Baker’s Abrupt Departure Shouldn’t Hurt Long Legacy
Adam Markowitz
Thursday July 31, 2008
The Friday roller coaster began with the announcement that the Los Angeles Avengers had named Pat O’Hara their head coach. Just that and the normal chaos of Media Day was a bit overwhelming by itself. Around 4:00 P.M. Central Time, ArenaFan spoke with AFL founder, Jim Foster on podcast, and all signs seemed like we were working towards a tremendous game between the Philadelphia Soul and the San Jose SaberCats on Sunday.
Then right around 5:30, the story popped up on my computer. “Arena Football Commissioner Resigns.”
My face turned sheet white, and the mood around Radio Row immediately turned somber. The Commissioner had really resigned.
Though the timing of Baker’s resignation was awkward, in no way should this hamper his legacy.
In his twelve seasons as the commissioner, Baker successfully wooed the NFL to change their policies which would allow its owners to own Arena Football franchises. He brought in a number of various high-profile personalities, such as Jerry Jones, Tom Benson, Pat Bowlen, Arthur Blank, Mike Ditka, Neil Smith and Bernie Kosar.
Yes, there have been plenty of teams that have proven unsuccessful in Baker’s reign. But let’s face it. In comparison to some of the other problems that other commissioners have faced since 1997, he's done well.
NBA Commissioner David Stern dealt with a lockout in 1998 that resulted in a shortened 50-game schedule. More recently, referee Tim Donaghy has been involved in a scandal for gambling.
MLB Commissioner Bud Selig has been mired in the steroid problems with BALCO for the past few seasons. Arguably the greatest record in baseball (if not all of sports) history, Hank Aaron’s home run record that was recently broken by Barry Bonds, is in serious question for its integrity. And a labor stoppage in 1994 resulted in the cancellation of the latter half of the season and no post-season or World Series was played.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman dealt with a lockout in 2004-2005, and ended up losing a season. Now his league has a television deal with Versus, a network without any historical sports prestige.
Former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue had a tremendous career, but his successor Roger Goodell immediately was stuck dealing with the Michael Vick dog-fighting incident. He has been criticized with the manner which he handled the situations of Chris Henry, Adam Jones and other players with off-the-field problems.
On February 24, 2000, Baker had to cancel the AFL season. The labor stoppage was less than a month, and the complete season was played beginning with preseason games on March 25. Aside from that, the AFL is the only one of the “major” sports that really hasn’t come across any other glaring problems that it has had to battle for any period of time.
The Arena Football League remembers the last twelve seasons…
“David Baker has transformed this league into a legitimate sport. It’s always been a great product, but he took it to another level… Baker brought in markets and ownership groups that solidified the AFL.” –Andy Lopusnak, ArenaFan.com
“He’s very passionate and fan friendly. He has a lot of enthusiasm about the sport… He’s very sincere. He seemed to come across that he cared about the fans. He’ll go up to seats and shake fans hands. How many other commissioners can say that? None.” –Fran Stuchbury, ArenaZone Host and OurSports Central
“Baker was pivotal in creating the fan-friendly atmosphere that the AFL has become known for. It was that atmosphere that has allowed ArenaFan.com to thrive and become the website it is today.” –Joe Kauffman, ArenaFan.com
“I appreciate what Dave’s done for the teams that I’ve been involved with, Portland and Houston.” –John “Hondo” Hahn, San Jose Mercury News
My lasting impression of the outgoing commissioner came while I was walking out of the JW Marriott the morning after ArenaBowl XXII. I was dressed in a normal t-shirt and jeans, shamelessly self-promoting ArenaFan with my hat. Baker, also dressed in normal street clothes, caught up with me just as I got out of the elevator, immediately came up to me, gestured to shake my hand, and said, “Adam, I want to thank you for all you’ve done for the AFL.”
I’m just one little relatively meaningless writer for some small independent website. The fact that he recognized me and knew my name was the most impressive part of all.
We out there in the “Common Joe” world tend to forget that these people of stature in sports are still really just people when it comes down to it. Baker cited wanting to spend time with his sons and his girlfriend of several years as reasons for his sudden resignation. For a man in his mid-50s, I can only imagine the consistent travel schedule wearing on him and his ability to be a father and a normal person. They are hard points to argue with.
In his final address to the media following ArenaBowl XXII, Baker was asked what we, the media should take as our lasting impression of him. He paused for quite some time, then said, “Know that I love them.”
Adam Markowitz is an accountant living in Orlando. Adam is an old school AFLer, having followed the AFL since 1991. He attended or covered well over 200 games, including 17 ArenaBowls. Adam worked for the Arena Football League for two years as a columnist and historian before retiring in 2017 when the 50-yard indoor war left the Sunshine State. Adam still muses about the AFL on ArenaFan from time to time, and you can follow him on Twitter @adammarkowitzea.
