George Hetzel Baird, a former Armonk, New York, resident, who helped
the United States track team win a gold medal in the 1928 Olympics and
set a world record, has died, September 4, 2004, at his daughter's
Hudson Valley home in Rhinebeck, New York, at the age of 97.

Baird ran in the 4x400-meter men's relay at the 1928 Amsterdam
Olympics. The team's time of 3 minutes 14.2 seconds stood as the world
record until the 1932 Olympics. His family said Baird was the oldest
living Olympic gold medalist.

Bonnie Baird Mahal said her father remained interested in sports,
attending track meets around the country and four more Olympics.

Baird graduated from Iowa's Mason City High School in 1925. He was
captain of the track team and the state's quarter-mile champion. He
ran for the University of Iowa.

In a recent interview with The Globe-Gazette of Mason City, Baird
recalled the 1928 trip to Amsterdam.

"All of the Olympic team was on the same ship and so was Gen. Douglas
MacArthur," Baird said. "A couple of swimmers became famous after that
in the movies: Buster Crabbe and Johnny Weissmuller."

Baird went to California during the Depression and worked as a movie
extra and with the Hollywood and Los Angeles athletic clubs. He worked
for his brother, the puppeteer Bil Baird, for several years.

In 1964, George Baird earned a master's degree from New York
University, where he became an assistant professor of education and
worked until retirement.

FROM NY Times