Tay Baker obit

Cincinnati Athletics Mourns the Passing of Tay Baker

Baker, who led the basketball Bearcats from 1965-72, passed away Tuesday 

He was not on the list.

CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Athletics mourns the passing of former men’s basketball head coach and student-athlete Taylor “Tay” Baker, who died surrounded by his family on Tuesday.

A 1996 inductee into the James P. Kelly Cincinnati Athletics Hall of Fame, Baker was sixth man on the 1948, 1949 and 1950 basketball teams that compiled a 60-18 record and won three Mid-American Conference titles, before returning as an assistant coach in 1959, helping Ed Jucker’s Bearcats to four Final Fours and back-to-back NCAA titles in 1961 and 1962.

He went on to succeed Jucker as head coach in 1965, leading his first team to the Missouri Valley Conference title and an Elite Eight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. He went on to compile a 125-60 record in seven seasons as head coach of the Bearcats. Baker and his 1965-66 Bearcats’ team were inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024.

“Tay Baker represented the very best of Cincinnati Athletics and leaves behind an incredible legacy as both a Bearcats player and coach,” Director of Athletics John Cunningham said. “He was part of one of the greatest eras in our history, first as a student-athlete and later helping lead Cincinnati to national championships and tremendous success as a coach. I was fortunate to get to know Tay and spend time with many of the Bearcats he coached, and his pride in this university and the relationships he built here never faded. Our entire Bearcats family mourns his passing, and our thoughts are with his family, friends, former players and teammates.”

Baker later went on to coach at Xavier, helping the team achieve its first winning season in 12 years during his third year as head coach.

Baker was born on September 24, 1927. He played basketball at Hamilton High School in Hamilton, Ohio, graduating in 1945. He played college basketball for the University of Cincinnati Bearcats, beginning as a freshman in 1947. After only three games, he began an 18-month stint in the U.S. Army. Returning to Cincinnati, he was a top reserve for the first two Bearcats teams to win 20 games: 23–5 in 1949 and, as a senior, 20–6 in 1950. The Bearcats were champions of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in each season from 1948-1950.

After graduating, Baker worked as a teacher and coach at three southwestern Ohio high schools—first at Lebanon High School, then Wyoming High School and Miamisburg High School.

In 1959, he returned to Cincinnati as an assistant coach under coach George Smith, a post he retained the next season when Smith became the athletic director and Ed Jucker took over as head coach. After an assistant coaching career that included four Final Fours and two NCAA championships for the Bearcats, Baker succeeded Jucker as head coach in 1965.

His first team, in 1965–66, won the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) title and played in the NCAA Tournament, where they were defeated 78-76 in overtime by eventual national champion Texas Western (now UTEP), which famously was the first team to win the title starting five African-American players. Baker's Bearcats retuned to the postseason again in 1970, losing in the first round of the NIT to Bob Knight's Army team. After posting a 17–9 record in 1971–72, Baker resigned as UC coach. In seven seasons coaching the Bearcats, Baker posted a record of 125–60.

 

Playing career

1947–1950      Cincinnati

Coaching career (HC unless noted)

1959–1965      Cincinnati (assistant)

1965–1972      Cincinnati

1973–1979      Xavier

Head coaching record

Overall            195–149

Tournaments    0–1 (NCAA Division I)

0–1 (NIT)

Accomplishments and honors

Awards

MVC Coach of the Year (1966)