Lionel Taylor, the first wide receiver in the National or American Football League to catch 100 passes in a season, died on Aug. 6 at his home in Rio Rancho, N.M. He was 89.
His daughter Bunny Taylor confirmed the death.
Taylor was not only an elite receiver in the upstart A.F.L.; he was also the wide receivers coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970s during the team’s first two Super Bowl championships and became the N.F.L.’s first Black coordinator, when he took over running the offense of the Los Angeles Rams in 1980.
Taylor joined the Denver Broncos of the A.F.L. in 1960, the new league’s inaugural season, and quickly became one of its biggest stars. He led the A.F.L. in receptions with 92, gaining 1,235 yards and scoring 12 touchdowns.
The next season, Taylor caught his 100th pass late in the last game of the season, a 49-21 loss to the Dallas Texans (later the Kansas City Chiefs). Although the catch set a record, not much was made of it in the news media or by the team.
“I didn’t see it in my paycheck,” he told The Denver Gazette in 2023. “Let’s put it that way.”
Charlie Hennigan of the Houston Oilers broke Taylor’s single-season reception mark with 101 in 1964; the record is now held by Michael Thomas, who caught 149 passes for the New Orleans Saints in 2019.
Taylor played for several coaches in Denver and caught passes from numerous quarterbacks, including Frank Tripucka, who started from 1960 to 1962, but he never had a winning season.
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The post Lionel Taylor, Elite Receiver in A.F.L.’s Early Days, Dies at 89 appeared first on New York Times.
