ben taylor
July 1, 1888 – January 24, 1953
ben taylor
Born in July of 1888, Ben Taylor was born the youngest brother of 4 professional Negro League ball players. His brothers Candy Jim, C.I. Taylor, and Johnny Steel Arm all played a significant role in the development of the Negro National League I (NNLI).
career
Benjamin Harrison Taylor was born in Anderson, South Carolina, the youngest of four professional baseball playing brothers, C.I., Candy Jim and Johnny "Steel Arm".
Benjamin started his career following a 1915 season, in which he hit .308, setting the Cuban League ablaze, hitting nearly over the .500 mark in winter league play that year.
Taylor would take his hot bat into the 1916 Negro Leagues Championship Series, going 11-for-18, stealing three bases in five games to propel his team to victory in the NNL World Series.
From what limited recorded historical records we have of Ben Taylor’s career, it is generally assumed his career in professional baseball lasted from 1908 to 1929.
He was elected to the Major League Baseball’s National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Though, Taylor began his career as a pitcher for the Birmingham Giants in 1908, he later found himself all over the diamond.
After playing for the St. Louis Giants for the 1911 and 1912 seasons, in which he split between the St. Louis Giants and the New York Lincoln Giants.
The next season Ben caught on with famous power broker, league founder, team owner and player, Rube Foster and his Chicago American Giants from 1913-1914.
Taylor made his name playing for the team one of his brothers, C.I. Taylor, managed and owned a minority stake in the Indianapolis ABCs.
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 untimely death.
In 1923, Taylor organized the Washington Potomacs, bringing his brother Johnny along as his pitching coach. The team joined the new Eastern Colored League (ECL) in its inaugural season.
Defensively, Taylor 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.
Ben continued as a player/manager, joining Harrisburg in 1925 and then 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. In all but one of his first 16 seasons, Taylor batted over .300.
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. 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 a 1949 Philadelphia Evening Bulletin article, selected Ben Taylor as his first baseman on his all-time All-Star team.
In 1952, as the Negro Leagues decline - as a whole - was in rapid motion, the Pittsburgh Courier polled its readers to name the greatest players in Negro Leagues history.
They eventually named 5 teams plus honorable mentions.
Ben Taylor was among those honored, and was awarded 2nd team, first base.
Ben Taylor passed away at the age 64 in Baltimore, Maryland.
players
Oscar Charelston
Oscar Charelston
Oscar Charelston
Oscar Charleston played and managed in the Negro Leagues as an outfielder, first baseman and pitcher. Charleston would later become manager of the Indianapolis Clowns.
Cool Papa Bell
Oscar Charelston
Oscar Charelston
Cool Papa Bell played centerfield in the Negro Leagues from 1922 to 1946. played for the powerhouse Kansas City. Monarchs, Pittsburgh Crawfords, and Homestead Grays.
Buck Leonard
Oscar Charelston
Satchel Paige
Buck Leonard, along side Josh Gibson formed the best three-four, hitting tandem in the History of the Negro Leagues, leading the Homestead Grays to dominance.
Satchel Paige
Cumberland Posey
Satchel Paige
Satchel Paige began his 20 year career in the Negro Leagues pitching for the Chattanooga Lookouts. He would later make his MLB debut at age 42 for the Cleveland Indians.
Cumberland Posey
Cumberland Posey
Cumberland Posey
Cum Posey was a veteran Negro Leagues team owner, player, and league executive. He is the founding member of two leagues, and a Hall of Fame Basketball player.
Jackie Robinson
Cumberland Posey
Cumberland Posey
Jackie Robinson is the first African American to play Major League Baseball. He broke baseball's color barrier in 1945, by signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Roy Campanella
Roy Campanella
Roy Campanella
Roy Campanella played one season in the Negro Leagues, signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers just one season after Jackie Robinson’s debut in Major League Baseball.
Gus Greenlee
Roy Campanella
Roy Campanella
Gus Greenlee was a driving force behind the organization of the Negro National League I. During his time involved with Negro Leagues he owned several profitable side businesses.
Henry AAron
Roy Campanella
Candy Jim Taylor
Major League Baseball’s all-time leader in home runs with 755, few know Aaron began his baseball career in the Negro Leagues as a shortstop for the Indianapolis Clowns.
Candy Jim Taylor
Cristóbal Torriente
Candy Jim Taylor
Candy Jim Taylor was a professional third baseman, manager, and brother of four professional playing Negro Leaguers. His career in baseball spanned over 40 years.
Cristóbal Torriente
Cristóbal Torriente
Cristóbal Torriente
Cristóbal Torriente, often called the Babe Ruth of Cuba, played as an outfielder in the Negro Leagues from 1912-1932. He was most known for his incredible power to all fields.
Rube Foster
Cristóbal Torriente
Cristóbal Torriente
Considered one of the best pitchers of the early 1900s, and perhaps the most influential figure in Negro League history, Rube Foster founded the NNLI and managed the Chicago American Giants.
Larry Doby
Josh Gibson
Josh Gibson
Larry Doby was the second African-American baseball player to break baseball's color barrier and the first black player to play in the American League.
Josh Gibson
Josh Gibson
Josh Gibson
From the catcher position, Josh Gibson's display of power during his career for the Homestead Grays is legendary. However, Gibson would never play Major League Baseball.
Sol White
Josh Gibson
Ben Taylor
King Solomon "Sol" White played professionally baseball as an infielder, manager and league executive. White is considered to be one of the pioneers of the Negro Leagues.
Ben Taylor
Ben Taylor
Ben Taylor
Born in July 1888, Ben Taylor was the youngest of 4 professional Negro Leaguers, including Candy Jim Taylor, C.I. Taylor, and Johnny Steel Arm Taylor.
Biz Mackey
Ben Taylor
Biz Mackey
Biz Mackey was regarded as one of the Negro Leagues premier offensive and defensive catchers, playing across several leagues from late 1920s and early 1930s.
Nat Strong
Ben Taylor
Biz Mackey
Nathaniel Strong was a Negro Leagues sports executive, businessman, team owner and founding member of the Negro National League I,
Monte Irvin
Turkey Stearnes
Turkey Stearnes
Monte Irvin flourished as one of the early African-American players in MLB, making 2 World Series appearances for the New York Giants, playing along side Willie Mays.
Turkey Stearnes
Turkey Stearnes
Turkey Stearnes
Norman Turkey Stearnes played professionally in the Negro Leagues, and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000.
Willie Mays
Turkey Stearnes
Steel Arm Taylor
A can’t miss five-tool player, Mays began his professional baseball career with the Black Barons, spending the rest of his career playing MLB for the Giants and Mets.
Steel Arm Taylor
Steel Arm Taylor
Steel Arm Taylor
John Boyce Taylor was the second-oldest of 4 baseball-playing brothers, the others being Charles, Ben and James. For the 1899-1900 seasons, Taylor won 90% of his games starting pitcher for the Giants.
Buck O'Neil
Steel Arm Taylor
Martín Dihigo
Buck O’Neil joined the Memphis Red Sox for their inaugural season in the newly formed Negro American League. However, his contract was purchased by the Kansas City Monarchs the next season.
players
