Baker, a graduate of Weequahic High School in Newark, New Jersey and Colorado State University, was drafted in the second round of the 1978 draft by the Detroit Lions. Listed as 6-6 and 250 pounds, he combined speed and strength. He made his mark early as he began his NFL career with the Lions with an incredible 23 sacks his rookie year, with five sacks in a single game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played for the Lions for five seasons, starting 66 of 67 games. In his last season with the Lions, 1982, when sacks became an official statistic, he totaled 8.5 in only nine games. He also had two career interceptions with the Lions. During his career with the Lions he unofficially totaled 75.5 sacks including 23 sacks in 1978, 16 in 1979, 18 in 1980 and 10 in 1981, which are the franchise's top three all-time, single-season sack efforts. He played the next four seasons, 1983–86, with the St. Louis Cardinals, for whom his season sack totals were 13, 10, 4 and 10.5. In 1983, along with the 13 sacks, he also had two interceptions. In 1987, he was a reserve defense lineman for the Cleveland Browns, then served in the same position in 1988 for the Minnesota Vikings. He returned to the Browns as a starter for all 16 games of the 1989 season as well as for all nine games he played for the Browns in 1990, his final NFL season at age 34.
Post-NFL career
Baker said in the NFL that he hoped to "play long enough to make a fortune in football. Then my son can be a doctor. He won't have to play this dumb game". Baker now lives with his family, including his wife of 34 years, Sabrina, in Avon, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, and he owns a restaurant called Bubba's Q World-famous Bar-B-Que & Catering in Avon. He appeared on the ABC-TV show Shark Tank on December 6, 2013, in which investor and entrepreneur Daymond John agreed to invest $300,000 for a 30 percent share in Queen Ann Inc., the food company started by Baker and Baker's children, Brittani Bo Baker and James Albert London Baker. Part of the agreement was the licensing of Baker's patent for de-boning pork ribs. DBA/Bubba's-Q Boneless Baby Back Ribs sold at stores such as QVC, have appeared on Good Morning America and are sold by retailers online. Baker and daughter Brittani are partners in the patented Boneless Baby Back Ribs. In 2004, he was picked as the 9th Greatest Pass Rusher in NFL History by Sports Illustrated. In 2007, he was named to the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame.
Brittani Bo Baker
Brittani Bo Baker is the managing partner with her father, former National Football League football player Al “Bubba” Baker, of their restaurant Bubba's-Q World-famous BBQ & Catering in Avon, Ohio. In 2006 Brittani and Al patented Bubbas's Boneless Ribs, a product and process for removing bones from an intact slab of ribs, making it possible for people to eat fully cooked deboned BBQ ribs with a knife and fork – this is not a reshaped patty. The co-inventors' patented product was featured on ABC's show Shark Tank where the father-daughter team partnered with branding expert and FUBU creator Daymond John. Brittani is the vice president of the company formed through the partnership with Daymond John. In 2012 Brittani published a cookbook, Al Bubba Baker's Simple Southern Cookbook, featuring simplified southern family recipes. She created the cookbook to honor her father. The book also includes Sports Illustrated articles, cooking tips and NFL action shots of her father during his football career. Baker often helps the homeless and less fortunate in the Cleveland area. For her 29th birthday, she hosted and fed almost 100 homeless men at Bubba's-Q Restaurant in Avon, Ohio. Baker serves as a board member for Lutheran Metropolitan Ministries Social Enterprise, which helps former homeless people learn the necessary skills to gain and maintain jobs in the culinary arts field. Brittani has also been seen on QVC with her father on the showIn the Kitchen with David starring David Venable.
