(Editor's note: This is the eighth in a series of feature profiles on this year's Hall of Fame inductees and Wall of Honor selections that will be posted every week, leading up to the Sept. 21 Hall of Fame Banquet.)
 
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
           
Gary Baxter dreamed of going into the Hall of Fame one day. He just didn't specify which Hall of Fame.
           
This summer, the former Baylor and NFL defensive back got a call from former Baltimore Ravens teammate Ray Lewis inviting him to the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Canton, Ohio.
           
"I told him I would be there, I'm not going to miss it. And then, after I got off the phone, I said, 'Man, I had dreams of being a Hall of Famer.' That's the only thing I said to myself," said Baxter, a three-time All-Big 12 pick in his career at Baylor (1997-2000). "I didn't really think anything of it. But then, the next day, I got the call that I was going into the Baylor Hall of Fame. And I was like, 'Oh, stop it. This is too weird. God, you're so funny.'''
           
Baxter, part of the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame class that will be inducted next Friday, Sept. 21, was also inducted in the Tyler ISD Hall of Fame this past Saturday after a phenomenal career at John Tyler High School.
           
"My mom was super excited," he said. "I get to go into the Tyler ISD Hall of Fame and now I'm going into the Baylor Hall of Fame. So, I'll take those two over the NFL Hall of Fame any day. The other thing is, I didn't make it into the NFL Hall of Fame, but I sure did play with some guys who made it. I'm just happy and honored to celebrate their Hall of Fame and knowing that I was a part of that. And now, to be a party of my Hall of Fame, it's just amazing. It's such a blessing."
           
As a national blue-chipper and all-East Texas pick who was part of JT's 1994 state championship team, Baxter had his pick of colleges, but wanted to be a part of trying to turn things around at Baylor.
           
Playing for two different head coaches in his four-year career, Baxter excelled at both cornerback and safety. But, the Bears were just 7-37 over that stretch with two conference wins.
           
"I always saw the glass half-full," said Baxter, who still holds the school record with 44 pass breakups. "I got up for every game, because I always told myself that this is the game that's going to change and turn things around. I never knew if this was the game or not . . . well, I found out afterward, this wasn't the game, this wasn't it."
           
As a sophomore in '98, he shut out All-American receiver Torry Holt of North Carolina State in the fourth quarter and then blocked a field goal with four seconds left to preserve a 33-30 victory over the then-25^th-ranked Wolfpack. As a senior, he tied for the team lead with 96 tackles, forced two fumbles and had 11 pass breakups.
           
"That will to win and want to win, and to do it week-in and week-out, even after you come up short, that was just a testament to my character of not every quitting," he said. "I always felt like this is the game, this is the week, and if we can get this W, it can turn the tide and guys can believe and we can go off and do it. I never, ever said no, we can't do it. I played every game like we were competing for a national championship."
           
In the 2001 NFL Draft, the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens selected Baxter in the second round with the 62^nd overall pick. Over an 18-year stretch (1991-2008), Baxter was one of just two Baylor players selected in the first three rounds.
           
At the NFL Combine that year, Ravens scout Phil Savage pulled out a blank sheet of white paper and said, "This is the Ravens defense." Taking out a black Sharpie and putting it on the blank piece of paper, Savage said, "When you mess up on the Ravens defense, this is how you stick out, like a sore thumb."
           
The ever-confident Baxter said, "Well, it looks like I will never stick out like a sore thumb. That defense is the type of defense I dream of playing with."
 
           
A situational player as a rookie, Baxter started 46 games (eight at safety, 38 at cornerback) over the next three seasons. Playing for one of the league's premier defenses, he made 247 tackles, broke up 36 passes, had five picks and forced two fumbles.
           
On March 2, 2005, Baxter signed a six-year, $30 million free agent contract with the Cleveland Browns that included a $10.5 million signing bonus.
           
"Phil Savage became the general manager of the Cleveland Browns my free agent year, and he was like, 'I've seen you grow, you're ready, I want to sign you in Cleveland,''' Baxter said. "And I said, 'Cleveland? Phil, Cleveland?' He said, 'Yes, Cleveland. Come on, we can do this together.' So, that's how Gary Baxter went to Cleveland."
           
That's where his pro career took a major turn. Baxter suffered a torn pectoral muscle that caused him to miss 11 games his first season in Cleveland, then he tore the patella tendon in both knees during an Oct. 22, 2006 game against the Denver Broncos.
           
"You go from being a starter and having the longest consecutive starting streaks on one of the best teams and the best defense in the NFL, to now you're with the Browns," he said. "You've never been hurt, and now you're not only hurt, your career may be over."
           
Defying all odds and expectations, Baxter returned to the practice field on July 30, 2007, but was never able to play in another game. His career officially ended the next August, when the Browns released him.
           
"The injury sounds very gruesome, no doubt about it," he said. "But, the reality is that it was actually better for me. I never tore a ligament or anything like that. It was loose, and we were able to reattach it. I have no screws, no pain, nothing, and I can do everything I need to do and how I need to do it. I'm lucky.
           
"I knew how I was going to make it to the NFL. I did not know how I was going to leave the NFL. But, it goes back to the old Gary Baxter de facto of the glass is always half full. I'm into that next stage and that next phase of my life."
           
His playing days behind him, Baxter returned to his hometown of Tyler and got into commercial real estate and owned several fast-food restaurants.
           
But, he never forgot his true passion.
           
Along with NFL Hall of Famer Earl Campbell, a Tyler legend, Baxter started the Project Rose Research Institute for Sports Science earlier this year.
 
           
Playing football for 23 years of his life, including the eight he's credited with in the NFL, Baxter said he understands every phase of being an athlete – "competing, getting ready, competing, getting hurt, rehabbing, the recovery, and then life after the game is over."
           
"We want to be able to give back, me and Earl," he said. "And the best gift we can give is educating people for preventative wellness care. . . . Our thought process is what's good for athletes is great for the general population. We want to encompass it all, but really be a vocal bullhorn for the athletes, not just the ones that are preparing for the games and the ones competing but life after competition as well."
           
Eight years ago, Baxter gave a significant gift to fund the computer lab and defensive backfield meeting room at Baylor's Simpson Athletics and Academic Center.
           
"It's paying it forward," he said. "I was talented enough to play sports, to play football, but I know you have to be educated and skilled to have a life. So, academics is huge to me, and I see the importance of it every day by being in business. Academics will always be first and foremost for me, and I will put sports second. Sports gives you a window of opportunity that your talent will only take you so far. But, being educated and having skills will be with you forever."

Joining Baxter in the 2018 Hall of Fame class are fellow football player and Tyler native Ronnie "Bo" Lee, NCAA tennis champion Zuzana Zemenova, volleyball standout Elisha Polk, golf coach and player Tim Hobby, longtime trainer Mike Sims and softball All-American Chelsi Lake Reichenstein.

The Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame banquet will be held at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21, in the Brazos Room at the Waco Convention Center. Tickets cost $50 per person and can be purchased by contacting the "B" Association at 254-710-3045 or by email at Tammy_Hardin@baylor.edu.