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 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. 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 Nippon Budokan the day after the 1999 Champion Carnival Final. Over 28,000 people attended, including the entirety of the All Japan Pro Wrestling 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. 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 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 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) World Big League (6 times) National Wrestling Alliance NWA Hall of Fame (class of 2014) Nippon Professional Baseball Best Pitcher (1956, 1957, 1959) NWA Detroit NWA World Tag Team Championship (Detroit version) (1