Terry Baker to be Inducted into National High School Hall of Fame

Indianapolis -- The late Lou Groza, a high school football and basketball star at Martins Ferry (Ohio) High School in the early 1940s before his stellar 20-year career with the Cleveland Browns, and Terry Baker, a three-sport star at Jefferson High School in Portland, Oregon, before he won the 1962 Heisman Trophy at Oregon State University, head a list of 12 individuals selected for induction into the 2006 class of the National High School Hall of Fame.

The 2006 Induction Ceremony of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) National High School Hall of Fame will be held June 29 at the Marriott World Center in Orlando, Florida.

Other former high school athletes selected for the 2006 class are Jon Sundvold, one of the top high school and college basketball players in Missouri history during his days at Blue Springs High School and the University of Missouri, and Blaine Lindgren, an outstanding track high hurdler from Magna (Utah) Cyprus High School who later won a silver medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics.

These former outstanding high school athletes, along with three coaches, two contest officials, one administrator, one individual from the fine arts field and another who excelled in a number of areas will be inducted into the 24^th class of the National High School Hall of Fame June 29 in Orlando, site of the 87^th annual NFHS Summer Meeting.

Hailing from the Pacific Northwest, Terry Baker first distinguished himself as a standout three-sport athlete at Portland (Oregon) Jefferson High School.

A four-year letterwinner in baseball, the 6-foot-2, 180-pound Baker led the Democrats to the 1959 Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) state championship. The winning pitcher in that title game, Baker batted .438 on the season and was named both first-team all-city and first-team all-state. A natural left-hander, Baker learned to throw and field right-handed when he inherited his older brothers’ hand-me-down right-handed gloves.

Baker lettered three times in basketball, and led Jefferson to the Portland Interscholastic League city championship his senior year. He averaged 20 points as a junior and 18.8 as a senior, and was a two-time first-team all-state selection.

However, it was in football where Baker made his greatest impact. Playing quarterback and tailback in Jefferson’s T-formation and single-wing multi-attack offense, he helped lead the squad to two OSAA state championships and to a combined 23-0 record his junior and senior seasons. Known as a great passer and runner, his statistics were somewhat tempered by the sheer talent in the same backfield, including 1995 National High School Hall of Fame inductee and future Dallas Cowboys standout Mel Renfro. As a senior, Baker threw for 1,261 yards and rushed for another 438 as he helped the explosive Democrats average more than 46 points per game.

Following his illustrious high school career, Baker continued his education and football and basketball play at Oregon State University. In 1962, he was named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year; College Football Player of the Year by the AP, UPI and The Sporting News; Maxwell Trophy winner; and as the first Heisman Trophy winner west of the Mississippi River.

Baker played professional football for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League and for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. He is a founding partner of Tonkon Torp in Portland, where his area of law practice includes litigation, business and corporate finance.