Charles A . Baird Charles A . Baird ( c . 1870 – November 30 , 1944 ) was an American football manager , university athletic director , and banker . He was the manager of the University of Michigan football team from 1893 to 1895 and the school ' s first athletic director from 1898 to 1909 . During his time as Michigan ' s athletic director , he was responsible for the hiring of Coach Fielding H . Yost and the construction of Ferry Field , the largest college athletic grounds in the United States at that time . Michigan teams excelled in all fields of athletics during Baird ' s tenure at Michigan , including football and track . Michigan ' s track teams won six Western Conference team championships and 16 Olympic medals ( including 7 gold medals ) during Baird ' s eleven years as athletic director . Baird also presided over Michigan athletics for the school ' s first Western Conference football championship in 1898 and Yost ' s " point - a - minute " teams from 1901 to 1905 . His business acumen has been credited with turning Michigan ' s athletic department into a major success and a model for other universities in the early 20th Century . Baird became embroiled in controversy in 1905 when Stanford University President David Starr Jordan published allegations that " the firm of Yost & Baird , victory - makers , " were engaged in " professionalism " at Michigan . Baird was also a central player in the 1907 withdrawal of the University of Michigan from the Western Conference in protest over strict regulations imposed by conference faculty , including a reduction in the football season to five games ( reduced from 13 in 1905 ) and a fifty cent limit on ticket prices . Baird left his position as athletic director in 1909 and moved to Kansas City , Missouri where he became a successful banker and investor . In 1935 , Baird donated the Charles Baird Carillon , the fourth heaviest carillon in the world , to the University of Michigan . Early years . Charles Baird enrolled in the University of Michigan in 1890 as a student in the law department . In 1891 , he entered the literary department and was elected to the athletic board as its freshman representative . In 1893 , he was elected as the manager of the football team and held that position in the 1893 , 1894 , and 1895 seasons . Despite receiving his A . B . degree in 1895 , he was employed as the football team ' s manager for the ensuing fall , reportedly " by reason of his business ability . " His brother , James Baird , who earned an Engineering degree in 1896 , played on the football team and was Captain in 1894 . Michigan ' s first athletic director . 1898 season . By 1897 , the finances of the Michigan Athletic Association under constantly changing student control were " at a low ebb . " In 1898 , Baird was asked to return to Ann Arbor as the " graduate manager " or " superintendent " of athletics . Baird was given " complete control of all branches of athletics at Michigan " in order to induce him to return to the school . One of Baird ' s first moves was to persuade trainer Keene Fitzpatrick to rejoin him at the school . Fitzpatrick had been the trainer of the 1894 and 1895 teams with Baird , but spent the 1896 and 1897 seasons as the trainer for Yale ' s football team . Gustave Ferbert , who had played on the 1893 – 1895 teams managed by Baird stayed on as coach in 1898 . The 1898 Wolverines went 10 - 0 and won the Western Conference ( now known as the Big Ten Conference ) championship . The 1898 team outscored its opponents 205 to 26 , and closed the season with a 12 - 11 win over Amos Alonzo Stagg ' s University of Chicago team on November 24 , 1898 . The game was played in Chicago with a paid attendance of 12 , 000 — the largest crowd to watch a Michigan football game up to that time . The 1898 victory over Chicago served as the inspiration for Louis Elbel to write The Victors , Michigan ' s fight song . Elbel ' s lyric , " Champions of the West , " refers to Michigan ' s having won the 1898 Western Conference championship — the first in the school ' s history . 1899 season . Seeking to increase the prestige of Michigan ' s football program , Baird traveled during the winter of 1899 seeking to arrange games with the country ' s top teams . In January 1899 , he met with representatives of Pennsylvania , Princeton , and Harvard — then considered the top football programs in the country . He succeeded in signing a contract with Penn for a November game in Philadelphia . In February 1899 , he traveled to Madison , Wisconsin where he signed a two - year contract for football , baseball and track matches with the University of Wisconsin — a program with which Michigan had cut off relations in 1893 . The 1899 football team finished the season with an 8 - 2 record , losing 11 - 10 to Penn in Philadelphia , and 17 - 5 to Wisconsin . The Wisconsin game , however , was an early demonstration of Baird ' s business acumen . Baird contracted for the game to be played in Chicago on Thanksgiving . Both schools had a large alumni base in Chicago , and the site was within an easy train ride from each school . As a result , the game drew 18 , 000 paying spectators — breaking the Michigan attendance record set the prior year in the Chicago game . When Baird arrived in 1898 , the athletic department was $ 3 , 000 in debt . By the end of the 1899 season , Baird had paid off the debt and restored the department ' s credit . In December 1899 , Baird was rewarded for his efforts when the University appointed him " director of outdoor athletics , " with the rank of junior professor in the university and a salary of $ 2 , 000 . 1900 season . In January 1900 , Baird met with Amos Alonzo Stagg in Ann Arbor and negotiated a two - year contract with rival , the University of Chicago , including a Thanksgiving game in Chicago . Though Chicago would be playing at home in 1900 , Baird required that Stagg agree to " an equal division of the gate receipts . " In May 1900 , Baird lost his head football coach , Gustave Ferbert , to the Klondike Gold Rush . Ferbert left Ann Arbor to join " two other prominent Michigan football men " to prospect for gold in Alaska . ( Ferbert returned from Alaska in 1908 as a millionaire after striking gold , though these claims are debated by modern historians . ) Langdon " Biff " Lea was hired to replace Ferbert as coach for the 1900 football season . Lea had played at Princeton from 1892 to 1895 and was considered one of the greatest football players in Princeton ' s history . The 1900 team finished in 5th place in the Western Conference with a 7 - 2 - 1 record , losing to rival Chicago and to Iowa . Yost ' s " point - a - minute " teams . Hiring of Fielding Yost . In January 1901 , Langdon Lea returne to his alma mater , Princeton , as its first " official " football coach . Baird was left without a football coach for the second time in eight months . At the end of the 1900 football season , Stanford University passed a rule requiring all coaches to be alumni . The decision left Stanford ' s football coach , Fielding H . Yost , who was not an alumnus , without a job . Yost wrote to the University of Illinois in December 1900 seeking a job . Illinois did not have an opening , but the school ' s athletic director passed along Yost ' s letter to Baird at Michigan . Baird asked Yost to come to Ann Arbor to interview for the football coaching job . Before leaving for Ann Arbor , Yost sent Baird a box of clippings and scrapbooks . Baird met Yost at the Ann Arbor train station , where Yost is reported to have told Baird , " There are three things that make a winning football team , spirit , manpower and coaching . If your boys love Meeshegan , they ' ve got the spirit , you see . If they turnout , that takes care of the manpower . I ' ll take care of the coaching . " Baird offered Yost the job at a salary of $ 2 , 300 ( the same as a full professor ) for only three months work . Baird reportedly told Yost , " Well , you ' ve got a real job ahead of you . You ' ve got to beat Chicago . " 1901 season . The 1901 football team is considered by some the greatest Michigan football team of all time . In Yost ' s first year as coach , Michigan finished 11 - 0 , did not allow a single point to be scored by an opposing team , and outscored its opponents 550 - 0 . The 1901 Wolverines became known as the " point - a - minute " team , as their offensive production resulted in an average of one point being scored every minute . Even after the 1901 season had commenced , Baird continued to seek opportunities to increase revenues from the team ' s success . In mid - October 1901 , Baird signed a contract with the University of Iowa for a Michigan - Iowa game to be played on Thanksgiving Day at Chicago ' s West Side baseball park . The location was chosen because of the large potential for receipts , as the Michigan - Wisconsin game there in 1899 had generated more than $ 15 , 000 . In November 1901 , Baird issued a public offer that Michigan would play any rival claimant for the Western Conference championship in a post - season game . The proposed game , which would have matched Michigan against the winner of the Minnesota - Wisconsin game , would have allowed for the determination of an undisputed champion , and also presented an opportunity for substantial receipts at the gate . Michigan ' s offer was reported in the press as " practically a challenge , " but the offer was declined . The first Rose Bowl game . During the fall of 1901 , the organizers of the Tournament of Roses Parade decided to hold a football game in order to bring tourism into the area . Tournament of Roses Association president , James Wagner , guaranteed $ 3 , 500 to cover the expenses of bringing the football teams to Pasadena , California . In October 1901 , Wagner wrote to Baird , offering to pay Michigan ' s expenses to travel to play in the game . Baird proved his reputation as a negotiator in his correspondence with Wagner . On October 30 , 1901 , Baird wrote : " We desire to make the trip to the Pacific coast during the holidays , providing it can be made to pay . The University of Washington has written us in regard to a game at Seattle , and we would be willing to play them there Christmas . We would be glad to play the winner of the Stanford - California game at Los Angeles on New Years day . However , if this trip is made to the coast , it will be necessary for us to secure , in advance , a guarantee of expenses . To play two games it will be necessary for us to carry eighteen players , in addition to the two coaches , trainer and myself , or in other words , we must secure enough to cover the expenses of twenty - two men , traveling in first - class style . . . " Wagner offered Michigan $ 2 a day for meal money , to which Baird replied , " We won ' t come unless we can go comfortably and in reasonable style . We want $ 3 a day meal money . " Baird ' s financial demands were met , and Michigan traveled to Pasadena to play in the first Rose Bowl on January 1 , 1902 . The game featured Michigan playing Stanford , the school which had terminated Yost as its football coach after the 1900 season . The Michigan team compiled a 49 - 0 lead in the game , and with eight minutes remaining Stanford captain Ralph Fisher asked that the game be stopped , and Michigan agreed . Following the mismatch , Michigan was not invited to play again in the Rose Bowl for 46 years , when it defeated USC by an identical score of 49 - 0 in the 1948 Rose Bowl . 1902 season . Having lost the opportunity to play Wisconsin in a post - season game to settle the championship of the Western Conference in 1901 , one of Baird ' s first objectives after returning from the Rose Bowl was to negotiate a match with Wisconsin . Baird sought to maximize the revenue from the contest between the two unbeaten teams by proposing that the game be played in a large stadium . Baird traveled to Milwaukee in February 1902 , where he was assured that the city ' s baseball park had seating for 6 , 000 people and that 4 , 000 temporary seats could be erected for the game . Baird noted that " a game played in Milwaukee would tend to bring out the full strength of Milwaukee and surrounding territory . " However , Baird was not satisfied and arranged for the game to be played in Chicago . The match between Michigan and Wisconsin drew a record 20 , 000 spectators ; Michigan won the game 6 - 0 . The 1902 team compiled the school ' s second consecutive undefeated season and National Championship and outscored opponents 644 - 12 . 1903 – 1904 seasons . Michigan ' s undefeated streak continued through the 1903 and 1904 seasons ( with one tie against Minnesota in 1903 ) . Over the course of Yost ' s first four seasons at Michigan , the team was 44 - 0 - 1 , outscoring opponents 2 , 331 - 40 . Acclaim for Baird ' s role as athletic director . Media coverage of Baird ' s role in Michigan ' s success . Michigan was the most successful football team in the country , and while Yost received the lion ' s share of the credit , much praise was also paid to Baird for his role in building Michigan ' s athletic programs . Baird has been called the " financial genius " of the Yost era football teams . In March 1903 , an eastern newspaper wrote about the success Baird had achieved in his five years in control of athletics at Michigan : " In that time the Michigan athletics treasury has acquired a large cash balance and the teams have been universally successful . For the past two years Michigan ' s teams have won the western championship in every branch of sport except baseball , and in a financial way the Baird administration has been phenomenally successful . " In October 1903 , another eastern newspaper ran a lengthy article profiling " Michigan ' s ' Big Three , ' Yost , Baird , Fitzpatrick . " The writer noted Baird ' s foresight in developing the program : " He constantly plans for coming years and to his foresight is due the present healthy condition of athletics in the university . . . He is considered without peer as a manager of college athletics . " In December 1903 , newspapers reported that Michigan " pays the three men who are responsible for her supremacy in athletics $ 10 , 250 a year " — $ 3 , 750 for Yost , $ 3 , 500 for Baird , and $ 3 , 000 for trainer , Keene Fitzpatrick . One paper observed that their compensation was " over double that of United States Senators , " though each was " conceded to be worth all he gets . " Baird was praised as a " clever diplomat " who arranged all the schedules and " looks after the business end . " Baird reported at the time that , after all expenses , the football program would have a balance of $ 20 , 000 – $ 25 , 000 which would be used to support other sports that were not as well patronized as football . The " Los Angeles Times " wrote the following about Baird ' s role at Michigan : " But no amount of physical ability will get the money without a good business head to overlook the plebian affairs at the gate . Member No . 3 of the Michigan Athletic Triumvirate is found in the person of Charles Baird , graduate student manager , an accredited college diplomat , arranger of schedules and collarer of collegiate finances . He , too , is a masterpiece in his line , witness the ability of the Ann Arbor college to pay such amounts for its athletic supremacy . When any of the eastern universities were founded the idea that eventually there would be practically a ' chair of football , ' a ' chair of athletics ' and a ' student business manager ' would have been greeted with hearty guffaws . . . But ' de world do move , ' and the broader idea is that physical culture and mental culture are a worthy pair , and should go hand in hand . " Track and Olympic championships . Michigan ' s success was not limited to football during the Baird era . Baird asked trainer Keene Fitzpatrick to serve as track coach in addition to his responsibilities as trainer for the football team . Michigan ' s track teams under Fitzpatrick from 1901 to 1910 compiled a 24 - 2 - 1 record in dual meets and won Western Conference track championships in 1900 , 1901 , 1902 , 1903 , 1904 , and 1906 . Michigan ' s athletes also excelled in Olympic competition during the Baird years . Over the course of four Olympic Games held during Baird ' s tenure as athletic director , Michigan athletes won 16 medals , including 7 gold medals . In 1900 , funds were solicited from faculty , students , alumni and Ann Arbor businessmen to send four Michigan track athletes to the Olympics in Paris . The Michigan athletes won three silver medals in Paris — John McLean in the high hurdles , Charles Dvorak in the pole vault , and Howard Hayes in the 800 meter race . One of the highlights for Michigan athletics during the Baird era came at the 1904 Summer Olympics in St . Louis , Missouri , which have sometimes been referred to as the " Michigan Olympics . " Six University of Michigan athletes won 10 medals : six gold , two silver , and two bronze . The Michigan medal winners at the 1904 Olympics were : At the 1906 Summer Olympics in Athens , Archie Hahn repeated as the 100 - meter champion , winning his fourth gold medal . And at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London , Michigan athlete Ralph Rose repeated as the gold medalist in the shot put , and John Garrels won a silver medal in the 110 - meter hurdles and a bronze in the shot put . Development of Ferry Field . Michigan ' s football team became a major attraction after the success of Coach Yost , and Regent Field with its 800 - seat grandstand could not accommodate the paying crowds that sought to watch the team play . Baird improved the university ' s athletic fields and " was responsible for the construction of Ferry Field to replace the outdated Regents Field . " When Baird resigned as athletic director , one newspaper wrote : " Baird ' s greatest work for Michigan was planning and building Ferry field , which is the largest college athletic ground in the United States . " In 1902 , Detroit businessman Dexter M . Ferry purchased and donated north of Regent Field for use in constructing a new athletic facility . Baird began by constructing new bleacher seating for 6 , 000 adjacent to the existing grandstand . One thousand circus seasts were also installed . In November 1902 , a Thanksgiving Day game against the University of Minnesota was held at Ferry Field with 10 , 000 spectators in attendance . By 1906 , the new Ferry Field with seating for 18 , 000 spectators was opened . The facility included a brick wall and ornamental gate with ten ticket windows . The gateway was designed by Albert Kahn Architects of Detroit and constructed at a cost of over $ 10 , 000 . In the 1890s , a $ 3 . 00 membership granted students admission to all athletic events . By 1904 , a general admission ticket for a big game cost as much as $ 3 . 00 . With a seating capacity of 18 , 000 , Baird ' s athletic department could generate $ 50 , 000 in revenue from a single game . When Ferry Field was completed , Baird expressed his pride in the facility : " Speaking of the field , Michigan today has the finest athletic grounds in the United States . With the completion of the operations we are making the total expenditure for permanent improvement of the field will cost $ 150 , 000 . On it we have a gridiron for practice , another where the old field was , and the splendid new one , drained , leveled , sodded , surrounded by a concrete wall . " Boston Red Sox seek to hire Baird from Michigan . In January 1903 , Baird was reappointed by the University ' s Board of Regents for a term of three years . Baird ' s phenomenal success drew interest from professional sports . In March 1903 , Boston Red Sox owner Henry Killilea offered Baird a contract as the baseball team ' s business manager and financial secretary , replacing Joseph Gavin . Press accounts indicated , though Baird was loath to quit Michigan , the " financial inducements offered by Mr . Killilea were so far in excess of Baird ' s present salary at the University of Michigan that there is hardly any doubt but that he will accept , although alumni are working tooth and nail to keep him at Michigan . " When it was announced that Baird had signed a contract with the Boston team , the student body at Michigan signed petitions seeking to retain Baird as athletic director . On receiving the petitions from the Michigan student body , Red Sox owner Killilea , who was a Michigan alumnus , agreed to release Baird from the contract . Later years at Michigan : 1905 – 1909 . 1905 season : Allegations of professionalism . The 1905 season began with Michigan on top of the football world , having completed four consecutive undefeated seasons . In early 1905 , Baird wrote an article for the Illustrated Sporting News commenting on the differences between low - scoring Eastern football and high - scoring Western football . Baird commented on differences in coaching and on the Western teams ' focus on speed and continuous development of multiple formations , alternating line plays with end runs , introducing the element of uncertainty and inspiring the spectator . Michigan continued its " point - a - minute " offense , outscored opponents 495 - 2 , and finished the season 12 - 1 . However , the 1905 season also found Baird and Yost mired in scandal . In the week before the Western Conference championship game against Chicago , Stanford University President David Starr Jordan , wrote a feature article in " Collier ' s " making allegations of " professionalism " at Michigan . Yost was described as the " czar of Michigan ' s system " and Baird as the " business man of Michigan athletics and silent partner in the firm of Yost & Baird , victory - makers . " Jordan accused Yost of traveling across the country " soliciting expert players " who were not true student athletes . Baird was also accused of traveling much and " practically proselyting for athletes . " While some accounts noted that Jordan " does not come forward with any direct evidence against the Michigan athletes , " the story was printed in newspapers across the country . Even President Theodore Roosevelt spoke at the time calling for a " gentleman ' s agreement " among American colleges and universities providing for the removal of any player who engaged in brutality or foul play and of the player who is not a bona fide student and amateur . Baird responded to Jordan ' s allegations by calling them " the merest bosh " and by denying there were any inducements or special favors for athletes . He later noted : " President Jordan has made these charges several times , and never brought forth one iota of proof to establish his claim . " Former Michigan player and then Drake coach , Willie Heston , one of the players named as a professional in Jordan ' s article , responded : " I was in a position to know what was going on and I believe that I am safe in saying that no Michigan athlete ever did anything since Baird took hold of things there . " One week after Jordan ' s article was published , Michigan ' s four - year unbeaten streak ended in the last game of the season , a 2 - 0 loss to rival Chicago . 1906 season and withdrawal from the Western Conference . Lingering concerns about professionalism and the integrity of amateur athletics led Michigan ' s president , James Burrill Angell , to call for a special conference of Western Conference faculty in January 1906 . The committee condemned the " money end " of football and resolved that university faculty should have charge of gate receipts . The Angell Committee also voted in March 1906 to prohibit summer training , to eliminate professional coaches and the " training table , " and to limit the admission price to college athletic events to a maximum of fifty cents . One of the most drastic reforms enacted in 1906 restricted conference schools to five football games per year . Accordingly , and despite playing 13 regular season games in 1905 , Michigan was permitted to play only five games in 1906 . Michigan finished 4 - 1 in 1905 , losing the final game of the season to the University of Pennsylvania . The Pennsylvania game was negotiated by Baird and played in Philadelphia before 26 , 000 spectators — setting a new record for the highest attendance at a Michigan football game . Dissatisfied with Michigan ' s treatment by the Western Conference , Baird wrote to the Intercollegiate Athletic Association in December 1906 asking Michigan ' s admission to the eastern conference for the next athletic season . In January 1907 , a " close friend " of Baird told the press that Baird found the Western Conference ' s new restrictions to be unacceptable and warned that Baird would resign unless the conference loosened up on the rules . Nevertheless , a proposal to extend the football schedule to seven games and to eliminate the harsh effects of applying the three - year rule retroactively was rejected . One of the most troubling rules going into effect in 1907 limited eligibility to three years . The rule was applied retroactively so that many of the conference ' s best players , including Michigan ' s captain Germany Schulz , would be ineligible to play as seniors even though they had played as freshman when such play was within the rules . Six of the University ' s eight regents favored withdrawal , and Regent Arthur Hill noted , " We have to beat Pennsylvania , and we cannot do it under conference rules . " In April 1907 , Michigan announced that it would not comply with the new restrictions , and all athletic competition between Michigan and other Western Conference schools was severed . " The Washington Post " noted that the new Western Conference rules had made it difficult for western schools to compete in the east and criticized the conference for its " mistake " in " virtually driving Michigan out of the conference . " 1907 season . Because the decision not to comply with conference rules was not made until the summer of 1907 , Baird was not able to sign contracts for a full schedule of football games . In February 1907 , he announced that he had signed contracts with two football powers from regions outside the Midwest — Penn from the east and Vanderbilt from the south . However , the uncertainty over Western Conference rules forced Baird in May 1907 to turn down games with Dartmouth and the Naval Academy . The Vanderbilt games marked the first time Michigan played a football game south of the Mason - Dixon line . But the year ' s premiere matchup was the rematch with Penn to be played in Ann Arbor . Baird predicted that the Western Conference matchup between Minnesota and Chicago " will not hold a candle " to the Penn - Michigan game . Baird continued in his comments about the Pann game : " I think it will eclipse in point of interest and attendance any football game ever played in the Middle West . If we do not draw close to 28 , 000 spectators , it will be because something has gone wrong . " The 1907 season saw Michigan go 5 - 0 in its first five games , outscoring opponents 107 - 0 . However , Michigan lost the final game of the season to Penn , 6 - 0 , before a crowd of 19 , 000 at Ferry Field . 1908 season . During the winter and spring of 1908 , the controversy over withdrawal from the Western Conference continued . In November 1907 , rumors were prevalent that Baird and Fitzpatrick intended to resign unless Michigan withdrew from the conference . In April 1908 , the school ' s Board in Control of College Athletics voted in favor of withdrawal , and Michigan ceased being a member of the conference for the next nine years . With the mandatory reduction in both ticket prices and the number of games in 1906 and 1907 , Baird ' s ability to generate a profit for the athletic department had been impaired . In September 1908 , Baird announced that the department would be in debt $ 6 , 000 at the beginning of the football season — the same as 1907 . Baird noted : " This was caused by a poor baseball season and the usual expenditures on the grounds . No , we will not erect any more seats . We now have a seating capacity of 20 , 000 persons and that will be sufficient . " Unrestrained by Western Conference rules , Baird arranged an eight - game football schedule for 1908 that included games against eastern powers Penn and Syracuse , two southern schools in Kentucky and Vanderbilt , and three budding Midwest independents , Ohio State , Notre Dame and Michigan State . Seeking to re - focus attention on Michigan as a national power , Baird wrote a column about the team ' s prospects for 1908 to be published in newspapers across the country . Barid note that the forward pass was a " radical change . " Baird was positive about the forward pass , stating that it " opens a field for development of skill and science along lines that have been uncultivated " and making the game " more spectacular than ever . " Baird wrote that " the big game of the year " would be the Michigan - Penn game — marking only the second visit to the west of the teams of any of the larger eastern universities since 1896 . Baird expected " a fierce and hard " game and noted that Michigan had erected bleachers seating over 20 , 000 people , with arrangements for 7 , 000 to 8 , 000 more in standing room accommodations . Baird also predicted that Ohio State , then operating under former Michigan star , Albert Herrnstein , would prove to be a " strong and excellent team . " The 1908 season proved a disappointment as the football team closed with consecutive losses to Penn ( 29 - 0 ) and Syracuse ( 28 - 4 ) and a record of 5 - 2 - 1 . Baird ' s resignation . In December 1908 , Baird announced his intention to resign as Michigan ' s athletic director . Newspaper accounts of his resignation focused on two factors . First , Baird ' s father - in - law had died earlier in the year , leaving a million - dollar fortune to his wife . Second , Baird was reported to have an interest in using his family ' s new wealth to purchase a professional baseball franchise . The following account is typical of the press coverage at the time : " It has become known here that Charles Baird , long the leading figure in athletics at the University of Michigan , has sent his resignation to the faculty . . . The popular leader will have no fear of the wolf for many a day to come . At present he can be regarded as the richest man connected with the university ; that is , by figuring on the wealth of his wife , Mrs . Baird , it has turned out , is the only heir to her father ' s estate in Kansas City . Mrs . Baird ' s father died some time ago and left a fortune well over the $ 1 , 000 , 000 mark . Consequently , Baird himself is anxious to make his home in Kansas City . Baird also has a ' bug ' about becoming a baseball magnate . He , of course , loves athletics and is anxious to become an owner . Rumours have him with the Kansas City American association club . . . The loss of Baird to the University of Michigan would be a severe blow to athletics . The fact that Baird will leave probably is the cause of Coach Yost ' s hesitation about remaining after next year . The two have worked like a team ever since Yost came here . " Before leaving the school , Baird traveled to Madison , Wisconsin to engage in a final round of diplomacy seeking to restore athletic relations between Michigan and Wisconsin . Baird announced in March 1909 that his resignation would become final at the end of the then - present college term . Banker and businessman in Kansas City . In June 1902 , Baird married Georgia O . Robertson at the Washington Hotel in Kansas City , Missouri . Baird met his wife first became acquainted while both were students at the University of Michigan . His wife was the daughter of John Duffy Robertson , " a leading business man and capitalist of Kansas City . " Baird ' s father - in - law , the president of Kansas City ' s Interstate National Bank , fell ill with diabetes and carbuncles on the back of his neck , and died in January 1908 . Baird moved to Kansas City , Missouri in 1909 , where he lived for the remainder of his life . In 1912 , Baird paid $ 49 , 000 for one of the finest homes in Kansas City , a estate " with forest trees " on Sunset Drive overlooking the Country Club . In March 1914 , Baird , who was then engaged in the investment and farm mortgage business , purchased the Western Exchange Bank in Kansas City and was elected its president . At various times , Baird was also a director of the Inter - State National Bank , a director of the Morris Plan Company , and treasurer of the Anchor Savings and Loan Association , all of Kansas City . In 1911 , he was in negotiations to purchase the Boston National League baseball team , but opted not to do so . An article reporting on his interest in the Boston Rustlers baseball club noted : " Baird is a capitalist of Kansas City . For a number of years he was director of athletics at the University of Michigan and established a reputation in the business end of the game that is second to none . The Kansas City man has always taken a keen and intelligent interest in professional baseball , and has been anxious to obtain a controlling interest in some major league club . " Baird did own an interest in the Kansas City Packers of the Federal League in 1915 . Baird also served on the Board of Visitors of the University of Missouri from 1921 until at least 1937 , also acting as the President of the Board for several years . Baird Carillon . In his later years , Baird became a benefactor of the University of Michigan . His most prominent gift was the Charles Baird Carillon , a carillon consisting of 53 bells that was the third heaviest in the world in 1936 . The carillon was purchased with a $ 70 , 000 gift from Baird . When Baird first offered the carillon to the university , the Burton Memorial Tower had not been built . The school initially set aside $ 35 , 000 to house the carillon in the tower of the Michigan Union . When the Union was found to be an unsuitable home , the Regents developed a more ambitious plan to construct a bell tower . The plan resulted in the construction of the Burton Tower , which opened in November 1936 . The carillon weighs 43 tons and was cast by John Taylor Bellfoundry , in Loughborough , England . It has been housed in the Burton Tower since 1936 . Baid also donated one of the most well - known sculptures on the University of Michigan campus , " Sunday Morning in Deep Waters " by Swedish sculptor , Carl Milles . Baird made the gift of the bronze sculpture in 1940 in memory of Thomas McIntyre Cooley , an early professor and dean of the law school . The sculpture is located on the Ingalls Mall , between the Michigan League and Burton Tower . Death . Baird died in November 1944 at age 74 following a heart attack in Kansas City . He was buried at the Forest Hill cemetery in Kansas City .