Ralph Baker (halfback)
Encyclopedia
Ralph "Moon" Baker was an American football halfback in college.
Was the team captain of the Northwestern University
football team, leading them to the Big Ten championship in 1926. Baker was an All-American along with teammate Bob Johnson. Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
in 1981.
Baker, a native of Rockford, Illinois, played one year at Illinois (alongside Red Grange
) before transferring to Northwestern. He played both football and basketball for three years. After years as the conference doormat, the football team rallied behind Baker's "triple threat"
abilities to a second-place finish in 1925 and the conference title in 1926. (Source: Press Release (no title), National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame, 28 January 1981)
He once said his greatest thrill was the day he kicked two field goals against Notre Dame. "The Four Horsemen were playing for them then, you know," he said. The sophomore drop-kicked field goals of 34 and 36 yards in the 1924 game at Soldier Field in Chicago to give his upstart Wildcats the lead. However, the Irish rallied to win the game 13-6. Baker's school record of seven field goals in one season stood until the 1960s. (Source: Rockford Register-Star, "Moon Baker: Former Northwestern All-American was 'happy-go-lucky, determined and strong', 18 September 1977, Page F3)
Less mystery surrounds his nickname, however. "Do you remember Moon Mullins
?" he asked in a 1951 interview, referring to the famous comic strip. "Well, I knew Frank Willard
, the cartoonist. Every day I used to grab the [Chicago Tribune] in the fraternity house, and I read the cartoon before I looked at sports or anything else." (Source: Rockford Register-Star, "Moon Baker: Former Northwestern All-American was 'happy-go-lucky, determined and strong', 18 September 1977, Page F3)
Was the team captain of the Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
football team, leading them to the Big Ten championship in 1926. Baker was an All-American along with teammate Bob Johnson. Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 1981.
Baker, a native of Rockford, Illinois, played one year at Illinois (alongside Red Grange
Red Grange
Harold Edward "Red" Grange, nicknamed "The Galloping Ghost", was a college and professional American football halfback for the University of Illinois, the Chicago Bears, and for the short-lived New York Yankees. His signing with the Bears helped legitimize the National Football League...
) before transferring to Northwestern. He played both football and basketball for three years. After years as the conference doormat, the football team rallied behind Baker's "triple threat"
Triple threat man
In gridiron football, the phrase triple-threat man refers to a player who excels at all three of the skills of running, passing, and kicking. In modern usage, such a player would be referred to as a utility player....
abilities to a second-place finish in 1925 and the conference title in 1926. (Source: Press Release (no title), National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame, 28 January 1981)
He once said his greatest thrill was the day he kicked two field goals against Notre Dame. "The Four Horsemen were playing for them then, you know," he said. The sophomore drop-kicked field goals of 34 and 36 yards in the 1924 game at Soldier Field in Chicago to give his upstart Wildcats the lead. However, the Irish rallied to win the game 13-6. Baker's school record of seven field goals in one season stood until the 1960s. (Source: Rockford Register-Star, "Moon Baker: Former Northwestern All-American was 'happy-go-lucky, determined and strong', 18 September 1977, Page F3)
Myths and Legends
Baker is occasionally reported to have been a member of Curly Lambeau's Green Bay Packers in 1931. However, it is likely he is in those instances being confused with fellow Northwestern alumnus and Phi Kappa Psi brother Frank Baker. Apparently unrelated to Ralph Baker, Frank Baker played varsity football at Northwestern in 1928, 1929 and 1930, as well as two games at end for the Packers in 1931. (Sources: Northwestern University Archives, "Frank L. Baker (1909-1985) Scrapbook, ca. 1924-1933, Series 31/6/53, retrieved 21 July 2007; Green Bay Packers History: All Time Roster retrieved 21 July 2007)Less mystery surrounds his nickname, however. "Do you remember Moon Mullins
Moon Mullins
Moon Mullins, created by cartoonist Frank Willard , was a popular American comic strip which had a long run as both a daily and Sunday feature from June 19, 1923 to June 2, 1991. Syndicated by the Chicago Tribune/New York News Syndicate, the strip depicts the lives of diverse lowbrow characters who...
?" he asked in a 1951 interview, referring to the famous comic strip. "Well, I knew Frank Willard
Frank Willard
Frank Henry Willard was a cartoonist best known for his comic strip Moon Mullins which ran from 1923 to 1991. He sometimes went by the nickname Dok Willard....
, the cartoonist. Every day I used to grab the [Chicago Tribune] in the fraternity house, and I read the cartoon before I looked at sports or anything else." (Source: Rockford Register-Star, "Moon Baker: Former Northwestern All-American was 'happy-go-lucky, determined and strong', 18 September 1977, Page F3)
See also
- 1926 College Football All-America Team1926 College Football All-America TeamThe 1926 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1926...