 Baker in 1958 | |||||||||||||
| No. 45, 49, 38 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positions | Placekicker Punter Fullback | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (1930-11-12)November 12, 1930 San Francisco, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Died | June 5, 2007(2007-06-05) (aged 76) Tacoma, Washington, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Corvallis (Corvallis, Oregon) | ||||||||||||
| College | Oregon State | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1952: 11th round, 133rd overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Loris Hoskins "Sam" Baker (November 12, 1930 – June 5, 2007) was an American professionalfootball player in theNational Football League (NFL) for theWashington Redskins,Cleveland Browns,Dallas Cowboys andPhiladelphia Eagles. While he played several positions, he was best known for being apunter andPlacekicker. He playedcollege football atOregon State College, where he was a starfullback.
Baker led the NFL in scoring in1957, was a first team All-Pro in1966, and was selected four times to participate in the league's postseasonPro Bowl All-Star game.
Baker was born on November 12, 1930,[1][2] inSan Francsico.[3] (It has also been stated he was born on November 12, 1929.[3]) He was raised inTacoma, Washington and then moved toCorvallis, Oregon as a high school senior when his father accepted a job withOregon State University (then known as Oregon State College).[1][2][4]
Baker attendedStadium High School in Tacoma before transferring after his junior year toCorvallis High School, where he graduated in 1949.[1] In high school, he excelled in baseball and basketball, as well as football.[5][6] He was an all-around standout intrack at Corvallis, but at the time there was not a statedecathlon championship, so he only participated in individual events such as shot put, javelin, discus, high jump and broad jump.[6][7]
He helped his team win the 1948 Oregon state championship inbasketball[2] and also lettered inbaseball. He has the distinction of receiving All-State honors in both Washington and Oregon.[7]
Baker accepted a football scholarship from Oregon State College, located in his home town of Corvallis, Oregon. He spent the 1949 season on the rookie team. Helettered for thevarsity team from 1950 to 1952 as arunning back/kicker/safety.[2]
As a sophomore, he rushed for 668 yards (fourth in the conference). As a junior, he rushed for 830 yards (second in the conference).[citation needed] In his career at OSU, Bakerrushed for 1,947 on 487 carries and was the school record-holder in both categories when he left,[2] and gained 2,043 yards.[citation needed] He was voted most valuable player by teammates for three straight years (1950-52).[8] He was selected All-Pacific Coast Conference first-team in 1952 by the Associated Press.[8][9]
In 1952, Baker participated in theEast-West Shrine Game in San Francisco, setting a record for the longest punt (72 yards).[8][10]
When compared to OSU players since 1956, he ranks 14th in career rushing yards, and 9th in career rushing attempts (as of 2025).[11] He had five 100-yard games, with a best of 159 on 30 carries[citation needed] in the 1951Civil War Game atHayward Field, between OSU and the University of Oregon; scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to pull out a 14–7 victory for OSU.[12] In the 1950 Civil War game, Baker had a 59-yard touchdown run on a fake punt, and ran for over 100 yards.[12] He scored the finaltouchdown at oldBell Field in the final 1952 home game.[2]
Baker was selected by theLos Angeles Rams in the eleventh round (133rd overall) of the1952 NFL draft with a future draft pick, which allowed the team to draft him before his college eligibility was over. On July 6,1953, his draft rights were sold to theWashington Redskins.[13][14]
In1953, he played sparingly in his first season with theWashington Redskins, under coachCurly Lambeau, before spending two years out of professional football, while serving his military service atFort Ord.[10][15] He scored a 58-yard touchdown on a fake punt for Fort Ord in the 1955Shrimp Bowl.[16]
In1956, although he was initially being considered for the right halfback position, he was asked to become the team's kicker afterVic Janowicz suffered a serious brain injury in an automobile accident that ended his athletic career.[17] That same year he also became the punter afterEddie LeBaron was sidelined with an injury.[18] He was given the nickname "Sugarfoot",[19] after leading theNFL in field goals (17),[20] starting an 11-year streak of averaging at least 40 yards perpunt attempt[3] and being named to thePro Bowl.[21]
In1957, he tied withLou Groza with a league-high 77 points (including an 11-yard[22] or 20-yard[23] touchdown run off of a fake kick against thePittsburgh Steelers on December 15, to go along with 14field goals and 29extra points made on the year).[24][25]
In1958, his 45.4-yard punting average was the best in the league,[26] while he still managed to convert 25 extra points in 25 attempts.[3] On April 25,1960, he was traded to theCleveland Browns in exchange forFran O'Brien andRobert Khayat.[27]
In1960, he relinquished hisfullback duties with theCleveland Browns and would replace the retired Groza, who left after the 1959 season because of a back injury.[28][29][30] He led theNFL in extra points made (44) and extra points attempted (46).[31] He posted a 42-yard punting average.[3]
In1961, Groza returned to the team after his back felt better[29][30] and Baker focused only on punting.[32] He was the league's eighth ranked punter with an average of 43.3-yards per punt.[33] On December 30, he was traded to theDallas Cowboys in exchange forcornerbackTom Franckhauser.[34]
In1962, he set the team record of 45.4 yards-per-punt that was not broken until2006 byMat McBriar with a 48.2-yard average.[35] He also set club records for most points scored in a season (92), longest field goal (53 yards) and longest punt (72 yards).[citation needed] He was theNFL leader in extra points made (50), extra points attempted (51),[36] ranked third in punting average (45.4)[37] and sixth in scoring (92).[38]
In1963, he became the first Cowboys punter to make thePro Bowl,[39] after registering a 44.2-yard average.[3] His 40.6-yard net average per punt still ranks third in team history.[citation needed]
Baker played two seasons as a punter and kicker for theDallas Cowboys,[3] until his disregard for the team rules and discipline wore thin with head coachTom Landry.[citation needed] In both years he led the league in net punting average.[citation needed] He also became the first player in club history to have two seasons with a 44-yard or better gross punting average.[40][41][3]
On March, 20,1964, he was traded to thePhiladelphia Eagles along withJohn Meyers andLynn Hoyem, in exchange forwide receiverTommy McDonald.[42]
Baker remained with thePhiladelphia Eagles for the last six seasons of his career.[43] He played in the1964 and1968Pro Bowls.[44][45] He was waived on September 2, 1970, just ahead of thecoming season.[46] As of the 2025 season, he is fourth on the all-time Eagles scoring list.[47]
Upon retiring he was the number two scorer inNFL history (977 points)[46] and held the record of scoring in 110 straight games.[4] As of 2025, he is 73rd on the all-time NFL scoring list.[48] He played for 15 seasons, with more than 700 punts and making 179 field goals.[3]
In 1977, Baker was inducted into theState of Washington Sports Hall of Fame.[5] In 1980, Baker was inducted into the State ofOregon Sports Hall of Fame.[2][8] In 1991, he was inducted into the Oregon State University Sports Hall of Fame.[8]
Baker met his wife Sarah at Corvalis High School, and both attended OSU. They had four daughters. After Baker retired from football, the family moved toFircrest, Washington.[1]
Baker died due to complications fromdiabetes on June 5, 2007.[49] He was 76 years old at the time of his death.[1]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) NFL Scoring Leaders{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) NFL Punting Leaders