Wally Taylor | |
Position: | Second Baseman |
Birth Date: | 1864 |
Birth Place: | Covington, Kentucky |
Debutteam: | Birmingham Ironmakers |
Finalteam: | New Bedford Whalers |
Stat1label: | Batting average |
Stat1value: | .279 |
Stat2label: | Hits |
Stat2value: | 1443 |
Teams: |
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Wally Taylor (1864 – November 10, 1922), was an American professional baseball player and manager in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Despite an extensive 17-year career in the minor leagues, many of them in Class A (the highest minor-league classification at the time), Taylor never played in a major-league game.
Taylor is most known for being part of the Milwaukee Brewers' rise to prominence during the 1890s. A Class A team at the time, Milwaukee signed Taylor and several other talented players, some of whom were recommended by Taylor. The Brewers soon became a minor-league powerhouse, eventually becoming a major-league team in, although Taylor was no longer on the team.[1]
Taylor's best season was arguably 1897, when he compiled a .318 batting average over 116 games for the Toronto Canucks. In 1899, Taylor became manager of the Toronto club. In 1900, Taylor became manager of the Syracuse Stars and from 1901 to 1902, the manager of the Utica Pentups, which played in the New York State League. He played professionally until 1905, his last season with the New Bedford Whalers, when he produced a mediocre batting average of .239.[2]