"He was a great cowboy and a great sportsman, between fishing, hunting and bird dog field trials. Of course, polo was his greatest," said his son Peter Baldwin of Maui.

Baldwin was born Aug. 21, 1911, the oldest son of Samuel Alexander and Kathrine Baldwin, and grandson of Henry P. Baldwin, one of the founders of Alexander & Baldwin, which pioneered the sugar industry on Maui.

Samuel Baldwin was manager of Haleakala Ranch for most of his life and president for the last three years, before he died in 1950. Manduke Baldwin took over as president in 1968, but began his career there in the 1930s. As a student, he spent his summers on the ranch, often heading over to 'Ulupalakua Ranch to rope wild cattle with legendary Hawaiian cowboy Ikua Purdy.

A hard-charging polo player, Baldwin excelled at the sport both at Cornell University and on the famed Maui team of the 1950s that also featured Gordon von Tempsky and Oskie Rice. Peter Baldwin, who also attended Cornell and was a nationally recognized polo player in his own right, said one of his dad's favorites polo stories was about the time then-Maj. George S. Patton attended a big party at 'Ulupalakua Ranch after playing a match on Maui in the 1930s. Patton, who would become a legend for his exploits as a World War II general, entertained the guests by standing on his head while drinking a glass of whiskey upside-down.

Manduke Baldwin and his wife, Harriet "Haku" Baldwin, also were regular competitors in the Kona Billfish Tournament, and they hosted parties at the Haleakala Ranch hunting lodge each year at the beginning of pheasant hunting season.

Big Island rancher Freddy Rice grew up on Maui and was Baldwin's godson. He said Baldwin was a mentor and a second father to him, and was instrumental in helping Rice get established in the ranching industry.

"Besides being an aggressive sportsman — he was proficient in golf, tennis, polo, fishing and hunting — he was a winner. He gave me that," Rice said. "On the ranching side, he was one of the best pasture men we ever had here. He taught me that we were not really raising cattle, we were raising grass, and cattle were the harvesting machines.

"It made a major difference in how you run your ranch. The philosophy was that you manage your cattle for the sake of your pasture."

Baldwin was knowledgeable about all the grasses and clovers growing on Maui, and introduced new species to increase forage production for cattle. He also was a shrewd cattle breeder, importing the first Santa Gertrudis cattle from Texas, as well as Brahman bulls from Arizona and British-bred Herefords.

"He was a hands-on manager who was on a horse all the time with the men," said Peter Baldwin, who became ranch president in 1979, then retired in 2001.

The public memorial service begins at 1 p.m. Sunday at the polo field off Haleakala Highway. There will be entertainment, a barbecue and pa'u riders. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Maui Animal Aloha Center, P.O. Box 880278, Pukalani, HI 96768.