Mets
Statistics
Situational
Statistics
Hawk Taylor
vs. the Mets
Hawk Taylor
vs. Other Teams
Ballpark
Statistics
Monthly
Statistics
Game Log
Memories of
Hawk Taylor

Hawk Taylor
Ultimate Mets Database popularity ranking: 238 of 1218 players
Taylor
Robert Dale Taylor
Born: April 3, 1939 at Metropolis, Ill.
Died: June 9, 2012 at Paducah, Ky.
Throws: Right Bats: Right
Height: 6.01 Weight: 195

Hawk Taylor has been the most popular Ultimate Mets Database daily lookup 11 times, most recently on March 11, 2021.

c of 1b

First Mets game: April 14, 1964
Last Mets game: July 13, 1967

Share your memories of Hawk Taylor

HERE IS WHAT OTHER METS FANS HAVE TO SAY:

Marie Coco
I think both Luplow and Hawk Taylor had the greatest ears I have ever seen. It was a tie! They were freakin' spectacular! A woman's dream! Bring back the 60's! I loved them both!

Nancy Reeme
I was a little girl when I first saw a picture of Hawk. He was a great looking man! What is he doing now? I work with this old fart that wears a rug. He told me that Hawk was not a good ball player. I told him to "Go f--k himself." He said "Thank you. It's been a pleasure."

Jim Sullivan
August 16, 2001
Like a lot of other kids, I used to put together baseball 'teams' from my baseball cards. Hawk Taylor was THE superstar on my teams. I always had him batting clean-up and playing left field. I'm not sure why; I mean, I have never, to this day, ever actually seen Hawk Taylor play. Probably the name had a lot to do with it. What little kid could NOT be in love with the name "Hawk"? Also, he was from METROPOLIS. Superman in disguise???

As I grew older, I realized that Hawk wasn't the great player I imagined him to be, but that didn't remove him from the special place I'll always have for him in my boyhood heart. Wherever you are now, Hawk, God bless you and you're still a superstar on my team!

Alan
January 7, 2002
Hawk was a prized prospect of the Braves for several years before they gave up on him, especially after Joe Torre developed into a starting catcher. I recall him playing mostly catcher, and winning a game at Shea in 66 or 67 with long pinch home run to left-center.

Metsmind
December 30, 2002
Hawk Taylor's pinch grand slam (the 1st in Mets history) came on Aug 17, 1966. What's crazy is he was pinch hitting in the 4th inning! I was 8 years old and very new to watching baseball, but from the excitement in Lindsey Nelson's voice, I knew something BIG had occured, and I remember trying to explain its importance to my (non sports fan) parents.

Chris Angelus
April 2, 2003
I just had shivers reading about Hawk Taylor's HR vs. the Pirates in some other posts. My Dad got us seats in the press box (now they're suites) on the first base side for that particular game. I was 8 in '66. I don't really remember the shot per se, but I sure remember the noise from the grand slam, and what happened afterwards. People went nuts when he hit that, because the Mets just didn't hit that many homers, much less grand slams. To our right, in the seats next to us, there was a lot of commotion after Hawk touched home plate. Well, truly one of the most memorable moments in Met history for me: It turns out the guy next to us had a heart attack... and was pronounced dead by the time the paramedics arrived. Killer home run. (sorry, couldn't resist.) True story.

Sol Lippman
January 19, 2004
I always enjoyed watching the Hawk play. He had fire, enthusiam and a will to win. I thought he would have been a good MLB manager too.

I also remember when Hawk was involved with galoshes. He was great!

Does anyone know what he's been up to since his baseball playing days ended?

Hawk, if you' re out there let us know.

FullMetalLindseyNelsonJacket
April 22, 2004
True story - - I got only 2 pro athelete autographs in my entire life, both of which I've since lost: 1) Hawk Taylor; 2) Muhammad Ali

I bet the Hawk Taylor would be worth something if I still had it.

george trost
September 24, 2004
My favorite player as a kid was Hawk. Number 19 is the number I always tried to get when I played sports. And because of him, 19 is my favorite number.

Bob P
June 3, 2005
Back to a comment from 2002: Hawk did indeed hit a home run off Sandy Koufax! It was a three run homer in the bottom of the fourth inning at Shea on Thursday afternoon, July 30, 1964.

Hawk's homer gave the Mets a 3-0 lead vs. the Great One, but as usual, Sandy beat the Mets, 5-3.

judy brink carter
August 19, 2006
Used to call him "Benchwarmer" around 1960-61. A lost love. Where are you? Remember St. Louis? He loved baseball and his family back in Metropolis. Also married his highschool sweetheart and I believe became a coach at Murray Collage in KY. He had a great red car in the 60s that I wrecked and wore English Leather aftershave. A really nice person, his parents brought him up well. I was a Cardinal cheerleader. Oh, to be young again.

Mike Ike
October 28, 2006
More on the Hawk Taylor pinch-hit grand slam game...

I was all of seven years old (it's amazing the stuff we remember from our youth), but I remember being jealous of my older brother whom my father took to the game at Shea, while I stayed home and watched on TV (black and white, of course). I think Bob Veal was the starting pitcher for the Pirates, and I also believe that the Mets were down 7-1 at one point. My jealousy turned into amusement, especially since the weather didn't look so great (I think there might have even been a rain delay). The Mets eventually won the game, 8-7, and in my seven-year-old mind, that was the most incredible victory and most incredible home run humanly possible. UNTIL...

A week or two later, I went to MY first major league ballgame at Yankee stadium, and saw Mickey Mantle hit a two-run pinch-hit WALK-OFF home run (batting right- handed -- I remember seeing from the third-base side that big Number 7 on his big back) to beat the Tigers. (I found out recently that Mantle hit 7 pinch-hit HR's in his career.)

Metsmind
September 6, 2008
I have been thinking of Hawk Taylor's PH grand slam vs Pitt in 1967, the first one in Mets history, and discovered more bizarre facts surrounding that event

Not only was Taylor pinch hitting in the 4th inning, he was batting for #8 hitter, Eddie Kranepool, and NOT for the pitcher. Jack Fisher had only lasted 2 innings , so even after Taylor's heroics, the Mets trailed 7-6. The Mets got great relief from Billy Hepler and Bob Friend, who held the Bucs scoreless the rest of the way to win 8-7. But most ironic of all is that after delivering a PH hit grand slam and being hit by pitch in a subsequent AB, Westrum pinch hit FOR Taylor with 2 out nobody on in the 8th!!

Mark Stasiak
May 7, 2009
I had the pleasure of meeting Hawk when he played for the Mets. My Dad worked with and was a friend of Hawk's father, Flop Taylor. When Hawk came to my hometown of Chicago we would head to the ballpark to watch him play.

The date was July 20, 1969. A Sunday double-header at Old Comiskey Park. Kansas City Royals vs. White Sox. It was the 5th inning. Hawk was on deck. We started cheering and asking him to hit one out! Hawk looked our way, smiled, and nodded yes. Sure enough Hawk connects for a home run. He had 5 RBI'S that day.

July 20, 1969 was the day the U.S.landed on the moon. If Hawk should read this, thank you for the good memories!

Bob P
May 15, 2009
Mark, thanks for sharing that memory!

Hawk was 3-for-4 with a walk in that game. And as it turns out, that was Hawk's final major league home run.

Hawk batted fifth for the Royals that day. One more bit of trivia: KC's cleanup hitter in game one of that doubleheader was Lou Piniella.

Don L Huneycutt
June 16, 2010
I knew Hawk as baseball coach for Lambuth University (where I taught) and attended many games as we were racquetball buddies. (I beat him on occasion which he might deny!) As Professor of Piano (and avid baseball fan) I knew his wife Marie well. She taught piano at Murray State University and we exchanged recitals between the two schools. Great people.

We have visited periodically and vacationed together with our children at his home on Kentucky Lake.

One interesting point about Hawk. If you were to find an all-time baseball team with nicknames emulating birds, animals, or reptiles (Moose Skowron, Goose Goslin, etc.), Hawk Taylor would be your catcher. A notable and not unimportant point!

Tom Sullivan
July 7, 2012
Sorry to see that the Hawk had passed. He was the Met catcher in my first live game at Shea June 16, 1967 vs the Cubs.

George Trost
February 1, 2013
A sad day today. I just found out Hawk died. And it was very near my wife's home town. Small world. I have always listed him as my favorite player. When you say favorite, you are not talking about just skill, you are talking about likeability.

Morris Gold
August 9, 2015
I was at Shea Stadium the day Hawk Taylor hit that pinch hit grand slam home run. I remember the excitement of the day, especially when the Mets finally won. I was almost 9 years old. Back then, there was no internet. If you forgot any of the details, there was no simple way to remember. Over time, I forgot a lot of the details, and I reconstructed them as best I could. I remember my brother and I chanted "Hey Friend, do it again" during the game. Eventually, in my mind I remembered that Bob Friend was pitching for Pittsburgh that day. I also remembered that Ron Swoboda hit a double with men on 1st and 2nd to drive in the winning runs. I had no reason subsequently to check my memory against online sources. I knew what I had seen.

I brought up my son as a proper Mets fan. One night a few years ago my son and I were listening to a game on the radio and it happened again, a pinch hit grand salami, I forget who hit it. And the announcer said it was the 2nd time and the 1st time was Hawk Taylor, and I told my son that I was there and told him what I had seen that day.

Last night, I was sitting in a restaurant with my extended family meeting 2nd cousins that I had never met before. One is a rabid Mets fan. We got to talking about our memories and I told her about seeing Hawk Taylor hit the PH grand slam. She told me I was wrong on some of the details. My son got out his Smart Phone and googled it and found out that Bob Veale pitched for Pittsburgh and Bob Friend pitched for the Mets that day. And Swoboda was on 2nd and scored the winning run when Ron Hunt hit a single. My son told me that everything I ever told him was a lie. And that is why we have children, god bless him.

At least I got the Hawk Taylor part right. Rest in peace, Hawk Taylor.

Robert DiSilvestro
June 14, 2020
Hawk Taylor had 2 good, but short hitting stretches after leaving the Mets. And, he had those few memorable HRs for the Mets. However, in 1965 & 1966, he hit .152 & .174. In one of those years, the Mets were trying to stage a come from behind rally. One of their best hitters was due up (can't recall who, but he hit left handed). In came a lefty RP. The Mets' manager (either Stengel or Westrum) pinch hits Hawk Taylor despite a BA >100 pts below the lefty hitter. Taylor ended the rally.








Meet the Mets
  • All-Time Roster
  • Mug Shots
  • Player Awards
  • Transactions
  • Managers and Coaches
  • Mets Staff
  • Birthplaces
  • Oldest Living Mets
  • Necrology
  • Games
  • Game Results
  • Walkoff Wins and Losses
  • Post-Season Games
  • No-Hitters and One-Hitters
  • All-Star Games
  • Opponents and Ballparks
  • Daily Standings
  • Yearly Finishes
  • Mayor's Trophy Games
  • Stats
  • Interactive Statistics
  • Team Leaders
  • Decade Leaders
  • Metscellaneous
  • Fan Memories
  • Mets Uniforms
  • Uniform Numbers
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • FAQ



  • Copyright 1999-2024, The Ultimate Mets Database