Ray Baker
Hall Of Fame Inductee — 2003
Ray Baker has been instrumental in changing the face of Denver’s sports scene. He served as the chair of both the Denver Metropolitan Major League Baseball Stadium District and the Denver Metropolitan Football District Stadium, helping to ensure that both stadiums were completed on time and on budget. In 1986, he and former professional basketball player Bill Harnzlik started the Gold Crown Foundation. The nonprofit group began with about 150 kids at a basketball camp. Today, more than 20,000 kids participate in Gold Crown Foundation programs and it has become one of the largest junior high basketball leagues in the state. In 1998, Gold Crown opened the Coca-Cola All Star Park in Lakewood, an athletic field for kids that is a mini-replica of Coors Field. Ray Baker has left his mark on the Mile High City, both in helping children realize the values that come from athletic competition, and in changing the landscape of the city with two of the nation’s most beautiful sports facilities.
Each Denver & Colorado Tourism Hall of Fame inductee reflects the profile of the inductee at the time of the induction.