Tay Baker, Cincinnati basketball legend, dies at 99

Tay Baker, a legendary figure in Cincinnati basketball, has passed away at the age of 99. Baker was a prominent student-athlete and coach for the University of Cincinnati Bearcats, serving as a sixth man on the championship teams of 1948, 1949, and 1950.

After serving as an assistant coach during the Bearcats’ back-to-back NCAA title runs in 1961 and 1962, Baker took over as head coach in 1965. During his seven seasons at the helm, he compiled a 125-60 record and led the team to a Missouri Valley Conference title and an Elite Eight appearance.

Baker also coached at Xavier University from 1974 to 1979, where he helped the team achieve its first winning season in 12 years. A member of the James P. Kelly Cincinnati Athletics Hall of Fame and the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame, he was noted as the oldest living college basketball coach in the United States at the time of his death.