it taught me a lot about life."

Shortly thereafter Baker and his wife of 13 years, Patty, divorced, though the two have remained on good terms. Their boys became accomplished offensive linemen--Ben, 20, played one year at Duke before leaving school to work at the AFL's headquarters, and Sam, 17, will attend USC on a scholarship this fall--and Baker, even after taking the AFL job, resolved to be at every one of their games.

Though air travel is a dicey proposition for Baker--"For one thing, I don't fit well in those bathrooms," he says. "And I'm afraid of flying, period"--he considers the skies to be fan-friendly. He inevitably bonds with passengers and crew members and invites them to Arena League games; in fact, his greatest asset may be his abilityto connect with an audience. "He's a great salesman, and he totally believes in what he's selling," says Colorado Crush president and CEO John Elway, the former NFL great. "He's one of those guys who you can talk to for half an hour and you feel like you've known him for 10 years."

Yet for all his amiable crusading, Baker has been known to play the schoolyard bully. When talks over the formation of a players' union stalled in 2000, Baker threatened to shut down the season. And in his continual efforts to make the league strong from top to bottom he has disbanded or relocated seven franchises since the end of the 2001 season. (At that time there were 19 AFL teams; now there are 16.) After last