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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gerard Austin Baker[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1938-04-11)11 April 1938 | ||
| Place of birth | New Rochelle, New York, United States | ||
| Date of death | 24 August 2013(2013-08-24) (aged 75) | ||
| Place of death | Wishaw, Scotland[1] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Craigneuk Boys Club | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1955 | Larkhall Thistle | ||
| 1955–1956 | Chelsea | 0 | (0) |
| 1956–1958 | Motherwell | 11 | (4) |
| 1958–1960 | St Mirren | 63 | (42) |
| 1960–1961 | Manchester City | 37 | (14) |
| 1961–1963 | Hibernian | 59 | (27) |
| 1963–1967 | Ipswich Town | 135 | (58) |
| 1967–1970 | Coventry City | 31 | (5) |
| 1969 | →Brentford (loan) | 8 | (2) |
| 1970–1971 | Margate | 40 | (10) |
| 1971–1973 | Nuneaton Borough | 45 | (15) |
| 1973–1974 | Bedworth United | ||
| 1974–1975 | Worcester City | 7 | (2) |
| Total | 429 | (179) | |
| International career | |||
| 1968–1969 | United States | 7 | (2) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1970–1971 | Margate | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Gerard Austin Baker (11 April 1938 – 24 August 2013) was an Americansoccer player.[2] From 1955 until 1970, he played 16 seasons in either the Scottish or English first division. He earned sevencaps with theUS national team in 1968 and 1969, scoring two goals. His younger brother was the footballerJoe Baker.
Baker was born to an English father and Scottish mother[3] inNew Rochelle, New York, where they were settled at the time. In 1939, his parents moved for a short while toLiverpool, where Gerry's brother, futureEngland internationalJoe Baker, was born. Their father volunteered in the Merchant Marine duringWorld War II and died on active service. The family was evacuated to Scotland, and the brothers were raised inMotherwell.[4][5] He attended Park Primary and St Joseph's Secondary schools. He played football for Craigneuk Boys Club and was selected for Lanarkshire Schools. He signed withLarkhall Thistle when he was fourteen and played in six games.[4]
He transferred toChelsea in May 1949, aged 17, and played in their youth and third team in the 1955–56 season. The following season, he appeared in six games for their reserves (scoring four goals), plus their third team. He returned to Scotland in late 1956 due to homesickness.[6]
Baker signed with Scottish First Division clubMotherwell, where he played asoutside left, in December 1956. Over the next three years he played thirteen games with the first team, scoring four goals. Motherwell transferred Baker toSt Mirren during the 1958–59 season, as he was unable to oustIan St John andPat Quinn from their team.[4][6]
He scored the winning goal for St Mirren on his debut, a 2–1 victory against aHibernian team containing his brother Joe. On 25 April 1959, he scored the third goal in St Mirren's 3–1 victory againstAberdeen in the1959 Scottish Cup Final.[7] That was his eighth goal of the 1958–59 Scottish Cup, as he scored in every round. On 30 January 1960, he scored ten goals in a 15–0 win overGlasgow University.[7] Baker was the club's top goalscorer in both the 1958–59 and 1959–60 seasons.[6]
By this time, top English clubs were beginning to notice and in November 1960,Manchester City paid £17,000 for him[6] (the deal also involved defenderJohn McTavish moving in the opposite direction).[8] Baker spent only the remainder of the 1960–61 season and the beginning of 1961–62 with City, before they sold his contract toHibernian for £18,000 in November 1961.[6] Over the next two years, Baker scored 43 goals in 84 games for Hibs before moving toIpswich Town in December 1963. Ipswich paid £25,000 for him, and the player more than returned this investment by scoring 66 goals in 151 games. Ipswich then transferred Baker toCoventry City in November 1967. Over the next two seasons, he scored only six times in thirty games with Coventry. In October 1969, Coventry loaned Baker toBrentford where he scored two goals in eight games; he was released by Coventry at the end of the season.
Baker then signed as a player-manager with non-leagueMargate. He was limited by several injuries, first a dislocated shoulder in August 1970, then broken ribs in November. Despite these, he played a total of 48 games and scored sixteen goals before leaving the club on 30 September 1971. He then joinedNuneaton Borough before finishing his playing career withBedworth United.[7]
Baker held dual US and British citizenship, and when it became apparent that he would not be selected forScotland orEngland,[citation needed] he elected to make himself available for theUS team. He joined the US as it began qualifying matches for the1970 FIFA World Cup. His firstcap came in a 4–2 World Cup qualifying loss toCanada on 17 October 1968. Over the next month, Baker started six games with the US. On 2 November 1968 he scored two goals in a 6–2 qualification victory overBermuda. His last game with the US came in a 1–0 loss toHaiti on 11 May 1969.[9] That loss put the US out of contention for a spot in the finals.[citation needed]
In 1970, Baker entered the managerial ranks atMargate when he was hired as the club's player-manager. He remained in this position until he left the club in September 1971. He later managed the Coventry Collier team in 1979–80.[citation needed]
After retiring from playing professionally, Baker worked at the CoventryJaguar factory.[7][4] His daughters, Karen (born 1962) andLorraine (born 1964), were both athletes; Lorraine placed fifth in the800 metres final at the1984 Olympic Games.[7][6] His grandson,Ryan Strain, is also a professional footballer, who also played for St Mirren.[10] Baker was inducted to the St Mirren Hall of Fame in May 2007. He died in August 2013, aged 75.[11]
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