John Baker (Defensive Lineman)

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. John Haywood Baker, Jr. (June 10, 1935 - October 31, 2007), nicknamed "Big John," was an American defensive lineman in the National Football League who played for four teams from 1958 to 1968. He later served as sheriff of Wake County, North Carolina from 1978 to 2002, becoming the first African-American sheriff in North Carolina since the Reconstruction era. Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, Baker was the son of John H. Baker, Sr., the city's first African-American police officer. Baker, Sr. served at one time as sergeant-at-arms for the city council. The younger Baker attended Raleigh's Washington and Ligon High Schools and North Carolina Central University. There he was a teammate of Herman Boone.