View source for C. I. Taylor

{{Short description|American baseball player and manager}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=C. I. Taylor
|image=C.I. Taylor 1922.jpg
|caption=Taylor in 1922
|image_size=200px
|position=[[2nd Baseman]] / [[manager (baseball)|Manager]]
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|birth_date={{birth date|mf=yes|1875|1|20}}
|birth_place=[[Anderson, South Carolina]], U.S.
|death_date={{death date and age|mf=yes|1922|2|23|1875|1|20}}
|death_place=[[Indianapolis, Indiana]], U.S.
|teams=
'''As player'''
* [[Birmingham Giants]] ({{by|1904}}–{{by|1909}})
* [[West Baden Sprudels]] ({{by|1910}}–{{by|1913}})<ref name="sprudels1911">[https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B1Wcncq5-bHdWTAwa2U1enRhb3M "Take One From Sprudels" ''Loogootee Sentinel'', Loogootee, IN, Tuesday, August 22, 1911, Page 1, Column 1 and 2]</ref>
* [[Indianapolis ABCs]] ({{by|1914}}–{{by|1921}}) <ref name="indy1918">[http://johndonaldson.bravehost.com/pdf/00786.pdf "Cuban Stars Will Meet A.B.C.s in Two Games Today" ''Indianapolis Freeman'', Indianapolis, IN, Sunday, May 19, 1918, Part 4 Sports Section Page 1, Column 5]</ref>
'''As manager'''
* [[Birmingham Giants]] ({{by|1907}}–{{by|1909}})
* [[West Baden Sprudels]] ({{by|1910}}–{{by|1913}})
* [[Indianapolis ABCs]] ({{by|1914}}–{{by|1918}}, {{by|1920}}–{{by|1921}})
}}

'''Charles Isham Taylor''' (January 20, 1875 – February 23, 1922) was an American [[second baseman]], [[manager (baseball)|manager]]<ref name="indy1918" /> and executive in [[Negro league baseball]]. Born in [[Anderson, South Carolina]], he was the oldest among four sons of a [[Methodism|Methodist]] minister—including [[Candy Jim Taylor|Candy Jim]], [[Ben Taylor (Negro Leagues)|Ben]] and [[Steel Arm Johnny Taylor|Johnny]]—who made a remarkable impact on black baseball.

After serving in the [[10th Cavalry Regiment (United States)|10th Cavalry]] during the [[Spanish–American War]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Revel |first1=Layton |last2=Munoz |first2=Luis |title=Forgotten Heroes: Charles Isham "C.I." Taylor |url=https://irp.cdn-website.com/33d0c3d0/files/uploaded/326615%20Charles%20Isham%20Taylor_1up.pdf |website=Center for Negro League Baseball Research |access-date=6 December 2021 |page=1}}</ref> in the [[Philippines]], Taylor attended [[Clark Atlanta University|Clark College]] in [[Atlanta, Georgia]].

In 1904 he started the first black professional baseball team in [[Birmingham, Alabama]], the [[Birmingham Giants]], recruiting from Southern colleges.

In [[1914 in baseball|1914]] he became half-owner, along with [[Thomas Bowser]], and manager of the [[Indianapolis ABCs]],<ref name="own1914">[http://negroleagues.bravehost.com/pdf/002826.pdf "The A.B.C. Ball Club Sold" Indianapolis Freeman, Indianapolis, IN, Saturday, February 21, 1914, Page 8, Column 4]</ref> and over the next several seasons developed the team into a power rivaled only by [[Rube Foster]]'s [[Chicago American Giants]].

When [[World War I]] drew off many players from his roster, he personally toured [[Washington, D.C.]], with them, pointing out the various government institutions and instilling in them a sense of their duty to their nation.

He was also a co-founder and vice president of the [[Negro National League (the first)|Negro National League]] before his death at age 47 in [[Indianapolis, Indiana]] of pneumonia.<ref name="Colored Star Dies">{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94701089/colored-star-dies/|title=Colored Star Dies|page=5|work=[[Herald & Review|Decatur Daily Review]]|via=Newspapers.com|date=February 25, 1922|accessdate=February 10, 2022}}</ref> His widow, Olivia Taylor,  continued to operate the ABC's for three years, with his brother Ben as manager for the first year, before the team folded in [[1926 in baseball|1926]].<ref>https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/c-i-taylor/</ref>

The [[Negro Leagues Baseball Museum]] awards The C.I. Taylor Legacy Award to the best manager of each MLB league annually.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nlbm.com/NS/ArticleDetail.cfm?ArticleID=266 |title=Negro Leagues Baseball Museum |access-date=2011-07-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305010757/http://www.nlbm.com/NS/ArticleDetail.cfm?ArticleID=266 |archive-date=2016-03-05 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|9}}

==Bibliography==
* Riley, James A. (1994). ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues''. New York: Carroll & Graf. {{ISBN|0-7867-0065-3}}.

==External links==
{{Baseballstats|mlb=817022|br=t/tayloci01}} and [https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=taylor000ci- Baseball-Reference Black Baseball stats] and [https://www.seamheads.com/NegroLgs/player.php?playerID=taylo01cha Seamheads]
* {{baseball-reference manager|tayloci01}} and [https://www.seamheads.com/NegroLgs/manager.php?playerID=taylo01cha Seamheads]
* {{Find a Grave|7872248}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, C.I.}}
[[Category:Negro league baseball executives]]
[[Category:Birmingham Giants players]]
[[Category:Indianapolis ABCs players]]
[[Category:West Baden Sprudels players]]
[[Category:Negro league baseball managers]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Anderson County, South Carolina]]
[[Category:1875 births]]
[[Category:1922 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen]]
[[Category:American military personnel of the Spanish–American War]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Anderson, South Carolina]]