Five games into the 1975 season he was transferred to Geelong by Allen Aylett due to financial reasons. His loyalty to North was never questioned after his time away and in 1977 he proved to be an integral part of the North Melbourne forward line. This was evident as he played a major role in a premiership year with 35 goals.
He kicked six of the club's nine goals in the 1977 Grand Final against Collingwood and three in the following weekend's Grand Final Replay. His accuracy at goal as opposed to Arnold Briedis's inaccuracy, kept North Melbourne in the game against Collingwood.
In 1978 he played in North Melbourne's losing grand final against Hawthorn and kicked another bag of six goals. The highlight of the 1978 grand final was his high leaping marks and desperate efforts to get North Melbourne back in the game.[1] However, his efforts alone were not enough to win the grand final for North Melbourne. In these three grand finals he kicked a total of 15 goals. [2]
Phil Baker's nickname was "Snake" and wore jumper number 29. His teammates usually entered the field with the immortal words ringing in their ears, No messing around, long bombs to Snake".[3]
Referencesedit
^Heath O'Loughlin (21 May 2019). "Phil "Snake" Baker returns". North Melbourne Football Club. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
^O'Loughlin, Heath (21 May 2019). "Phil 'Snake' Baker returns". NMFC. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
^Matthew Watson (7 January 2016). ""Long bombs to Snake"". North Melbourne Football Club. The Footy Almanac. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
External linksedit
Phil Baker's playing statistics from AFL Tables
Phil Baker at AustralianFootball.com
This Australian rules football biography of a person born in the 1950s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
phil, baker, footballer, other, people, named, phil, baker, phil, baker, disambiguation, this, biography, living, person, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, adding, reliable, sources, contentious, material, about, living, persons, that, . For other people named Phil Baker see Phil Baker disambiguation This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page especially if potentially libelous Find sources Phil Baker footballer news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message Phil Baker born 22 March 1952 is a former Australian rules footballer who played for North Melbourne and Geelong in the Victorian Football League VFL during the 1970s Phil BakerPersonal informationNickname s SnakeDate of birth 1952 03 22 22 March 1952 age 71 Original team s Rutherglen Albury O amp M Height192 cm 6 ft 4 in Weight93 kg 205 lb Playing career1YearsClubGames Goals 1971 1975North Melbourne0 58 0 52 1975Geelong00 9 00 9 1977 1979North Melbourne0 39 0 64 Total106 125 1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1979 Sources AFL Tables AustralianFootball comBaker was a high marking forward and started his career at North Melbourne in 1971 after originally playing with Rutherglen and then Albury in the Ovens amp Murray Football League Five games into the 1975 season he was transferred to Geelong by Allen Aylett due to financial reasons His loyalty to North was never questioned after his time away and in 1977 he proved to be an integral part of the North Melbourne forward line This was evident as he played a major role in a premiership year with 35 goals He kicked six of the club s nine goals in the 1977 Grand Final against Collingwood and three in the following weekend s Grand Final Replay His accuracy at goal as opposed to Arnold Briedis s inaccuracy kept North Melbourne in the game against Collingwood In 1978 he played in North Melbourne s losing grand final against Hawthorn and kicked another bag of six goals The highlight of the 1978 grand final was his high leaping marks and desperate efforts to get North Melbourne back in the game 1 However his efforts alone were not enough to win the grand final for North Melbourne In these three grand finals he kicked a total of 15 goals 2 Phil Baker s nickname was Snake and wore jumper number 29 His teammates usually entered the field with the immortal words ringing in their ears No messing around long bombs to Snake 3 References edit Heath O Loughlin 21 May 2019 Phil Snake Baker returns North Melbourne Football Club Retrieved 15 June 2023 O Loughlin Heath 21 May 2019 Phil Snake Baker returns NMFC Retrieved 22 May 2019 Matthew Watson 7 January 2016 Long bombs to Snake North Melbourne Football Club The Footy Almanac Retrieved 15 June 2023 External links editPhil Baker s playing statistics from AFL Tables Phil Baker at AustralianFootball com nbsp This Australian rules football biography of a person born in the 1950s is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Phil Baker footballer amp oldid 1168369250, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
