East Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame
Track and Field • 1958-60
The 138-pound Baird was one of the world’s leading long jumpers from 1958 to 1960. During the 1958 track season, he went undefeated in the broad jump in every meet leading up to the Lone Star Conference tournament, winning the conference long jump with a 24-foot-6-inch jump. He was the high scorer at the LSC Championship, scoring 17 points to take First Team All-LSC honors, helping the Lions to their fourth consecutive LSC title. He would go on to win the NAIA National Championship in the long jump, the first athlete in ETSU history to win the National Championship in that event.
In 1959, Baird was just as dominant. He again was named First Team All-LSC, helping the Lions to their fifth consecutive LSC Championship. He would go on to repeat as long jump National Champion, setting a then NAIA record of 25-feet-3.25-inches. He would also win the National Championship as 4x880-yard relay relay team and finished third in the triple jump.
Baird would again to on to First Team All-LSC honors in 1960, helping the Lions to their sixth-consecutive conference championship. He finished in first place in the long jump, 100-yard dash and the 440-yard relay at the LSC Championships. He fell short of his third consecutive NAIA Championship but still was impressive at the national meet, finishing in third place in both the long jump and the triple jump.
