 Baker in 2014 | |||||||||
| No. 80, 60, 77 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Defensive end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1956-12-09)December 9, 1956 (age 68) Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 280 lb (127 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Weequahic(Newark, New Jersey) | ||||||||
| College | Colorado State | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1978: 2nd round, 40th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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James Albert London Baker (born December 9, 1956), nicknamed "Bubba", is an American former professionalfootball player who was adefensive end in theNational Football League (NFL) from 1978 to 1990. He playedcollege football for theColorado State Rams. He was named to threePro Bowls and was theNFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Baker, a graduate ofWeequahic High School inNewark, New Jersey andColorado State University, was selected in the second round of the1978 NFL draft by theDetroit Lions. Listed as 6-6 and 250 pounds, he combined speed and strength.
He made his mark early as he recorded 23 sacks (an unofficial stat at that time) his rookie year, with five sacks in a single game against theTampa Bay Buccaneers. He played for the Lions for five seasons, starting 66 of 67 games. In his last season with the Lions, 1982, when sacks became an official statistic, he totaled 8.5 in only nine games. He also had two career interceptions with the Lions.[1] During his career with the Lions he unofficially totaled 75.5 sacks including a record 23 sacks in 1978, 16 in 1979, 18 in 1980 and 10 in 1981, which are the franchise's top three all-time, single-season sack efforts. It also ranks as one of the highest for the first five years of a player in football history.[2][3][4][5] He was one of the anchors of the "Silver Rush", Detroit's defensive line from 1978 to 1982, which consisted of Baker,Doug English,William Gay, andDave Pureifory; the group set the franchise record for sacks.[6] In 2021, Baker was listed as the NFL's unofficial all-time single-season sack leader due toPro Football Reference adding sack statistics from 1960 to 1981, the year before the stat became official. Baker recorded 23 sacks as a rookie in 1978 with the Detroit Lions, topping the official record of 22.5 sacks byMichael Strahan andT. J. Watt.[7] He ranks among theNFL's career sack leaders, with 65.5 official and 131 unofficial sacks to make him one of 62 players in the "100 Sack Club".
A contract dispute had Baker sent to theSt. Louis Cardinals in 1983. He had 13 sacks that season along with two interceptions. He had ten sacks the following year, had four in 1985 and then closed out 1986 with 10.5 sacks. In 1987, he was a reserve defense lineman for theCleveland Browns, then served in the same position in 1988 for theMinnesota Vikings. He returned to the Browns as a starter for all 16 games of the 1989 season as well as for all nine games he played for the Browns in 1990, his final NFL season at age 34.[1]
Baker said in the NFL that he hoped to "play long enough to make a fortune in football. Then my son can be a doctor. He won't have to play this dumb game".[8] Baker now lives with his family, including his wife of 34 years, Sabrina,[9] inAvon, Ohio, a suburb ofCleveland, and he owned a restaurant called Bubba's Q World-famous Bar-B-Que & Catering in Avon, though the restaurant is no longer open.
He appeared on theABC-TV showShark Tank on December 6, 2013, in which investor and entrepreneurDaymond John agreed to invest $300,000 for a 30 percent share in Queen Ann Inc., the food company he and his children, Brittani and James, started. Part of the agreement was the licensing of Baker's patent for de-boning pork ribs.[10] Bubba's-Q Boneless Baby Back Ribs have been sold at stores, online, and onQVC, and were featured onGood Morning America. In 2023, he spoke out about his perceived unfair treatment in theShark Tank deal, for which he said he received only $659,653 in total, versus over $16 million in revenue, which had been promoted as one of the show's biggest successes.[11] In a response, Daymond John stated that the Bakers' take, approximately 4% of revenue, came from the very thin profit margins of the food industry, and claimed that he had suffered a net loss on their arrangement.[11] He later filed suit against the Bakers for their social media campaign, claiming that it had damaged his reputation and cost him speaking engagements.
A federal judge found that the Bakers had violated a 2019 settlement and in June granted John a preliminary injunction and restraining order against the Bakers, preventing them from publishing disparaging remarks about their business relationship, and requiring that they take down previously posted content. The injunction and restraining order were reviewed and became permanent in July.[12]