Loris Hoskins "Sam" Baker (November 12, 1930 – June 5, 2007) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

and

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

. While he played several positions, he was best known for being a punter and

Placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Oregon State College Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees through all 11 of the universit ...

, where he was a star fullback. Baker led the NFL in scoring in

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

, was a first team All-Pro in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, and was selected four times to participate in the league's postseason

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

All-Star game.

Early life

Baker was born on November 12, 1930, in San Francsico. (It has also been stated he was born on November 12, 1929.) He was raised in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

and then moved to

Corvallis, Oregon Corvallis ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Benton County, Oregon, Benton County in central western Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton Co ...

as a high school senior when his father accepted a job with

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

(then known as Oregon State College). Baker attended Stadium High School in Tacoma before transferring after his junior year to Corvallis High School, where he graduated in 1949. In high school, he excelled in baseball and basketball, as well as football. He was an all-around standout in track at Corvallis, but at the time there was not a state

decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of 10 track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄ ...

championship, so he only participated in individual events such as shot put, javelin, discus, high jump and broad jump. He helped his team win the 1948 Oregon state championship in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and also lettered in

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

. He has the distinction of receiving All-State honors in both Washington and Oregon.

College career

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. He lettered for the

varsity team A varsity team is the highest-level team in a sport or activity representing an educational institution. Varsity teams train to compete against each other during an athletic season or in periodic matches against rival institutions. At high schools ...

from 1950 to 1952 as a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (magazine), sports magazine in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the wor ...

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

. As a sophomore, he rushed for 668 yards (fourth in the conference). As a junior, he rushed for 830 yards (second in the conference). In his career at OSU, Baker rushed for 1,947 on 487 carries and was the school record-holder in both categories when he left, and gained 2,043 yards. He was voted most valuable player by teammates for three straight years (1950-52). He was selected All-

Pacific Coast Conference The Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) was a collegiate athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pac-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, with eight of the ten PCC members (includin ...

first-team in 1952 by the Associated Press. In 1952, Baker participated in the

East-West Shrine Game East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

in San Francisco, setting a record for the longest punt (72 yards). When compared to OSU players since 1956, he ranks 14th in career rushing yards, and 9th in career rushing attempts (as of 2025). He had five 100-yard games, with a best of 159 on 30 carries in the 1951 Civil War game at

Hayward Field Hayward Field is a track and field stadium in the Northwestern United States, located on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. It has been the home of the university's track and field teams since 1921, and was the on-campu ...

, between OSU and the University of Oregon; scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to pull out a 14–7 victory for OSU. In the 1950 Civil War game, Baker had a 59-yard touchdown run on a fake punt, and ran for over 100 yards. He scored the final

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

at old

Bell Field Bell Field was an outdoor athletic stadium in the Pacific Northwest, northwest United States, on the campus of Oregon State University, Oregon State College (now University) in Corvallis, Oregon. Constructed in 1910, it was the home venue of Ore ...

in the final 1952 home game.

Professional career

Los Angeles Rams

Baker was selected by the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

in the eleventh round (133rd overall) of the

1952 NFL draft The 1952 NFL draft was held on January 17, 1952, at Hotel Statler in New York. Selections made by New York Yanks were assigned to the new Dallas Texans. This was the sixth year that the first overall pick was a bonus pick determined by lottery ...

with a future draft pick, which allowed the team to draft him before his college eligibility was over. On July 6,

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

, his draft rights were sold to the

Washington Redskins

, he played sparingly in his first season with the

, under coach

Curly Lambeau Earl Louis "Curly" Lambeau ( ; April 9, 1898 – June 1, 1965) was an American professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). Lambeau, along with his friend and fellow Green Bay, Wisconsin native, George Whitney ...

, before spending two years out of professional football, while serving his military service at

Fort Ord Fort Ord is a former United States Army post on Monterey Bay on the Pacific Ocean coast in California, which closed in 1994 due to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) action. Most of the fort's land now makes up the Fort Ord National Monument, ...

. In

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

, although he was initially being considered for the right halfback position, he was asked to become the team's kicker after

Vic Janowicz Victor Felix Janowicz (February 26, 1930 – February 27, 1996) was an American football halfback and baseball catcher. He won the Heisman Trophy and was selected as the UPI College Football Player of the Year in 1950 while playing for the O ...

suffered a serious brain injury in an automobile accident that ended his athletic career. That same year he also became the punter after

Eddie LeBaron Edward Wayne LeBaron Jr. (January 7, 1930 – April 1, 2015) was an American Korean War veteran, United States Marine officer, and professional football player. He played as a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Footbal ...

was sidelined with an injury. He was given the nickname "Sugarfoot", after leading the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

in field goals (17), starting an 11-year streak of averaging at least 40 yards per punt attempt and being named to the

. In

, he tied with

Lou Groza Louis Roy Groza (January 25, 1924 – November 29, 2000), nicknamed "the Toe", was an American professional American football, football Tackle (gridiron football position), offensive tackle and placekicker while playing his entire career for th ...

with a league-high 77 points (including an 11-yard or 20-yard touchdown run off of a fake kick against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

on December 15, to go along with 14

field goals A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, a ...

and 29

extra points The conversion, try (American football), also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, extra point, two-point conversion, or convert (Canadian football) is a gridiron football play that occurs immediately after a touchdown. The scoring team att ...

made on the year). In

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

, his 45.4-yard punting average was the best in the league, while he still managed to convert 25 extra points in 25 attempts. On April 25,

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

, he was traded to the

in exchange for Fran O'Brien and Robert Khayat.

Cleveland Browns

, he relinquished his fullback duties with the

and would replace the retired Groza, who left after the 1959 season because of a back injury. He led the

in extra points made (44) and extra points attempted (46). He posted a 42-yard punting average. In

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

, Groza returned to the team after his back felt better and Baker focused only on punting. He was the league's eighth ranked punter with an average of 43.3-yards per punt. On December 30, he was traded to the

in exchange for

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

Tom Franckhauser Thomas Anthony Franckhauser (May 26, 1937 – April 17, 1997) was an American football cornerback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Minnesota Vikings. He played college fo ...

Dallas Cowboys

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

, he set the team record of 45.4 yards-per-punt that was not broken until

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Mat McBriar Mat McBriar (born 8 July 1979) is an Australian former professional player of American football who was a Punter (football), punter in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers and the S ...

with a 48.2-yard average. He also set club records for most points scored in a season (92), longest field goal (53 yards) and longest punt (72 yards). He was the

leader in extra points made (50), extra points attempted (51), ranked third in punting average (45.4) and sixth in scoring (92). In

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

, he became the first Cowboys punter to make the

, after registering a 44.2-yard average. His 40.6-yard net average per punt still ranks third in team history. Baker played two seasons as a punter and kicker for the

, until his disregard for the team rules and discipline wore thin with head coach

Tom Landry Thomas Wade Landry ( ; September 11, 1924 – February 12, 2000) was an American professional football coach, player, and World War II veteran. Regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time, he was the first head coach of the Dallas ...

. In both years he led the league in net punting average. He also became the first player in club history to have 2 seasons with a 44-yard or better gross punting average. On March, 20,

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

, he was traded to the

along with John Meyers and Lynn Hoyem, in exchange for

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

Tommy McDonald.

Philadelphia Eagles

Baker remained with the

for the last six seasons of his career. He played in the

and

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

s. He was waived on September 2, 1970, just ahead of the coming season. As of the 2025 season, he is fourth on the all-time Eagles scoring list.

Career

Upon retiring he was the number two scorer in

history (977 points) and held the record of scoring in 110 straight games. As of 2025, he is 73rd on the all-time NFL scoring list. He played for 15 seasons, with more than 700 punts and making 179 field goals.

Honors

In 1977, Baker was inducted into the

State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame The State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame is a sports hall of fame honoring athletes associated with the U.S. state of Washington. There have been 235 individuals inducted into the hall since 1960. Inductees Candidates for the State of Washin ...

. In 1980, Baker was inducted into the State of

Oregon Sports Hall of Fame The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall. Operated by the Oregon Sports ...

. In 1991, he was inducted into the Oregon State University Sports Hall of Fame.

Personal life

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 to Fircrest, Washington.

Death

Baker died due to complications from

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

on June 5, 2007."Ex-CHS, OSU Star Baker Dies at 76,"
''Corvallis Gazette-Times,'' June 21, 2007, p. B3. He was 76 years old at the time of his death.

References

External links

From Head to Toe, Baker Stood Apart From CrowdOregon Sports Hall of Fame bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Sam 1930 births 2007 deaths Players of American football from Tacoma, Washington American football punters American football placekickers Oregon State Beavers football players Washington Redskins players Cleveland Browns players Dallas Cowboys players Philadelphia Eagles players Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players Corvallis High School (Oregon) alumni Stadium High School alumni