Shannon Maurice Baker (born July 20, 1971) is an American former 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 ...

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 ...

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) who played for the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

. 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 ...

for the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University (FSU) located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I, prima ...

. He also played in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) for the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

and

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

Early life

Baker is from

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Located along Interstate 4, I-4 east of Tampa and southwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, it is the List of municipalities in Florida, most populous city in Polk County. As of the 2020 ...

. He initially attended Kathleen High School in Lakeland, where he threw for 1,243 yards and 12 touchdowns as a sophomore

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

. Baker transferred to Lakeland High School as a junior and was converted to a

before switching back to quarterback ahead of his senior season in 1988. Aside from football, he was a starter on the

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 ...

team and starred on the

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

team. As a junior in 1988, he won the state title in the 100 meter dash. Baker repeated the feat as a senior, also winning the 220 yard dash state title, and was named the Polk County Boys Track Athlete of the Year by ''

The Tampa Tribune ''The Tampa Tribune'' was a daily newspaper published in Tampa, Florida. Along with the competing ''Tampa Bay Times'', the ''Tampa Tribune'' was one of two major newspapers published in the Tampa Bay area. The newspaper also published a ''St. P ...

''.

College career

Baker accepted a scholarship to play football at

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

. As a sophomore, he caught a memorable touchdown on a

Hail Mary pass A Hail Mary pass is a very long forward pass in American football, typically made in desperation, with a very small chance of achieving a completion (American football), completion. Due to the difficulty of a completion with this pass, it makes r ...

as time expired in the first half of a win over

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

. Baker finished the season with 18 catches for 242 yards and four touchdowns. Baker was featured in a more prominent role by his junior year, when he was named the starting flanker. He caught 25 passes in the first seven games of the season, finishing with 30 catches for 451 yards and four touchdowns. As a senior, Baker recorded 22 catches for 297 yards and three touchdowns. He also sprinted on the Seminoles track team.

Professional career

Baker was selected by the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

in the eighth round (205th overall) of the

1993 NFL draft The 1993 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 25–26, 1993, at the Marriot M ...

. He was waived on August 30, 1993. Baker signed with the

on September 22. He recorded two catches for 15 yards in 1994 and was waived on September 27, 1994, subsequently spending three weeks on the practice squad. On December 15, he signed with the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

as one of the first three players in franchise history. However, he was released on August 13, 1995. Baker signed with the

of the

(CFL) later that month. He suffered a separated shoulder in a game against the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

, forcing him to miss the remainder of the 1995 season. At the time of his injury, Baker was leading the league with 24.4 yards per kick return. He also returned a punt for a touchdown. In 1996, Baker was knocked unconscious in a game against the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

. He played 17 games for the Blue Bombers over two seasons. Baker signed a free agent deal with the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

in April 1997. He was waived that August before signing with the

the following month. In the

85th Grey Cup The 85th Grey Cup (Canadian Football League championship) was held in 1997 in Edmonton before 60,431 fans. The heavily favoured Toronto Argonauts won the game over the Saskatchewan Roughriders with a score of 47–23. Game summary Toronto Argona ...

, Baker returned the opening kickoff for 74 yards. He re-signed with Saskatchewan in May 1998. He made his first touchdown catch in a loss to the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

on July 9 before he was released in September.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Shannon 1971 births Living people American football wide receivers Canadian football wide receivers Indianapolis Colts players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Saskatchewan Roughriders players Florida State Seminoles football players Florida State Seminoles men's track and field athletes Players of American football from Lakeland, Florida