Jack Taylor
John W. "Jack" Taylor (January 14, 1874 – March 4, 1938) was an award-winning right-handed pitcher for the Chicago Cubs baseball team.
He was born in New Straitsville, Ohio.
He made his major league debut with the Cubs on September 25, 1898. His best years as a pitcher were 1900 (2.55 earned run average), 1902 (1.33 ERA with 7 shutouts; #1 in the league), 1903 (2.45 ERA), and 1906 (1.99 ERA). His career average was 2.66 ERA.
Taylor and fellow Cub Larry McLean were traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in return for Mordecai Brown and Jack O'Neill in December of 1903; he was then traded back to Chicago in July of 1906 (in return for Fred Beebe and Pete Noonan).
Thus he was part of the wonder team of the 1906 Cubs; that year the ERA for the entire pitching staff was 1.76. He also contributed to the World Series-winning seasons in 1907 and 1908.
Taylor died in Columbus, Ohio at the age of 64.