George Baird, 97, Olympic Relay Racer
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George Hetzel Baird, an Olympic runner who helped the U.S. track team win a gold medal in 1928 and set a world record, died Saturday in Rhinebeck, N.Y. He was 97.
Baird ran in the 1,600-meter men’s relay at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics. The team’s time of 3:14.2 stood as the world record until the 1932 Olympics. He remained interested in sports, attending four more Olympics and track meets around the country.
“All of the Olympic team was on the same ship and so was Gen. Douglas MacArthur,” Baird said in a recent interview. “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.
