On July 19, 1983, the St. Louis Cardinals upgraded their pass rush when they traded defensive tackle Mike Dawson to the Detroit Lions for veteran defensive end Al “Bubba” Baker.

Dawson was the Cardinals’ No. 1 draft pick in 1976 and started 84 of 88 games in St. Louis. He had 31.5 sacks in seven seasons with the Big Red.

Baker was the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year for the Lions in 1978, after setting an unofficial NFL record with 23 sacks in a single season. In his five years in Detroit, the 6-foot-6, 260-pounder started 67 games and had 75.5 sacks.

The Jacksonville, FL native was the Lions’ second-round draft pick in 1978 out of Colorado State University. He earned All-Pro honors in his rookie year and Pro Bowls in his first three seasons in the league.

Baker was one of the Lions’ most popular and colorful players. Not only could he sack the opposing quarterbacks, but his cheering, hugging, and hand-slapping style quickly made him a fan favorite in Detroit.

But his open unhappiness about his contract and a falling out with head coach Monte Clark led to the trade.

“I’d get four sacks and he’d (Clark) look at me like that’s still not enough and say, ‘you could have done better,'” Baker said in a St. Louis Post Dispatch interview. “I decided this is a real screwed-up game. I hated football. I just wanted Monday to come because that was the day we got paid.”

“He was unhappy here, and it was time to move on,” Lions’ director of player personnel, Tim Rooney, told the Detroit Free Press. “He may be happier elsewhere.”

“I think when it’s all said and done, it will be a great move for us,” Lions quarterback Eric Hipple said. “The way I see it, Monte was in a bad position. He (Baker) had been unhappy and wanted out. Monte wanted the players here to have a good attitude and be positive about this team. So he did what he had to do.”

St. Louis head coach Jim Hanifan was happy to have Baker join the Cardinals.

“His strengths, particularly as a pass rusher, are a proven commodity,” Hanifan said after the trade. “At 26 years old, he will fit in well with the young players we have drafted.”

“Somebody’s gonna be hurtin’ this year,” predicted Curtis Greer, thinking of the pressure he and Baker will bring on the edges.

“I can see the tackles leading us in sacks for a while,” said lineman Stafford Mays. “With the two speed burners (Greer and Baker) coming off the ends, the quarterback is going to have to step up. When he does, boom! There’s (David) Galloway or there’s (Elois) Grooms. I really think we’re going to have a great defensive line here.”

REJUVENATED IN ST. LOUIS

It didn’t take long for Baker to rediscover his love for football during his first training camp with the Cardinals.

“Last week they had to call me and tell me to come get my paycheck,” he said in an October 1983 interview with the St. Louis Post Dispatch. “I’m buying a house and I need the money, but I forgot to pick it up. That’s never happened to me before. It’s like high school again. And it’s all because of the way I’m being treated.”

“Al’s a nonconformist and Monte wanted him to fit a regimented role,” said Cardinals defensive coordinator Floyd Peters, who coached Baker in Detroit. “They had a personality clash. Jim (Hanifan) just lets Al be Al. And Al’s not a bad kid. He’s no trouble. He’s just different.”

Said Baker: “They treat me with respect around here. I see Bill Bidwill in the hall and he calls me Al or Bubba and he doesn’t look at me like he wants to say, “you’re capable of more.”

Baker told the St. Louis Post Dispatch that the Big Red coaching staff had “rekindled his interest in the game.”

“At Detroit, I was belittled into thinking I wasn’t any good anymore and I was really depressed,” he said. “Now, I go out there and, man, I’m so happy just to be on the field. Even if the play doesn’t come to me, I just dive on the pile to get the feel of it. It’s almost like a religion to me now, and I love this game. If my attitude ever changes again, I’m getting out of it.”

Baker got off to a slow start in his first year with the Cardinals, but had a strong second half of the season. He played left defensive end for the first time in his career and netted 13 quarterback sacks, intercepted two passes, recovered two fumbles, and led the defensive line with 57 tackles. Baker and Greer became one of the best pass-rushing duos in the NFL as the Big Red defense led the league with 59 sacks.

In 1984, Baker had 10 quarterback sacks and 34 tackles to help lead the Cardinals to their best season of the decade.

Many predicted the Cardinals as Super Bowl contenders in 1985. The team won three of their first four games, but the wheels fell off after a Monday night loss in Washington. They won only two more games, and the defense recorded only 32 sacks. Baker finished with only four sacks and had an expiring contract.

“At this point, how do you begin negotiations off such a disappointing season?” Baker said in a St. Louis Post Dispatch interview after the season ended. “It’s kind of hard to go in there and say ‘I think I deserve this.’ I’m being realistic.”

The Cardinals’ poor season in 1985 cost head coach Jim Hanifan his job, which really hurt Baker. He said that the players should feel responsible for the 5-11 record that led to Hanifan’s dismissal.

“We let Jim Hanifan down. Jim Hanifan didn’t let us down.”

“I will think as long as I live that I’ll never meet a finer person than Jim Hanifan,” said Baker. “The last eight weeks I’ve seen his hair go from being a sandy blond to an outright white. I have a lot of respect for him. I’m really hurting.”

NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN

The Cardinals’ hiring of Gene Stallings as head coach in 1986 was a culture shock for many of the players. St. Louis Post Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz said that Stallings “brings to his job a little Bear Bryant and a little Tom Landry with a side of mean streak down the middle.”

Baker’s relationship with Stallings didn’t start well. The big defensive end was a holdout during training camp and didn’t sign his contract until less than two weeks before the regular season opener against the Rams.

After the signing, Baker had a lengthy meeting with Stallings and expressed that he might need to adjust his personality.

“It’s very difficult to be Jerry Lewis and Charles Bronson at the same time,” he said.

“I’ve just come out of one of the most intense conversations I’ve been in—straight from the heart,” said Baker. “I expressed myself, but basically, Stallings is a man who likes to dominate the conversation. He’s your Vince Lombardi. I can live with that.”

“We don’t have to be buddies,” he said. “We don’t have to drink scotch together. It’s pretty obvious we have totally, totally, totally different personalities. There’s very little you can say to please him, but a lot you can do to please him. I can live with it. I can live with wanting to wear a (Super Bowl) ring that he wears on his finger—at any cost.”

Stallings was displeased with Baker’s lengthy holdout, but he still expected a big contribution from him.

“We needed him six weeks ago. But he’s a pro, and I expect him to play like a good one.”

Baker played in all 16 games for the Cardinals in 1986 and recorded 10.5 sacks, but the team suffered its worst season in St. Louis, winning only four games.

“This season has been a holocaust,” Baker said after one of their eleven losses. “It’s been long and hard.”

TRADE TO CLEVELAND

The Cardinals traded Baker to the Cleveland Browns for a fifth-round draft pick on September 3, 1987. He said he would miss St. Louis but was looking forward to a fresh start.

“By the time the Cardinals get to where they’re going, I’ll be considered an old man,” said the 30-year-old. “I’m going to a veteran Cleveland squad that can go to the Super Bowl, and I’m going to play my tail off.”

“I have nothing but good things to say. The Cardinals have dealt with me in a classy and professional manner. Coach Gene Stallings couldn’t have handled it any classier. I had feelings that the Cardinals respected… and it showed me something.”

Baker was a reserve defensive end for the Browns before serving in the same position for the Minnesota Vikings in 1988. He returned to Cleveland as a starter for all 16 games in 1989 and nine games in 1990, his final season in the NFL at the age of 34.

“I don’t have one bad memory from my 13 years. I don’t have a memory at all, for that matter,” Baker joked after announcing his retirement.

Al “Bubba” Baker had a 13-year NFL career. His 131 quarterback sacks place him 21st among all-time sack leaders, solidifying his status as one of the greatest pass rushers in NFL history.