Charles Isham Taylor (January 20, 1875 – February 23, 1922) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the " United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, ...

second baseman,

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

and executive in

Negro league baseball The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

. Born in

Anderson, South Carolina Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 28,106 at the 2020 census, and the city was the center of an urbanized area of 75,702. It is one of the principal cities in the Green ...

, he was the oldest among four sons of a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

minister—including Candy Jim,

Ben Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( ...

and

Johnny Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females. Varia ...

—who made a remarkable impact on black baseball. After serving in the 10th Cavalry during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cl ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, Taylor attended

Clark College Clark College is a public community college in Vancouver, Washington. With 11,500 students, Clark College is the largest institution of higher education in southwest Washington. Founded in 1933 as a private two-year junior college, Clark Colleg ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

. In 1904 he started the first black professional baseball team in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, the

Birmingham Giants The Birmingham Giants were a Negro league baseball team, based in Birmingham, Alabama, from 1904 through 1909. They were the first black professional baseball team in the city. C. I. Taylor managed and played for the Giants. His brothers Candy Ji ...

, recruiting from Southern colleges. In

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It also saw the first airline to provide schedule ...

he became half-owner, along with

Thomas Bowser Thomas Bowser was an American sports executive, who owned the Indianapolis ABCs of Negro league baseball. He owned the team, along with C. I. Taylor Charles Isham Taylor (January 20, 1875 – February 23, 1922) was an American second baseman, ma ...

, and manager of the

Indianapolis ABCs The Indianapolis ABCs were a Negro league baseball team that played both as an independent club and as a charter member of the first Negro National League (NNL). They claimed the western championship of black baseball in 1915 and 1916, and fini ...

,"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 Andrew "Rube" Foster (September 17, 1879 – December 9, 1930) was an American baseball player, manager, and executive in the Negro leagues. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981. Foster, considered by historians to have been per ...

Chicago American Giants The Chicago American Giants were a Chicago-based Negro league baseball team. From 1910 until the mid-1930s, the American Giants were the most dominant team in black baseball. Owned and managed from 1911 to 1926 by player-manager Andrew "Rube" Fo ...

. When

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

drew off many players from his roster, he personally toured

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, 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 before his death at age 47 in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of U.S. state and territorial capitals, state capital and List of U.S. states' largest cities by population, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat, seat of ...

. 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 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos (general), Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Kingdom of Hejaz, Hejaz. ** Bảo Đại, Crown Prince Nguyễn P ...

. The

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) is a privately funded museum dedicated to preserving the history of Negro league baseball in America. It was founded in 1990 in Kansas City, Missouri, in the historic 18th & Vine District, the hub of Afr ...

awards The C.I. Taylor Legacy Award to the best manager of each MLB league annually.

References

Bibliography

* Riley, James A. (1994). ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues''. New York: Carroll & Graf. .

External links

an
Baseball-Reference Black Baseball stats
an
Seamheads
* an
Seamheads
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, C.I. Baseball executives Negro league baseball executives Birmingham Giants players Indianapolis ABCs players West Baden Sprudels players Negro league baseball managers People from Anderson, South Carolina 1875 births 1922 deaths 20th-century African-American people American military personnel of the Spanish–American War