Ever since day on in the history of the National Hockey League, teams and coaches have been looking for physical defensemen.
In that regard Ralph Taylor's reputation preceded him. Off the ice he was said to be a soft spoken man but at the rink his unceremonious nickname reflected his play - Bouncer.
Now this Bouncer was not overly big. He stood five-foot-nine and weighed 180 pounds, which as an average size for hockey back in the 1920s. His penalty minute totals were, shall we say, healthy. In 99 career NHL games he spent 165 minutes in the penalty box.
Taylor may have played 99 games in the National Hockey League (scoring four goals and five points) with the Chicago Black Hawks and New York Rangers in the late 1920s and early 1930s, but the Toronto native was better known in the state of Missouri.
Following his NHL days Taylor had a long tenure in the minor leagues in both Kansas City and St. Louis. After leaving the professional game as a skater he devoted himself to coaching and developing hockey in the St. Louis area at all levels - professional, junior, amateur and youth. As a coach he was said to be almost too nice, and stress passing and team work.
Taylor also worked off and on at a local sporting goods store. He also worked radio broadcasts of the old St. Louis Flyers games when he was not coaching them.
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In October of 1941 Taylor also did something highly unusual: he was asked to play goalie for the AHL St. Louis Flyers even though he was also scheduled to announce the game. The regular goalie for the Flyers was stabbed the night before in Kansas City. So, Taylor, who was the Flyers practice goalie was asked to be the goalie. He held the opposition (Minneapolis Millers) to a single goal scored toward the last few minutes of the game.
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