Bill and Katey Taylor Continue Family's Giving Legacy

By Paul Danzer

At first blush, it might seem odd that a graduate of Rex Putnam High School in Milwaukie is a significant champion of the Portland Interscholastic League Hall of Fame. But chat with Bill Taylor for only a few moments and the connection between Taylor’s mission and that of the hall of fame's becomes clear.

“I want my support to go to every kid who wants to play sports,” Taylor says. “I don't want any kid to have to say, ‘Coach, I can't afford to play.’”

Through the Harold and Margaret Taylor Foundation, established by Taylor’s parents and now managed by Bill and his wife Katey, the Taylor family has supported young people throughout Oregon for more than 60 years. Supporting the PIL Hall of Fame is one of the many ways they do that.

While the Hall of Fame’s mission to support sports in Portland Public Schools certainly aligns with the Taylor Foundation’s funding priorities, it was some personal connections that led Bill and Katey to become such ardent benefactors of the organization.

In the 1970s, PIL Hall of Fame member Bill Ranta, a 1965 Benson High graduate who coached baseball at his alma mater for 17 seasons, played on city league teams that Harold Taylor sponsored. Three-plus decades later, Ranta and Harold’s son, Bill, struck up a friendship when their mothers were neighbors in a local retirement community. That eventually led to Ranta soliciting Bill’s support for the PIL Hall of Fame’s major annual fund-raiser.

“I suggested he could help with the Mel Krause Memorial Golf Tournament, and he’s done that very generously,” says Ranta, adding that the fact Krause and Harold Taylor had been good friends provided some extra incentive for Bill to help out.

Sports have always played an integral part in Taylor’s life. His father founded Taylor Electric in Milwaukie in 1959 and built the company into what Bill calls “the largest single-house independent electrical distributor in the United States” before selling it in 1997. Soon after founding his company, Harold was supporting youth baseball in the Milwaukie neighborhoods around Rex Putnam.

In addition to coaching Bill’s youth teams, Harold started sponsoring a summer city league baseball team for Rex Putnam players. Later, team rosters expanded to include players from Wilson High and Portland State. Harold also sponsored Portland Lobos semi-pro teams that won multiple Casey Stengel League World Series titles in the early 1970s.

PIL Hall of Famer Jeff Dunn remembers Taylor stepping up in 1983 when the city league baseball team he played for lost its sponsor just as their season began — and after new uniforms had already been purchased.

“I reached out to Harold and explained our predicament and, without hesitation, he pressed the intercom button on his desk and told his secretary, ‘Please write a check to sponsor Taylor Electric baseball in the Portland City League,’” Dunn remembers. “Players’ wives helped us remove the stitching from the old sponsor, and we became Taylor Electric. Harold and Bill continued to sponsor us for years and were avid fans as well. They'd come to many games and never missed celebrating City League championships.”

Harold Taylor’s support for local baseball has made a lasting impression on Ranta, as has watching his friend continue his father’s legacy. Harold died in 1999 at the age of 88, and Margaret passed in 2006. But through the Harold and Margaret Taylor Foundation, Bill and Katey have continued the family’s support for youth sports in Oregon.

Another example of this is their support of an initiative to rejuvenate baseball at Jefferson High and in North and Northeast Portland, a project that includes an indoor training facility built by Dave Gunderson and his Hopscotch Foundation. Called Extra Innings PDX, the facility is part of a project established in 2024 to provide baseball and softball programs at no cost for underserved youth in North and Northeast Portland.

Gunderson says Bill Taylor’s support has been instrumental in the growth of Extra Innings PDX, which he anticipates will serve some 300 kids in 2026.

“Most of the families and kids we work with are able to participate only because of people like Bill, who’s one of our biggest supporters,” Gunderson says. “Baseball and softball have become very expensive sports over the last 20 years -- way too expensive for most of the families we work with. Our goal is to remove that cost barrier to entry, and Bill's generosity has helped us do that.”

Explaining his support for the PIL Hall of Fame, Bill points to the uniqueness of the organization and strength of its leadership.

“It's one of the only high school hall of fame athletic programs in the country, if not the only one,” he says. “I’d just like to see all the good the organization does continue.”

PIL Hall of Fame president and member John Dunn, who also played on Taylor Electric semipro teams in the 1970s, says Bill’s philanthropy has been instrumental in helping the PIL Hall of Fame fulfill its mission to support current PIL student-athletes.

“His contributions help offset participation fees, purchase athletic equipment and fund facility upgrades, ensuring our future leaders have the resources they need to succeed,” Dunn says.

For their foundation’s contributions to the PIL Hall of Fame, Bill and Katey were honored in 2025 with the organization’s Roy Love Distinguished Service Award.

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As a nonprofit organization, the PIL Hall of Fame relies on fund-raising events and the generosity of donors to continue our mission of supporting youth sports programs in Portland schools. More information about donating to our organization or sponsoring one of our events can be found here.

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