Princeton University Athletics
Citizen Athlete Award
September 19, 2001 | General
Robert Baldwin '42
Legend has it that Robert H.B. Baldwin, upon establishing an endowment for the men's basketball head coaching position, decided to present Pete Carril with a bench, not to mimic the chair given to a professor but because "of all the time I spent on the bench as a player."
Whatever time Baldwin spent on the bench, rest assured it wasn't much. His athletic prowess in football, basketball and baseball at Princeton enabled him to win the Roper Trophy upon graduation, and his contributions to the University and its athletic teams continues seven decades later. Today Baldwin is a proud benefactor of all of Princeton's endowed athletic positions.
His story is about more than just solid finances, an interest in athletics and pride in his university. Robert Baldwin has a lifetime record of success in and commitment to many areas, including business, public service, community service and physical fitness.
Baldwin was born in East Orange, N.J., on July 9, 1920. He graduated from Princeton in 1942 and then began a Naval career that would begin in World War II as an apprentice seaman and end as under secretary of the Navy in the Vietnam War.
He began his career in the financial world when he joined Morgan Stanley in 1946, and he rose first to general partner and then president and finally chairman of the giant investment banking firm. When he took over as president of the firm in 1973, it had 434 employees and revenues of $35 million. When he stepped down as chairman in 1984, it had 2,581 employees and revenues of $470 million.
Baldwin has also been very active in service activities, donating his time and resources to countless charities and organizations. Among his ventures has been a program designed to keep inner-city youth in school, a program begun in 1968 in New York City that was first called the Young Life program and later renamed Cities in Schools as it spread nationwide.