William Baker was the son of Floyd Baker and his wife. William's father left while William was an infant. As a child, impoverished, he learned how to steal. Young William loved going to the beach and building sand castles, but trips to the beach were far and few between because his mother was an alcoholic. One day, William built a large and detailed sand castle only to watch it wash away when it started to rain. The young Baker boy became determined that he was going to make something that would last. William took his love of making things out of sand and used it for school art projects. He had developed a crush on his teacher Miss Flint, but was heart broken when he learned that she was engaged to a stockbroker. This made William believe that the only way to attract a beautiful woman was with money. Baker was tormented by an older student named Vic. On the day he learned that Miss Flint was going to be married, Vic and his friends trashed William's work and beat him up. William ran home to his mother without telling any of the school administrators what happened, and was determined to look after himself. The next time Vic and his friends tried to bully William, he fought back and easily trounced them. When he got in trouble with the school principal, William couldn't help but notice that not only were his bullies afraid of him, but girls noticed him fighting back as well. For the first time in his miserable life, William felt joy.[9] Soon enough, young William became a bully in his own right, beating up on those smaller than him.