Hobey Baker

Bio

Hobart (Hobey) Baker was a great football player and perhaps the finest amateur hockey player this country has ever known. He was the first American-born player elected to the International Hockey Hall of Fame. He was fast and elusive skating on ice or running on a football field. As a punt return specialist, Hobey Baker would watch the ball in flight and time himself so he caught it on the dead run. He never fumbled a punt, and he had runs up to 88 yards. In 1911, Princeton had an 8-0-2 record. Baker returned 13 punts, a school record, against Yale. In 1912, he scored 92 points as Princeton went 7-1-1. In 1913, Baker was captain and his team was 5-2-1. Princeton tied Yale 6-6 in 1912, 3-3 in 1913, and all Princeton points in those games were Hobey Baker field goals. The longest was 41 yards. He learned drop kicking from a Princeton immortal, Snake Ames. The hockey team was 27-7 in his time. He was captain as a junior and declined re-election. He was the most popular man on campus and moved to New York as a stockbroker. He continued to play amateur hockey and also excelled at golf, tennis, baseball, and polo. He learned to fly a plane and in 1917 joined the US forces fighting in Europe. He was captain and commander of the 141st Pursuit Group. Baker downed three German planes. On Dec.21, 1918, a month after the war ended, Hobey Baker took a plane on a test run. The plane crashed. Baker, age 26, was killed. His name is preserved in many ways. Princeton dedicated the Hobart Baker Rink. There is the Hobey Baker Award, established in 1979 for college hockey's best player. At Tours, France, where his plane crashed, a sports complex is named for him.

Career Highlights

• 1913 First Team All-America
• 1912 Third Team All-America