous "Baba the Giant." He competed against famous wrestlers like Bruno Sammartino in Madison Square Garden. Later, he and Inoki formed the "B-I Cannon" tag team, winning the NWA International Tag Team Championship four times.

In October 1972, Baba co-founded All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) with Mitsuo Momota and Yoshihiro Momota.

As the president and top star, he shaped the identity of the promotion. Baba was a highly decorated champion, winning the PWF World Heavyweight Championship four times. He held this title for a total of 3,847 days, which is over ten years.

He also won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Jack Brisco on December 2, 1974. His dominance in the ring helped elevate AJPW to unprecedented levels of success.

As a promoter, Baba was known for his unique leadership style and his focus on talent. He frequently recruited talented foreign wrestlers like Abdullah The Butcher and Stan Hansen to compete in Japan. He also dedicated himself to training the next generation of stars. His students, including Jumbo Tsuruta and the group known as the "Four Pillars of Heaven," became legends. Under his guidance, AJPW reached a peak where it sold out more than 250 consecutive shows in Tokyo. In 1998, he even drew 58,300 paying fans to the Tokyo Dome. He was highly respected for his honesty, often preferring handshake agreements over formal contracts.

Even as his health declined in the late 1990s, Baba remained committed to his work. He maintained a full-time schedule, conducting eight nationwide tours every year. He continued to wrestle in various matches, including opening bouts with younger talent. His final match took place on December 5, 1998, at the Nippon Budokan. This brought his career total to an incredible 5,769 matches. Baba’s legacy lives on through the professional wrestling industry he helped build and the many wrestlers he mentored throughout his life.