Australian Football

AustralianFootball.com Celebrating the history of the great Australian game

 

Key Facts

Full name
Garry Baker

Known as
Garry Baker

Nickname
Bull

Born
24 March 1953 (age 71)

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 19y 10d
Last game: 30y 150d

Height and weight
Height: 193 cm
Weight: 95 kg

Senior clubs
Footscray; Melbourne; Sydney; Mordialloc; Moorabbin West; Sandy Bay

Jumper numbers
Footscray: 1
Melbourne: 1
Sydney: 1

Recruited from
Footscray (1974); Melbourne (1983); (1986)

Garry Baker

ClubLeagueCareer spanGamesGoalsAvgWin %AKIAHBAMKBV
FootscrayV/AFL1972-19731490.6436%5.711.713.000
MelbourneV/AFL1974-19811271120.8826%8.884.945.9920
SydneyV/AFL1983650.8317%3.671.672.170
MordiallocVFA1985
Moorabbin WestVFA1986
Sandy BayTFL19872
V/AFL1972-1981, 19831471260.8627%8.364.505.5520
VFA1985-1986
TFL19872
Total1972-1981, 1983, 1985-19871491260.85

AFL: 8,435th player to appear, 1,373rd most games played, 834th most goals kickedFootscray: 604th player to appear, 572nd most games played, 401st most goals kickedMelbourne: 928th player to appear, 110th most games played, 69th most goals kickedSydney: 1,112th player to appear, 994th most games played, 639th most goals kicked

Rugged, hard working and a tremendous team man, Gary 'Bull' Baker commenced his senior VFL career in 1972 with Footscray, for whom he played 14 games and kicked seven goals in two seasons. In 1974 he crossed to Melbourne where he produced the best football of his career, peaking in a 1978 season that saw him land the club's best and fairest award. A knee injury, however, proved a major setback, and over his last few seasons with the Demons he lost form and, perhaps because of the mobility restrictions imposed by the knee, put on a fair amount of weight.

In a bid to resurrect his career Baker crossed to Sydney in 1983 but managed just six games and five goals for the year before deciding to leave the VFL scene behind. His eight-season stint with Melbourne saw him play a total of 127 senior games and kick 112 goals. Baker later played and coached in the VFA with Mordialloc and Moorabbin, winning a best and fairest award with the former club in 1985. He finished his playing career with a couple of games for Sandy Bay in 1987.

Author - John Devaney

Sources

Full Points Footy Publications, Crème de la Crème

Footnotes

* Behinds calculated from the 1965 season on.
+ Score at the end of extra time.