Perry Baker

Perry Baker
Date of birth (1986-06-29) June 29, 1986
Place of birth New Smyrna Beach, Florida, United States
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight 180 lb (82 kg)
School Spruce Creek High School
University Fairmont State University
Rugby union career
Position(s) Wing
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2013–2014 Tiger Rugby (Ohio)
1823 (Ohio)		 ()
National team(s)
Years Team Comps
2014– United States 26
Correct as of March 14, 2017

Perry Baker (born June 29, 1986) is an American rugby sevens player for the United States national rugby sevens team. With over 130 tries, Baker ranks second all-time in the list of leading try-scorers for the U.S. national sevens team.

American football

Baker played college football for NCAA Division II Fairmont State University in West Virginia.[1] He graduated from Fairmont State in 2010 with a degree in Criminal Justice.[2]

Baker was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL) in July 2011, but he suffered a knee injury that cut short his NFL career.[3][4] Baker played two seasons for the Pittsburgh Power of the Arena Football League from 2012 to 2013.[5][6]

Rugby career

Baker had dabbled in rugby since 2006, when he was introduced to the sport by Brian Richardson, the coach of Daytona Beach Rugby who was also one of Baker's American football high school coaches. Baker played with the Daytona Beach Coconuts in 2012, leading them to a ninth-place finish at the club sevens national tournament.[7]

Baker took up rugby full-time in 2013 and joined the Tiger Rugby Academy in Columbus, Ohio, working under coach Paul Holmes.[8] Baker signed a full-time contract with the U.S. Eagles in July 2014 to join the residency program at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in San Diego, California.[9][10]

Baker made his debut at the 2014 Gold Coast Sevens in Australia, where he entered the U.S. team's first match against Canada as a second-half substitute. Baker's first start and first try came in the U.S. team's third match of that tournament, against Argentina; he scored his first hat-trick also in that tournament, in the knockout rounds against Portugal.[11][12][13] Baker was involved in an incident at the 2014 South Africa Sevens when the United States were playing against South Africa, a fan invaded the rugby field and tackled him. Baker retaliated by kicking him, he later apologized for his actions on Twitter.[14][15]

Baker played an instrumental rule in the U.S. team's first-ever victory over New Zealand, scoring both tries in their 14-12 victory at the 2015 Dubai Sevens.[16] During the 2015-16 World Rugby Sevens Series Baker scored 48 tries during the season, a record high for a US player.[17] Baker was second only to South Africa's Seabelo Senatla in tries for the season, and Baker earned a place on the World Rugby dream team for the 2015-16 season.

Baker was a member of the United States men's rugby team at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. He scored a try in the second half of the team's final pool match against Fiji.[18] The team did not advance past pool play.

Baker had a productive 2016-17 season. At the 2016 South Africa Sevens, in the absence of regular captain Madison Hughes, Baker was named U.S. team captain for the tournament. At the 2017 Singapore Sevens, Baker ran 100 meters from his own in-goal area to score a try against Wales, which was voted by World Rugby as one of the tries of the tournament. At the 2017 Paris Sevens Baker scored another length-of-the-field try, which was voted one of the best tries of the tournament.

Season by season

 WR Sevens Series
WR 7s Season Tries Scored USA Rank World Rank Accolades
2014-15 28 2nd 10th
2015-16 48 1st 2nd World Series Dream Team
2016-17 57 1st 1st World Series Dream Team
Career 133 2nd 16th

Family

Baker's older brother Dallas is a National Football League, Arena Football League and Canadian Football League player. Perry is the nephew of former NFL player and coach Wes Chandler.[19][20]

References

  1. ↑ gofundme.com (2015). "Perry Baker Team USA Rugby 7s". Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  2. ↑ Perry Baker, Team USA. Accessed April 11, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Perry Baker". kffl.com. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  4. ↑ Martin Pengelly (February 13, 2015). "USA sevens rugby star Perry Baker earns Eagles wings in new arena". Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  5. ↑ sarugbymag.co.za (October 14, 2014). "New USA speedster Perry Baker". Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Perry Baker". arenafan.com. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  7. ↑ Brent Woronoff (July 29, 2014). "Baker keeps Olympic dream alive, joins USA Rugby residency program". Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  8. ↑ Brent Woronoff (July 29, 2014). "Baker keeps Olympic dream alive, joins USA Rugby residency program". Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  9. ↑ Brent Woronoff (July 29, 2014). "Baker keeps Olympic dream alive, joins USA Rugby residency program". Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  10. ↑ Graham Smeaton (May 3, 2015). "USA Eagles Rugby – Perry 'Speedstick' Baker". Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  11. ↑ Oliver Pickup (February 13, 2015). "HSBC Sevens World Series: USA flier Perry Baker ready to set Las Vegas aflame in home competition". Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  12. ↑ Curtis (thisisamericanrugby.com) (October 14, 2014). "Perry Baker Reflects On Eagles Debut". Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  13. ↑ Pat Clifton (September 30, 2014). "Baker Could Complete Deadly Duo". Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  14. ↑ Snejana Farberov (December 16, 2014). "That'll teach him! Moment American rugby player kicked pitch intruder in the stomach in retaliation for tackling him during match". Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  15. ↑ Ron Dicker (December 15, 2014). "Perry Baker, U.S. Rugby Player, Kicks Intruder Who Ran On Field". Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  16. ↑ http://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/dubai-sevens-usa-beat-new-zealand-in-world-series-sensation/news-story/56fc7ae8d75f40ac5ab55abc989bba9c
  17. ↑ http://www.goffrugbyreport.com/news/look-mens-olympic-rugby-team
  18. ↑ http://results.nbcolympics.com/rugby/event/men/match=rum407a06/index.html?v=20160810175139&intcmp=[#]-schline-result
  19. ↑ Martin Pengelly (February 13, 2015). "USA sevens rugby star Perry Baker earns Eagles wings in new arena". Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  20. ↑ "USA rugby sevens team shocks the world, defeats New Zealand", Washington Post, Jake Russell, December 4, 2015.
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