1964 Profile: Bake Turner

Split End
No. 29
Texas Tech
"Recognized as among the swiftest players in the AFL, split end Bake Turner should continue to improve with more experience.
Released by the Colts shortly before the 1963 AFL season opened, the Jets quickly signed him and he may prove to be a costly NFL mistake. He caught 71 passes for 1,007 yards and six touchdowns. This season he's a threat to make the All-AFL squad.
Out of Texas Tech, he was a 12th-round choice of the Colts who used him to run back kicks.
Bake was voted the team's MVP by his teammates last season."

-Dave Anderson, Pro Football Handbook 1964

"Bake Turner couldn't make it after he had been a Colt for one season; cast adrift 10 days before the 1963 campaign opened, he was given a Jet trial and impressed so favorably in an exhibition game that the split end duties were his. Never was a snap decision so successful as the 24-year-old from Alpine, Texas sped to the No. 3 league rating for receiving, hauling in 71 passes for 1,007 yards and six touchdowns.
Everyone expects additional improvement, particularly after he's learned the habits of the many defensemen he was forced to outspeed. He must learn to use fakes more if he intends to maintain his high standards."

-Don Schiffer, Pro Football 1964

"Bake was a real coup for the Jets last year. Signed just ten days before the opening game of the season, he showed his worth right away. In his premiere performance in a New York uniform, Bake grabbed 10 passes. In 1963, Bake finished third in the American Football League in pass receiving.
With good speed, the end has the legs to break away from the secondary."

1964 Topps No. 127

"Bake finished third in the AFL in pass receiving with 71 catches. He gained 1,007 yards for the Jets."

-1964 Topps No. 131