It is with a very heavy heart that we share the heartbreaking news that legendary coach Nick Baker, a towering presence at Haddonfield for five decades, has been transitioned to hospice care, his family announced.
The 70-year-old Baker, one of New Jersey's all-time greatest XC and track and field coaches, and his family need the thoughts and prayers of the NJ cross-country and track and field community during this difficult time.
The Baker family has asked that the NJ running community visit Nick's CaringBridge page to show your love for Nick as he enters this new phase of his care. Please use the "Well Wishes" page to wish Nick well, and give your thoughts about how much Baker has meant to you and to the sport, and share any stories and photos that you have.
On Nick's CaringBridge page is the following message-
"As many of you may already know, Nick Baker was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in February. The cancer has spread to other sites - his brain, scapula, ribs, back, pelvis, adrenal glands, liver and femurs. He underwent target therapy, radiation, and hip replacement surgery to remove a tumor on February 22, which gave him much pain relief and allowed him to have an active spring and summer enjoying friends and family."
"In April, he was named an Honorary Referee at the Penn Relays. Nick was able to travel this spring and summer with his family to some of his favorite spots including Lake George and the Jersey Shore. This summer and fall, he has continued to coach the Haddonfield boys cross-country team, where he has been the head coach since 1982, leading them to 40 sectional and 17 state group titles.
In September, Nick and his team celebrated breaking the South Jersey winning streak record. After undergoing recent gamma knife surgery, targeted radiation and chemotherapy this fall, Nick's health quickly declined as the cancer continued to progress. Nick and his family have made the decision to transition to hospice care as of October 10. Surely, many of you would like to know what you can do to help. At this point, what Nick would love most is to hear from as many friends and family as possible.''
There is no question about Baker's place in NJ's pantheon of coaching icons. He is right at the very top!!
Anyone involved in the sport will tell you that Nick Baker is the very definition of a legend, an absolute giant in the sport of XC and track and field. But he's more than that. First and foremost, Nick Baker is a Hall of Fame person, father, husband, friend, mentor, and educator. Nick Baker has treated everyone he's ever coached like they were family, and he is a pillar in the New Jersey running community.
More: In-Depth Story of Baker's Amazing Coaching Journey
Baker has had XC and track and field running through in his blood his whole life.
A native of Dublin, Ireland, Baker moved with his family to New York at age five. He graduated from Mt. Vernon (N.Y.) High School, where he was a member of the state champion cross-country team and the Eastern States championship track team. He earned his college degree from Springfield College (Mass.).
Since taking over at head track and field coach at Haddonfield in 1977, Baker has built a remarkable resume, and his legacy as a legend has been secure for years! A member of several Hall of Fames, Nick Baker has poured his heart and soul into this sport! No one is more passionate about the sport! Nick Baker represents everything you'd ever want in a coach, person, and a leader.
He's so beloved and revered in Haddonfield that in 2019 the track at Haddonfield High was fittingly named "Baker Track.'' It's named after both Nick and his wife, Maureen.
Check out these amazing accomplishments.
With Baker as the head XC coach, Haddonfield has won 35 sectional titles in XC, including a state record 19 in a row, and 20 State Group Championships, including the last five in a row. And under Baker's leadership, the Dawgs have qualified for the XC Meet of Champions a state public school record 34 times!!! And in 2001, Baker led Haddonfield to the Meet of Champions title and finished No. 1 in the state and No. 5 in the country. Haddonfield's 2001 XC team was the first team in state history to have three runners (Chris Platt, Skip Stiles, and Breton Bonnette) run under 16 minutes in the same race at Holmdel Park when they did that at the M of C!!
Interview with Nick Baker in 2017 after winning 201 straight dual meets.
And there is of course The Streak!
With Baker at helm this season, the Bulldogs extended their amazing dual meet winning streak in cross country to 251 straight, which stretches back 26 years. It's the longest streak in South Jersey history, the second longest in N.J. history, and is the No. 3 all-time streak in U.S. high school history. Baker's career dual meet record is an eye-popping 375-16!!!
Baker's resume as the head boys track and field coach at Haddonfield is just as impressive.
He was the boys head outdoor coach from 1978-2003, and has been an assistant ever since '03. After starting the boys indoor program in 1978, Baker was the head indoor coach from 1978-2014, and is now an assistant coach in the winter. In addition to numerous conference, county and sectional championships, Baker led Haddonfield to nine winter track state titles, six indoor state relay titles, and five outdoor state championships. That's a total of 20 track state titles to go along with the 17 state titles in cross country for a remarkable total of 37 state championships.
And don't forget how instrumental Baker was in the development of Haddonfield All-Time greats and U.S. Olympians Erin Donohue and Marielle Hall.
Donohue, a 2001 graduate of Haddonfield, ran the 1,500 at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and is one of the greatest athletes to ever compete in NJ in any sport. Baker's wife, Maureen, was the head coach outdoors during Donohue's high school career. Hall, who graduated from Haddonfield in 2010, ran in the 10K at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. Baker was serving as an assistant coach during Hall's high school days. Baker has also coached eight national champions in track. His distance medley squads won indoor national titles in 2002 and 2010, and his 4-mile relay team won the indoor national championship in 2002 and 2010, and the outdoor title in 2010.
Baker has also been a very active administrator and meet director during his career.
He served as the President of the SJTCA for 20 years and the vice president for 14 years. He started the Haddonfield Invitational and has been the director for over 30 years. He is also the meet director of the Haddonfield Distance Night, and he started the Haddonfield winter track and middle school programs and the Colonial Conference Middle School Championship.
Baker, who put in countless miles on his bike during XC meets as he zipped around courses to give instructions to his runners, has received numerous awards for his success, dedication, and contributions to the sport.
He is a member of the NJ State Coaches Hall of Fame, the South Jersey Track Coaches Hall of Fame, the Camden County Sports Hall of Fame, and the Haddonfield Hall of Fame. He's been named the SJTCA cross country coach of the year four times, the SJTCA track coach of the year twice, the New Jersey cross country and track and field coach of the year twice, and has been named the Northeast Regional Coach of the Year in cross country, and he was an Honorary Referee at the Penn Relays last April.
Nick Baker has meant as much and done as much for the sport of XC and track and field over the last five decades as anyone in New Jersey history. He has touched the lives of everyone he's ever met, has molded the lives of thousands of student athletes, and made an lasting impact that will be felt for eternity. All Nick Baker ever wanted to do was make his athletes better runners and better people. He succeeded at both!!!
You name it, Nick Baker has done it!!
He has checked every single box during his amazing life, and he's done so while always remaining humble and a class act!!
Personally, Nick has taught me so much about the sport since I broke in as a young sports writer way back in the 1980s, and I'm a better person and reporter because of Nick's presence. I'm always proud to tell people that I know Nick Baker, and I value and cherish every second I've spent with him.
Nick Baker is the best of the best. They just don't make them any better than Nick Baker!
Nick Baker's legacy of greatness and kindness will live on forever!!!
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