Taylor spent 50 years in organized baseball, and though 16 of them came as a major
league catcher, he played regularly only from 1923 to 1929. He coached, managed,
and scouted until 1970. He
was at the Browns' helm for four-plus seasons, never winning
more than 59 games, and was the man who sent pinch hitter Eddie Gaedel to the plate
on August 18, 1951, the day the midget had his one famous at-bat. One of Veeck's
more regular promotions was to allow fans to vote on managerial moves. The fans'
decisions were tallied up and relayed to Taylor.
(JK)
»August 24, 1951: In another of Bill Veeck's legendary PR stunts, "Fans Managers' Night," the Browns defeat the Athletics 5–3. The Browns coaches hold up placards for 1115 fans, who vote "yes" or "no" on the options given them. Manager Zack Taylor sits in a box behind the dugout with two fans who monitor the voting. Adding to the festivities is Max Patkin, the clown prince of baseball, who coaches at 1B for several innings. Sherm Lollar voted in behind the plate instead of Matt Batts, has three hits including a homer, and Hank Arft, also voted in, knocks home two. Gus Zernial's 28th home run, off Garver, accounts for all the A's runs. When the stunt was announced on August 15th, A's GM Art Ehlers bitterly denounced it as "farcical."
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