Bill Taylor

Note: This page is for 1950s outfielder Bill Taylor; for others with a similar name, click here.

William Michael Taylor

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 212 lb.

• Debut April 14, 1954
• Final Game May 8, 1958
• Born December 30, 1929 in Alhambra, CA USA
• Died September 15, 2011 in Acton, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Outfielder Bill Taylor , who hit .329 along with 97 home runs in five minor league seasons from 1947 to 1953, won the Northern League batting title with a .346 average for the Sioux City Soos in 1950 and tied for the Southern Association hitting crown with a .350 average for the Nashville Volunteers in 1953, after spending two years (1951-1952) in the United States military during the Korean War. Taylor hit 16 home runs in the 1953-1954 Venezuelan League, breaking Frank Mancuso and Rene Gonzalez's 3-year-old record of 10. The mark stood for 15 years before Brant Alyea topped it.

Taylor was summoned up to the New York Giants in 1954 but Dusty Rhodes grabbed all the headlines with his clutch pinch hitting, most notably in the four-game sweep of the Cleveland Indians in the 1954 World Series. Taylor, like Rhodes, a left-handed hitting back-up outfielder, who was used primarily in a pinch-hitting role, had 9 hits in 42 at-bats off the bench and was not called upon in the World Series.

Taylor appeared with the team from the Polo Grounds in 1955, 1956 and until September 14, 1957 when he was purchased by the Detroit Tigers. Bill finished out his major league time with the Tigers in 1958 as a pinch-hitter. He had five partial years in the Show and ended with a .237 average and 7 home runs.

Bill returned to the minors for the remainder of his eleven -ear playing career (1947-1961), finishing out with the Minneapolis Millers, the Charleston Senators and the last three years with the Buffalo Bisons of the International League. Taylor finished with a solid .311 hitting average with 186 home runs while appearing in 1,261 games.

After baseball Taylor was in the real estate business with Canyon Country Realty in Acton, California, and died in 2011.

Notable Achievements

• Won a World Series with the New York Giants in 1954 (he did not play in the World Series).

Sources

Baseball Players of the 1950s

Related Sites

• BR Minors page