Local benefactor, Pitt grad Bill Baierl dies at age 78

In 1951, Bill Baierl was known in the Pitt sports world for how he played. In 2007, he’s… In 1951, Bill Baierl was known in the Pitt sports world for how he played. In 2007, he’s known for what he gave.

William Robert “Bill” Baierl, 78, who gave more than $1 million to his alma mater throughout his lifetime, died of a heart attack April 14 at his home in McCandless.

A graduate of North Allegheny High School, Baierl received a basketball scholarship to come to Pitt, and ever since then he made it his mission to give to other students so they too could enjoy the school and sport he loved.

Principal of North Allegheny Lawrence Butterini said he was “fortunate enough” to know Baierl for 16 years as the principal of his alma mater.

“Bill was a very big contributor in time and resources to North Allegheny through various scholarship programs,” Butterini said. “I was very, very fortunate to be able to attend banquets with Bill and learn a lot from Bill and his ability to work with people and be such a positive influence.”

Baierl graduated from Pitt in 1951 with honors and a degree in physical education hoping to become a teacher and basketball coach. He then served in the Army during the Korean War. He returned to Pennsylvania to work in his uncle’s car dealership in Beaver County and later founded one of Pittsburgh’s best known car dealers: the Baierl Family of Dealerships.

Pitt students may also recognize his name from the Baierl Student Recreation Center, the 43,000 square foot, state-of-the-art exercise center located in the Petersen Events Center.

“He was just so excited that the students had a place to go,” Vice Chancellor of Institutional Advancement Al Novak, a friend of Baierl’s, said. “He was excited that they had a place to work out, he was excited they had food up there and a place where kids could study.”

“He talked about how when he was a student the only place they had to go to was the puck shop that used to be the cafeteria section in the basement of the Cathedral of Learning. That was the student center – everyone went to the puck shop. Baierl had good memories of the puck shop, but he said they were crawling all over each other.

“He was thrilled about creating and building a new campus center up on the hill,” Novak recounted.

Baierl attended the dedication of the center on Sept. 4, 2002, and Novak said he was delighted the first day it opened and students were lined up on the hill to get in at 7 a.m.

Baierl also donated the primary gift for the Baierl Basketball Center, where locker rooms and practice facilities for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams are located. He also provided funding for the purchase of new band uniforms and the renovations for the Fitzgerald Field House.

Never failing to recognize both his love of Pitt’s athletics and academics, he also created the Baierl Scholarship Fund in Athletics, and he supported the Karl C.H. Oermann Scholarship Fund in the School of Education.

Always a devoted fan to his alma mater’s sports, it was characteristic of Baierl to travel to Panther away games as well as donating to the teams.

But Baierl never wanted thanks or recognition.

“He gave in a quiet unassuming way, and you just wouldn’t know,” Novak said. “Even in his giving here to Pitt, he allowed us to use his name and share his name with his gifts, but he never wanted the amount to be known.”

Baierl simply wanted students to enjoy their time at Pitt, and hopefully someday realize the importance of giving back the way he did.

“He would tell kids to work hard, do the right thing and enjoy your life,” Novak said. “He was really a great, great human being, and we’re going to desperately miss him.”

Butterini echoes Novak’s praise.

“Bill believed strongly in education, and strongly in supporting young people in their activities academically and athletically,” Butterini said.

“His loss is just very, very tragic. He will always be part of Allegheny [School] and part of the University of Pittsburgh.”