From: The National Cyclopedia of American Biography (Published 1938)

Chicago Tribune Oct 26, 1899

The summer after graduation, Hobart Amory Hare "Hobey" Baker (January 15, 1892 – December 21, 1918); an American amateur athlete of the early twentieth century, toured Europe as a celebrity correspondent for The New York Times where he wrote about events like the Henley Royal Regatta Through his Princeton classmates, he was given a job with Wall Street insurance firm Johnson & Higgins upon his return to the United States. Soon after, another Princeton graduate offered him a job at J.P. Morgan Bank. Hired onto a two-year trainee program, Baker earned about $20 per week. Baker befriended a rich New York socialite, Percy R. Pyne II, who had also attended St. Paul's and Princeton. Though ten years older than Baker, they quickly became friends and Pyne allowed Baker to stay at his house at 263 Madison Avenue. Pyne later introduced Baker to Jeanne Marie Scott, a socialite known as Mimi, to whom Baker was briefly engaged late in 1918.A quiet individual, Baker was embarrassed when bank executives brought important clients by his office to see him He quickly tired of working in an office job, and looked for ways to alleviate his boredom.
Baker found enjoyment outside the office through sports. He joined the St. Nicholas Club, an amateur hockey team in New York soon after he arrived in the city. Pyne introduced Baker to both polo and auto racing, sports he quickly mastered. Baker remained well known from his time at Princeton; marquees at his home arena, which was shared with Princeton, often said "Hobey Baker Plays Tonight". This made Baker uncomfortable and he eventually asked the building manager to take down the sign. Preferring a life out of the public eye, he once told a reporter that he would rather have nothing written about him. In order to leave the arena quickly after hockey games without having to deal with the public, Baker was often loaned Pyne's valet and car. Baker was offered a contract by the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey Association while he was still with the St. Nicholas Club. He turned down an offer of $20,000 to play three seasons as social conventions prohibited a person of his standing from playing sport for money.