Doc Baker

Doc Baker
	The 1908 Akron Indians, Baker is the first player in the back row, left side.
Position:	Halfback
Personal information
Born:	Unknown
Died:	c. early 1920s
Career information
College:	None
Career history
	Akron Indians (1906–1908, 1911);

Last updated September 29, 2019

Charles "Doc" Baker was an early professional American football halfback for the Akron Indians of the "Ohio League" from 1906-1908. He returned to the team for one last season in 1911. He was the second-ever African American to play professional football, the first being Charles Follis. Baker, earned his nickname, "Doc", while serving as an aide to a physician in Akron, Ohio. He also was a target of opponents trying to injure him.^[1]^[2] Although Baker was never implicated, his football experience was marred by several gambling scandals.^[2] According to a 1911 article the Canton Repository, Baker was involved in just about every offensive and defensive play during a game between the Akron Indians and the Canton Professionals (who were later renamed the Canton Bulldogs in 1915) According to the Repository write-up; “Halfback Baker, from appearances a second Jack Johnson, was Akron’s best man. He was in every play both on offense and defense and seemed impervious to injury. On several occasions he was thrown hard, with several others on top of him. But he always came up smiling. His plunges through and outside of tackle were the best ground-gainers for the Akron team,”^[1]^[3]

American football, referred to as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with possession of the oval-shaped football, attempts to advance down the field by running with the ball or passing it, while the defense, the team without possession of the ball, aims to stop the offense's advance and to take control of the ball for themselves. The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs or plays; if they fail, they turn over the football to the defense, but if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs to continue the drive. Points are scored primarily by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponent's goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins.

A halfback (HB) is an offensive position in American football, whose duties involve lining up in the backfield and carrying the ball on most rushing plays, i.e. a running back. When the principal ball carrier lines up deep in the backfield, and especially when that player is placed behind another player, as in the I formation, that player is instead referred to as a tailback.

The Ohio League was an informal and loose association of American football clubs active between 1902 and 1919 that competed for the Ohio Independent Championship (OIC). As the name implied, its teams were mostly based in Ohio. It is the direct predecessor to the modern National Football League (NFL).

Very little is known of his life outside of football. However, it is known that he was raised in the Akron Children’s Home, an orphanage, and is believed to have died in the early 1920s.^[1]

Historically, an orphanage was a residential institution, or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and other children who were separated from their biological families. Examples of what would cause a child to be placed in orphanages are when the biological parents were deceased, the biological family was abusive to the child, there was substance abuse or mental illness in the biological home that was detrimental to the child, or the parents had to leave to work elsewhere and were unable or unwilling to take the child. The role of legal responsibility for the support of children whose parent(s) have died or are otherwise unable to provide care differs internationally.

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References

1 2 3 Horrigan, Joe. "Early Black Professionals" (PDF). The Coffin Corner. Professional Football Researchers Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 November 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
1 2 Ross, Charles K. (1999). Outside The Lines (PDF). New York University Press. p. 108.
↑ Peterson, Robert W. (1997). Pigskin: The Early Years of Pro Football. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-511913-4.

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[Horrigan-1] 1 2 3 Horrigan, Joe. "Early Black Professionals" (PDF). The Coffin Corner. Professional Football Researchers Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 November 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2010.

[Ross-2] 1 2 Ross, Charles K. (1999). Outside The Lines (PDF). New York University Press. p. 108.

[Peterson-3] Peterson, Robert W. (1997). Pigskin: The Early Years of Pro Football. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-511913-4.