He made over 300 appearances for Cardiff City in a spell disrupted by the outbreak of World War II, winning one cap for Wales in 1948.
[2] Born in Penrhiwceiber, Baker began his career Troedrhiw before joining Cardiff City in January 1938, after having trials at a number of clubs including Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
He made his debut for the club in a 2–0 win over Northampton Town in February 1939 as an outside-right but would make just two more appearances before the outbreak of World War II.
[3] Baker joined the 77th HAA Regiment,[4] which contained a number of footballers including other Cardiff City players Ernie Curtis and Billy James and embarked on a journey to North Africa by ship for deployment.
However, en route, Japanese forces launched an attack on Pearl Harbor, leading the UK to declare war against Japan which saw Baker and his unit rerouted to Java where British forces suffered heavy losses and Baker was one of numerous British troops taken prisoner.