Taylor H. Sanford (November 11, 1908[1] – 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. Sanford's Demon Deacons also made up the United States national team at several Pan American Games.
Early life
Sanford was born to Dr. and Mrs. T. Ryland Sanford in Hampton, Virginia. 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.[2]
Playing career
Sanford was captain of the Richmond Spiders football, basketball, and baseball teams, and set school records in the shot put and discus.[3] 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.[4]
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.[2][5]
Sanford also headed the Wake Forest team when it was selected as the representative United States national team at the 1951 Pan American Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina.[6][7] The Wake Forest team, which was the first U.S. national team to participate in international competition since the 1942 Amateur World Series, took the silver medal.
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.[3] 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."[5]
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.[2] 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
| |||||||||
References
- ^ a b Baseball Reference player page
- ^ a b c "Taylor Sanford Dies at 57 in Petersburg". The Free Lance-Star. Fredericksburg, VA. August 9, 1966. p. 5. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
- ^ a b Jim Sumner (June 15, 2007). "Looking Back... Wake Forest's College World Series Championship in 1955". theacc.com. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
- ^ Spink, J.G. Taylor, ed., 1948 Official Baseball Guide and Record Book. St. Louis: The Sporting News
- ^ a b "Taylor Sanford Resigns as Deacs Baseball Coach". Wilmington Morning Star. February 1, 1956. p. 10. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
- ^ "Wake Forest Accepts Offers To Play In Argentina Test". The News & Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. AP. February 6, 1951. p. 13. Retrieved December 24, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Demon Deacons In Tie For Second Place". Rocky Mount Telegram. Rocky Mount, North Carolina. AP. March 7, 1951. p. 10. Retrieved December 24, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference (Minors)
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