Taylor Sanford

Taylor Sanford
Sport(s) Baseball
Biographical details
Born c. 1907
Died August 8, 1966
Petersburg, Virginia
Alma mater Richmond, 1929
Playing career
1925–1929 Richmond
Position(s) First baseman
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Baseball
1929–1942 Hargrave Military Academy
1942–1949 Randolph–Macon
1951–1955 Wake Forest
Football
1949–1953, 1955 Wake Forest (assistant)
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1942–1949 Randolph–Macon
1959–1966 Fort Lee
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1955 College World Series
Awards
ABCA Coach of the Year, 1955

Taylor H. Sanford (c. 1907 – August 8, 1966) was an American baseball player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head baseball coach at Randolph–Macon College from 1942 to 1949 and at Wake Forest University from 1951 to 1955. He led the Wake Forest Demon Deacons baseball team to the 1955 College World Series championship.

Early life

Sanford was born to Dr. and Mrs. T. Ryland Sanford in about 1907. He later attended Hargrave Military Academy where he was an all-state athlete in football, basketball and baseball. He then enrolled at the University of Richmond.[1]

Playing career

Sanford was captain of the Richmond Spiders football, basketball, and baseball teams, and set school records in the shotput and discus.[2] He then played baseball professionally in the Bi-State and Piedmont leagues while also coaching prep and college teams. He ended his professional career in 1946, having never climbed higher than Class B.

He was listed as a scout for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball in 1948.[3]

Coaching career

Sanford began his coaching career at Hargrave, coaching for thirteen years at the prep school. He became athletic director and coach of the baseball and basketball teams at Randolph–Macon. His teams won a total of five conference championships over his seven years in Ashland, Virginia, before moving to Wake Forest as freshman football coach. In his second year at Wake Forest, he added baseball to his coaching duties while continuing in various assistant coaching roles with the football team. Most notably, the Deacs won the Atlantic Coast Conference and College World Series in 1955.[1][4]

During the College World Series, a rainout forced a game on Sunday, sparking a small controversy at the Baptist school when word reached Wake Forest.[2] This followed word that Sanford would not be kept full-time after the 1956 season and little recognition from the school of his achievement in Omaha. Sanford therefore resigned from Wake Forest on January 31, 1956, citing his "feeling of insecurity" and that he had "no assurance that I will have a job after the current season is over."[4]

Later life and death

Sanford returned to Virginia after stepping down at Wake Forest, and served as athletic director at Fort Lee. He died on August 8, 1966, in Petersburg, Virginia.[1] In 1977, Sanford was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.

Head coaching record

Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Wake Forest Demon Deacons (Southern Conference) (1951–1953)
1951 Wake Forest 16–7
1952 Wake Forest 13–12
1953 Wake Forest 15–5
Wake Forest Demon Deacons (Atlantic Coast Conference) (1954–1955)
1954 Wake Forest 13–9 8–7 4th
1955 Wake Forest 29–7 11–3 1st College World Series
Wake Forest: 42–16 19–10
Total: 86–40

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Taylor Sanford Dies at 57 in Petersburg". The Free Lance-Star. Frederickburg, VA. August 9, 1966. p. 5. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
  2. 1 2 Jim Sumner (June 15, 2007). "Looking Back... Wake Forest's College World Series Championship in 1955". theacc.com. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
  3. Spink, J.G. Taylor, ed., 1948 Official Baseball Guide and Record Book. St. Louis: The Sporting News
  4. 1 2 "Taylor Sanford Resigns as Deacs Baseball Coach". Wilmington Morning Star. February 1, 1956. p. 10. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
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