Phillies History: Tony Taylor Hits First Walkoff Grand Slam

In some form, the Philadelphia Phillies had been a professional franchise since 1883. On this day in 1970, Tony Taylor became the first player in team history to hit a walkoff grand slam.

Despite some truly woeful years, the Philadelphia Phillies had some truly great players on their roster. Legends like Ed Delahanty, Chuck Klein, and Dick Allen all spent a good portion of their careers in Philadelphia. However, despite the power hitting exploits of their former players, the franchise had never had a walkoff grand slam.

That is, until this day in 1970. The Phillies were facing the San Francisco Giants, and held a tenuous 2-1 lead heading into the top of the seventh. That inning, everything fell apart, as the Giants scored five runs to take a 6-2 lead. Philadelphia got a run back in the eighth, but the situation seemed dire heading into the bottom of the ninth.

Instead, the Phillies rallied. Giants starter Ron Bryant was left in the game too long, and had tired. Larry Hisle led off the inning with a double, and moved to third on Doc Edwards‘ base hit. Terry Harmon then walked to load the bases, bringing Tony Taylor up to bat.

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If ever there was an unlikely candidate to hit a walkoff grand slam, it may well have been Taylor. He had 53 homers in his dozen years prior to 1970, and that year, hit a career high nine homers. And yet, he sent Mike Davison‘s pitch deep to left center, winning the game and giving the Phillies their first ever walkoff grand slam.

It was one of the few power driven highlights of his career. While Taylor did homer in all but one of his 19 seasons in the majors, he still ended his career with 75 home runs. In his 15 years in Philadelphia, Taylor hit 51 homers. Yet, that one he hit on this day will remain a part of Philadelphia baseball history.

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A slap hitting infielder, Tony Taylor was not a power threat. However, on this day in 1970, the Phillies second baseman was exactly that, hitting the team’s first walkoff grand slam.