Al "Bubba" Baker was 21 years old when he set the unofficial record of 23 quarterback sacks in 1978. He finished his career with the Browns, and now Myles Garrett is on the verge of shattering Baker's 47-year-old record.
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns and NFL analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
Kill, Bubba, Kill!
The chants inside the old Pontiac Silverdome still echo in Al “Bubba” Baker’s mind.
It’s third-and-long in 1978, and the Detroit Lions fans are responding to the giant screen inside the cavernous arena with the bubble roof.
Kill, Bubba, Kill!
“Can you imagine that? You know, 70,000 people chanting that in the Silverdome?” Baker, 68, recalled via phone this week. “And I was motivated by it.”
James Albert London “Bubba” Baker was a 21-year-old rookie from Colorado State, the anchor of Detroit’s legendary Silver Rush coached by pass rush guru Floyd Peters, when he – yes, he – set the real NFL record for sacks in a season that Myles Garrett will soon shatter.
Goaded by the demanding Peters – “a nightmare to play for,” Baker asserted – and those choreographed chants, Baker sacked quarterbacks 23 times by the time his 22nd birthday had passed that season.
Nobody had registered as much in a single season before him and nobody has since – 47 years later. Garrett has 19 sacks with five games to go.
History of sacks
The reason the NFL views the official record for sacks in a season as 22.5 – jointly held by Michael Strahan over 16 games and T.J. Watt over 17 – is that the sack was not recognized as an official statistic until 1982.
So Baker’s record has languished in obscurity, noted mostly only by NFL historians. Not even the Detroit Lions – the team he broke in with and set the record – has feted him for the achievement.
“Yes, I felt slighted,” said Baker, who finished his career with the Browns in 1990 after accumulating 131 sacks in 13 NFL seasons. “What’s crazy is they acknowledged the quarterback's loss in yards, but not the defensive lineman's sack. That doesn't make any sense.”
The term sack is mostly attributed to Hall of Famer Deacon Jones, a member of the Los Angeles Rams’ Fearsome Foursome in the 1960s. As a result, the NFL has presented the Deacon Jones Award to the season’s sack leader.
“It came from the war days, where you would sack a village and you would take their spoils. You sacked the village,” Baker said.
Even though the NFL didn’t recognize the stat, pass rushers and D-line coaches did. Researchers -- notably the eminent football Website ProFootballReference.com -- have examined official game books and game film from 1961 to re-tabulate sacks prior to 1982. Jones had 22 sacks in 1964 and 1968 when teams played only 14 games. His record stood for 14 years until Baker broke it in 16 games.
“It was not, for me, a topic,” Baker said of the sack in his day. “It was a topic for Floyd. Floyd was a nightmare to play for. And me being 20 going on 21, if I got three in a game and he saw me satisfied with those three, I was the subject of his rant on Monday. He wouldn't show the three sacks. He'd show the one play where it looks like I was a rookie. And he drove (me).”
What happened to make the sack legit in 1982?
“There was a guy … not many people know him. His name was Lawrence Taylor, and he lived in New York. Go figure the rest of it out,” Baker said, partly in jest.
“They made it an official statistic because he was incredible at it. I mean, he came up in the league and the only persons around like that was Matt Blair and Robert Brazile. I mean, very, very talented linebackers. But Lawrence Taylor took the position and turned it into what it is today. You know, the weak side backer.”
Taylor’s best sack season was 20.5 in 1986. He finished with 134 in 13 seasons – three more than Baker.
Rooting for Garrett
Football changes in all these eras, of course, due to number of games played, rules changes and offensive advances. Baker points out that in his days, quarterbacks threw the ball less, so there were fewer chances to sack them.
Now teams pass more than ever in history. Even so, Baker is rooting for and expecting Garrett to shatter his record.
“Myles Garrett will break the 23 because he's driven,” Baker said. “And I guarantee you he knows Al Bubba Baker has 23. So that's what he’ll break and that’s what he wants to break. And he'll do it because that's how [pass rushers’] mindsets are.
“And he is the premier defensive player in all of the National Football League. Has been for, I'd say, five years. I mean, you would think that the Browns are 15-2 with how many sacks he has. He's just an all-around great defensive end. He's a phenomenal end.”
“Myles Garrett is a freak. He's faster than the running backs in my day. He's bigger, stronger. Well-conditioned. These guys have their own trainers and all that.”
Is Garrett the best pass rusher of all time?
“It’s very premature, because the best pass rusher of all time has 200 [sacks],” Baker said. “His name is Bruce Smith.”
Smith had 200 playing 18 seasons through 2003. Garrett, 29, ranks 32nd on the all-time list with 121.5 in his ninth season. Do the math. If Garrett plays as long as Smith, he’s on pace to shatter the all-time mark.
“You take it one game at a time,” Baker said. “You focus. You learn everything there is about that [opposing] tackle. You learn about that quarterback. Does he dip? Does he spin out backwards? What does he do? You do all your homework, and then you study that center. Does he give away anything? You do your homework.
“Myles Garrett's doing all that right now. I can guarantee you that. He knows about the record. He knows he wants to shut me or anybody else up. He doesn't want 22 and a half. He wants 25, 27. And he can do it. That's the way we think.
“And let me tell you, the true test is the last ones to get to 23. Let's say these last five. You know why? Because every offensive coordinator is going to say, ‘If anybody beats it, it damn well better not be number 95.’
“I wish him the best because nobody's discussed my 23. I'm the guy that's the unofficial guy. But that 22 and a half? T.J. Watt is there and Michael Strahan, I'd like to see him do nothing better than to put it in a place where nobody can question it. Yeah, that's right. That's Myles Garrett. And he deserves it.”
Brownie bits
Safety Grant Delpit was named the Browns Walter Payton Man of the Year for his play on the field and commitment to making a positive impact in the Northeast Ohio community through his GD Express Foundation. Each team votes for this prestigious award and then the NFL names one league winner at the Super Bowl …
Myles Garrett was named AFC defensive player of the month for November and Carson Schwesinger was named AFC rookie defensive player of the month. Schwesinger was asked, “Do you get anything for that award?” He answerd, “I have no idea.” …
DNPs another day were tight end Brenden Bates (ankle), linebacker Devin Bush (knee), offensive tackle Jack Conklin (concussion), defensive tackle Adin Huntington (quad), running back Dylan Sampson (calf), and guard Wyatt Teller (calf).