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Baker inducted into ECSU Hall of Fame
By KEVIN TRAVIS, Sports Editor
Nearly 50 years ago, Al Baker was a busy young man.
Unlike today when most football players play either offense or defense, Baker was a two-way specialist. He started for four years at both middle linebacker and offensive guard on the Elizabeth City State University football team.
He couldn’t have known it then, but all that time spent in the trenches on the offensive line and all that time spent chasing and corralling quarterbacks and running backs paid off. Because of his outstanding career, when he played from 1955-58, Baker was rewarded on Nov. 3 by being inducted into the ECSU Hall of Fame.
“It was a great feeling to be selected,” said Baker, who went on to have a great high school coaching career in basketball. “With my name being hung (on a plaque) in the Hall of Fame with some of the greatest players to ever play at Elizabeth City State University was quite an honor. I was really happy about that. I feel blessed.
“I felt like I was a pretty good player, but I didn’t know that this would come about. I will cherish it.”
A banquet was held prior to the induction ceremony. Several of Baker’s former teammates and players were on hand.
“The place was packed,” Baker said. “There were a lot of people from the Belhaven and Pantego area there. It was really a beautiful event.”
Baker, who helped lead his team to three consecutive Eastern Athletic Intercollegiate Conference championships, led the team in tackles during his four-year career. Known as an impact player, Baker was voted team captain and was named to the All-EAIC team in the 1957 and 1958 seasons.
“I think I played well and I had some very good teammates,” Baker said. “We had a very good team.”
The Hall of Fame inductees were introduced to the crowd during an ECSU football game. The inductees were given a plaque noting their accomplishments, while a larger plaque was hung inside the gym at ECSU.
Baker’s roommate and teammate of four years, Robert Moody, presented Baker during the ceremony.
“He talked about how great a player I was and he mentioned a lot of the things I’ve done since leaving Elizabeth City State University,” Baker said.
Baker couldn’t help but get choked up while he stood on the field. Along with the emotions of being inducted into the Hall of Fame, Baker was also witness to ECSU’s dedication of a new physical education field house named for Tom Caldwell, who was Baker’s line coach during his playing days. Caldwell died in 1996.
“That was very emotional,” Baker said. “To tell you the truth, I had to hold back tears because my mind went back to a lot of things that he (Caldwell) taught me while I was there. To have the field house to be dedicated to him on the same night that I was inducted was very emotional. I just wish that he could have been there to see it.”
Caldwell helped shape Baker into an outstanding player. Because he was a gifted athlete and because the team didn’t boast large numbers, Baker played offense and defense.
“I was one that had to go both ways,” he said. “At times I got a little winded and I would look to the sidelines and ask for a little break, but the coach would turn his head the other way as if he didn’t see me.
“I knew I had to get myself in the best physical shape that I could. I really worked on that.”
If he had his choice, Baker would have stuck with defense.
“I liked the contact,” Baker said. “Of course, you have contact on offense, too, but I really liked that contact.”
Baker played defensive end in high school, but the ECSU coaches quickly made him a linebacker.
“It wasn’t a hard adjustment to make,” Baker said. “I was a middle linebacker and I was the signal caller. The nose guard we had was very good so he kept a lot of the heat off me.
“I didn’t have great size, but I was quick. I could also read the offense pretty well.”
Despite playing both ways for four years, Baker only missed two games with a shoulder injury. A couple of games during his career really stand out.
“One of the highlights was my first start,” Baker said. “Coach Caldwell started me my freshman year and I didn’t expect to start. I knew I practiced hard and I learned the system very well, but about the third game of my freshman year, when we played South Carolina State, I was in the dressing room and he called my name to start. That was a great thrill.
“I was nervous, but I ended up having a great game. It was probably one of the greatest games I ever played. I had about two sacks and about eight or ten tackles and we beat them. From that point on, I held that position.”
Baker had chances to play at other colleges coming out of high school, but proximity played a big factor in why he chose ECSU.
“I chose Elizabeth City because it was close to home and I had visited the campus and liked the campus,” Baker said. “I also liked the coaching staff there.”
Baker, who looks like he could still strap on the shoulder pads at any given notice, became an elementary teacher at Pantego in 1959. Because he only had a minor in physical education, Baker took classes at East Carolina University to further his education.
Though he may have played football, Baker became the head coach of the basketball team at Pantego. He knew all about the game since he played both high school football and basketball at H.B. Suggs in Farmville.
To say he had an impressive coaching career is an understatement. Baker coached from 1969 to 1981, with 12 years at Pantego High School and 11 at Beaufort County High School. He moved from Beaufort to Pantego during the first year of full integration.
Baker guided Pantego to state championships in the 1977 (75-65 over Clarkton), 1980 (76-56 over South Park) and 1981 (72-54 over Tryon) seasons. His team went 29-1 in 1980, only to do even better the following season when the squad finished with a perfect 32-0 record.
Baker was named the North Carolina AP Coach of the Year in 1980 and 1981, while he was also named the Conference Coach of the Year six straight seasons.
“After the 1981 season, I decided I wanted to step down,” Baker said. “I had several offers at other schools, larger high schools like Millbrook High School in Raleigh, but I was just ready to step down.”
Upon leaving basketball, Baker was named assistant principal at John A. Wilkinson junior high in Belhaven.
Retirement hasn’t slowed Baker in the least. With still plenty of energy and with that same football mentality, Baker continues to tackle challenge after challenge.
Besides being a deacon at Saint Reddick Missionary Baptist Church, Baker is on several organizations, including the town council in Belhaven, the Beaufort County Social Services Board and the Economic Commission Board.
“I have a full plate,” Baker said. “It keeps me busy.”
Baker, who is married to Bertha, also keeps busy by visiting with his daughter, Michelle, and grandchildren, who are twin girls.
Though Baker is gentle and kind, he seems to miss the fierce contact on the playing field.
“I don’t know if the old knees would let me play now,” he said with a laugh. “At times I think I can get out there and do a little something.”
Unlike today when most football players play either offense or defense, Baker was a two-way specialist. He started for four years at both middle linebacker and offensive guard on the Elizabeth City State University football team.
He couldn’t have known it then, but all that time spent in the trenches on the offensive line and all that time spent chasing and corralling quarterbacks and running backs paid off. Because of his outstanding career, when he played from 1955-58, Baker was rewarded on Nov. 3 by being inducted into the ECSU Hall of Fame.
“It was a great feeling to be selected,” said Baker, who went on to have a great high school coaching career in basketball. “With my name being hung (on a plaque) in the Hall of Fame with some of the greatest players to ever play at Elizabeth City State University was quite an honor. I was really happy about that. I feel blessed.
“I felt like I was a pretty good player, but I didn’t know that this would come about. I will cherish it.”
A banquet was held prior to the induction ceremony. Several of Baker’s former teammates and players were on hand.
“The place was packed,” Baker said. “There were a lot of people from the Belhaven and Pantego area there. It was really a beautiful event.”
Baker, who helped lead his team to three consecutive Eastern Athletic Intercollegiate Conference championships, led the team in tackles during his four-year career. Known as an impact player, Baker was voted team captain and was named to the All-EAIC team in the 1957 and 1958 seasons.
“I think I played well and I had some very good teammates,” Baker said. “We had a very good team.”
The Hall of Fame inductees were introduced to the crowd during an ECSU football game. The inductees were given a plaque noting their accomplishments, while a larger plaque was hung inside the gym at ECSU.
Baker’s roommate and teammate of four years, Robert Moody, presented Baker during the ceremony.
“He talked about how great a player I was and he mentioned a lot of the things I’ve done since leaving Elizabeth City State University,” Baker said.
Baker couldn’t help but get choked up while he stood on the field. Along with the emotions of being inducted into the Hall of Fame, Baker was also witness to ECSU’s dedication of a new physical education field house named for Tom Caldwell, who was Baker’s line coach during his playing days. Caldwell died in 1996.
“That was very emotional,” Baker said. “To tell you the truth, I had to hold back tears because my mind went back to a lot of things that he (Caldwell) taught me while I was there. To have the field house to be dedicated to him on the same night that I was inducted was very emotional. I just wish that he could have been there to see it.”
Caldwell helped shape Baker into an outstanding player. Because he was a gifted athlete and because the team didn’t boast large numbers, Baker played offense and defense.
“I was one that had to go both ways,” he said. “At times I got a little winded and I would look to the sidelines and ask for a little break, but the coach would turn his head the other way as if he didn’t see me.
“I knew I had to get myself in the best physical shape that I could. I really worked on that.”
If he had his choice, Baker would have stuck with defense.
“I liked the contact,” Baker said. “Of course, you have contact on offense, too, but I really liked that contact.”
Baker played defensive end in high school, but the ECSU coaches quickly made him a linebacker.
“It wasn’t a hard adjustment to make,” Baker said. “I was a middle linebacker and I was the signal caller. The nose guard we had was very good so he kept a lot of the heat off me.
“I didn’t have great size, but I was quick. I could also read the offense pretty well.”
Despite playing both ways for four years, Baker only missed two games with a shoulder injury. A couple of games during his career really stand out.
“One of the highlights was my first start,” Baker said. “Coach Caldwell started me my freshman year and I didn’t expect to start. I knew I practiced hard and I learned the system very well, but about the third game of my freshman year, when we played South Carolina State, I was in the dressing room and he called my name to start. That was a great thrill.
“I was nervous, but I ended up having a great game. It was probably one of the greatest games I ever played. I had about two sacks and about eight or ten tackles and we beat them. From that point on, I held that position.”
Baker had chances to play at other colleges coming out of high school, but proximity played a big factor in why he chose ECSU.
“I chose Elizabeth City because it was close to home and I had visited the campus and liked the campus,” Baker said. “I also liked the coaching staff there.”
Baker, who looks like he could still strap on the shoulder pads at any given notice, became an elementary teacher at Pantego in 1959. Because he only had a minor in physical education, Baker took classes at East Carolina University to further his education.
Though he may have played football, Baker became the head coach of the basketball team at Pantego. He knew all about the game since he played both high school football and basketball at H.B. Suggs in Farmville.
To say he had an impressive coaching career is an understatement. Baker coached from 1969 to 1981, with 12 years at Pantego High School and 11 at Beaufort County High School. He moved from Beaufort to Pantego during the first year of full integration.
Baker guided Pantego to state championships in the 1977 (75-65 over Clarkton), 1980 (76-56 over South Park) and 1981 (72-54 over Tryon) seasons. His team went 29-1 in 1980, only to do even better the following season when the squad finished with a perfect 32-0 record.
Baker was named the North Carolina AP Coach of the Year in 1980 and 1981, while he was also named the Conference Coach of the Year six straight seasons.
“After the 1981 season, I decided I wanted to step down,” Baker said. “I had several offers at other schools, larger high schools like Millbrook High School in Raleigh, but I was just ready to step down.”
Upon leaving basketball, Baker was named assistant principal at John A. Wilkinson junior high in Belhaven.
Retirement hasn’t slowed Baker in the least. With still plenty of energy and with that same football mentality, Baker continues to tackle challenge after challenge.
Besides being a deacon at Saint Reddick Missionary Baptist Church, Baker is on several organizations, including the town council in Belhaven, the Beaufort County Social Services Board and the Economic Commission Board.
“I have a full plate,” Baker said. “It keeps me busy.”
Baker, who is married to Bertha, also keeps busy by visiting with his daughter, Michelle, and grandchildren, who are twin girls.
Though Baker is gentle and kind, he seems to miss the fierce contact on the playing field.
“I don’t know if the old knees would let me play now,” he said with a laugh. “At times I think I can get out there and do a little something.”
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