Lionel Taylor

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Lionel Taylor
Date of birth	August 15, 1935 (1935-08-15) (age 72)
Place of birth	Kansas City, Missouri, United States
Position(s)	Wide Receiver
College	New Mexico Highlands
Jersey Number	87
Career highlights
TSN All-AFL	1960, 1961
AFL All-Star	1960, 1961, 1962, 1965
Records	First to catch 100 passes in one season (14 games, 1961)
Stats
Statistics	Pro Football Reference DatabaseFootball
Teams
1959 1960-1966 1967, 1968	NFL Chicago Bears AFL Denver Broncos AFL Houston Oilers

Lionel Thomas Taylor (born August 15, 1935, in Kansas City, Missouri) was an American football wide receiver who led the American Football League (AFL) in receptions each year for the first six years of the league's existence.

[edit] College football

Taylor attended New Mexico Highlands University, where he had starred in basketball and track, earning all-conference wide receiver honors in 1956 and 1957.

[edit] Professional football

Taylor first played eight games with the Chicago Bears of the National Football League(NFL) before moving to the Denver Broncos of the AFL for the 1960 season. Second in all-time receptions (543) for the Denver Broncos and their all-time leading receiver in yardage (6,872), Taylor was the Broncos' team MVP in 1963, 1964 and 1965, and an AFL All-Star in 1960, 1961, 1962 and 1965.

Taylor was the first professional football receiver ever to make 100 catches in a single season, accomplishing the feat in only 14 games (1961). He had four seasons with over 1,000 yards receiving, and averaged 84.7 catches per year from 1960 to 1965, then the highest six-year total in professional football history. Taylor completed his career with the Houston Oilers in 1967 and 1968.

[edit] See also

• Other American Football League players

[edit] External links

• Lionel Taylor stats at Pro-Football-Reference.com
• Taylor's 1965 Topps football card