Hobey Baker Award Programs, 1981-2015

Collection number: MC 208
Size: 1 box (0.33 cu.ft.)

About Hobey Baker (1892-1918)

Hobart Amory Hare Baker (January 15, 1892-December 21, 1918), known as Hobey Baker, was a noted athlete and fighter pilot of the early 20th century. He was born in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia and attended St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, where Malcolm Gordon was coach of the ice hockey team, graduating in 1909. In 1910 he enrolled in Princeton University and during his time there he was elected to the Ivy Club, while also playing baseball, football and hockey. By the time he graduated, he had led Princeton to a national championship in football (1911) and two national championships in hockey (1912 and 1914). Baker was also famous for his refusal to wear headgear in football and for the fact that he was penalized only once during his entire hockey career at Princeton.

Following graduation, Baker worked at J. P. Morgan Bank in New York City and played for the St. Nicholas Club in Manhattan, one of the top amateur clubs in the United States (there was no professional American hockey at that time). He enlisted in the U.S. Army as a pilot upon the country's entry into World War I and left for Europe in 1917. By 1918, he was a member of the Lafayette Escadrille, commanding the 103rd Aero Squadron and painting his Spad XIII orange and black in honor of his alma mater.

Contrary to the newspaper accounts of his day, however, Baker was not an ace. He had only three confirmed kills to his name, rather than the necessary five, although he was awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French government for his service. He was killed in a plane crash just weeks after the armistice while test flying one of his squadron's newly repaired Spad's near Toul. Ironically, his orders to return home to the United States were found tucked inside his jacket.

F. Scott Fitzgerald memorialized Hobey Baker twice in the novel This Side of Paradise. The protagonist is named Amory Blaine, in reference to Baker's full name. Another character in the novel, Allenby, is based on Fitzgerald's impressions of Baker as an undergraduate. Mark Goodman's 1985 novel, Hurrah! For the Next Man Who Dies is a fictionalized account of Baker's time at Princeton and in World War I, as told by one of his friends and classmates.

Baker is not only considered one of the greatest ice hockey players of his era, but is also regarded as the first great American hockey player. In 1945 he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, one of only a handful of Americans to be so honored, and was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame as one of its charter members in 1973. In 1975, he was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

About the Hobey Baker Memorial Award

The Hobey Baker Memorial Award is given annually to the top American college hockey player. The first award was given in 1981 to Neal Broten of the University of Minnesota. (See a complete list of past winners). Princeton's Hobey Baker Memorial Rink is also named in his honor. At St. Paul's, hockey players still compete for an award known simply as, "Hobey's Stick." The collection consists of dinner programs and recipient announcements for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award.

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

This collection is open.

Copyright Notice

Contents of this collection are governed by U.S. copyright law. For questions about publication or reproduction rights, contact Special Collections staff.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], [Folder], [Box], Hobey Baker Award Papers, 1981-2014, MC 208, Milne Special Collections and Archives, University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, NH, USA.

Acquisitions Information

Donated: Joe Bertagna, AHCA and Roger Godin, Minnesota Wild

Collection Contents

Box 1
Box 1, Folder 11st Annual Hobey Baker Award dinner program, April 1, 1981
Box 1, Folder 22nd Annual Hobey Baker Award dinner program, March 31, 1982
Box 1, Folder 33rd Annual Hobey Baker Award dinner program, March 27, 1983
Box 1, Folder 44th Annual Hobey Baker Award dinner program, April 1, 1984
Box 1, Folder 55th Annual Hobey Baker Award dinner program, April 2, 1985
Box 1, Folder 66th Annual Hobey Baker Award dinner program, April 7, 1986
Box 1, Folder 77th Annual Hobey Baker Award dinner program, April 5, 1987
Box 1, Folder 810th Annual Hobey Baker Award dinner program, April 4, 1990
Box 1, Folder 911th Annual Hobey Baker Award dinner program, April 5, 1991
Box 1, Folder 1012th Annual Hobey Baker Award dinner program, April 13, 1992
Box 1, Folder 1113th Annual Hobey Baker Award dinner program, April 4, 1993
Box 1, Folder 1214th Annual Hobey Baker Award dinner program, April 10, 1994
Box 1, Folder 1315th Annual Hobey Baker Award dinner program, April 8, 1995
Box 1, Folder 1416th Annual Hobey Baker Award dinner program, April 11, 1996
Box 1, Folder 1517th Annual Hobey Baker Award dinner program, April 10, 1997
Box 1, Folder 1618th Annual Hobey Baker Award dinner program, April 16, 1998
Box 1, Folder 1719th Annual Hobey Baker Award dinner program, April 16, 1999
Box 1, Folder 1820th Annual Hobey Baker Award dinner program, April 14, 2000
Box 1, Folder 1922nd Annual Hobey Baker Award dinner program, April 12, 2002
Box 1, Folder 2023rd Annual Hobey Baker Award dinner program, April 25, 2003
Box 1, Folder 2125th Annual Hobey Baker Award dinner program, April 9, 2005
Box 1, Folder 2226th Annual Hobey Baker Award dinner program, May 11, 2006
Box 1, Folder 2327th Annual Hobey Baker Award dinner program, May 3, 2007
Box 1, Folder 2428th Annual Hobey Baker Award dinner program, May 2, 2008
Box 1, Folder 2529th Annual Hobey Baker Award dinner program, May 7, 2009
Box 1, Folder 2630th Annual Hobey Baker Award dinner program, May 6, 2010
Box 1, Folder 2733rd Annual Hobey Baker Award dinner program, May 22, 2013
Box 1, Folder 2834th Annual Hobey Baker Award dinner program, May 29, 2014
Box 1, Folder 292003 and 2004 Recipient Announcements and 2004 reception program
Box 1, Folder 30DVD: Hobey Baker Banquet, Saint Paul, MN, May 2010. These are .VOB files and will not play with most regular players.
Box 1, Folder 312015 Recipient Announcements and reception program
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Collection
Hobey Baker Memorial Award