John Baird is an Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

er who played with the Kangaroos

North Melbourne Football Club

The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...

 in the Australian Football League

Australian Football League

The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

 (AFL).

Baird, a defender, was promoted from the Kangaroos rookie list to play 14 games with the club in the 2002 AFL season

2002 AFL season

-Round 2:-Round 3:-Round 4:-Round 5 :-Ladder:All teams played 22 games during the home and away season, for a total of 176...

. The previous year he had played a big part in Box Hill winning their first top division Victorian Football League

Victorian Football League

The Victorian Football League which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association , taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the premier Australian rules football league in Victoria The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association...

 (VFL) premiership, with a Norm Goss Memorial Medal

Norm Goss Memorial Medal

The Norm Goss Memorial Medal is awarded to the player judged to be the best afield in the Victorian Football League grand final.It is named after former player and administrator Norm Goss, Sr....

 winning performance in the grand final.

A regular fixture in the Kangaroos side during the 2003 season, Baird played in the first 20 rounds and earned the only Brownlow

Brownlow Medal

The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...

 vote of his career when he kept Nick Riewoldt

Nick Riewoldt

Nick Riewoldt is an Australian rules footballer who is the current captain of the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League . He was the first draft selection in the 2000 AFL Draft.-Early life:...

 goal-less at the MCG

Melbourne Cricket Ground

The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...

.

He spent much of the 2004 and 2005 in the VFL, with Port Melbourne

Port Melbourne Football Club

The Port Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Borough, is an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Port Melbourne and is currently playing in the Victorian Football League ....

. After being delisted, Baird played for Port Adelaide

Port Adelaide Magpies

The Port Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the South Australian National Football League...

in the 2006 SANFL season. He returned to Port Melbourne in 2007 and two years later was appointed club captain.