 |
 |
Antonio Nemesio Taylor
Philadelphia Phillies
Second Base
Born: December 19, 1935, Central Alava, Cuba
Signed: Signed by the New York Giants as an amateur free agent, April 13, 1954
Major League Teams: Chicago Cubs 1958-1960; Philadelphia Phillies 1960-1971; Detroit Tigers 1971-1973; Philadelphia Phillies 1974-1976
A mainstay in the Phillies line-up throughout the 1960s, Tony Taylor became one of the most popular players in franchise history. 15 of Taylor's 19 seasons in the big leagues were with the Phillies, and his 1,003 games played at second base for the Phillies is second behind only Chase Utley's 1,453 games. He ranks in the top 10 in Phillies franchise records for games played (5th with 1,669) and singles (8th with 1,178) and he was elected into the Phillies Wall of Fame in 2002.
Taylor played in 2,195 games, compiling a lifetime average of .261 with 2,007 career hits.
Building the SetDecember 7, 2019 from King of Prussia, PA - Card #3
I thought it would be fitting for the first official card we purchased for our 1965 Topps set to be one of Doug's favorite former players. Of course Doug never saw Taylor play, but he had a memorable interaction with him during a chance encounter during the Phillies Alumni weekend in 2017. Doug has since started a mini-personal collection of Taylor cards. When he decided he wanted to try to build a complete set of signed Phillies Wall of Fame baseballs, Taylor's ball was the first one he requested.
This was one of five Phillies cards purchased from a dealer at the Philadelphia Sportscard & Memorabilia Show held inside the Valley Forge Casino on the bottom floor. I had told the dealer I was looking for a few hard to find Phillies high numbers from older Topps sets, and he helped me find the 1962 Topps Jack Hamilton Rookie Parade card and the 1972 Topps Tommy Hutton Rookie Stars card. Both those cards together totalled $50. I then waited for Doug to find his way over to me and I pointed out the dealer's binder of Topps Phillies cards from the 1960s. I told Doug to pick a few Phillies cards to mark the official start to our set, and we were off.
Doug picked this Taylor card along with cards for players he had heard of before - Dallas Green (#203), Rick Wise (#322), Johnny Callison (#310) and Cookie Rojas (#474). "How many cards do you guys need for your 1965 Topps set?" the dealer asked. I told him these would be the fist five cards added. "In that case," he said, "I'll take five dollars for those five cards and good luck with your set!" What was probably close to $20 or $25 in cards were ours for a $1 a piece. I'll take a look at the other four Phillies cards purchased in upcoming posts.
 |
| 2006 Toyota Phillies Wall of Fame Postcards |
When I picture a 1965 Topps Phillies card in my mind, the image that first pops up is this Taylor card. His fielding percentage of .986 in 1963 was a percentage point higher than the Dodgers' Jim Gilliam with .985.
1965 Season
This was perhaps Taylor's worst season in the Majors, as he hit just .229 over 106 games and lost playing time at second base to Rojas. Both Taylor and Rojas started 78 games at second for the Phillies in 1965 with Ruben Amaro (#419) starting the other six games. His season-long slump might be traced to getting hit twice on the forearm by Don Cardwell (#502) in a game on May 31st.
Phillies Career
I've highlighted Taylor's Phillies accolades at the top of this post, but it bears repeating he was one of the most popular players for the club during a decade in which they didn't give their fans much to cheer about. Originally acquired from the Cubs on May 13, 1960 with Cal Neeman for Ed Bouchee and Cardwell, Taylor took over at second for the duo of Pancho Herrera and Bobby Malkmus. He'd serve as the regular second baseman between 1960 and 1965, still seeing regular playing time in the latter part of the decade before getting traded to the Tigers in June 1971.
He returned to the Phillies as a free agent prior to the 1974 season, and he'd serve in a part-time role (and part-time coach) until retiring as a player in 1976. Taylor was a coach with the Phillies from 1977 to 1979, and again in 1988 and 1989, and served as a minor league instructor or coach in the years between 1980 and 1987. His SABR biography appropriately describes him as the "Ernie Banks of the Phillies."
|
|
|
|
|
First Mainstream Card: 1958 Topps #411
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (18): 1958-1973, 1975-1976
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2017 Topps Phillies National Baseball Card Day SGA #11
I never realized Taylor was omitted from the 1974 Topps set, despite playing in 84 games for the Tigers in 1973.
110 - Taylor non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/7/19.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database
In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year. Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.
Prior Card: #295 Dick Radatz - Boston Red Sox
Next Card: #297 Dave DeBusschere - Chicago White Sox
Taylor was a great pinch-hitter in his 2nd stint with the Phillies.
ReplyDeleteBy the end of the 1976 season they had made the playoffs for the first time, and had 26 eligible players. Unfortunately, Taylor was the odd man out - left off the roster. This ticked off Dick Allen, who then decided not to return in 1977.
Never knew this . . . always love to learn these new things!
ReplyDelete