Maureen, we just heard the sad news. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Nick was a great guy and positive influence on so many young people.

My prayers and sympathies go out to him and his family for their loss.

Although my athletics path was not a running one, I will never forget Coach Baker's smile and the warmth he radiated to all HMHS athletes. He always asked me about the basketball team and was so proud of what the team accomplished. He will live on in those he helped guide through those turbulent adolescent years for generations to come. RIP Coach. You are a true legend.

Years from now, someone will look at the results of the 2017 Haddonfield Distance Night and think they are seeing a typo. Mixed in the results, they will see a 200M and 400M in the Distance Night events. Some of my athletes, who were injured earlier in the season, needed FAT times. I asked Nick if he could add those events to his meet. He graciously agreed. I used my athletes's times for a composite seed for New Balance. As a result, our Spring Med was placed in the fast heat. That made a huge difference as the relay took 4th overall. That's who he was. Nick would always help an athlete. You will be missed. Troy Pappas, Boys Track Coach, Moorestown HS

I had the pleasure and the privilege of running with Nick. He had a quiet strength and determination he carried with him, and also an extraordinary passion and love for running. Nick has an amazing coaching legacy and also an amazing family but he also touched the lives of his teammates who will forever remember him and hold him in our hearts. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Baker family. May God bless 🙏❤️

I officiated many Haddonfield track and cross country meets as a member of the NJTFOA-Southern District. Haddonfields’s meets under Nick’s direction we’re always a pleasure to work. His athletes were always well prepared and courteous to officials and athletes from opposing teams. Nick will be sorely missed by all in the track community.

I retell the story of the fifth man coming out of the woods to my granddaughters. It was their dad and he helped the team win the Colonial Conference. Nick made every runner important. Thank you for all you did for my son. My prayers are with your family.

I first met you at Springfield College but did not know you well. I got to know you better as I coached against you, interviewed you and became someone I looked forward to talking to. I've always wished I knew you better in college. You were passionate, kind and driven but most of all a fantastic human being. I will miss your humor and modesty but most of all I will miss you. All the best to Maureen and the family.

He will not be forgotten. Brighter days ahead

My deepest condolences to the entire Baker family on the passing of Nick!

Like many, I knew Nick from coaching, and although I did not know him as closely as some, my admiration for him as a person, and a coach for so many young student-athletes are hard to convey in just a few short, typed lines. His accomplishments are almost unfathomable! The things that he did for the entire South Jersey running community are nearly unimaginable! Only a truly selfless person could do the things for others that Nick has done. Although my conversations with him were usually short, I could always tell that he was a genuine and sincere person, and that success never made him deviate from his core values! For the past 30 plus years, I always listened with great interest when he spoke at SJTCA meetings about many things related to running, meet procedures, recognizing student-athletes, etc. His discussions were always done in the most professional manner, and his opinions always had merit. Perhaps my greatest memory of Nick was last year at the SJCTA Cross Country Banquet. I was selected as the 2022 Girl’s Cross Country “Coach of The Year”. After a long evening, I was speaking with some parents, and Nick and his wife, Maureen, waited till the end of my conversations to congratulate me. It was truly an honor to have someone as accomplished as Nick wait around to congratulate me – it meant as much to me as receiving the award!

It goes without saying that the person who hired Nick to teach and coach at Haddonfield was a genius! Nick has left an indelible legacy that would make anyone proud, and it is filled with individual memories for all who knew him. Just as a stone cutter deeply chisels a name into a piece of granite so it won’t erode, Nick has seared his presence into our minds, and etched his name so deeply into our hearts, that he will remain with us through eternity!

Rest in peace Nick!

Tom Hengel
Clearview XC & Track Coach