put him down for a seven count. Unable to get up, the count was completed and the fight ended. Baer subsequently remarked, "The only way I could have beaten Louis that night was with a baseball bat."Cuddy, Jack, "Right-hand Blow Finished Buddy", Democrat and Chronicle, pg. 17, 10 January 1942. A year later he said, "I had to quit. I injured my neck in an auto crash before the fight". Professional boxing record All information in this section is derived from BoxRec, unless otherwise stated. Official Record All newspaper decisions are officially regarded as “no decision” bouts and are not counted in the win/loss/draw column. Unofficial record Record with the inclusion of newspaper decisions in the win/loss/draw column. After boxing Baer retired from boxing after the second Louis bout, and enlisted in the United States Army at McClellan Air Force Base in 1942, the early years of America's involvement in World War II. With the war over, and his Army discharge complete in September 1945, he returned to Sacramento and started his most successful business, Buddy Baer's Bar of Music at 1411 11th Street, which he opened with Fred Cullincini. He dabbled with less success in a variety of other businesses including a health food store, a clothing shop, heavy equipment sales and real estate. After his brother Max's death in 1959 of a heart ailment, he served as the national chairman for the Fraternal Order of Eagles Max Baer Heart Fund. He later worked as a Marshall or Sargeant-at-Arms for the California State Legislature in the 1970s. For a number of years he supported himself as a nightclub singer, putting his bass-baritone voice to use at such places as New York's Leon and Eddie's, and the Charles Club in Baltimore. He performed in 1952 with Pearl Bailey at the Paramount Theatre in New York. Final years Baer's last years were spent battling ailments that included diabetes, hypertension, and Alzheimer's disease. After a transfer from Sutter Memorial Hospital, he was admitted to the Martinez Veterans Hospital one week before his death and died on July 18, 1986 in Martinez, California. He was survived by his wife Vicki Farrell Brumbelow—whom he had married in 1964—a daughter Sheila, and three grandchildren. Baer had three previous marriages."Buddy Baer Dies", San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco, California, pg. 20, 19 July 1986 His body is buried in East Lawn Sierra Hills Memorial Park in Sacramento.