Today's edition of Canadians in the Majors covers a guy who had a rather distinguished career in baseball.. And another in medicine.
Today is abour Ron Taylor. He played for eleven seasons in the Majors for Cleveland, St Louis, New York Mets, Houston, and San Diego. He won two World Series as a player. One in 1964 as a Cardinal, and one in 1969 as a Met.
The earliest card I have of Taylor is as a Met. His rookie card is in the 1962 set and is a high number. So it can get a little pricey.
Interesting fact about this.. He was purchased by the Expos from the Astros in October 1971, and was released by the team at the end of March 1972. He signed with the Padres on April 20.
So there are cards of Taylor as an Expo when he never actually played for them..
So there are cards of Taylor as an Expo when he never actually played for them..
Thanks to the always awesome CrazieJoe, I have this card in OPC form as well now.
So.. To give some background on Mr Taylor. He was born in Toronto. He was brought to Cleveland for a tryout. The team was reluctant at first but after they saw him throwing they had him throw again. Before he went back to Toronto, he was signed to a minor league contract. He wanted to finish his engineering degree, which he did in 1961.
During the Vietnam War he volunteered to do a tour with the USO. Because he wasn't an entertainer like Bob Hope or the like, he was brought to hospitals to talk to wounded troops. This tour inspired him to return to school to become a physician. He got his medical degree from the University of Toronto in 1977.
In 1979, he returned to baseball, this time becoming the Blue Jays' team physician. He worked with the team for three decades, including the 1992 and 1993 seasons. He also had a private practice. He retired from there in 2014.
He was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985, the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1993, and the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2010. He also received the Order of Ontario in 2005.
His sons created a short documentary about his life and career
You can watch it up here.
Now that is a documentary I will watch. I thought Ron Taylor was the Expos team doctor at one time too. Maybe that was younger me confusing him with someone else
ReplyDeleteOlder me confuses everything .