Art Baker was a power fullback who played in the CFL for Hamilton and Calgary from 1963-1966.   Baker played his college ball at Syracuse, Jim Brown's old university, and then went to the Buffalo Bills. At 220 pounds, he was strong enough to gain short yardage, fast enough to turn short gains into long ones. In the AFL he set a record for carries in one game with 31.  After playing with Buffalo in 1962, Baker was released partway through the 1963 season.  In one of those ironic twists of fate, the Bills cut Baker to replace him with Cookie Gilchrist who had been playing in the CFL, and Baker then headed North to join the CFL.  Baker joined Hamilton for seven games in 1963, and had 157 yards on 18 carries, including a sixty-yard TD run in the final game, a 49-21 trouncing of Montreal.  That year Ottawa had paced Hamilton neck-and-neck in the East until a close 11-10 Ti-Cat victory.  The  Rough Riders eliminated Montreal in the semi-final, and everyone expected a very competitive final.  Ralph Sazio's team were brilliantly prepared, and in the first game overwhelmed Ottawa 45-0, the key offensive stars being Bernie Faloney passing to Hal Patterson and Baker rushing for over 100 yards to keep the Ottawa defence off-balance.  Ottawa regained their pride winning the second game 35-18, but were eliminated.  In the Grey Cup against the B.C. Lions, a controversial game in which Angelo Mosca's late tackle removed Willie Fleming, the Ti-Cats dominated.  Baker carried ten times for fifty yards including a one-yard TD run, and blocked effectively for Faloney who passed and ran outstandingly in the 21-10 victory.  The following season the Ti-Cats were even stronger, Faloney not passing as well, but Baker had 726 yards rushing on 150 carries, finishing third in the East behind Ottawa's Ron Stewart and Dave Thelen.  Hamilton lost the Grey Cup to B.C., and Baker saw no action, ex-Argo Bobby Kuntz who was no match for Baker in power running playing at fullback.  Baker missed four games in 1965, but had comparable stats to the previous year when you take that into consideration with 555 yareds on 114 carries which put him second in team rushing behind Willie Bethea.  Baker once again, possibly because of injuries, did not play in the Grey Cup.  Baker's power seemed to leave him abruptly in 1966 as he played only one game for Hamilton.  He returned later in the season with Calgary who was in desperate need of a running back after injuries felled Lovell Coleman and Ted Woods. Baker played three games for Calgary, picking up only 135 yards.  Baker went back to the United States to become a successful coach.

Complete AFL Stats for Art Baker