BAKER, Peter Russell Barker (1952-65)
Position: Full back
Height: 5ft 10ins
Weight: 10st 8lbs
Born: Hampstead, London, 10 December, 1931
Died: 27 January, 2016
Signed from amateur October 1952
Transferred to Durban United (South Africa) May 1965, free
Also played for: Durban United, Addington, Durban Spurs
Spurs Record:
Debut: 18 April, 1953 v Sunderland (a) drew 1-1
Appearances: League 299, FA Cup 27, Europe 16
Goals: League 3
In every great team there are great players. They grab the headlines and get the plaudits but every great team also has those less recognised players, the solid, dependable performers without whom the stars would not have the stage on which to flaunt their talents.
Peter Baker and his full back partner Ron Henry were the latter sort of players, never at the top of the list when the ‘Double’ winning team are named but every bit as important as the likes of Danny Blanchflower, Dave Mackay and Bobby Smith. They formed one of the best full-back partnerships of their time. They were recognised by their team-mates as the cornerstone upon which success was based although it is only with the benefit of hindsight that their importance is recognised by those who watched from the terraces.
Baker was one of the longest serving members of the early 1960s team and no overnight success. He joined Spurs as an 18-year old amateur in the summer of 1949 while playing for Enfield but did not make the move into the professional ranks until October, 1952. By the end of his first season he had made his League debut but Alf Ramsey was still firmly ensconced as first choice right-back and Baker knew he had to bide his time if he was ever to establish himself.
He might have expected to get his chance when Ramsey decided to take the manager’s job at Ipswich Town but while Baker was recognised as a player of enormous potential, the veteran Charlie Withers was initially given Ramsey’s old place. When big Maurice Norman was signed Baker had to be content with a role in the reserves and it was only when Norman was injured that Baker got another chance. This time he grabbed it with both hands. Showing calmness and confidence that belied his lack of top level experience, he did so well that when Norman was fit he could only get back in the team by switching to centre-half.
The emergence of Johnny Hills during the 1957-58 season put Baker’s place in jeopardy but he saw off the challenge and by the time Bill Nicholson was appointed manager in October, 1958, the number two shirt was very much Baker’s property. He kept it for another seven years, missing only one game in 1960-61 and very few more in the next three seasons as the FA Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup were added to the Double.
Baker was a cool, efficient player who did his job as simply as possible. His positional sense was first class and if on rare occasions that let him down, he was quick enough to recover before any damage could be done. When he got the ball he did the simple thing, a quick pass to Blanchflower or, if he was unavailable, inside to John White or down the wing to Cliff Jones. The unsung hero had done his job, now it was up to the superstars to do theirs.
Although well into his 30s, Baker looked as if he could go on for a few more years but the arrival of Cyril Knowles in May, 1964, as Nicholson began to build another trophy winning team, signalled the end of Baker’s Spurs career. Nicholson valued him enough to want him to stay but when the chance came of building a new life for himself in South Africa, Baker was allowed to leave. He emigrated in 1965 and initially played for Durban United. After playing he coached for a while before going into business and always retained his great affection for Spurs.