No. 4: Hobey Baker '14

If ever there were a legendary Princeton athlete, that athlete was Hobey Baker '14. With his dazzling good looks, unmatched athletic skill and impeccable gentlemanly conduct both on and off the playing field, Baker, a two-sport star in hockey and football, truly was the stuff of legends and is one of the most revered athletes in the history of American sports.

In trying to account for Baker's greatness, Princeton's current Director of Athletics Gary Walters '67 said, "Hobey Baker, for me, it's a century ago. There's the legend, and it's difficult for me to get beyond the legend."

Walters isn't alone. Baker, the envy of every fellow classmate while at Princeton, was so admired and attracted such a following that he was exalted as a legend before he even graduated.

Baker entered Princeton in 1910 and joined the football team. Out on the gridiron in the early days of college football, he became an immediate star not only with Tiger football fans but with all those who saw him play. A halfback with devastating speed and agility, Baker endeared himself to his legions of supporters with his famous field-length dashes to the end zone, his characteristic blond head darting in and out of the opposing defense. His trademark play was to catch an enemy punt on the run and plunge headlong — and helmetless — through the defense while the jubilant crowd shouted, "Here he comes!"

Baker also perfected the lost art of the drop kick, a scoring technique similar to punting. Baker's expert drop kicking helped the Orange and Black to two straight ties with favored rival Yale in 1912 and 1913, two of the most storied and highly anticipated games in Princeton football history.

In 1911, Baker's sophomore season, he led the Tigers to a national championship with an 8-0-2 record. He also captained the team during his senior year, and his school scoring records stood for nearly half a century.

Although Baker was undeniably a star on the football field, it was on the ice that he achieved his greatest successes. Playing at the rover position, Baker brought the crowds out of their seats with his slick stickhandling and patented end-to-end rushes. He was such a dominant force that the Princeton squad came to be known as "Baker and Six Other Players."

During Baker's sophomore season, the Tigers posted an undefeated season en route to winning the intercollegiate championship, followed by a second championship two years later under Baker's captaincy.

Despite Baker's immense talent, his athletic ability was only half the legend. He was the paragon of gentlemanly conduct in an era when honor and sportsmanship were more important than winning. He was known to always visit the opposing team following a match to congratulate it on a game well played, a graceful move that gained him the respect and admiration of fans, teammates and opponents alike. Amazingly, he was called for only one minor penalty during his entire collegiate hockey career.

After graduating in 1914, Baker went to work at J.P. Morgan in New York City while continuing to pursue his passion for hockey with a top amateur club in New York, the St. Nick's. Baker's celebrity in the Big Apple was so great that signs reading "Baker Plays Here Tonight" were hung outside arenas, attracting long lines of fans eager to catch a glimpse of the towheaded star.

Growing restless on Wall Street, Baker left his job and the St. Nick's and headed overseas when the U.S. entered World War I to help the American forces in the air, joining the storied Lafayette Escadrille and commanding the 141st Aero Squadron. Ever the competitor, he shot down three German planes and was awarded the Croix de Guerre for his superior conduct under fire.

On Dec. 21, 1918, Princeton's golden boy took flight one last time. Although the war had ended weeks earlier, Baker decided to test out a newly repaired plane despite the protests of his comrades. Tragically, the plane went down and Hobart Amory Baker was killed at the young age of 26, his orders to return home tucked inside his jacket pocket.

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Baker is the only individual to be inducted into both the Hockey Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame, and is considered the greatest American-born amateur hockey player in history. In addition, the top U.S. college hockey player every year is honored with the Hobey Baker Award.

Every Princetonian knows his name; Baker Rink was opened in 1923 and houses, among other Baker memorabilia, Hobey's skates.

Hobey Baker will forever be firmly entrenched in Princeton lore, having more than anyone epitomized the ideal Princeton athlete with his unparalleled athletic ability, exemplary performance in the classroom, faultless humility, sportsmanship and pure love of the game.