Carl BAKER, Sr.^[1]

• Name	Carl BAKER
  Suffix	Sr.
  Gender	Male
  HIST	Sumter High celebrates 5 new members of athletic hall of fame From left, Ricardo Colclough, Brittany Lee (Starling), Sumter High Principal Anamaria Sandor, Matt Price, Brooks Shumake and Carl Baker Jr. pose with the newest plaque for the SHS Athletic Hall of Fame after their induction on Saturday. ADAM FLASH / THE SUMTER ITEM Posted Wednesday, December 18, 2024 6:00 am By TIM LEIBLE tim@theitem.com The Sumter High Athletic Hall of Fame inducted five new members on Saturday with a night filled with both emotion and nostalgia. The inductees ranged across three sports, as Brittany Lee (Starling) was recognized for her illustrious basketball career, Carl Baker Jr. joined on the back of a sensational career on the football field and diamond, Ricardo Colclough enters after a Super Bowl-winning football career, and both Matt Price and Brooks Shumake enter after leading the Gamecocks to their first state championship in baseball amid incredible careers as a player and coach. Lee's high school career was cut short due to an ACL injury, but she more than made up for lost time in the years that followed. She averaged a double-double as a junior at Sumter High before missing her entire senior year. Luckily, she signed her letter of intent days before the injury. She went on to have a stellar career at USC Upstate, finishing her career with 1,533 points and 1,119 rebounds on her way to their hall of fame in 2022. Lee followed a strong collegiate career with a professional career that took her to Italy and France to play for Team Cameroon in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament before pro stops in Belgium, Finland and Spain. Her illustrious career was all sparked by her injury at Sumter High and the lessons she learned as she watched from the sidelines. "I don't remember much about it other than being bratty and crying after every single game," Lee joked. "My journey made me who I am. My journey allowed me to live in, play in and visit the most beautiful countries. My journey led me to meeting some of the most amazing people from all cultures and walks of life. My journey led me to meet the love of my life. My journey gave me my beautiful son. And my journey has blessed me with the opportunity to pour into the next generation at my alma mater." Now Lee is back where everything began, at Sumter High. She serves as an assistant for the girls basketball team under Jeff Schaffer, coaching alongside her high school coach, Chris Vandevander. Baker Jr. was a star wide receiver on the football team and outfielder on the baseball team. He was introduced at the hall of fame induction by Keith West, who served as an assistant coach as Baker Jr. and the Gamecocks made a spectacular run to the 1992 state championship against Gaffney. West recounted drawing up a play the night before that Baker Jr. took into the end zone for a touchdown. He went on to play football at Clemson before being sidelined by a knee injury. As Baker Jr. spoke to the crowd on Saturday, he spoke more about the man after whom he was named, long-time Sumter High coach and Class of 2023 athletic hall of fame inductee Carl Baker Sr. "To be honored today, it's very special to me. For me, honors like this, generally, are not about the person being honored. It's more about the people in your life that helped you get to this point," Baker Jr. said, thanking fellow 2023 inductee Coley White, former Sumter P-15's coach Wallie Jones, former SHS coaches Tom Lewis and Mark Clifford, athletic trainer Gary Nelson and many more. "I really want to speak about the most influential person in my life. He was a teacher here for a long time, and being the child of a teacher - a high school teacher - who is your coach, your dad, he's in the gym, he's got your same name; it's hard to hide. Somebody just said to me tonight, 'Carl, you were the greatest student.' I had no choice but to be a good student. That's what he taught me, it was going to be no other way. "I understand now, though, that when you're 14, when you're 15, sometimes you don't see the world or understand the world as clearly as you think you do. I really appreciated everything you've done for me." The Bakers are core figures in Sumter High's history going all the way back to the beginning. "I saw this place being built," Baker Jr. recalled. "I would run from the bus area all the way down the halls before there were even doors, before there were windows, before the locker room. I would dribble a ball all the way down here." Many lives at Sumter High were changed by the Bakers, whether it was by the coaching or teaching of the father or the incredible playing of the son. Seeing the pair be inducted in consecutive years was special. The pair shared a photo by Baker Jr.'s new plaque, with senior donning a Santa hat just before the holidays. "I've seen so many people publicly honor my dad over the years to tell him thank you, to tell him they appreciate everything he's done, tell him that they loved him. So, when Keith called me this summer and told me I was getting inducted into the high school hall of fame, the Lord put it in my heart that this was going to be my opportunity to publicly say all of the things that I have heard other people say about my dad to him and about him. "So I want to say, Dad, Coach Baker, thank you for being a father to me. It wasn't until I had my own child that I finally understand what being a father really meant. Thank you for sacrificing part of your life to provide for our family. Thank you for never telling me what I wanted to hear but always telling me what I needed to hear. Thank you for taking care of my mom. You're a good man. You have been the same man at home to our family as you have been to other people at this high school and in this community. "As far as I'm concerned, tonight, they have officially put you in this hall of fame twice for all that you have done. I'm proud to be Carl Baker Jr. I am truly humbled." Baker Jr. was followed by Colclough, a stellar defensive back, receiver and kick returner at Sumter High in the late 1990s who eventually found a collegiate home at Kilgore College. After earning Junior College All-American honors, he transferred to Tusculum College, a Division II program in Greenville, Tennessee, where he put together another All-American season before being drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round. Colclough went on to win a Super Bowl ring with the Steelers with a win over the Seattle Seahawks in 2006. Colclough's attention was also focused mainly on his sources of inspiration on his journey through life. "God is good, and all the time He's good just by me standing here," Colclough said. "I think back over the years of walking these halls, all of the work that was put in, being a hard head sometimes and doing things your way. You never foresee where you can be, but God always has a plan; you just don't know what it is. You just have to keep taking it one day at a time, one step at a time. "I want to give thanks to Dexter (Davis, former Clemson and NFL defensive back) and Coach West; you guys set the bar. Coach West, you brought in a state championship. Dexter, you went on to do great things, and you were a guy that, as I came up, that I idolized and wanted to be like and ultimately wanted to get to that level. I never really thought that I would get there, just for the simple fact of what was going on around me. I just knew that I wanted to get out, and my outlet was sports I've always had a village of people around me, seeing light in me that I didn't see in myself. I think that's portrayed here tonight." The final two inductees were a fitting pair. Shumake ended up introducing his former star pitcher during the ceremony. Together, the pair brought Sumter High its first baseball state championship in 2006. Both went on to have incredible careers at Sumter High and beyond. "I'm about to get inducted into the hall of fame myself, and I'm sitting up here thanking him for helping me get in," Shumake said. "So, it's kinda special for me. "I'm glad we were able to cash in one state championship with him. It would've been bad if I couldn't," the former SHS coach added with a chuckle. After three consecutive all-state seasons at Sumter High, Price became the shutdown closer at the University of South Carolina, leading the Gamecocks to three consecutive College World Series trips, winning the first two. He set the school and SEC records for career saves with 43 and struck out 267 batters. Price finished his USC career with an ERA of 2.76 and played a major role in leading both of his alma maters to their first national championships. He played for a third CWS with a former high school teammate, Jordan Montgomery, who was inducted to the SHS hall last December. He was eventually drafted by the Baltimore Orioles before injuries ended his career. "I want to thank everybody that's here today. Without everybody being here, I wouldn't be here," said Price, who is now a police officer in his hometown. "My family, of course, my mom and dad, the people who have coached me along the way, Brooks Joe Norris. My dad taught me until I got to Sumter High, but Joe Norris took me the rest of the way. We call him the pitching guru for a reason." But before Montgomery joined Price at USC, the southpaw was teaming up with Shumake to deliver Sumter High's second state title in 2011. Shumake made a two-year stop at White Knoll after that title but returned to the Gamecocks to claim a third state title in 2014. Shumake won 389 games at Sumter High after an excellent collegiate career as a player at Clemson before a four-year career in the minor leagues. "It really doesn't happen without the people around you," Shumake said. "It's an us award, for me. It's about us; it has to be. I'd like to thank God for having favor with our baseball program, having favor with every person that's been here tonight. "I remember coming here and seeing the banners in the gym. Anyone who's coached here goes in and looks at those banners, and you say, 'I wonder if I can get one of those. I want one of those banners in the gym with a state championship on it.' We ended up getting three of them put up there, so I'm proud of our guys. "I think it's a testament to what some great young men and coaches can accomplish from hustling to practice, to enjoy the game and develop some skills to be able to win a lot of games and a few state championships. We enjoyed the grind and challenge to get better each day." This was the second year Sumter High inducted a new class after an 11-year hiatus. The 2023 class included Nelson, White, Baker Sr., Montgomery, Rod McDowell, Pressley Harvin III, Shawna Waters and Greg Blanding.  [1]
  HIST	Sumter High celebrates 5 new members of athletic hall of fame From left, Ricardo Colclough, Brittany Lee (Starling), Sumter High Principal Anamaria Sandor, Matt Price, Brooks Shumake and Carl Baker Jr. pose with the newest plaque for the SHS Athletic Hall of Fame after their induction on Saturday. ADAM FLASH / THE SUMTER ITEM Posted Wednesday, December 18, 2024 6:00 am By TIM LEIBLE tim@theitem.com The Sumter High Athletic Hall of Fame inducted five new members on Saturday with a night filled with both emotion and nostalgia. The inductees ranged across three sports, as Brittany Lee (Starling) was recognized for her illustrious basketball career, Carl Baker Jr. joined on the back of a sensational career on the football field and diamond, Ricardo Colclough enters after a Super Bowl-winning football career, and both Matt Price and Brooks Shumake enter after leading the Gamecocks to their first state championship in baseball amid incredible careers as a player and coach. Lee's high school career was cut short due to an ACL injury, but she more than made up for lost time in the years that followed. She averaged a double-double as a junior at Sumter High before missing her entire senior year. Luckily, she signed her letter of intent days before the injury. She went on to have a stellar career at USC Upstate, finishing her career with 1,533 points and 1,119 rebounds on her way to their hall of fame in 2022. Lee followed a strong collegiate career with a professional career that took her to Italy and France to play for Team Cameroon in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament before pro stops in Belgium, Finland and Spain. Her illustrious career was all sparked by her injury at Sumter High and the lessons she learned as she watched from the sidelines. "I don't remember much about it other than being bratty and crying after every single game," Lee joked. "My journey made me who I am. My journey allowed me to live in, play in and visit the most beautiful countries. My journey led me to meeting some of the most amazing people from all cultures and walks of life. My journey led me to meet the love of my life. My journey gave me my beautiful son. And my journey has blessed me with the opportunity to pour into the next generation at my alma mater." Now Lee is back where everything began, at Sumter High. She serves as an assistant for the girls basketball team under Jeff Schaffer, coaching alongside her high school coach, Chris Vandevander. Baker Jr. was a star wide receiver on the football team and outfielder on the baseball team. He was introduced at the hall of fame induction by Keith West, who served as an assistant coach as Baker Jr. and the Gamecocks made a spectacular run to the 1992 state championship against Gaffney. West recounted drawing up a play the night before that Baker Jr. took into the end zone for a touchdown. He went on to play football at Clemson before being sidelined by a knee injury. As Baker Jr. spoke to the crowd on Saturday, he spoke more about the man after whom he was named, long-time Sumter High coach and Class of 2023 athletic hall of fame inductee Carl Baker Sr. "To be honored today, it's very special to me. For me, honors like this, generally, are not about the person being honored. It's more about the people in your life that helped you get to this point," Baker Jr. said, thanking fellow 2023 inductee Coley White, former Sumter P-15's coach Wallie Jones, former SHS coaches Tom Lewis and Mark Clifford, athletic trainer Gary Nelson and many more. "I really want to speak about the most influential person in my life. He was a teacher here for a long time, and being the child of a teacher - a high school teacher - who is your coach, your dad, he's in the gym, he's got your same name; it's hard to hide. Somebody just said to me tonight, 'Carl, you were the greatest student.' I had no choice but to be a good student. That's what he taught me, it was going to be no other way. "I understand now, though, that when you're 14, when you're 15, sometimes you don't see the world or understand the world as clearly as you think you do. I really appreciated everything you've done for me." The Bakers are core figures in Sumter High's history going all the way back to the beginning. "I saw this place being built," Baker Jr. recalled. "I would run from the bus area all the way down the halls before there were even doors, before there were windows, before the locker room. I would dribble a ball all the way down here." Many lives at Sumter High were changed by the Bakers, whether it was by the coaching or teaching of the father or the incredible playing of the son. Seeing the pair be inducted in consecutive years was special. The pair shared a photo by Baker Jr.'s new plaque, with senior donning a Santa hat just before the holidays. "I've seen so many people publicly honor my dad over the years to tell him thank you, to tell him they appreciate everything he's done, tell him that they loved him. So, when Keith called me this summer and told me I was getting inducted into the high school hall of fame, the Lord put it in my heart that this was going to be my opportunity to publicly say all of the things that I have heard other people say about my dad to him and about him. "So I want to say, Dad, Coach Baker, thank you for being a father to me. It wasn't until I had my own child that I finally understand what being a father really meant. Thank you for sacrificing part of your life to provide for our family. Thank you for never telling me what I wanted to hear but always telling me what I needed to hear. Thank you for taking care of my mom. You're a good man. You have been the same man at home to our family as you have been to other people at this high school and in this community. "As far as I'm concerned, tonight, they have officially put you in this hall of fame twice for all that you have done. I'm proud to be Carl Baker Jr. I am truly humbled." Baker Jr. was followed by Colclough, a stellar defensive back, receiver and kick returner at Sumter High in the late 1990s who eventually found a collegiate home at Kilgore College. After earning Junior College All-American honors, he transferred to Tusculum College, a Division II program in Greenville, Tennessee, where he put together another All-American season before being drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round. Colclough went on to win a Super Bowl ring with the Steelers with a win over the Seattle Seahawks in 2006. Colclough's attention was also focused mainly on his sources of inspiration on his journey through life. "God is good, and all the time He's good just by me standing here," Colclough said. "I think back over the years of walking these halls, all of the work that was put in, being a hard head sometimes and doing things your way. You never foresee where you can be, but God always has a plan; you just don't know what it is. You just have to keep taking it one day at a time, one step at a time. "I want to give thanks to Dexter (Davis, former Clemson and NFL defensive back) and Coach West; you guys set the bar. Coach West, you brought in a state championship. Dexter, you went on to do great things, and you were a guy that, as I came up, that I idolized and wanted to be like and ultimately wanted to get to that level. I never really thought that I would get there, just for the simple fact of what was going on around me. I just knew that I wanted to get out, and my outlet was sports I've always had a village of people around me, seeing light in me that I didn't see in myself. I think that's portrayed here tonight." The final two inductees were a fitting pair. Shumake ended up introducing his former star pitcher during the ceremony. Together, the pair brought Sumter High its first baseball state championship in 2006. Both went on to have incredible careers at Sumter High and beyond. "I'm about to get inducted into the hall of fame myself, and I'm sitting up here thanking him for helping me get in," Shumake said. "So, it's kinda special for me. "I'm glad we were able to cash in one state championship with him. It would've been bad if I couldn't," the former SHS coach added with a chuckle. After three consecutive all-state seasons at Sumter High, Price became the shutdown closer at the University of South Carolina, leading the Gamecocks to three consecutive College World Series trips, winning the first two. He set the school and SEC records for career saves with 43 and struck out 267 batters. Price finished his USC career with an ERA of 2.76 and played a major role in leading both of his alma maters to their first national championships. He played for a third CWS with a former high school teammate, Jordan Montgomery, who was inducted to the SHS hall last December. He was eventually drafted by the Baltimore Orioles before injuries ended his career. "I want to thank everybody that's here today. Without everybody being here, I wouldn't be here," said Price, who is now a police officer in his hometown. "My family, of course, my mom and dad, the people who have coached me along the way, Brooks Joe Norris. My dad taught me until I got to Sumter High, but Joe Norris took me the rest of the way. We call him the pitching guru for a reason." But before Montgomery joined Price at USC, the southpaw was teaming up with Shumake to deliver Sumter High's second state title in 2011. Shumake made a two-year stop at White Knoll after that title but returned to the Gamecocks to claim a third state title in 2014. Shumake won 389 games at Sumter High after an excellent collegiate career as a player at Clemson before a four-year career in the minor leagues. "It really doesn't happen without the people around you," Shumake said. "It's an us award, for me. It's about us; it has to be. I'd like to thank God for having favor with our baseball program, having favor with every person that's been here tonight. "I remember coming here and seeing the banners in the gym. Anyone who's coached here goes in and looks at those banners, and you say, 'I wonder if I can get one of those. I want one of those banners in the gym with a state championship on it.' We ended up getting three of them put up there, so I'm proud of our guys. "I think it's a testament to what some great young men and coaches can accomplish from hustling to practice, to enjoy the game and develop some skills to be able to win a lot of games and a few state championships. We enjoyed the grind and challenge to get better each day." This was the second year Sumter High inducted a new class after an 11-year hiatus. The 2023 class included Nelson, White, Baker Sr., Montgomery, Rod McDowell, Pressley Harvin III, Shawna Waters and Greg Blanding.
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  _UID	5BECE63F6D9F499C84C185156650A2E2762E
  Person ID	I346487	Singleton and Related Families
  Last Modified	8 Jan 2025

  
  

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  [S32334] Sumter High celebrates 5 new members of athletic hall of fame.