Tappe was a native and lifelong resident of Quincy, Illinois, where he attended high school and Quincy University. His professional baseball career began in 1947 with an unaffiliated team in the Class C Lone Star League. In 1950, he was acquired by the New York Yankees\' organization and then drafted by the Cubs two seasons later. Listed as 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and 180 pounds (82 kg), he threw and batted right-handed.\n', '

Tappe made his major league debut on April 24, 1954, as a late-inning defensive replacement for Chicago catcher Joe Garagiola, and would appear in 145 games for the Cubs over all or parts of six seasons during the next nine years. Described as a "weak hitter, without power," he collected only 63 hits (including ten doubles) and batted .207 with 17 runs batted in during his MLB tenure. However, he would prove valuable to the Cubs as the author of their organization-wide instruction manual, and as a "motivator with an enthusiastic attitude" whose "strength was in the development of pitchers and catchers".\n', '

Tappe became a coach with Cubs in 1959 and after two years in that post, he assumed his influential role in the development of the "College of Coaches" after the 1960 season.\n', '

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