Terry Baker

For the Canadian football player of the same name see Terry Baker (Canadian football).

Terry Wayne Baker (born May 5, 1941) is a former quarterback for the Oregon State University football team. He played for them through the 1960-1962 seasons. He is most notable for winning the 1962 Heisman Trophy and playing the Final Four in the NCAA Basketball Tournament in the same school year. To date, he is the only person to have both won a Heisman Trophy and played in the Final Four.

Baker was born May 5, 1941 in Pine River, Minnesota. He attended Jefferson High School in Portland, Oregon and was a standout three-sport athlete for the Democrats.

Baker was a three-year letterwinner in basketball, and led the Democrats to the Portland Interscholastic League city championship his senior year.

Baker was also a great baseball player. He earned a letter all four years of high school in baseball and led his team to the 1959 Oregon School Activities Association state championship.

Football, however, was Baker's most dominant sport. Baker played quarterback and tailback for the Democrats. In his junior and senior seasons, the Democrats were 23-0 and won two Oregon State Athletic Association state championships. As a senior, he threw for 1,261 yards and ran for 438 yards.

Baker played as a point guard on the Oregon State basketball team. Baker also chose to play football after coming to Oregon State. He played football for Oregon State from 1960 through 1962. During that season, he threw for 3,476 yards and 23 touchdowns. He also ran for 1503 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Baker earned a B.Sc. in mechanical engineering at OSU in 1963.

Heisman Trophy
On November 27, 1962, it was announced that Baker was the winner of the Heisman Trophy for his achievements during the 1962 season. He was the first person to win the Heisman Trophy west of Texas and the only player ever to win from the Pacific Northwest. In addition to winning the Heisman in 1962, he also won the Maxwell Award and the W.J. Voit Memorial Trophy, was a consensus first team All-American, was named the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year, was a Helms Foundation Award recipient, and was the winner of 14 player of the year awards, including the AP, UPI, and The Sporting News. He was also part of the All-Star team in the 1963 College All-Star Game, the last time the All-Star team would ever defeat the reigning NFL champions.

Professional career
After graduation, Baker entered the 1963 NFL Draft and was the first overall pick, by the Los Angeles Rams. Baker played with the Rams for 3 seasons, and later played for the Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL while earning a J.D. at the University of Southern California Law School.

Legacy
Baker was inducted into the State of Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1980, the College Football Hall of Fame in 1982, and the Oregon State University Sports Hall of Fame in 1988. Oregon State has retired his #11 football jersey.

Baker's 99-yard run against Villanova in the Liberty Bowl remains an NCAA record, and because the ball can never start from the goal line, the record can never be broken, only tied. He is currently a retired lawyer living in Portland, Oregon.