Born in Bala Cynwyd into a prominent Philadelphia family, Baker was a hockey and football star at Princeton. Considered the first American star in ice hockey (he was the only American among the first nine inductees in the Hockey Hall of Fame), Baker was part of three national championship teams (two hockey, one football), and went on to help the St. Nicholas Club win a national amateur championship in 1915. After graduating from Princeton, Baker worked for J.P. Morgan before enlisting in the Army Air Service. Tragically, Baker died in December 1918 hours before he was due to return home to America.