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Four players from the Ellsworth, Kansas, minor league team are shown in this photograph. The only one identified is Wiley Taylor (on the far left), a right-handed pitcher from Louisville, Kansas. Ellsworth was the first stop in Taylor's professional baseball career. His 16-8 record helped the team secure the 1910 Central Kansas League pennant. Taylor pitched in 27 major league games between 1911 and 1914, 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, Taylor played not only for Ellsworth, but also for teams in Austin, Lincoln (NE), Louisville, Jersey City, Nashville, Salina, and Topeka. After his baseball career, he remained in Pottawatomie County, where he farmed and served four terms as the county sheriff (1925-28 and 1945-48). Late in life, he also ran a service station and recreation parlor in Westmoreland. Wiley Taylor died in 1954 at the age of 65. (Note: the inscription on the back of the photo suggests a 1909 date; however, a review of Ellsworth newspapers from that time period indicates Taylor joined the team in 1910.)
Creator: Lewis Photograph
Date: 1910
Item Number: 305974
Call Number: 2014-131
KSHS Identifier: DaRT ID: 305974
Collections - Photograph
Community Life - Recreation and Sports - Sports - Baseball
Date - 1910s - 1910
Objects and Artifacts - Communication Artifacts - Documentary Artifact - Photograph
Places - Cities and towns - Ellsworth
Places - Cities and towns - Louisville
Places - Cities and towns - Westmoreland
Places - Counties - Ellsworth
Places - Counties - Pottawatomie
Type of Material - Photographs
http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/305974