Charles Robert Taylor is a former
American footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
wide receiverA wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
in the
National Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
for the
Washington RedskinsThe Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
. Taylor was inducted into the
Pro Football Hall of FameThe Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
in 1984.
During his tenure with the Redskins they reached the
Super BowlThe Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
in 1973, (
Super Bowl VIISuper Bowl VII was an American football game played on January 14, 1973, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California, to decide the National Football League champion following the 1972 regular season...
), after the 1972 season. They also made the playoffs four other times in the 1970s.
Early life
Taylor was born in
Grand Prairie, TexasGrand Prairie is a city in Dallas, Ellis, and Tarrant counties in the U.S. state of Texas and is a part of the Mid-Cities region in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Grand Prairie is a suburb of both Dallas and Fort Worth and had a population of 175,396 at the 2010 census.- History :The city of...
was the second of seven children—four girls and three boys. He was raised by his mother Myrtle and step father James Stevenson. Myrtle was a domestic, a chef, a butcher, and an owner of a restaurant and Stevenson constructed parts for airplanes.
Taylor started playing sports while in junior high school and by the eighth grade he was playing football, baseball, basketball and competing in track.
High school career
Taylor attended and played
high school footballHigh school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
at Dalworth High School (the former segregated black high school, now an elementary school by the name of David Daniels. Dalworth High students moved to Grand Prairie High School). He also ran the high hurdles, threw the discus and shot put, and competed in the long jump for the track team. The school did not have a baseball team, but Taylor played baseball in a summer league. He was named All-State in track and football.
College career
Taylor attended and played
college footballCollege football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at
Arizona State UniversityArizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
as a
halfbackA halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...
and
defensive backIn American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...
. He was selected as an
All-AmericaAn All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n two years in a row and was also selected to the All-
Western Athletic ConferenceThe Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...
team. Following his final season, he played in the
East-West Shrine GameThe East–West Shrine Game is an annual post-season college football all-star game played each January since 1925. The game is sponsored by the fraternal group Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and the net proceeds are earmarked to some of the Shrine's charitable works, most notably the Shriners...
, the
Hula BowlThe Hula Bowl was an independently administered post-season invitational college football game held each year in Hawaii from 1947 to 2008. The game was last played at Aloha Stadium in the Hālawa district of Honolulu, Hawaii. At one point the longest-running sporting event in Hawaii, it had been...
, and the
All-American BowlThe All-American Bowl was an annual postseason college football bowl game played at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama from 1977 to 1990. The game was known as the Hall of Fame Classic from 1977 to 1985....
. He also played in the
College All-Star GameThe Chicago Charities College All-Star Game was a preseason American football game played annually from 1934 to 1976 between the National Football League champions and a team of star college seniors from the previous year...
against the
Chicago BearsThe Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and was named the
Most Valuable PlayerIn sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
of the game. Taylor also pitched and played third base for the school’s baseball team. However, during baseball practice, he was hit on a knee by a line drive, which ended his baseball career.
Taylor was inducted into the Arizona State Sports Hall of Fame as a charter member in 1975.
Professional career
Taylor was
draftedThe National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
in the first round (third overall) of the
1964 NFL DraftThe 1964 National Football League Draft took place on December 2, 1963.-Player selections:-Round one:* HOF Member of the Professional Football Hall of Fame-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:...
by the
Washington RedskinsThe Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
. He won the
UPI NFL-NFC Rookie of the YearFrom 1955 - 1996 The United Press International gave out two annual Rookie of the Year Awards to NFL-NFC American football players and AFL-AFC American football players.-NFL Rookies of the Year:-NFC Rookies of the Year:-See also:...
award as a
running backA running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
and became the first rookie in 20 years to finish in the NFL's top 10 in both rushing (sixth with 755 yards) and receiving (eight with 53 catches for 814 yards). His 53 receptions were a record for running backs at that time.
Although known as a successful running back, Taylor was switched to
wide receiverA wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
in
1966The 1966 NFL season was the 47th regular season of the National Football League, and the season after which was played Super Bowl I, though it was called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game. The league expanded to 15 teams with the addition of the Atlanta Falcons, thus an odd number of teams...
and led the NFL in receiving in both 1966 and
1967The 1967 NFL season was the 48th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 16 teams with the addition of the New Orleans Saints. The league's teams were realigned into four divisions: the Capitol and Century Divisions in the Eastern Conference, and the Central and...
. He would play that position for the rest of his career and had a record-tying seven seasons with 50 or more receptions. On December 21, 1975, Taylor became the NFL's all-time receptions leader with his 634th career catch in the season finale against the
Philadelphia EaglesThe Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
Taylor retired after the
1977 seasonThe 1977 NFL season was the 58th regular season of the National Football League. The Seattle Seahawks were placed in the AFC West while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were slotted in the NFC Central....
as the NFL's all time leading receiver with 649 receptions for 9,110 yards and 79 touchdowns. With 1,488 yards rushing and some kick return yardage, he totaled 10,803 combined net yards. With 11 rushing touchdowns and 79 on receptions, Taylor scored 540 points in his career. He earned first- or second-team All-NFL honors six times and was selected to play in eight
Pro BowlIn professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
s.
Taylor was inducted into the
Pro Football Hall of FameThe Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
in 1984 and was selected as one of the 70 Greatest Redskins of all time. In 1999, he was ranked number 85 on
The Sporting NewsSporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.
Coaching career
After retiring, Taylor was hired to work in the front office with
Bobby MitchellRobert Cornelius Mitchell is a former American football halfback and flanker in the National Football League for the Cleveland Browns and the Washington Redskins. Mitchell was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983.-Early life:Mitchell was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas and attended...
as a scout. When
Joe GibbsJoe Jackson Gibbs is a former American football coach, NASCAR Championship team owner, and two time NHRA Pro Stock team owner. He was the 20th and 26th head coach in the history of the Washington Redskins...
became
head coachA head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
of the Redskins in
1981The 1981 NFL season was the 62nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XVI when the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals.-Major rule changes:...
, he selected Taylor to be the team's receiver coach. He served in that position from 1981 through
1994The 1994 NFL season was the 75th regular season of the National Football League. To honor the NFL's 75th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season...
, when he was fired after
Norv TurnerNorval Eugene Turner is the head coach for the National Football League's San Diego Chargers. He also has served as head coach of the Washington Redskins and the Oakland Raiders, and as offensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins, and San Francisco 49ers...
became the new
head coachA head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
.
After football
After he left coaching, Taylor worked for Jerry’s Ford in the
Washington Metropolitan AreaThe Washington Metropolitan Area is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The area includes all of the federal district and parts of the U.S...
and sold boats for Fountain Boats in
Annapolis, MarylandAnnapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
. He now does speaking engagements and serves as a consultant to the Redskins. In addition, the Charley Taylor Recreation Center in his native Grand Prairie, Texas has his namesake.
Personal
Taylor and his wife Patricia have been married since 1965. They have three children, Elizabeth, Erica, and Charles, Jr., and three grandchildren, Nathan, Jordyn, and Robin. Taylor and his wife live in Reston, Virginia.
External links