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Tom Baird

Thomas Younger Baird, born January 27th, 1885 in Madison County, AR,1 was a co-owner of the Kansas City Monarchs from 1919-1947 and the sole owner from 1948-1955.

Biography

Baird was the son of Noah H. Baird and Hattie (nee Duncan) Baird.2 He grew up in Madison County, AR before moving to Kansas City in his late teens shortly after the turn of the century.3

Baird, a wealthy businessman, was co-owner of the Kansas City Monarchs from 1919-1947 along with business partner of J. L. Wilkinson. Baird purchased sole ownership of the club in 1948 and continued to operate it until 1955.

Baird is also believed to have been a member of the Ku Klux Klan.4

He died July 2nd, 1962 in Kansas City, MO.
1 Baird's WWII draft card. (Accessed at Fold3.com).
2 The Dizzy and Daffy Dean Barnstorming Tour: Race, Media, and America’s National Pastime, by Phil Dixon, p. 94 gives Baird's mother's name as Japha Duncan. This is perhaps mistaken association with his maternal grandfather, Jephthah Duncan. In either case, Duncan correctly notes that Thomas Baird was the great nephew of the outlaw Younger brothers.
3 1900 U.S. Census. 1905 Kansas State Census Thomas Baird's brother William Oscar Baird was born in Thompson, AR in 1890, while his other younger brother Floyd Jeptha Baird was born in nearby St. Paul, AR in 1900.