Former Canadian Football League kicker enters Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame
Terry Baker was halfway through university before he even found a position on the football field.
Two decades later, he’s in the CFL record books and the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame.
"I guess it was after my fourth year of university, my second year of playing, that I thought maybe I’d found my niche," said Baker, who spent 16 seasons in the CFL as a kicker with four teams. "I was really fortunate to play professionally, and to play for 16 years was really quite something."
The Bridgewater native was one of 10 new inductees into the provincial hall of fame on Thursday in a ceremony in Halifax.
After a university football career at Mount Allison — where he first became a kicker after playing linebacker at Cobequid Education Centre — and Acadia, Baker played for Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Saskatchewan in the CFL, winning two Grey Cups. He led the league in scoring twice and ranks eighth on the CFL’s all-time scoring list.
"It’s pretty special to be part of the sport legacy of Nova Scotia," Baker said. "To be a Nova Scotian and play as many years in the CFL as I did, I felt very distinct. There weren’t too many of us, and it was really a privilege and an honour."
Also going into the Hall on Thursday were harness racing driver David Pinkney of Yarmouth, tennis standout Ken Reardon Sr. of Halifax, trap shooter John Giovannetti of Port Morien, and boxer Chris Clarke of Halifax in the athlete category.
"This is one of the biggest days of my life," said Clarke, who went 130-9 as a fighter and was the first Canadian boxer to win a gold medal at the Pan-Am Games. "I’ve been shooting for this since I was 10 years old."
Sailors Judy Lugar and Morag McLean, the first Nova Scotians to claim a world title at the world sailing championships in Spain in 1986, were inducted in the team category along with the 1981 Fishermen’s Market midget boys fastpitch team, which won a national title.
Joining in the builder category were AHL president David Andrews of Halifax, curling administrator Muriel Fage of Amherst, and jack-of-all-trades Courtney Parks Malcolm of New Glasgow, who coached hockey and helped start the New Glasgow Track and Field Club and the Pictou County Twilight Baseball Club.
Andrews, who helped bring a Calder Cup to Cape Breton as general manager of the AHL’s Oilers in 1993, said he was proud to be recognized as a Nova Scotian. He still owns a home in Digby County.
"I feel very fortunate to be able to work at something my whole life that I really love, and to have some success at it," he said. "There are very few Canadians in jobs like mine."
Two decades later, he’s in the CFL record books and the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame.
"I guess it was after my fourth year of university, my second year of playing, that I thought maybe I’d found my niche," said Baker, who spent 16 seasons in the CFL as a kicker with four teams. "I was really fortunate to play professionally, and to play for 16 years was really quite something."
The Bridgewater native was one of 10 new inductees into the provincial hall of fame on Thursday in a ceremony in Halifax.
After a university football career at Mount Allison — where he first became a kicker after playing linebacker at Cobequid Education Centre — and Acadia, Baker played for Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Saskatchewan in the CFL, winning two Grey Cups. He led the league in scoring twice and ranks eighth on the CFL’s all-time scoring list.
"It’s pretty special to be part of the sport legacy of Nova Scotia," Baker said. "To be a Nova Scotian and play as many years in the CFL as I did, I felt very distinct. There weren’t too many of us, and it was really a privilege and an honour."
Also going into the Hall on Thursday were harness racing driver David Pinkney of Yarmouth, tennis standout Ken Reardon Sr. of Halifax, trap shooter John Giovannetti of Port Morien, and boxer Chris Clarke of Halifax in the athlete category.
"This is one of the biggest days of my life," said Clarke, who went 130-9 as a fighter and was the first Canadian boxer to win a gold medal at the Pan-Am Games. "I’ve been shooting for this since I was 10 years old."
Sailors Judy Lugar and Morag McLean, the first Nova Scotians to claim a world title at the world sailing championships in Spain in 1986, were inducted in the team category along with the 1981 Fishermen’s Market midget boys fastpitch team, which won a national title.
Joining in the builder category were AHL president David Andrews of Halifax, curling administrator Muriel Fage of Amherst, and jack-of-all-trades Courtney Parks Malcolm of New Glasgow, who coached hockey and helped start the New Glasgow Track and Field Club and the Pictou County Twilight Baseball Club.
Andrews, who helped bring a Calder Cup to Cape Breton as general manager of the AHL’s Oilers in 1993, said he was proud to be recognized as a Nova Scotian. He still owns a home in Digby County.
"I feel very fortunate to be able to work at something my whole life that I really love, and to have some success at it," he said. "There are very few Canadians in jobs like mine."
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