Dave Baker
Encyclopedia
Dave Baker was a defensive back
in the NFL, playing for the San Francisco 49ers
for three years.
David Baker grew up in Bartlesville, OK, 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 (freshman 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.
With no intercollegiate program, no scholarships and no budget, Coach Baker set out with a vision that SNU could become one of America’s finest small college athletic programs. At age 27, with a background in the country’s finest collegiate football program (OU) and the NFL (49ers), Coach Baker believed that the greatest impact and athletic experience could happen where athletics in a "Christian atmosphere” thrived.
During Coach Baker’s tenure (1964–1974) a long list of significant accomplishment occurred: the first two men’s basketball seasons had winning marks (men’s basketball was the only intercollegiate sport for four years); the Benchwarmer Club was formed in 1968; the first scholarships awarded in 1969; the Redskin Revolution to change the course of sportsmanship in society occurred (a new method of introducing players was introduced, which later was adopted by high school, college and pro teams across America); sports were added to include women’s basketball, baseball, women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s tennis. On the basketball court, the innovation of the big man playing the point on the 3-2 zone defense was introduced in Broadhurst in 1971, to be copied around America at every level. The Spokesman Bicycle Tour group was formed to give hundreds of high school and college age kids a life changing experience in pedaling across America. In 1970, a goal was set to achieve a national title within a decade (it actually occurred in a decade plus one, 1981, in men’s basketball under Head Coach Dr. Loren Gresham). Coach Baker set an athletic program on course with the assurance that “all things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23).
Defensive back
In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...
in the NFL, playing for the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
for three years.
David Baker grew up in Bartlesville, OK, earning All-State honors in football, basketball and baseball. He enrolled at the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
in 1955 under legendary coach Bud Wilkinson
Bud Wilkinson
Charles Burnham "Bud" Wilkinson was an American football player, coach, broadcaster, and politician. He served as the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1947 to 1963, compiling a record of 145–29–4. His Oklahoma Sooners won three national championships and 14...
. During his three years of eligibility (freshman 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
Lee Roy Selmon
Lee Roy Selmon was a Hall of Fame NFL football defensive lineman.-Early life:Selmon was the youngest of nine children of Lucious and Jessie Selmon, raised on a farm near Eufaula, Oklahoma...
, Billy Sims
Billy Sims
Billy Sims is a former college football and NFL running back. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1978.-Early years:...
and Tony Casillas
Tony Casillas
Tony Steven Casillas is a former American football defensive lineman in the National Football League from 1986 through 1997. While at the University of Oklahoma he helped win the 1985 NCAA National Championship. He also won the Lombardi Award in 1985 and was the 1985 UPI Lineman of the Year...
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
Monte Clark
Monte Dale Clark was an American football player who served as head coach for two National Football League teams: the San Francisco 49ers and the Detroit Lions.-College career:...
, an All-Pro tackle with the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
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.
With no intercollegiate program, no scholarships and no budget, Coach Baker set out with a vision that SNU could become one of America’s finest small college athletic programs. At age 27, with a background in the country’s finest collegiate football program (OU) and the NFL (49ers), Coach Baker believed that the greatest impact and athletic experience could happen where athletics in a "Christian atmosphere” thrived.
During Coach Baker’s tenure (1964–1974) a long list of significant accomplishment occurred: the first two men’s basketball seasons had winning marks (men’s basketball was the only intercollegiate sport for four years); the Benchwarmer Club was formed in 1968; the first scholarships awarded in 1969; the Redskin Revolution to change the course of sportsmanship in society occurred (a new method of introducing players was introduced, which later was adopted by high school, college and pro teams across America); sports were added to include women’s basketball, baseball, women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s tennis. On the basketball court, the innovation of the big man playing the point on the 3-2 zone defense was introduced in Broadhurst in 1971, to be copied around America at every level. The Spokesman Bicycle Tour group was formed to give hundreds of high school and college age kids a life changing experience in pedaling across America. In 1970, a goal was set to achieve a national title within a decade (it actually occurred in a decade plus one, 1981, in men’s basketball under Head Coach Dr. Loren Gresham). Coach Baker set an athletic program on course with the assurance that “all things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23).