baker returned to the mainland to sign for third division club bournemouth & boscombe athletic in july 1967. he had to wait until the 1969–70 season to make his debut and made 17 league appearances in a disastrous season which saw the cherries relegated to fourth division. a return to third division football in 1971 (under the name 'bournemouth') saw baker make just 13 league appearances over the following three seasons, but he finally broke through into the first team during the 1973–74 season, when he made 33 league appearances. he was a regular in goal until the end of the 1977–78 season and missed just five league games in each of his final two seasons at dean court. baker departed bournemouth in june 1978, having made 248 appearances in 11 years for the club. that summer, he was awarded a testimonial for his service to the club.