Detroit Lions: 30 greatest players in franchise history
50. . Defensive End. (1978-1982). Al 'Bubba' Baker. 20. player
Al “Bubba” Baker was another defensive lineman who spent the first five seasons of his career in Detroit but unlike his predecessor on this list, Baker is still very much beloved in the Motor City.
He let his play do all of his talking from the very beginning. After leaving Colorado State University, he burst on to the professional scene strong as a rookie in 1978, as he finished that year with 23 sacks.
Unfortunately for him, sacks did not become an official stat for the NFL until the 1982 season, so all the sacks that Bubba totaled prior to his final season as a Lion are not a part of his official NFL sack count.
However, the 23 sacks from his rookie year would stand up today as the current (unofficial) single season sack record. Officially, the record book lists Baker with a mere 8.5 sacks, but if you add the previous sacks to his 1982 total, he mauled the opposing quarterbacks 75.5 times as a Lion.
Baker won the 1978 Associated Press (AP) Defensive Rookie of the Year award. He was also named as an All-Pro to go along with his trip to that year’s Pro Bowl. Baker again made the Pro Bowl in 1979 and 1980. He was a true defensive star for his team.
Baker didn’t have to do it all alone though. He may have been the most known member of Detroit’s Silver Rush defensive front, but he had Doug English as his main running mate. Together, that front-four helped to strike fear into the hearts of everyone that they faced.