Zack Taylor (baseball)

Infobox MLB retired
name=Zack Taylor
position=Catcher


bgcolor1=black
bgcolor2=black
textcolor1=white
textcolor2=white
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=July 27, 1898
Yulee, Florida
deathdate=death date and age|1974|9|19|1898|7|27
Orlando, Florida
debutdate= June 15
debutyear= 1920
debutteam= Brooklyn Robins
finaldate=September 24
finalyear=1935
finalteam=Brooklyn Dodgers
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.261
stat2label=Home runs
stat2value=9
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=311
teams=As Player:
* Brooklyn Robins (1920-1925)
* Boston Braves (1926-1927)
* New York Giants (1927)
* Boston Braves (1928-1929)
* Chicago Cubs (1929-1933)
* New York Yankees (1934)
* Brooklyn Dodgers (1935)As Manager:
* St. Louis Browns (1946, 1948-1951)
highlights=
*Played in 1929 World Series

James Wren Taylor, better known as "Zack" (July 27, 1898 - September 19, 1974), was an American Major League Baseball catcher with the Brooklyn Robins, Boston Braves, New York Giants, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, and again with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

The native of Yulee, Florida, joined the St. Louis Browns as a coach, and when Luke Sewell resigned as manager in by|1946, Taylor finished out the season. After a disastrous by|1947 campaign, Browns general manager Bill DeWitt re-hired him as manager. He lost 100 games in two of his five seasons as manager, and after the by|1951 season, he was fired. Taylor also coached for Brooklyn and the Pittsburgh Pirates, and remained active in baseball as a scout until his death in Orlando, Florida, in 1974.

Taylor was the St. Louis skipper who, upon orders from then-owner Bill Veeck, sent Eddie Gaedel to the plate on August 19, by|1951 against Bob Cain and the Detroit Tigers. He also participated in another Veeck stunt, in which the Browns handed out placards - reading "take, swing, bunt," etc. - to fans and allowed them to make managerial decisions for a day. Taylor dutifully surveyed the fans' advice and relayed the sign accordingly. The Browns won the game.

External links

* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7019384 Find-A-Grave biography]
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/t/tayloza02.shtml Baseball Reference]