Roy Baker said that "whatever character people want to confer on me is the result of what I learned from wrestling."

In January of 1996 while working as a New Jersey State Police officer, Roy suffered life-threatening injuries while trying to foil a major drug deal. Despite being shot three times, he was able to subdue the suspect and wrestle the gun away from him. Doctors believe that Roy's muscular development and mental toughness developed from his years of wrestling may have saved his life. He received the Governor's Award for heroism and the John Basilone Award for his actions.

Roy began his wrestling career under Gary Vittorio at Parsippany High School posting a record of 65-4.

A three-time Christmas Tournament champion, he won three district titles and added a regional title in 1970 on his way to the state championship at heavyweight. He never lost a high school or college dual meet at his weight class.

In the state tournament, Roy won the title despite being the smallest wrestler in the weight class, including victories over Charlie Getty and Greg Freaney who each outweighed him by more than 60 pounds. The 6-foot-5 Getty would go on to be a two-time All-American for Penn State University and a star in the National Football League for the Kansas City Chiefs.

An All-State football player, Roy attended Temple University on a football Scholarship before transfering to the University of Delaware where he won the Wilkes Open, the Mid-American Conference and the East Coast Championships at 190 pounds.

He won two national freestyle championships and the Pan-American Championships in San Juan in 1979, despite suffering from considerable shoulder pain. Roy was an alternate on the 1980 Olympic team.