RetroSimba

Chuck Taylor patiently persevered in the minor leagues for most of a decade before getting a chance to pitch for the Cardinals. Joining Cardinals staffs featuring Bob Gibson and Steve Carlton, Taylor emerged as a versatile contributor.

Taylor started and relieved for the Cardinals. In three seasons (1969-71) with St. Louis, Taylor pitched in 126 games, 21 as a starter, and had a 16-13 record with 11 saves and a 2.99 ERA.

After the 1971 season, Taylor was traded by the Cardinals and pitched for the Mets (1972), Brewers (1972) and Expos (1973-76) in an eight-year major-league career.

Valuable lesson

Taylor was enrolled at Middle Tennessee State University when he was signed by Cardinals scout Buddy Lewis for $4,000 in 1961.

On Feb. 17, 1964, after three seasons in their minor-league system, Taylor was traded by the Cardinals, along with outfielder Jim Beauchamp, to the Houston Colt .45s for outfielder Carl Warwick.

A year later, on June 15, 1965, the Cardinals reacquired Taylor. In a trade of four pitchers, the Cardinals sent Ron Taylor and Mike Cuellar to Houston for Hal Woodeshick and Chuck Taylor.

Taylor’s return to the Cardinals didn’t appear to help him. The Cardinals assigned him to the minor leagues and he wasn’t prominent in their plans.

The Cardinals loaned Taylor to Indianapolis, a White Sox farm club, in 1967 and that’s when he turned around his career. Eli Grba, a former pitcher for the Yankees and Angels, was with Indianapolis and he showed Taylor how he threw a slider.

“I’d been in pro ball since 1961, but it wasn’t until Grba showed me the right way to throw a slider in 1967 that I began to make much progress,” Taylor said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I had thrown it as early as 1963, but the elbow got awfully sore and I gave up on the slider. Grba, though, taught me the right way.”

In 1968, pitching for manager Warren Spahn with the Cardinals’ Tulsa farm team, Taylor was 18-7 with a 2.35 ERA. He pitched 16 complete games, five shutouts and issued 38 walks in 230 innings. Still, the Cardinals, on their way to a second consecutive National League pennant, didn’t bring him to the big leagues.

Taylor went to spring training with the Cardinals in 1969 and pitched well, but didn’t make the Opening Day roster. Before Taylor went back to Tulsa, Cardinals general manager Bing Devine promised him he’d be called up to the big leagues “in four or five weeks” if the pitcher did well with the minor-league club.

Hitting his spots

Taylor did his part. Selected to start Tulsa’s 1969 season opener on April 18, his 27th birthday, Taylor earned a complete-game win against Denver. On May 9, Taylor, with Ted Simmons catching, pitched 11 innings and got the win against Oklahoma City.

After beating Indianapolis with a four-hitter on May 22 and improving his record to 5-1, Taylor was called up to the Cardinals to replace injured pitcher Dave Giusti.

In his first 13 appearances for the 1969 Cardinals, all in relief, Taylor posted a 1.59 ERA. He got his first big-league win on July 6 with 6.1 scoreless innings in relief of Mike Torrez in a 6-3 Cardinals victory over the Cubs at St. Louis. Boxscore

“Taylor made it easy for me to catch because he was able to get both his fastball and his slider over the plate almost any time he wanted to,” said Cardinals catcher Joe Torre.

About a month after Taylor was promoted to the Cardinals, another Chuck Taylor, a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and a goodwill ambassador for Converse for more than 40 years, died at 68 on June 22, 1969. No relation to the Cardinals pitcher, basketball’s Chuck Taylor remains prominent as the brand name of the iconic Converse All-Star sneakers.

The Cardinals gave their Chuck Taylor his first major-league start on July 15, 1969, against the Phillies and he earned a complete-game win, striking out nine in an 8-2 St. Louis victory. Taylor also got his first big-league hit and drove in two runs. Boxscore

Taylor continued to produce strong starts for the 1969 Cardinals. On July 28, he yielded no earned runs in a complete-game win against the Padres and on Aug. 13 he pitched his first major-league shutout, a six-hitter against the Dodgers. Boxscore Taylor improved his record to 6-1 with a two-hitter against the Reds on Aug. 20. Boxscore

“Chuck upsets the hitters’ rhythm,” said Cardinals catcher Tim McCarver. “He threads the corners so well that the batters always have to reach for the ball. Chuck doesn’t even know where the middle of the plate is.”

Tailoring his role

In 27 appearances, including 13 starts, for the 1969 Cardinals, Taylor was 7-5 with a 2.56 ERA. Only Gibson (2.17) and Carlton (2.18) had better earned run averages for the club.

Taylor followed that with a 6-7 record and 3.11 ERA for the Cardinals in 1970. He led the team in saves (eight) and games pitched (56).

In 1971, the Cardinals mostly used Taylor in relief and he produced a 3-1 record with three saves and a 3.53 ERA.

On Oct. 18, 1971, seven years after the Cardinals traded Taylor and Beauchamp to Houston, they again packaged those two in a deal. In addition to Taylor and Beauchamp, the Cardinals sent pitcher Harry Parker and infielder Chip Coulter to the Mets for outfielder Art Shamsky and pitchers Jim Bibby, Rich Folkers and Charlie Hudson.

Mets manager Gil Hodges said he intended to use Taylor in long-inning relief, the New York Daily News reported.

After pitching for the Mets and Brewers in 1972, Taylor joined the Expos in 1973. He was their closer in 1974, posting a 6-2 record and 2.17 ERA and leading the Expos in saves (11) and games pitched (61).