Hawk Taylor

Robert Dale "Hawk" Taylor (April 3, 1939 – June 9, 2012) was a catcher for the Milwaukee Braves (1957–58 and 1961–63), New York Mets (1964–67), California Angels (1967) and Kansas City Royals (1969–70).

Taylor was signed out of high school by the Milwaukee Braves in 1957 and made his major league debut that June at the age of 18, appearing in seven games. During the next five seasons, he only played sporadically for the Braves and was eventually sold to the New York Mets in December, 1963. As a Met, Taylor appeared as a pinch hitter in the first game in Shea Stadium on April 17, 1964. He later hit the first pinch-hit grand slam in Mets history. He was also a member of the inaugural Kansas City Royals team in 1969. He was traded to the Boston Red Sox in 1971 and was playing for the Louisville Colonels when a back injury prematurely ended his career.

In 11 seasons he played in 394 games and had 724 at bats, 56 runs, 158 hits, 25 doubles, 16 home runs, 82 RBI, 36 walks, .218 batting average, .258 on-base percentage, .319 slugging percentage, 231 total bases, 2 sacrifice flies and 4 intentional walks.

After his playing days ended, Taylor enjoyed coaching stints at Murray State University, Lambuth and Paducah Community College.

Taylor was married to Marie Holifield Taylor for 49 years. The couple had two sons and two grandsons. He died at Western Baptist Hospital in Paducah at 2:44 pm on June 9, 2012. He was 73 years old.

Sources

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)