Ben Taylor (Negro Leagues)
Encyclopedia
Benjamin Harrison Taylor (July 1, 1888 - January 24, 1953) was an American first baseman
and manager
in baseball
's Negro leagues
. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006
.
Born in Anderson, South Carolina
, he played for the Birmingham Giants, Chicago American Giants
, Indianapolis ABC's, St. Louis Giants
, Bacharach Giants
, Washington Potomacs, Harrisburg Giants
, and Baltimore Black Sox
. His playing career played lasted from to .
In all but one of his first 16 seasons, Taylor batted over .300. In a 1949 Philadelphia Evening Bulletin article, Oscar Charleston selected Ben Taylor as his first baseman on his all-time All-Star team, but Taylor initiated his career as a pitcher for the Birmingham Giants in 1908. After playing for the St. Louis Giants (1911–12), New York Lincoln Giants (1912) and Rube Foster's Chicago American Giants (1913–14), Taylor made his name playing for the team one of his brothers, C.I. Taylor, managed and owned, the Indianapolis ABCs.
Following a 1915 season in which he hit .308, he set Cuba ablaze, hitting .500 in winter league play. He took that hot bat into the 1916 championship season. Ben went 11-for-18 in the World Series, stealing three bases in five games.
Other than a 1919 season split between Hilldale and a managerial stint with the Bacharach Giants, Ben played with the ABCs from 1914 to 1922. In that final season, he replaced C.I. as manager, following his death.
In 1923, Taylor organized the Washington Potomacs, bringing brother Johnny along as pitching coach. The team joined the new Eastern Colored League in its inaugural season the following year.
Defensively, he was good on ground balls and could execute all the plays at first, making the other infielders look good by digging out low throws and making difficult plays with such ease that they appeared routine.
Always a heads-up players, Ben was an ideal man to have on a ball club. During his career, he was also a manager and excellent teacher of young players. It was from him that Buck Leonard
learned to polish and refine his skills as a first baseman.
Ben continued as a player/manager, joining Harrisburg in 1925 and the Baltimore Black Sox from 1926 to 1928. He was then traded to the Bacharach Giants in exchange for their manager Dick Lundy prior to the 1929 campaign, the final season of his playing career. He continued to coach and manage until 1940.
After retiring, Taylor was an active businessman, operating a poolroom and acquiring the rights to print and sell game programs at Baltimore Elite Giants
games.
In 1952, as the Negro leagues decline was in rapid motion, the Pittsburgh Courier
polled its readers to name the greatest players of the Negro leagues. They eventually named 5 teams plus honorable mentions. Among those honored, Taylor was awarded 2nd team, first base.
He died at age 64 in Baltimore, Maryland.
He was the youngest of four brothers who all became famous in baseball, including C.I.
, Candy Jim
and Johnny ("Steel Arm").
First baseman
First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...
and manager
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
in baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
's Negro leagues
Negro league baseball
The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams predominantly made up of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relatively successful leagues beginning in...
. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006
Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 2006
Elections to the Baseball Hall of Fame for 2006 proceeded in keeping with rules enacted in 2001, augmented by a special election; the result was the largest class of inductees in the Hall's history, including the first woman elected. The Baseball Writers Association of America held an election to...
.
Born in Anderson, South Carolina
Anderson, South Carolina
Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was estimated at 26,242 in 2006, and the city was the center of an urbanized area of 70,530...
, he played for the Birmingham Giants, Chicago American Giants
Chicago American Giants
Chicago American Giants were a Chicago-based Negro league baseball team, owned and managed from 1911 to 1926 by player-manager Andrew "Rube" Foster. From 1910 until the mid-1930s, the American Giants were the most dominant team in black baseball...
, Indianapolis ABC's, St. Louis Giants
St. Louis Giants
The St. Louis Giants were a Negro League baseball team that competed independently from as early as 1906 to 1919, and joined the Negro National League for the 1920 and 1921 seasons. After the 1921 season, the franchise was sold to another group of investors, who built a new park and renamed the...
, Bacharach Giants
Bacharach Giants
The Bacharach Giants were a Negro league baseball team that played in Atlantic City, New Jersey.- Founding :The club was founded when two African-American politicians moved the Duval Giants of Jacksonville, Florida, to Atlantic City in 1916 and renamed them after Harry Bacharach, the city's mayor...
, Washington Potomacs, Harrisburg Giants
Harrisburg Giants
The Harrisburg Giants were a U.S. professional baseball team in the Negro Leagues, based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. They joined the Eastern Colored League for the 1924 season with Hall of Fame center fielder Oscar Charleston as playing manager...
, and Baltimore Black Sox
Baltimore Black Sox
The Baltimore Black Sox were a professional Negro league baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland.- Founding :The Black Sox started as an independent team in 1916 by George Rossiter and Charles Spedden...
. His playing career played lasted from to .
In all but one of his first 16 seasons, Taylor batted over .300. In a 1949 Philadelphia Evening Bulletin article, Oscar Charleston selected Ben Taylor as his first baseman on his all-time All-Star team, but Taylor initiated his career as a pitcher for the Birmingham Giants in 1908. After playing for the St. Louis Giants (1911–12), New York Lincoln Giants (1912) and Rube Foster's Chicago American Giants (1913–14), Taylor made his name playing for the team one of his brothers, C.I. Taylor, managed and owned, the Indianapolis ABCs.
Following a 1915 season in which he hit .308, he set Cuba ablaze, hitting .500 in winter league play. He took that hot bat into the 1916 championship season. Ben went 11-for-18 in the World Series, stealing three bases in five games.
Other than a 1919 season split between Hilldale and a managerial stint with the Bacharach Giants, Ben played with the ABCs from 1914 to 1922. In that final season, he replaced C.I. as manager, following his death.
In 1923, Taylor organized the Washington Potomacs, bringing brother Johnny along as pitching coach. The team joined the new Eastern Colored League in its inaugural season the following year.
Defensively, he was good on ground balls and could execute all the plays at first, making the other infielders look good by digging out low throws and making difficult plays with such ease that they appeared routine.
Always a heads-up players, Ben was an ideal man to have on a ball club. During his career, he was also a manager and excellent teacher of young players. It was from him that Buck Leonard
Buck Leonard
Walter Fenner "Buck" Leonard was an American first baseman in Negro league baseball. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in along with his long-time teammate Josh Gibson.-Biography:...
learned to polish and refine his skills as a first baseman.
Ben continued as a player/manager, joining Harrisburg in 1925 and the Baltimore Black Sox from 1926 to 1928. He was then traded to the Bacharach Giants in exchange for their manager Dick Lundy prior to the 1929 campaign, the final season of his playing career. He continued to coach and manage until 1940.
After retiring, Taylor was an active businessman, operating a poolroom and acquiring the rights to print and sell game programs at Baltimore Elite Giants
Baltimore Elite Giants
The Baltimore Elite Giants were a professional baseball team that played in the Negro leagues from to . The team was established by Thomas T. Wilson, in Nashville, Tennessee as the semi-pro Nashville Standard Giants on March 26, 1920. The team was renamed the Elite Giants in , and would move to...
games.
In 1952, as the Negro leagues decline was in rapid motion, the Pittsburgh Courier
Pittsburgh Courier
The Pittsburgh Courier was an American newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which was published from 1907 to 1965. Once the country's most widely circulated Black newspaper, the legacy and influence of the Pittsburgh Courier is unparalleled.A pillar of the Black Press, it rose...
polled its readers to name the greatest players of the Negro leagues. They eventually named 5 teams plus honorable mentions. Among those honored, Taylor was awarded 2nd team, first base.
He died at age 64 in Baltimore, Maryland.
He was the youngest of four brothers who all became famous in baseball, including C.I.
C. I. Taylor
Charles Isham Taylor was an American second baseman, manager and executive in Negro league baseball. Born in Anderson, South Carolina, he was the oldest among four sons of a Methodist minister - including Candy Jim, Ben and Johnny - who made a remarkable impact on black baseball.After serving in...
, Candy Jim
Candy Jim Taylor
James Allen "Candy Jim" Taylor was an American third baseman and manager in Negro league baseball.-Biography:Born in Anderson, South Carolina, Taylor was one of four brothers who played in the Negro Leagues, along with Ben, C. I. and "Steel Arm" Johnny...
and Johnny ("Steel Arm").