Lionel Thomas Taylor (August 15, 1935 – August 6, 2025)
Played for: Chicago Bears (1959), Denver Broncos (1960–1966), Houston Oilers (1967–1968)
121 games, 567 receptions, 7,195 receiving yards, 12.7 yards per catch, 45 touchdowns
First-team All-All-AFL (1960–1962, 1965), Second-team All-AFL (1963), AFL All-Star (1961, 1962, 1965)
Lionel Taylor caught 567 passes in nine seasons for the greatest threat to the NFL, the American Football League. And yet, his name has been almost forgotten by the ones who write legacies for football players, particularly ones from his era and league. Born in Kansas City but raised in West Virginia, Lionel Taylor wound up attending college at New Mexico Highlands in 1955 that saw him excel in football, basketball and even track. He wasn't drafted by an NFL team, but the Bears had him sign a contract in 1958 and 1959, making the cut in the latter. Believe it or not, Lionel Taylor did all of his receptions in nine of his ten seasons. Yes, Taylor started playing pro football with the Bears in 1959, bur he recorded no statistics as basically a substitute end for the team before he found his real place with the upstart AFL and the Denver Broncos in 1960. It took a while to make his decision, which is how he played in just 12 of the 14 games for that year - but he was essentially electric from the start. In his first game as a Bronco on September 23, he caught six passes for 125 yards with a touchdown; in an event soon familiar to Taylor in Denver, the Broncos lost 28-24. In twelve games, Taylor had four games with at least 10 receptions, and he recorded seven 100-yard games, even getting one yard short of a 200 game against Buffalo on November 27 (as it turned out, his 199-yard game was his career high). In the final game of the year (a loss to Oakland), he finished the season out with four catches to get his total to 92 receptions on the year for 1,235 yards and 12 touchdowns. With 92 receptions, Taylor set a pro football record, topping Tom Fears' mark of 84 in 1950.
1961 was even more interesting. With a 14-game slate all ready to go for Taylor to catch passes from Frank Tripucka, Taylor caught many and the Broncos lost plenty, with the Broncos being bad enough that Taylor didn't record a touchdown catch after Week 5. With Denver at 3-10 in the final game of the year, Taylor had caught 95 passes for over 1,000 yards. Even though the Broncos were walloped on that day by the Dallas Texans, Taylor's fifth and final reception of the day handed him a historic achievement. He caught 100 passes for 1,176 yards for 4 touchdowns to become the first 100-reception man. For reference, the NFL, a league that had receivers such as Bobby Mitchell and Charley Taylor dominate the books for the 1960s...had the peak of the decade come from Johnny Morris (93, in 1964). While Taylor's record for a season was passed by Charlie Hennigan in 1964, it should be noted no NFL receiver recorded 100 receptions in a season until 1984 with Art Monk. Taylor did not reach 90 catches again, but he continued to dominate the league in receptions, leading the league in 1962 (77), 1963, (78) and 1965 (85). To cherry pick a bit (this is my HOF), let's say you like to see a receiver catch 75 passes a season. From 1920 to 1968, Taylor had *six seasons with that number* while the nine other receivers to ever do it in NFL history...combined for 11 total 75-reception seasons. Nowadays, 35 other receivers have 6+ 75-reception seasons, but Taylor was still #1 as late as 1993, over 20 years after he retired.
For the timespan of 1960 to 1965, he caught 508 passes in 82 games for 43 touchdowns while becoming only the second player to lead a league in catches five times (for reference, only Don Hutson did it more with 8 and no player has even gotten to 4 in the past 60 years). 1966 saw Taylor hurt his knee in training camp in what ended up being the beginning of the end of his career. He caught 35 passes for 448 yards in what was his final season with Denver; in the seven seasons he played there, the team went 26-69-3 while having ten different quarterbacks start games in seven years: Frank Tripucka, George Herring, George Shaw, Mickey Slaughter, John McCormick, Don Breaux, Jacky Lee, Max Choboian, and Scotty Glacken. He was traded to the Oakland Raiders in late 1967; he had decided to retire from the game and never played for Oakland. However, he arose in October to make appearances for the Houston Oilers, playing eight games and catching 18 passes for 233 yards (his one touchdown that year, against Denver on November 12, ended up being his last TD). Because the Oilers won the Eastern Division title, Taylor played in his first and only playoff game against Oakland: it did not go well, with Taylor catching one pass for 6 yards in the 40-7 loss as Oakland reached Super Bowl II. After catching six total passes in 1968, Taylor retired for good.
In closing: After his football career ended, Taylor was a coach for a variety of teams, most notably serving as the wide receivers coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers (1970-1976) and Los Angeles Rams (1977-1981 - his two final years saw him add offensive coordinator duties) to go along with head coach of Texas Southern (1984-1988) and head coach / offensive coordinator in the World League (1995-1998). He coached in three Super Bowls (IX, X, XIV) and won two Super Bowl rings with the Steelers. In 2024, he was awarded the Pro Football Hall of Fame Award of Excellence; Tony Dungy labeled Taylor as a role model: "We all need role models in life, and fortunately, there was a Lionel Taylor there that I could look at and say, 'Yeah, this is possible. "I came in the league with Herm Edwards and Ray Rhodes, and we all became head coaches. It would not have happened without Lionel Taylor."
At the end of 1965, only three men had 500 receptions: Raymond Berry, Taylor, and Billy Howton (a tale for another time) [as seen here]; nowadays, 184 people are part of the club. When Taylor retired, he had the most receptions for any player to play 10 seasons or less in all of NFL history (as seen here, he has since been passed by just 14 players, the first being Sterling Sharpe). And yet, Taylor was never a HOF finalist (as seen here). Taylor recorded more receptions than receivers such as Bobby Mitchell but couldn't even make a HOF vote. The Excellence award was one thing, but Taylor deserved more than just being a member of the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame. So, would I recommend Lionel Taylor for the Pro Football Hall of Fame? Of course I would.
On behalf of the Unsung Hall of Fame, it is my privilege to welcome Lionel Taylor as part of the Unsung Hall of Fame.NotesAs always, enjoy a link: Remember the AFLImage credit: NEA, 1965: https://newspaperarchive.com/helena-independent-record-dec-12-1965-p-11/
1961 was even more interesting. With a 14-game slate all ready to go for Taylor to catch passes from Frank Tripucka, Taylor caught many and the Broncos lost plenty, with the Broncos being bad enough that Taylor didn't record a touchdown catch after Week 5. With Denver at 3-10 in the final game of the year, Taylor had caught 95 passes for over 1,000 yards. Even though the Broncos were walloped on that day by the Dallas Texans, Taylor's fifth and final reception of the day handed him a historic achievement. He caught 100 passes for 1,176 yards for 4 touchdowns to become the first 100-reception man. For reference, the NFL, a league that had receivers such as Bobby Mitchell and Charley Taylor dominate the books for the 1960s...had the peak of the decade come from Johnny Morris (93, in 1964). While Taylor's record for a season was passed by Charlie Hennigan in 1964, it should be noted no NFL receiver recorded 100 receptions in a season until 1984 with Art Monk. Taylor did not reach 90 catches again, but he continued to dominate the league in receptions, leading the league in 1962 (77), 1963, (78) and 1965 (85). To cherry pick a bit (this is my HOF), let's say you like to see a receiver catch 75 passes a season. From 1920 to 1968, Taylor had *six seasons with that number* while the nine other receivers to ever do it in NFL history...combined for 11 total 75-reception seasons. Nowadays, 35 other receivers have 6+ 75-reception seasons, but Taylor was still #1 as late as 1993, over 20 years after he retired.
For the timespan of 1960 to 1965, he caught 508 passes in 82 games for 43 touchdowns while becoming only the second player to lead a league in catches five times (for reference, only Don Hutson did it more with 8 and no player has even gotten to 4 in the past 60 years). 1966 saw Taylor hurt his knee in training camp in what ended up being the beginning of the end of his career. He caught 35 passes for 448 yards in what was his final season with Denver; in the seven seasons he played there, the team went 26-69-3 while having ten different quarterbacks start games in seven years: Frank Tripucka, George Herring, George Shaw, Mickey Slaughter, John McCormick, Don Breaux, Jacky Lee, Max Choboian, and Scotty Glacken. He was traded to the Oakland Raiders in late 1967; he had decided to retire from the game and never played for Oakland. However, he arose in October to make appearances for the Houston Oilers, playing eight games and catching 18 passes for 233 yards (his one touchdown that year, against Denver on November 12, ended up being his last TD). Because the Oilers won the Eastern Division title, Taylor played in his first and only playoff game against Oakland: it did not go well, with Taylor catching one pass for 6 yards in the 40-7 loss as Oakland reached Super Bowl II. After catching six total passes in 1968, Taylor retired for good.
In closing: After his football career ended, Taylor was a coach for a variety of teams, most notably serving as the wide receivers coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers (1970-1976) and Los Angeles Rams (1977-1981 - his two final years saw him add offensive coordinator duties) to go along with head coach of Texas Southern (1984-1988) and head coach / offensive coordinator in the World League (1995-1998). He coached in three Super Bowls (IX, X, XIV) and won two Super Bowl rings with the Steelers. In 2024, he was awarded the Pro Football Hall of Fame Award of Excellence; Tony Dungy labeled Taylor as a role model: "We all need role models in life, and fortunately, there was a Lionel Taylor there that I could look at and say, 'Yeah, this is possible. "I came in the league with Herm Edwards and Ray Rhodes, and we all became head coaches. It would not have happened without Lionel Taylor."
At the end of 1965, only three men had 500 receptions: Raymond Berry, Taylor, and Billy Howton (a tale for another time) [as seen here]; nowadays, 184 people are part of the club. When Taylor retired, he had the most receptions for any player to play 10 seasons or less in all of NFL history (as seen here, he has since been passed by just 14 players, the first being Sterling Sharpe). And yet, Taylor was never a HOF finalist (as seen here). Taylor recorded more receptions than receivers such as Bobby Mitchell but couldn't even make a HOF vote. The Excellence award was one thing, but Taylor deserved more than just being a member of the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame. So, would I recommend Lionel Taylor for the Pro Football Hall of Fame? Of course I would.
On behalf of the Unsung Hall of Fame, it is my privilege to welcome Lionel Taylor as part of the Unsung Hall of Fame.
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