Boston Red Sox stock certificate Issued in 1911 Boston American League Base=Ball Club (The Red Sox.) It is certificate #26 for one share at $100 per, issued to John Turner and signed by team owner John Irving Taylor, president and its Treasurer, Hugh McBreen. 

John Irving Taylor (January 14, 1875 – January 26, 1938) was an American baseball executive. He was principal owner of the Boston Red Sox from 1904 until 1911 and remained a part owner until 1914.

John Irving Taylor was born on January 14, 1875, in Somerville, Massachusetts, outside Boston. He was the third and youngest son of Charles Henry Taylor and Georgiana Olivia Davis. He had two brothers (William and Charles) and two sisters (Elizabeth and Grace). His father was a Civil War veteran and joined the Boston Globe as a temporary business manager in 1873 at the age of 27. Taylor eventually became the paper’s publisher and ultimately created a profitable, large-circulation newspaper. His descendants were publishers or presidents of the Globe until the paper was sold in 1999.

Taylor was the son of Charles H. Taylor, publisher of The Boston Globe; a brother, William O. Taylor, would later succeed their father as publisher. John, William, and a third brother, Charles Jr., all worked for the Globe,[1] although John's tenure was limited to several years after high school.

Taylor purchased the Red Sox from Henry Killilea on April 19, 1904, with his father Charles serving as a minority owner. In September 1911, the Taylors sold half of the stock in the team to Jimmy McAleer and Robert B. McRoy, with McAleer taking over as team president. During this time, the Red Sox won the 1912 World Series. On December 21, 1913, Joseph Lannin, Frank P. Cooper, and John R. Turner purchased McAleer and McRoy's half of the team with Lannin becoming team president. On May 15, 1914, Lannin bought out all of his partners and became sole owner of the Red Sox.

In 1908, Hugh McBreen served as Secretary and Treasurer for the Boston ballclub, a position he held from 1906 to 1911. Prior to that he had been Boston's Assistant Business Manager

Old Photo postcard shown for illustrative purposes.

History from RM Smythe.