Tay Baker
 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 24, 1927 Hamilton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | September 29, 2026 (aged 99) |
| Playing career | |
| 1947–1950 | Cincinnati |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1959–1965 | Cincinnati (assistant) |
| 1965–1972 | Cincinnati |
| 1973–1979 | Xavier |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 195–149 |
| Tournaments | 0–1 (NCAA Division I) 0–1 (NIT) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
| MVC Coach of the Year (1966) | |
Taylor Baker (September 24, 1927 – September 29, 2026) was an American college basketball coach for the Cincinnati Bearcats and Xavier Musketeers.
Biography
Baker was born on September 24, 1927. He played basketball at Hamilton High School in Hamilton, Ohio, graduating in 1945. He played college basketball for the University of Cincinnati Bearcats, beginning as a freshman in 1947. After only three games, he began an 18-month stint in the U.S. Army. Returning to Cincinnati, he was a top reserve for the first two Bearcats teams to win 20 games: 23–5 in 1949 and, as a senior, 20–6 in 1950. The Bearcats were champions of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in each season from 1948-1950.
After graduating, Baker worked as a teacher and coach at three southwestern Ohio high schools—first at Lebanon High School, then Wyoming High School and Miamisburg High School.
In 1959, he returned to Cincinnati as an assistant coach under coach George Smith, a post he retained the next season when Smith became the athletic director and Ed Jucker took over as head coach. After an assistant coaching career that included four Final Fours and two NCAA championships for the Bearcats, Baker succeeded Jucker as head coach in 1965.
His first team, in 1965–66, won the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) title and played in the NCAA Tournament, where they were defeated 78-76 in overtime by eventual national champion Texas Western (now UTEP), which famously was the first team to win the title starting five African-American players. Baker's Bearcats returned to the postseason again in 1970, losing in the first round of the NIT to Bob Knight's Army team. After posting a 17–9 record in 1971–72, Baker resigned as UC coach. In seven seasons coaching the Bearcats, Baker posted a record of 125–60.
He moved to crosstown rival Xavier University in 1973, where he went 70–89 over six seasons.
Baker later served as executive director and board member of the non-profit Greater Cincinnati Golf Association which, among other functions, runs the local USGA qualifying tournaments.
He was inducted into the University of Cincinnati Athletics Hall of Fame in 1996, the Lebanon High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017, and the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in 2025.
Baker died on September 29, 2026, five days after his 99th birthday.
Head coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Bearcats (Missouri Valley Conference) (1965–1970) | |||||||||
| 1965–66 | Cincinnati | 21–7 | 10–4 | 1st | NCAA Sweet Sixteen | ||||
| 1966–67 | Cincinnati | 17–9 | 6–8 | 4th | |||||
| 1967–68 | Cincinnati | 18–8 | 11–5 | 3rd | |||||
| 1968–69 | Cincinnati | 17–9 | 8–8 | 4th | |||||
| 1969–70 | Cincinnati | 21–6 | 12–4 | 2nd | NIT first round | ||||
| Cincinnati Bearcats (Independent) (1970–1972) | |||||||||
| 1970–71 | Cincinnati | 14–12 | |||||||
| 1971–72 | Cincinnati | 17–9 | |||||||
| Cincinnati: | 125–60 (.676) | 47–29 (.618) | |||||||
| Xavier Musketeers (Independent) (1973–1979) | |||||||||
| 1973–74 | Xavier | 8–18 | |||||||
| 1974–75 | Xavier | 11–15 | |||||||
| 1975–76 | Xavier | 14–12 | |||||||
| 1976–77 | Xavier | 10–17 | |||||||
| 1977–78 | Xavier | 13–18 | |||||||
| 1978–79 | Xavier | 14–13 | |||||||
| Xavier: | 70–89 (.440) | ||||||||
| Total: | 195–149 (.567) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
References
- 1 2 3 "Tay Baker - Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame". Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 30, 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Tay Baker Bio – University Of Cincinnati". Gobearcats.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 30, 2026.
- 1 2 Tales from Cincinnati Bearcats Basketball. Sports Publishing LLC. 2004. p. 88. ISBN 9781582617459. Retrieved October 24, 2014 – via Internet Archive.
- ↑ "UC celebrates 1961 and 1962 national title teams". Cincinnati.com. Archived from the original on October 24, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
- ↑ "The Team". www.utep.edu. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
- ↑ "1969-70 Army Black Knights Men's Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
- ↑ "Tay Baker". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
- ↑ Brown, Kyle (March 16, 2022). "Xavier basketball head coaches: From Tay Baker to Travis Steele". cincinnati.com. Retrieved September 30, 2026.
- ↑ Knight, Andy. "'A different taste of golf'". Cincinnati.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved September 30, 2026.
- ↑ "Greater Cincinnati Golf Association Foundation in Cincinnati, Ohio (OH)". Faqs.org. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 30, 2026.
- ↑ "Lebanon Warriors - Hall of Fame Members". lebanonwarriors.com. Retrieved September 30, 2026.
- ↑ Springer, Scott (September 30, 2026). "Tay Baker dies at 99, uniquely coached UC Bearcats, Xavier Musketeers". Yahoo Sports.