Willis Garner "Sec" Taylor (January 20, 1887 – February 26, 1965) was a sports reporter in Des Moines, Iowa from 1914 until 1965.
[4] While he lived in St. Joseph, Missouri, he worked as a secretary for a local baseball team, during which he acquired the nickname "Sec.
[2] Other writers that followed in the same tradition included Red Smith, Halsey Hall, W.C. Heinz, and Shirley Povich.
Taylor got a tip that the Chicago White Sox planned to fix the 1919 World Series, but he failed to follow up on it, a decision that he always regretted.
[1] Taylor routinely traveled by train with the teams, which enabled him to get to know executives, managers, and players throughout Major League baseball.
"Salty" Saltwell, a Chicago Cubs executive, expressed amazement at how often he was asked by players and team officials, "Hey, do you know Sec Taylor?
In a national poll of sportswriters, he correctly predicted that Joe Louis would defeat James Braddock in their 1937 world heavyweight championship bout at Comiskey Park.
[7][3] In addition to his sports writing duties, Sec Taylor served as a Director of the Des Moines Register and Tribune Company.
[3] As Kenneth MacDonald, the Register's long-time editor and publisher, observed: "Sec's reputation for integrity was unquestioned.
[9] Taylor played a leading role in minor league baseball's long history in Des Moines.
Professional baseball had deep roots in the city, dating back to teams like the Des Moines Prohibitionists, who played in the Western Association in the 1880s and 1890s.
[5] To attract a new team, Taylor spent years campaigning on behalf of the construction of a new ballpark, which culminated in the opening of Pioneer Memorial Stadium in 1947.
In 1959 a revived version of the Des Moines Demons replaced the Bruins as the city's minor league franchise.
[5] Representatives of many Major League Baseball teams attended the naming ceremony, as well as the boxing champion Jack Dempsey.
"[5] Sec Taylor died of a heart attack in his hotel room in Miami, Florida on February 26, 1965, while covering Major League Baseball's spring training.