John Baker Jr.
Football
Inducted: 1972
- Born June 10, 2935, Raleigh, NC
- Defensive end at Washington and Ligon High Schools in Raleigh
- Spent his college years at North Carolina College in Durham (now North Carolina Central)
- Member of 1958 College All-Star Team
- Played in NFL from 1958–1968 with four different teams
- Best years with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1963–1967
- Famous sack of Giants quarterback Y. A. Tittle in 1964 led to Tittle’s retirement
- Entered politics after his football career
- First African American appointed to N.C. State Parole Board in 1970
- Elected sheriff of Wake County in 1978 and served in that position for 24 years
