The Fans
Legends
In its rich history, Bristol has nurtured some of the great stars of the past and present.
We would like to thank Dave Fox and Mark Hoskins for allowing us to take advantage of the superb research they did for their book "Bristol Football Club (RFU) - 100 Greats". Dave and Mark contributed the information and the images.
If you would like to get more information on the club, its players and its history, then you can buy their book at most leading bookshops in Bristol.
To search for a particular player, use the Search box below.
Malcolm Baker
Position: Back Row
Date of Birth: 17/09/1949
Honours: England B
Career: 1976-88 (234 games)
Scored: 208 pts (52 tries)
Malcolm Baker, a versatile, supremely fit and often underrated back row forward played for local club Aretians for ten years, captaining the side from 1972-75. He attended Henbury School, where Bristol player Roy Dash was a sports master, and played a lot of his early rugby in the second row.
He came to the attention of the Bristol selectors after starring for the Bristol Combination XV against Bristol United. He came relatively late to senior rugby, making his Bristol first team debut against Clifton in April 1976 in what was the final match played at Clifton's old Eastfield Road ground.
Baker was unfortunate that his Bristol career coincided with those of such back row stars as Peter Polledri and Mike Rafter, but he nevertheless managed to play 234 first team games, scoring 52 tries. Always a prolific try scorer, towards the end of his regular playing days he scored 23 tries in just twenty Bristol United matches in 1983-84 as well as managing twelve for the first team. During this season the United held a ground record until the final game of the season, when Old Redcliffians won on the Memorial Ground.
Despite the abundance of back row talent at Bristol, Baker was able to attract the eye of the England selectors, and he toured Romania with England B in 1978, having just completed a successful season of 36 games for Bristol. Baker appeared in both tour matches, scoring a try in the 22-3 victory over Bucharest and playing in the 13-12 win against Romania B.
He played for the South West against the South at Exeter in 1977 and in 1979 he was selected to play for Gloucestershire against Somerset and Cornwall. A versatile player, Baker was able to stand in at various positions for Bristol and played as both a full back and a prop in emergencies.
In 1984-85, the season after his remarkable try scoring feats, he was invited to captain Bristol United but he only played sixteen games of what was a particularly successful United season, as he was called up for the first team on 24 occasions, scoring twelve tries in the process.
His final first team game was on a bitterly cold night at Kelso during Bristol's centenary tour of Scotland in 1988. By this time he was on the club's committee, where he eventually served as chairman of rugby. He continued to make odd appearances for the United right up until 1993-4 and at the time of writing still organises and plays for the former Players XV. He has also coached at Aretians and served on the committee there.
