A local icon and former Major League Baseball player has passed away. Robert “Hawk” Taylor grew up in Metropolis, Illinois.
And shortly after graduating from Metropolis Community High School, he signed with the Milwaukee Braves for $6,000 dollars a year, the richest rookie deal ever at the time. Taylor’s career spanned thirteen years and five MLB teams. Shortly after retiring, he came to Murray State to get a Master’s Degree, and worked as an assistant coach under Johnny Reagan. The Paducah Sun reports Taylor died Saturday at Western Baptist Hospital in Paducah at the age of 73.