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Al "Bubba" Baker is a former professional American football defensive lineman in the NFL. He was named to three Pro Bowls during his career. He was named 1978 Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Baker, a graduate of Weequahic High School in Newark, New Jersey and Colorado State University, was drafted in the second round of the 1978 draft by the Detroit Lions. Listed as 6-6 and 250 pounds, he combined speed and strength.
He began his NFL career with the Lions with an incredible 23 sacks his rookie year, with five sacks in a single game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played for the Lions for five seasons, starting 66 of 67 games. In his last season with the Lions, 1982, when sacks became an official statistic, he totaled 8.5 in only nine games. He also had two career interceptions with the Lions.
He played the next four seasons, 1983-86, with the St. Louis Cardinals, for whom his season sack totals were 13, 10, 4 and 10.5. IN 1983, along with the 13 sacks, he also had two interceptions. In 1987 he was a reserved defense lineman for the Cleveland Browns, then served in the same position in 1988 for the Minnesota Vikings. He returned to the Browns as a starter for all 16 games of the 1989 season as well as for all nine games he played for the Browns in 1990, his final NFL season at age 34.
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