C. David Baker | |
---|---|
President & CEO of the Pro Football Hall of Fame | |
In office January 6, 2014 –October 16, 2021 | |
Preceded by | Stephen Perry |
Succeeded by | Jim Porter |
Commissioner of the Arena Football League | |
In office November 8,1996 –July 25,2008 | |
Preceded by | Jim Drucker |
Succeeded by | Ed Policy |
Mayor of Irvine,California | |
In office July 9,1985 –July 8,1986 | |
Preceded by | David Sills |
Succeeded by | Larry Agran |
Member of the Irvine City Council | |
In office July 10,1984 –1988 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Carl David Baker [1] February 16,1953 [2] Los Angeles County,California,U.S. [2] |
Political party | Republican [3] |
Education | University of California,Irvine (B.A.) Pepperdine University (J.D.) |
[4] | |
Carl David Baker (born February 16,1953) is a former American football executive and politician. He was President and CEO of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton,Ohio from 2014 to 2021. [5]
Baker was raised in Downey,California,the son of a lumber mill worker father and foster child caregiver mother. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature and Criticism from the University of California,Irvine and his Juris Doctor from the Pepperdine University School of Law,during which time he served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Pepperdine Law Review . [5]
One of Baker's more imposing aspects is his size,standing at 6 feet 9 inches tall and weighing around 400 pounds. [6] He was a basketball power forward at UC Irvine from 1971–75 where he established the school record for career rebounds (926) that stood for 44 years until broken by Jonathan Galloway in 2019. [7] Baker also played two seasons of professional basketball in Switzerland before attending law school.
Baker was a City Councilman of Irvine,California in the mid-1980s. [8] He left his political career in 1988 after being convicted of forgery in California for attempting to forge a $48,000 check from the nonprofit Irvine Health Foundation (of which he was executive director) for use as campaign funds during a run for a Congressional seat. [8] [9] [10]
On November 8,1996,Baker became the fourth commissioner of the Arena Football League. He started in the league as the owner of the Anaheim Piranhas,which he left after a single season of owning the team to become league commissioner. [11] Baker resigned as Arena Football League Commissioner at ArenaBowl XXII,on July 25,2008,after almost twelve years as commissioner. [12]
From 2009 to 2014,he was Managing Partner for Union Village, [13] an integrated health care village in Henderson,Nevada. [5]
On January 2,2014,Baker was announced as the President of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. [14] In his first three years of leadership at the Hall,the organization's net assets grew 161%. [15] He was also involved in the Hall of Fame Village,a mixed-use development surrounding the Hall of Fame. [16] [17] [18]
On November 28,2017,Baker received the March of Dimes Sports Leadership Award. [19] [20]
On October 16,2021,Baker announced his retirement as the president of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. [21]
Baker and his wife Colleen were married in the 1990s after both being divorced for several years. Baker has two sons from a prior marriage,along with a stepson and stepdaughter. [22] [23] [24] One of his sons is Sam Baker,who played for the Atlanta Falcons as an offensive tackle. Baker is a Christian. [25]
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986,but played its first official games in the 1987 season,making it the third longest-running professional football league in North America after the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the National Football League (NFL) until the AFL closed in 2019.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football,located in Canton,Ohio. Opened on September 7,1963,the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football,including players,coaches,officials,franchise owners,and front-office personnel,almost all of whom made their primary contributions to the game in the National Football League (NFL).
Alvin Ray "Pete" Rozelle was an American businessman and executive. Rozelle served as the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL) for nearly thirty years,from January 1960 until his retirement in November 1989. He became the youngest commissioner in NFL history at just the age of 33. He is credited with making the NFL into one of the most successful sports leagues in the world.
Thomas Raymond Flores is an American former professional football player in the American Football League (AFL) and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played as a quarterback for nine seasons in the AFL,primarily with the Oakland Raiders. After his retirement as a coach,he was a radio announcer for more than twenty years.
Johnny Nolan Robinson is an American former professional football player. He was primarily a safety,but also played on offense as a halfback and flanker early in his career. He played college football for the LSU Tigers.
Lance Dwight "Bambi" Alworth is a former American football wide receiver who played for the San Diego Chargers of the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL) and Dallas Cowboys of the NFL. Often considered one of the greatest wide receivers of all time,he played for 11 seasons,from 1962 through 1972,and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1978. He was the first player inducted whose playing career was principally in the AFL. Alworth is also a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. His teammates called him Bambi because he had a baby face and could run like a deer.
Ralph Cookerly Wilson Jr. was an American businessman and sports executive. He was best known as the founder and owner of the Buffalo Bills,a team in the National Football League (NFL). He was one of the founding owners of the American Football League (AFL),the league with which the NFL merged in 1970,and was the last of the original AFL owners to own his team. At the time of his death he was the oldest owner in the NFL,at age 95,and the third-longest tenured owner in NFL history. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009.
James Foster is the inventor of the game of Arena Football,,the founder and first commissioner of the Arena Football League (AFL).
Lynn Curtis Swann is an American former football player,broadcaster,politician,and athletic director,best known for his association with the University of Southern California and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He served on the President's Council on Fitness,Sports,and Nutrition from 2002 to 2005. In 2006,he was the Republican nominee for Governor of Pennsylvania.
James Edwin Otto was an American professional football player who was a center for 15 seasons with the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes.
Terry Wayne Baker is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) and the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football and basketball at Oregon State University,where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta. Baker played for the Oregon State Beavers football team from 1960 to 1962,winning the Heisman Trophy as a senior. In the spring of his senior year,he led the basketball team to the 1963 Final Four. To date,he is the only athlete to win a Heisman Trophy and play in the Final Four.
Samuel David Baker is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Southern California (USC),and was a three-time All-American. He was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the first round of the 2008 NFL draft.
Curley Culp was an American football defensive lineman who was a defensive tackle in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Arizona State University,where he was also an NCAA heavyweight wrestling champion. He played football professionally in the AFL for the Kansas City Chiefs in 1968 and 1969,and in the NFL for the Chiefs,Houston Oilers,and Detroit Lions. He was an AFL All-Star in 1969 and a six-time AFC–NFC Pro Bowler.
Milton P. Woodard was an American sports writer and sport executive. He was the President of the American Football League until it merged with the NFL in 1970. Woodard served from July 1966 to March 1970,succeeding Commissioner Al Davis as chief executive of the League.
Jay Michael Gruden is an American football coach and former quarterback. He previously served as the head coach of the Washington Redskins from 2014 to 2019 and as offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars. During his time in the Arena Football League (AFL),he won four ArenaBowls as a player and two more as a head coach. Gruden is the younger brother of former NFL head coach Jon Gruden and was an assistant coach of the 2002 Buccaneers team that won Super Bowl XXXVII.
Jack Sack was an American football player and coach. Sack was a college football player at the University of Pittsburgh and coach,and played professional football in both the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL).
Aaron Rostenbach Boone is a former American professional gridiron football wide receiver. He played college football at Kentucky. He was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL) in 2003.
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Proceso. 2019-20-10
[Grand Scam in Mexico, in the shadow of The NFL Hall of Fame]