Jesse Lewis Baker (July 10, 1957 – January 16, 1999) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

for the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...

and the

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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

. Baker played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

for the

Rockdale County High School Rockdale County High School is located in the heart of Conyers, Georgia, United States, in the old-town district. RCHS is one of three high schools located in Rockdale County, along with Heritage High School, and Salem High School. RCHS also h ...

Bulldogs in

Conyers, Georgia Conyers is an Atlanta suburb, the county seat of and only city in Rockdale County, Georgia, Rockdale County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. The city is 24 miles (38.6 km) east of Atlanta, downtown Atlanta and is a part of t ...

in 1973 and 1974, where he earned all-state first-team honors both years. He was also a stand-out in track and field. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Jacksonville State University Jacksonville State University (JSU) is a public university in Jacksonville, Alabama. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in six academic schools leading to bachelor's degree, bachelor's, master's degree, master's, educati ...

(JSU); while he was there, he was defensive MVP of the 1977 Grantland Rice Bowl, and was inducted to the JSU Hall of Fame in 1989. Baker was drafted in the second round of the

1979 NFL Draft The 1979 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 May 3–4, 1979, at the Waldorf Astoria ...

. Baker played nine seasons in the NFL with the Oilers. He recorded 15.5 quarterback sacks and returned a fumble for a touchdown in his rookie season in 1979, despite starting only two of 16 games. He recorded 6.5 sacks in 1980 and 10 more in 1981 as a part-timer before becoming a starter in the strike shortened 1982 season. Baker started 57 consecutive games and recorded 29.5 more sacks.https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BakeJe21.htm

References

1957 births 1999 deaths People from Conyers, Georgia Sportspeople from the Atlanta metropolitan area Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) American football defensive ends Jacksonville State Gamecocks football players Houston Oilers players Dallas Cowboys players National Football League replacement players {{defensive-lineman-1950s-stub