Dave Baker (American football)
| Date of birth | July 30, 1937 |
|---|---|
| Place of birth | Coffeyville, KS |
| Date of death | September 4, 2002 (aged 65) |
| Place of death | Norman, OK |
| Career information | |
| Position(s) | Defensive back |
| College | Oklahoma |
| AFL draft | 1960 / Round: Second Selections |
| Drafted by | New York Titans |
| NFL draft | 1959 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5 |
| Career history | |
| As player | |
| 1959–61 | San Francisco 49ers |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Pro Bowls | 1 |
| Career stats | |
|
|
Dave Baker (born July 30, 1937 in Coffeyville, Kansas, died September 4, 2002 in Norman, Oklahoma) was a defensive back in the NFL, playing for the San Francisco 49ers for three years.
David Baker grew up in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, earning All-State honors in football, basketball and baseball. He enrolled at the University of Oklahoma in 1955 under legendary coach Bud Wilkinson. During his three years of eligibility (freshmen were not eligible in 1955), the Sooners went 30-2, were in the midst of their 47-game win streak (still an NCAA record), and won the Big 7 conference title all three years. Players played both ways at the time, Baker playing defensive back, quarterback and running back. In 1959, he was drafted into the NFL as the fifth pick of the 1st round by the San Francisco 49ers. In the last 40 years of Sooner football (226 NFL draft picks), only Lee Roy Selmon, Billy Sims and Tony Casillas have been drafted higher. Baker played cornerback for the 49ers for three seasons (1959–1961) and still to this day holds the 49ers interception per season record, making 21 career interceptions, an average of seven per season. In his 1959 rookie season, he was selected to the NFL All-Pro team. Monte Clark, an All-Pro tackle with the Cleveland Browns and later an NFL head coach, spoke to the 1965-66 SNU basketball team and stated, “In my fifteen-year NFL pro career, David Baker was the hardest hitting and best defensive back I have seen in the NFL.”
After serving two years in the U.S. Army, a return to the NFL to a signed contract seemed eminent, but a different path would be charted. Dr. Roy Cantrell, president of Southern Nazarene University, called, asking for a meeting to discuss with David the possibility of coming to SNU to begin intercollegiate athletics and be a professor of physical education. The position would include being the first athletic director and head basketball coach. Forsaking a lucrative NFL contract and all of its amenities, David and Edna Baker came to Bethany, signed an SNU contract worth $3,600 annually and began a dream.
...
Wikipedia