Baron was a lively inside-forward whose youthful appearance concealed the strength and industry that helped him establish himself in Liverpool’s attack. He joined Liverpool as an amateur in September 1944 and signed professional forms on 25 August 1945. Reporting his signing two days later, the Evening Express praised his consistent performances in the junior side and his promising displays in trials and reserve football. It described him as “sturdily built and exceptionally strong limbed”, suggesting that George Kay had secured a forward with considerable potential. His small stature nevertheless produced an amusing incident when a doorman refused him admission to an away ground, protesting: “Don’t tell me you’re a player. You’re only a boy.” Baron made his competitive debut alongside Billy Liddell in Liverpool’s 2–0 FA Cup victory at Chester on 5 January 1946, but opportunities remained scarce. He did not feature in the League during the championship-winning 1946/47 campaign and made only six league appearances in each of the next two seasons. His first Liverpool goal came against Grimsby Town at Anfield on 8 November 1947, when he completed the scoring in a 3–1 victory.
Baron’s breakthrough came in 1949/50, when he played in 38 of Liverpool’s 42 league fixtures and all seven matches of their FA Cup campaign. He scored in the 3–1 fourth-round victory over Exeter City and helped Liverpool reach their first Wembley final. His emergence at inside-right came at the expense of the experienced Jack Balmer. On the eve of the final, the Derby Daily Telegraph identified Balmer as another disappointed former regular, observing that youth favoured Baron, who was enjoying his first full season as an established member of the side. Contemporary accounts of the 2–0 semi-final victory over Everton at Maine Road give a particularly vivid impression of his qualities. In the Liverpool Echo on 27 March 1950, Ranger called Baron “a great forager and worker”. Don Kendall, writing in the Evening Express that day, praised his darting movement, cleverness and support for Jimmy Payne on the right flank, judging that neither player had performed better or maintained the pace so well. Kendall also credited Baron’s pressure on Everton’s defence with helping create the circumstances from which Liddell scored Liverpool’s second goal. Baron retained his place at inside-right for the final against Arsenal on 29 April 1950, but Liverpool lost 2–0. A souvenir brochure published for the occasion revealed another side to his sporting interests: he admitted that he had once wanted to become a professional cricketer, although he doubted that he would have been good enough.
Baron's progress was interrupted the following season, when he made only seven league appearances, but he returned strongly in 1951/52, missing just two league fixtures and scoring six goals. Nine goals in 27 league matches followed in 1952/53. His last Liverpool appearance came against his hometown club Preston North End on 16 January 1954, when he also scored his final goal for the Reds. Following Liverpool’s relegation, Baron joined Southend United in Third Division South in May 1954 and scored 45 goals in 138 league appearances over four seasons. He subsequently played for Northampton Town and several other clubs, including Aldershot, Cambridge City and Bedford Town, before managing Maldon Town. He eventually settled in Suffolk and worked as an insurance agent. After a long illness, he died on 5 June 1971, aged only 44. His older brother, Gerard Bernard Patrick Baron, later became the oldest victim of the Hillsborough disaster, aged 67.
