Baker Among Inductees Into Springdale Sports Hall

Saturday, August 9, 2014

SPRINGDALE -- If a game is being played in Springdale, chances are Ronnie Baker will be there to watch.

"I've got grandsons who go to Shiloh Christian and Har-Ber and I've been a Springdale High football season-ticket holder for many years," Baker said. "My closet is full of hats and shirts from all the schools. I just have to remember which one to put on before I leave the house."

Springdale High Athletic Hall Of Fame

When: Tonight

Time: 5:30 p.m.

Where: Springdale High Cafeteria

Inductee^Graduation Year

Jerry Delozier^1953

Jerry Brewer^1958

Ron Baker^1963

Rick Fine^1979

Afton Scott^1984

Craig McKee^1991

Aaron Adams^1991

Paige Farrell-Rollins^2004

Meagan Pless^2004

Bill Carter^Meritorious Service

Baker will be at Springdale High tonight to be inducted into the school's athletic Hall of Fame. He'll join nine others in ceremonies honoring the Class of 2014.

"I was very surprise to learn I was voted in," said Baker, who graduated from Springdale in 1963. "I thought, 'This has to be a mistake, surely.' Some of the happiest days of my life were spent at Springdale High School and following the Bulldogs has become my hobby."

Baker played football and ran track for the Bulldogs after his family moved back to Arkansas from California in 1956. He played center and linebacker and made all-district in 1962, when the Bulldogs finished 1-8-1. As a junior, he played on a team that went 9-1.

"I played for Rex Yerby, who was the coach at Springdale before Jarrell Williams got there," Baker said. "Jarrell's a good friend of mine. I know he regrets that he got to Springdale three or four years too late to coach me."

Baker has been a youth coach and supporter of Springdale athletics for over 50 years. He's traveled to Louisiana, Oklahoma, Missouri, Alabama, Texas, and Hawaii to watch the Bulldogs play football.

He's also been a volunteer coach in most sports, including baseball and football.

"My claim to fame as a coach is the time we kept the ball the whole first half and didn't score," Baker said. "That's hard to do."

Baker, 69, still works as the head of a luggage delivery service for customers at Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport. It's a job that keeps him busy except for that one special night each week during the fall.

"If it's Friday night, I'll be at a football game," Baker said. "That's for sure."

Sports on 08/09/2014