St. Louis Cardinals: Former Negro Leaguer Samuel Taylor to throw out first pitch in St. Louis

Former Negro Leagues catcher Samuel Taylor will throw out the first pitch at the St. Louis Cardinals game on Sunday.

He’s a former catcher who admits he may not have much left in his arm when he throws out the first pitch at the St. Louis Cardinals game on Sunday. He said:

“I’ll be ready to throw it Sunday. Not throw it, I’m going to have to roll it.” His name is Samuel Taylor, and he’s a 91-year-old former catcher who played three seasons in the Negro Leagues.

The Cardinals are honoring Taylor and the Negro Leagues when they play the Phillies on Sunday. Taylor never played for the Cardinals.

In a 2005 article in the St. Louis American, Taylor said he had a chance to sign with the Cardinals, but the team members refused to suit up if he was signed. He spent three seasons with the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro Leagues and was coached by the legendary Buck O’Neill.

He remembers the good times and bad times playing ball in the 1950s, years before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

Taylor remembered his teammates “were accepted in a lot of places and sometimes they didn’t want us there.” He said, “We had trouble in Buffalo, New York, of all places.”

"“We went to different places, to visit and play. In all, we played in 29 states and Canada. Barnstorming meant playing good local teams. And there were places that never let you forget that you were a black man,” Taylor said."

Taylor remembers many of the great players who played in the Negro Leagues, including Josh Gibson, the black Babe Ruth. Legend has it that Gibson hit over 800 home runs in his career, although Negro League records were not well-kept and such legendary feats could not be proven.

Other players Taylor thinks fondly of including the great Satchel Paige, Sam Jethroe, Luke Easter and Al Smith. Many of these players had the talent to play in the major leagues, but never got the chance. They often played against major league players in exhibition games and more than held their own.

The St. Louis Cardinals had their first African-American player in 1954, the same year as the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, and Washington Senators. This was seven years after Jackie Robinson, Larry Doby and Hank Thompson broke the modern color barrier in 1947. Thompson played for the cross-town St. Louis Browns.