Terry Baker

His senior year, Baker became the most-decorated athlete in college sports history — the Heisman Trophy winner, the guy who ran for 99 yards for the only score in a 6-0 Liberty Bowl win over Villanova, an all-tournament selection as the Beavers reached the Final Four in basketball, the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year. The NFL’s top draft pick started the first game of his career with the Rams. It was the only game Baker was to start in the NFL. When George Allen took over as coach in 1966, Baker was waived in the preseason. He had a chance to sign with the New York Giants at midseason after Y.A. Tittle got injured, but had already enrolled at the Southern Cal Law School. He played one year in the Canadian Football League, then went full-time at his new career. Baker married his college squeeze, had two children, settled in with Tonkon Torp LLC, and made a good life in Portland. He divorced and remarried, becoming one with Barbara, who had been widowed a few years earlier. They wed in 1996 and the next year moved into their three-bedroom, split-level 4,000-square-foot house with a scenic view of Portland. In the basement are an indoor driving range and a well-stocked wine cellar — staples of any good home. The Bakers share four kids and eight grandchildren. Terry’s son, Brian, is co-owner of an investment firm in Portland while daughter Wendy lives in Venice, Calif. Baker never ran for public office, something many of his friends and acquaintances — Bobby Kennedy among them — pushed him to do. Terry is a founding partner of Tonkon Torp, where he maintains a litigation and a general business practice. His practice includes litigation of product liability, eminent domain, and contract cases. Terry is the former Chairman of the Board and a current Director of the American Automobile Association. He also serves as the Vice Chairman and a member of the Board of Directors of AAA Oregon/Idaho. J.D., University of Southern California Law School, 1968 B.S., Oregon State University, 1963