Lionel Taylor, a member of the inaugural Denver Broncos who was among the best wide receivers in the American Football League in the 1960s, has died. He was 89.
The Broncos confirmed Taylor’s death on Wednesday. He was among the four initial inductees into the team’s Ring of Fame in 1984, and was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 1970.
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A three-time American Football League all-star, Taylor led the AFL in receiving in five of the league’s first six seasons.
In his second career act, Taylor won two Super Bowl rings with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970s during his seven-year stint as the team’s wide receivers coach. He also served as receivers coach for the Rams from 1977-79 and as their offensive coordinator from 1980-81 — making him the first Black coordinator in NFL history.
Taylor also served as the receivers coach at Oregon State from 1982-83 and as Texas Southern’s head coach from 1984-88. He later worked as the Cleveland Browns’ tight ends coach and as head coach of NFL Europe’s London/England Monarchs.
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In a 1985, in an interview with the Washington Post, Taylor reflected on the challenges he faced rising the coaching ranks after serving as the Rams’ offensive coordinator.
“I hate to separate them by blacks and whites,” Taylor said, “but how many (white) head coaches have failed in the NFL and then get hired as a head coach somewhere else in the league?”
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Taylor’s legacy as a player will be how longtime Broncos fans remember him best. Although he first latched on with the NFL‘s Chicago Bears in 1959, Taylor rose to fame in the rival AFL with the Broncos. In 1961, he became the first player in pro football history to record 100 receptions in a single season.
Taylor retired as Denver’s career leader in pass receptions (543), receiving yards (6,872), and touchdown catches (44).
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“This was a guy [who had] hands like vice grips,” AFL historian and author Dave Steidel said, according to the Broncos. “If a pass was near him, he was getting it. He caught double-digit passes [per game]. Nobody was catching 10, 11, 12 in a game back then in either league.”
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