Alfred Baker (27 April 1898 – April 1955) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

Playing career

Born in

Ilkeston Ilkeston is a town in the Borough of Erewash, Derbyshire, England, on the River Erewash, from which the borough takes its name, with a population at the 2011 census of 38,640. Its major industries, coal mining, iron working and lace making/texti ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

, Baker was originally a

miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting, ...

and played for various clubs in Derbyshire as an amateur, including Eastwood Rangers. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he guested for

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

, Crystal Palace and Huddersfield Town, although these appearances are not considered official. In 1919 he turned professional and signed for

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

; according to club legend, Arsenal manager

Leslie Knighton Albert Leslie Knighton (15 March 1887 – 10 May 1959) was an English football manager. He managed Arsenal, Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic, Birmingham, Chelsea and Shrewsbury Town. Management career Knighton was born in Church Gresley, Sw ...

signed Baker after meeting him at the pit where he worked, thus beating rivals for the player's signature who were waiting at his home. He made his debut for Arsenal against

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

on 13 August 1919 (which was Arsenal's first-ever top flight game at Highbury). Baker played seventeen matches that season, but in 1920-21 he became a first-team regular; he also had trials for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, though it would be another seven years before he won a cap. A

Utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water polo. The ...

, "Doughy" (as he was

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

d) played in every position for Arsenal, including as an emergency

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

on several occasions, though usually played as right half. He was made club

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1924. In the 1924-25 season, Baker won two Football League representative caps and also played in the Charity Shield, which was a Professionals ''v.'' Amateurs match; the Professionals won 3–1. However, when new manager Herbert Chapman arrived at the end of that season, he made

Charlie Buchan Charles Murray Buchan (22 September 1891 – 25 June 1960) was an English footballer, sporting journalist and commentator. Buchan started his career in 1909 with Woolwich Arsenal (later renamed Arsenal F.C.). He is known for his career with Su ...

captain instead of Baker; Baker continued to play for Arsenal for another five years, though. In

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 * ...

, Baker played in Arsenal's first ever FA Cup final; however Arsenal suffered an infamous 1–0 loss to

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

after a mistake by Arsenal goalkeeper Dan Lewis. The following season, he was finally capped for England, appearing against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

on 28 November 1927; England lost 2–1. It was his only international appearance. Baker finally won a major medal when he played in Arsenal's

1930 FA Cup final The 1930 FA Cup Final was contested by Arsenal and Huddersfield Town at Wembley Stadium. Arsenal won 2–0, with goals from Alex James and Jack Lambert. As a result, Arsenal won their first FA Cup after a defeat in their FA Cup final debut in 1 ...

win over Huddersfield Town; by now he had nearly reached the end of his career. He played only one more game for the club (also against Huddersfield, on 7 March 1931) before retiring from the game aged 33 in the summer of 1931. In all, he played 351 matches for Arsenal, scoring 26 goals.

Personal life

His brother Jim Baker was also a footballer who played for Leeds United. Baker later worked for Arsenal as a scout. He died in 1955, at the age of 56.

Honours

Arsenal *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

: 1929–30; runner-up: 1926–27

References

* * * ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Alf 1898 births 1955 deaths People from Ilkeston Footballers from Derbyshire English footballers England international footballers Arsenal F.C. players English miners English Football League players English Football League representative players Association football fullbacks Association football wing halves Eastwood Rangers F.C. players FA Cup Final players