This photograph, taken in Westmoreland, Kansas, shows Wiley Taylor (on the right, in overalls) and four others posing near a pool table. Taylor was a former county sheriff in Pottawatomie County who served a total of four terms (1925-28 and 1945-48). As a young man, Taylor pursued a career in baseball. He started playing professionally in 1910 with the Ellsworth minor league team in the Central Kansas League. Between 1911 and 1914, he pitched in 27 major league games, including three games each with the Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox, and the remainder with the St. Louis Browns. His major league record was 2-10, with an ERA of 4.10. In the minor leagues, Wiley Taylor played not only for Ellsworth, but also for teams in Austin, Louisville (KY), Lincoln (NE), Jersey City, Nashville, Salina, and Topeka. After his baseball career, Taylor remained in Pottawatomie County, where he farmed in addition to his service as county sheriff. Late in life, he also ran a service station and recreation parlor in Westmoreland (which is the setting of the photograph). Wiley Taylor died at the age of 65 in 1954, shortly after this picture was taken. Other men in the photograph include (l to r): Wiley's son, Dean; Rosie Roberts; and "Bally" Harter. The boy is David White.
Kansas Memory
Kansas Historical Society
Wiley Taylor and others in his recreation parlor, Westmoreland, Kansas - 2