Russ Taylor (baseball broadcaster)

Russell Taylor (August 19, 1926 – August 19, 1977) was a Canadian Major League Baseball play-by-play broadcaster who worked alongside lead announcer Dave Van Horne on the Montreal Expos’ English-language radio network for the first eight years of the expansion team’s existence, 1969 through 1976. Taylor also was a notable sportscaster for Montreal’s CFCF radio and CFCF-TV television outlets. His daughter is actress and comedian Carolyn Taylor.

Taylor began his radio career with CFCF in 1948 as a control-room engineer. During the 1950s, he called play-by-play action—including studio recreations of road games—for the Montreal Royals of the International League, one of the Triple-A affiliates of the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers. When the Royals left Montreal after the 1960 season, the city and Taylor were bereft of professional baseball for eight years.