Garland Sports Hall of Fame

Elaine Baker

Elaine Harwell Baker, assistant to the Athletic Director of the Garland Independent School District for more than a quarter of a century, is recognized by her induction into the Garland Sports Hall of Fame for her achievements in the Garland Schools Athletic Department, as the first woman athletic administrator in Texas. In 1985 this accomplishment resulted in her being the first woman inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame of Greenville High School, from which she was graduated in 1949. An employee of the Garland Independent School District for 34 years, Elaine came to the office of the Athletic Director after serving on the administrative staff at Bullock Elementary School for six years. Under the tutelage of Athletic Director, Homer Johnson, who had become Athletic Director in 1963, Elaine developed a knowledge of athletic equipment and equipment purchase procedures. Through the years, as the Garland School District grew from its original single high school to five high schools, with corresponding increases in the middle schools and their own athletic programs, Elaine also worked on ticket sales, program advertising sales, and the athletic program budget. The budget had grown as the number of students and schools increased and had become a constant, full-time project for the administrative staff. When Title IX was enacted as federal law, Elaine became responsible for implementing girls athletic programs for the district. She subsequently was responsible for initiating girls athletic programs in volleyball, basketball, track and field, soccer, swimming, gymnastics, and golf. Elaine retired from the GISD in 1993.