Joseph Henry Baker was an England international footballer.
16 Facts About Joe Baker
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2.
Joe Baker is notable for being the first professional player to have played for England without having previously played in the English football league system, and for scoring over 100 goals in both the English and Scottish leagues.
3.
Joe Baker's brother Gerry Baker was a professional footballer, who played internationally for the United States.
4.
Joe Baker's father, George, born in Woolton, was a sailor.
5.
When living in New York, Joe Baker's elder brother, Gerry, was born in 1938.
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The family then evacuated to Motherwell in Scotland, just six weeks after Joe's birth and this is where the Baker brothers spent the rest of their childhood.
7.
Joe Baker signed professional terms with Hibernian after playing Junior football for local Coltness United, and was then farmed out to another Junior team, Armadale Thistle.
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Gerry Baker signed for Hibernian from Manchester City in November 1961, not long after Joe had left Easter Road.
9.
Joe Baker was involved in a serious car crash, which meant that he needed life-saving surgery and spent over a month on a drip feed.
10.
Joe Baker made his debut against Leyton Orient on 18 August 1962, and in all spent four seasons with the Gunners.
11.
In three years at Forest, Joe Baker scored 41 goals in 118 league games.
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Joe Baker returned to Hibernian for a second time in 1971 and scored 12 goals in 30 appearances.
13.
Joe Baker moved to Raith Rovers in 1972 and retired in 1974, having in all scored 301 league goals in 507 games.
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Joe Baker made his England debut against Northern Ireland in 1959, which made him the first professional player to be capped for England while playing for a club outside the English football league system.
15.
Joe Baker won eight caps for the senior England side, five while he was playing for Hibs and three while with Arsenal.
16.
Joe Baker later became Albion Rovers manager on two occasions, but never pursued a full coaching career, instead running a pub and working for Hibernian's hospitality service.