The Wall of Fame at Veterans Stadium, at the annual induction ceremony, honored southpaw pitcher George “Rube” Walberg of the Philadelphia Athletics and infielder Antonio “Tony” Taylor, one of the most popular Phillies ever. The ceremony was set for 1:15 pm Saturday, July 20th, prior to the Phillies vs. Braves on Fox's nationally televised 'Game of the Week.'
Walberg, a 6 foot 1 1/2 inch Swede born in Pine City, Minnesota, in 1896, had the proverbial “cup of coffee” with the New York Giants in 1923 before joining the A’s later in that season. He worked for Connie Mack through1933, winning 134 games for the Mackmen and losing 114. Rube was one of the mainstays of the staff of the great Athletics team of 1929-31, compiling a record in those three seasons of 51-35, including a twenty-win total in 1931. He was 1-1 in five World Series games, with an earned run average of 1.93. On December 12, 1933, Rube Walberg was included with Max Bishop and Lefty Grove in a startling trade with the Red Sox, for two second-line players and $125,000 cash. In four years with Boston, Walberg won 21 games and lost 27, and his big league career was over. He passed away in Tempe, Arizona, in 1978.
In contrast to Walberg, who played for what many consider the greatest team of all time, Tony Taylor started his Phillies career with one of the worst of the club’s aggregations. The stocky Cuban, born in 1935, came to the majors with the Cubs in 1958 and was traded to the Phillies early in the 1960 season, along with Cal Neeman, for Ed Bouchee and Don Cardwell. Although the team was terrible, Taylor played well and was named to the National League All-Star team. The next year the team was worse, but Tony Taylor established himself. He was a solid and dependable performer, day in and day out, year in and year out, making the defensive play that saved Jim Bunning’s perfect game in 1964, hitting .301 in 1970, stealing bases, scoring runs, doing what had to be done to help the ball club. By June 1971, when he was traded to Detroit. Philadelphia’s fans had taken the scrappy second baseman to their hearts. A free agent after the 1973 season, he signed again with the Phils and played three more years in a utility role, eventually going onto the coaching lines. Tony Taylor is now a coach with the Florida Marlins.
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