Dave Baker

Who was Dave Baker?

Dave Baker was a defensive back in the NFL, playing for the San Francisco 49ers for three years.

David Baker grew up in Bartlesville, OK, earning All-State honors in football, basketball and baseball. He enrolled at the University of Oklahoma in 1955 under legendary coach Bud Wilkinson. During his three years of eligibility, the Sooners went 30-2, were in the midst of their 47 game win streak, and won the Big 7 conference title all three years. Players played both ways at the time, Baker playing defensive back, quarterback and running back. In 1959 he was drafted into the NFL as the fifth pick of the 1st round by the San Francisco 49ers. In the last 40 years of Sooner football, only Lee Roy Selmon, Billy Sims and Tony Casillas have been drafted higher. Baker played cornerback for the 49ers for three seasons and still to this day holds the 49ers interception per season record, making 21 career interceptions, an average of seven per season. In his 1959 rookie season, he was selected to the NFL All-Pro team. Monte Clark, an All-Pro tackle with the Cleveland Browns and later an NFL head coach, spoke to the 1965-66 SNU basketball team and stated, “In my fifteen-year NFL pro career, David Baker was the hardest hitting and best defensive back I have seen in the NFL.”