Although Taylor was not a powerful hitter, he sustained a lengthy career in the major leagues due to his valuable defensive abilities as a catcher.

[7] On October 6, 1925, Taylor was traded by the Robins with Eddie Brown and Jimmy Johnston to the Boston Braves for Jesse Barnes, Gus Felix, and Mickey O'Neil.

[6] After a season and a half with the Braves, he was traded to John McGraw's New York Giants along with Larry Benton and Herb Thomas for Doc Farrell, Kent Greenfield, and Hugh McQuillan.

[11] Having been displaced by Al Spohrer as the Braves' starting catcher early in the 1929 season, Taylor's contract was sold to the Chicago Cubs for the waiver price of $7,500 in July after all the other teams in both the American and National Leagues had passed on him.

[13] He helped guide the Cubs' pitching staff to a league-leading 14 shutouts and finish second in team earned run average and strikeouts.

[14][15] In the only postseason appearance of his career in the 1929 World Series against the Philadelphia Athletics, Taylor made only three hits but was cited as an unsung hero in a losing cause for the Cubs because of his consistent, unwavering defensive skills behind the plate.

In 1932, Cub manager Rogers Hornsby credited Taylor with helping develop the skills of Lon Warneke, as the young pitcher led the league with 22 wins.

[18][19] After being released by the Cubs in November 1933, Taylor appeared in four games for the Yankees in 1934 before ending his playing career as a player-coach with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1935.

[1] Taylor led National League catchers three times in range factor and in base runners caught stealing, twice in assists and once in fielding percentage.

[24] Taylor was the St. Louis manager who, upon orders from then-owner Bill Veeck, called on Eddie Gaedel to pinch hit during a game on August 19, 1951, against Bob Cain and the Detroit Tigers.