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On this date in area sports history …
Fourteen years ago on this date, Dec. 23, 1994, South High School athletic director C. Duane Baker spoke in the News-Sun about his impending retirement after 28 years at the school. Complete story on the jump:
Published Dec. 23, 1994
BAKER SET FOR HIS SOUTH FAREWELL
ATHLETIC DIRECTOR RETIRING AFTER 28 YEARS OF SERVICE
Byline: By Cindy Horner - Sports Writer
It’s kind of like counting down the number of days until Christmas, although the Xs have been marked on the calandar dating back a few extra months.
South Athletic Director C. Duane Baker has been the one with the pencil in his hand counting down the days until his retirement.
Not that Baker hasn’t enjoyed his stay at South, but putting in 28 years at one place is enough for anyone.
“I would have gotten out of it a long time ago if I didn’t like what I was doing,” said the 58-year-old Baker, whose last day is Dec. 31 when school is out.
“I’ve never thought of it as a job and I’ve never dreaded coming in here,” Baker said as he leaned back in his chair in his office, just outside South’s main gymnasium. “I was fortunate to find a niche. I like it here. I loved it here for 28 years. I will always love it here, it’s just time to give someone else a shot.”
Baker, affectionately known as “Bake,” spent the past 14 years as the athletic director after 14 as a teacher and assistant basketball coach.
A native of Celina, Ohio, he might have ended up at Oxford Talawanda, but Baker found out through a friend that there was an opening in Springfield.
“South was a much bigger school,” said Baker, who spent a year at Republic High School, near Tiffin, and five more at Wapakoneta. “They played a big-time schedule. The interview went well here and so I came to South as the assistant basketball coach. Wayne Wiseman was the hoops coach at the time and we hit it off real well.”
Wiseman remembers when South hired Baker.
“He came here and just fit in perfectly with the whole staff,” Wiseman said. “Things couldn’t have gone better. I didn’t know him before we hired him. We met in late June or July and I took him around Springfield. We dropped by the board office and that was the end of it. We’ve hit it off since day one.”
Wiseman is one who has appreciated Baker’s efforts.
“I’d have to say that the Springfield City Schools are very fortunate to have someone as dedicated as him all these years,” he said. “I know we’ve had excellent times there. I’m glad he’s retiring, though, because we’ve been euchre partners for about the past 20 years. He hasn’t been carrying his load lately, so hopefully he’ll have more time to practice now.”
Baker, who graduated from Ohio University in 1959, was an assistant under Wiseman until 1981, when AD Bucky Walters had health problems and retired.
“Wiseman was offered the job, but he wasn’t ready to give up basketball and no one was allowed to do both,” Baker explained. “He passed it up and it fell to me. I took it right away.”
Baker, who played basketball and was a pitcher in baseball in high school and college, had to give up the close relationships with students that develop through coaching and teaching.
“It was a big adjustment for me,” he said. “Coaching kids is different than being the athletic director. You get close to kids in the classroom. I miss the personal relationships and I think I was best in the classroom.”
Baker has been in education for 34 years. But his counterpart at North, Jim Rolfes, has been in the business longer and says he’ll miss Baker.
“Bake is very well liked by his peers. The (Western Ohio) League will miss him as well,” said Rolfes, who has been at North for 35 years, 20 as AD. “We talk several times a week. We ask each other for advice on how to handle certain things. Duane was always there if I needed anything. There was no North-South rivalry between us. We just always tried to do what we felt was best for both schools. I’ll miss him.”
Baker’s plans include attending sporting events here and there.
“I’m not going to do anything right away,” said Baker, who has been married to his wife, Pat, for 28 years. “I’m just going to keep the logs on the fire. If something comes along, I’ll look at it. I’m not going to just sit around in a rocking chair. I’ll come back for games and hoot and holler.”
Pat, who taught at Clark Middle School, is in her second year of retirement. They have one daughter, Suzanne, who is completing a degree in elementary education at Ohio U.
Baker was hooting and hollering in 1984 when South went undefeated and was ranked No. 1 in the state in basketball. He said that had to be one of the most exciting years.
“It was a team that just went together,” he said. “The whole team was tight and very unique. Everybody loved those kids. The place was packed every night. They gave off such a positive image. They were like ambassadors to good will.”
Another exciting project for Baker was the renovation of Evans Stadium.
“It’s been challenging, interesting, educational and fun,” he said. “There have been so many people involved in the project. Everyone was a tremendous help.
“There’s a lot of great people here that I’ve worked with over the years both at the administrative level and in the faculty. Plus, all the kids that come through. The coaching staff has been great, too. I’ve enjoyed it all.”
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