 A nephew of former major league first baseman Ben Taylor, Hawk Taylor was a schoolboy sensation at Metropolis Community High School, where he batted .650 in 1957, his senior season.The Braves signed him to a $119,000 bonus contract, the highest in MLB history at the time.The bonus rules then in force in baseball mandated that Taylor spend his first two pro seasons on the Braves' big-league roster, and he made his major league debut in June at the age of 18, appearing in seven games—almost exclusively as a pinch runner or pinch hitter