State Your Case: Lionel Taylor

Lionel Taylor was a special pass catcher.

But not special enough for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, apparently.

Taylor became the first receiver in pro football history to catch 90 passes in a single season in 1960 for the Denver Broncos, then became the first receiver to catch 100 passes in a season in 1961.

Taylor led the AFL in receiving in each of the league’s first four seasons (1960-63). The only other player to lead a league four consecutive times was Don Hutson, who led the NFL five years in a row from 1941-45 with the Green Bay Packers. Hutson was a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s inaugural class in 1963 and has been named to the NFL’s 50^th, 75^th and 100^th anniversary teams since then.

Taylor led the AFL in receiving a fifth time in 1965. Again, Hutson was the only receiver to claim more with eight such crowns. No other receiver in pro football history has won more than three receiving titles.

There are now 35 wide receivers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Taylor is not one of them. He isn’t even among the three AFL wide receivers in Canton.

Taylor didn’t have Joe Namath throwing to him like AFL Hall of Famer Don Maynard did. He didn’t have two Hall of Famers (George Blanda and Ken Stabler) and an AFL MVP (Daryle Lamonica) throwing to him like Hall of Famer Fred Biletnikoff did.

In his seven seasons with the Broncos, Taylor played with nine different starting quarterbacks – none of whom are in the Hall of Fame. Only one of them ever went to a Pro Bowl, Frank Tripucka in 1962. The instability at quarterback was a primary reason the Broncos struggled, winning only 26 of the 98 games Taylor played with Denver.

Taylor was slowed in his final season with the Broncos in 1966 with a knee injury and caught just 35 passes. Denver traded him to Oakland in the offseason but Taylor opted to retire – only to sign with the Houston Oilers in late October. That became the first winning season for Taylor. He caught 18 passes and scored a touchdown over the final eight games to help the Oilers reach the AFL title game with a 9-4-1 record.

But his 1968 season – and career – ended when Taylor underwent an appendectomy in November. Including his two years with the Oilers, Taylor played with 12 different starting quarterbacks in his nine seasons in the AFL. Yet when he retired, his 567 career receptions ranked fifth all-time. He was voted a first-team all-pro four times and went to three Pro Bowls.

Taylor went undrafted coming out of New Mexico Highlands in 1958 and played a season of semi-pro ball in California. He signed with the Chicago Bears in 1959 and suited up for eight games but did not catch a pass.

Taylor was released by the Bears in September 1960 and signed with the Broncos three games into the AFL’s inaugural season. He debuted with a six catch, 125-yard, one touchdown performance against the New York Titans – and went on to set a pro football single-season record with his 92 catches in only 12 games.

His greatest team successes in football, however, came as a coach. Taylor won two Super Bowl rings as a receivers coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970s and he went to a third Super Bowl as the receivers coach of the Los Angeles Rams in 1980. He received the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Award of Excellence for his coaching career in 2024.

The Broncos included Taylor in the inaugural class of their franchise’s Ring of Honor in 1984. He has since been enshrined in the New Mexico Highlands, Colorado and West Virginia halls of fame.

But Taylor continues to wait on the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He is now in his 53^rd year of eligibility without ever having his career discussed by the Hall’s selection committee as a finalist. Taylor and his career deserve better. He passed away last August at the age of 89.