 Baird circa 1914 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 2, 1877 Ferris, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | July 26, 1964 (aged 86) Galesburg, Illinois, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1896–1899 | Carthage |
| 1900–1902 | Northwestern |
| Position(s) | Guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1903–1905 | Carleton |
| 1906–1907 | Whitman |
| 1908–1914 | Carthage |
| Basketball | |
| 1907–1914 | Carthage |
| Baseball | |
| 1910–1916 | Carthage |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1907–1915 | Carthage |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 48–29–6 (football) 19–41 (basketball) 21–25–2 (baseball) |
James Arthur Baird (November 2, 1877 – July 26, 1964) was an American football and baseball player, track athlete, coach of football, basketball, and baseball, college athletics administrator, lawyer, and Hancock County, Illinois, judge.[1][2]
Biography
Baird was born on November 2, 1877, in Ferris, Illinois, to Alexander Baird (1851–1916) and Allie May Moore (1853–1942). He graduated from Carthage College in 1900 and was the first athlete to letter in three sports in one season.[2][1]
He next enrolled at Northwestern University School of Law and played college football there from 1900 to 1902.[1] He played at the guard and center positions and also handled kicking for Northwestern.[3][4][5] He was also a member of the Northwestern track team, competing in the pole vault and high jump, and was selected in June 1903 as captain of the track team.[6]
He served as the head football coach at Carleton College from 1903 to 1905.[7][8] He served as the head football coach at Whitman College from 1906 to 1907.[9][10]
From 1908 to 1915, Baird served as the head football coach at Carthage College. He was also the head basketball coach at Carthage from 1906 to 1914 and the head baseball coach there from 1910 to 1914.[11][1]
On June 23, 1913, Baird married Georgia Hubbs in New York.[12] She died in 1917.
Baird was elected as a Hancock County, Illinois, judge in 1910 and served to 1914. When asked about the continuation of town meetings, he described them as: "not as effective as in olden times, but still stands ready to render us a service."[13] He served a single term, and then returned to his private law practice. He was elected for a second four-year term in 1934 and he was re-elected in 1938, 1942, and in 1946. Baird retired from the bench when his final term expired in 1950.[1]
Baird died on July 26, 1964, in Galesburg, Illinois.[14][1] He was buried next to his wife.
Head coaching record
Football
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carleton (Independent) (1903–1905) | |||||||||
| 1903 | Carleton | 6–1–2 | |||||||
| 1904 | Carleton | 4–4 | |||||||
| 1905 | Carleton | 6–0 | |||||||
| Carleton: | 16–5–2 | ||||||||
| Whitman Fighting Missionaries (Independent) (1906–1907) | |||||||||
| 1906 | Whitman | 4–2–1 | |||||||
| 1907 | Whitman | 5–3 | |||||||
| Whitman: | 9–5–1 | ||||||||
| Carthage Red Men (Independent) (1908–1911) | |||||||||
| 1908 | Carthage | 2–3 | |||||||
| 1909 | Carthage | 6–1–1 | |||||||
| 1910 | Carthage | 2–4 | |||||||
| 1911 | Carthage | 3–4–1 | |||||||
| Carthage Red Men (Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1912–1914) | |||||||||
| 1912 | Carthage | 5–2 | 2–1 | ||||||
| 1913 | Carthage | 3–3–1 | 1–2 | ||||||
| 1914 | Carthage | 3–2 | 1–2 | ||||||
| Carthage: | 24–19–3 | 4–5 | |||||||
| Total: | 48–29–6 | ||||||||
References
- ^ a b c d e f "J. Arthur Baird". Carthage College. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
- ^ a b "J. Arthur Baird". Illinois State Bar Association. 1946. p. 379.
- ^ "Gophers' Clean Victory". Chicago Tribune. November 18, 1900. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Purple Defeated By Heavy Gophers". The Inter Ocean. November 24, 1901. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Maroons Trail Purple In Dust". Chicago Tribune. October 19, 1902. pp. 9–10 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Baird To Captain Purple Team". The Inter-Ocean. June 5, 1903. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Carleton's New Coach. J. Arthur Baird Has a Wide Reputation as Football Player and All Around Athlete". The Minneapolis Journal. September 12, 1903. Retrieved December 20, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Baird Will Return To Coach Carleton". The St. Paul Globe. March 9, 1904. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Coach Baird Arrives". The Evening Statesman. September 13, 1906. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Coach of '06 Is To Return: Most Popular Trainer Whitman Ever Had is to Mould '07 Football Team". The Evening Statesman. February 14, 1907 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Football Year-by-Year Records". Carthage College.
- ^ Crimson Rambler 1915, Carthage College
- ^ "Powers of Towns". Journal of the House of Representatives. 1914.
- ^ "Judge J. Arthur Baird". Illinois Bar Journal. 1964.
External links
Media related to James Arthur Baird at Wikimedia Commons- J. Arthur Baird at Find a Grave
This page was last edited on 27 July 2023, at 11:08