2021 David Baker

David Baker is the President of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Since January of 2014, David Baker’s leadership has transformed the Hall of Fame.

His physical stature – 6’9” and nearly 400 pounds – is overshadowed by his large vision for the Hall. He has embarked on an endeavor that has dramatically expanded the Hall of Fame’s brand by focusing on the organization’s powerful Mission to “Honor the Heroes of the Game, Preserve its History, Promote its Values & Celebrate Excellence EVERYWHERE.”

Baker came to Canton with a reputation as an experienced and passionate leader in business, politics and sports. He is dedicated to inspiring exponential growth in individuals and organizations of excellence that seek to make a difference in their communities and the world. He possesses a long record of success as a catalyst for growth.

Under his guidance and leadership, the Pro Football Hall of Fame has greatly expanded programming across the country; experienced increased television ratings; received broader exposure of the Hall’s Mission, Values and Vision; and recorded the greatest financial results in the organization’s 55-year history. In his first four years at the Hall, the organization’s net assets more than doubled.

In 2018, the Pro Football Hall of Fame was voted the Best Attraction for Sports Fans in the USA TODAY 10 Best Readers’ Choice travel award contest.

Baker’s accomplishments were recognized when he was bestowed the prestigious March of Dimes Sports Leadership Award for 2017. He joined a long list of distinguished winners of the Sports Leadership Award that includes NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, NBA Commissioner David Stern, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig.


Baker is an attorney by trade who earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature and Criticism from the University of California at Irvine and his Juris Doctorate from the Pepperdine School of Law during which time he served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Pepperdine Law Review.

He played professional basketball in Switzerland and worldwide with a Christian basketball team that beat the best in the world. He was elected Mayor and Councilman of Irvine, California, the country’s first master-planned city and served for 12 years as the Commissioner of the Arena Football League.

Fueled by his establishment of the first-ever Mission Statement and Fan Bill of Rights in sports, the Arena Football League brand grew dramatically as the most fan-friendly league in the world. Team values escalated from $175,000 to $32 million due, at least in part, to Baker’s ability to negotiate television contracts and his tireless work to establish partnerships with the NFL and major sponsors.

From 2009 to 2014, he served as the Managing Partner for Union Village, the first integrated health village in the world that is located in Henderson, Nevada. The $1.3 billion mixed-use project will provide 17,000 jobs in the community created for 1,500 seniors.

Baker is the father of two boys – Ben, who is the Director of Broadcasting at NASCAR, and Sam, who played left tackle for the Atlanta Falcons and currently serves as a high school football coach. David and his wife, Colleen, also have a daughter, Leyla, and a son, Michael; and are the proud grandparents of ten beautiful grandchildren.