Bio

Our dad, Ralph “Bouncer” Taylor was born October 2, 1905 in Toronto, Canada. He was a professional ice hockey player who played for 13 seasons. He played for the Chicago Black Hawks in the organization’s second year in the NHL and he played for the New York Rangers of the NHL in the late 1920’s. His career also included seasons in the IHL and the AHL. His final professional team was as a player-coach for the St. Louis Flyers of the AHL.

After coaching in the 1939 season, dad did the color for the Flyers’ games. It was in the St. Louis area where dad bought a home and raised his five children.

Dad’s greatest contribution in life were twofold: his love for our mom, Ann Hayes, his partner for 37 years before Dad succumbed to cancer in 1976; and his passion for engaging young men in athletics.

In the late 1940’s, Richmond Heights, a small suburb west of St. Louis, seized upon Dad’s sports credentials and asked him to organize and lead a boy’s baseball league. With his connection to the sports world and his work with various sports equipment companies he was able to equip eight teams in 1950. In 1952, Dad noticed a significant gap in who got to play. So, he added enough new teams to include the suburb’s black kids.

In 1957, Steinberg skating rink opened in Forest Park. Dad became manager of the professional skate shop, selling and renting skates to a growing number of outdoor ice-skating fans. Within a few years, dad co-founded the Missouri Amateur Hockey Association (along with other retired hockey pros: Shrimp McPherson and Jim McKeever). Thus, dad fulfilled a life-long dream of teaching hockey to kids and seeing the game become a defining presence in the sports life of his adopted community.

Today, Dad’s great-great-granddaughter, Payton Adams, continues his legacy. Payton is the starting goalie for an allboys hockey team, the Meramec Sharks.

Dad died on July 3, 1976. Our family jokes about the timing of his passing. Being a native Canadian, Dad was a committed member of the British empire. He made sure that we understood that Washington was ‘really a traitor’. Needless to say, our understanding of history was a bit confused. But Dad’s death on that date spoke volumes to us. Dad was not going to celebrate the Bicentennial!

God bless you dad!