Charley Taylor


Charles Robert Taylor is a former American football wide receiver who played 14 seasons with the Washington Redskins of the National Football League. He was drafted by them in the first round of the 1964 NFL Draft. With Taylor, the Redskins made the playoffs five times and reached the Super Bowl once, after the 1972 season. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1984.

Early life

Born in Grand Prairie, Texas, Taylor was the second of seven children—four girls and three boys. He was raised by his mother Myrtle and step father James Stevenson. Myrtle was a domestic, a chef, a butcher, and an owner of a restaurant and Stevenson constructed parts for airplanes.
Taylor started playing sports while in junior high school and by the eighth grade he was playing football, baseball, basketball and competing in track.

High school career

Taylor played high school football at Dalworth High School. He also ran the high hurdles, threw the discus and shot put, and competed in the long jump for the track team. The school did not have a baseball team, but Taylor played baseball in a summer league. He was named All-State in track and football.

College career

Taylor played college football at Arizona State University in Tempe as a halfback and defensive back. He was selected as an All-American two years in a row and was also selected to the All-Western Athletic Conference team. Following his final season, Taylor played in the East-West Shrine Game, the Hula Bowl, and the All-American Bowl. He also played in the College All-Star Game against the Chicago Bears in August 1964 and was named the Most Valuable Player of the game. In his three seasons at ASU, Taylor gained 1,995 yards from scrimmage and averaged 5.7 yards per carry, while also scoring 25 touchdowns.
Taylor also pitched and played third base for the Sun Devils baseball team. However, during baseball practice, he was hit on a knee by a line drive, which ended his baseball career.
Taylor was inducted into the Arizona State Sports Hall of Fame as a charter member in 1975.

Professional career

Taylor was selected by the Washington Redskins as the third overall pick of the 1964 NFL Draft. He was also selected in the AFL draft, taken ninth by the Houston Oilers. Taylor signed with Washington and won the UPI rookie of the year award as a running back, and became the first rookie in 20 years to finish in the NFL's top 10 in both rushing and receiving. His 53 receptions were a record for running backs at that time.
Although known as a successful running back, Taylor was switched to wide receiver in 1966 and led the NFL in receiving in both 1966 and 1967. He played that position for the rest of his career and had a record-tying seven seasons with 50 or more receptions. In the season finale in 1975, Taylor passed Don Maynard and became the NFL's all-time receptions leader with his 634th career catch on December 21 against the Philadelphia Eagles. Following Maynard's retirement in 1973, Taylor was the league's active leader in receiving yards for four seasons. He began 1974 with 7,470 yards, then 11th all-time, and climbed up to 4th.
Taylor retired following the 1977 season as the NFL's all-time leading receiver with 649 receptions, for 9,110 yards and 79 touchdowns. With 1,488 yards rushing and some kick return yardage, he totaled 10,803 combined net yards. With 11 rushing touchdowns and 79 on receptions, Taylor scored 540 points in his career. He earned first- or second-team All-NFL honors six times and was selected to play in eight Pro Bowls.
Taylor was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1984 and was selected as one of the 70 Greatest Redskins of all time. In 1999, he was ranked number 85 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.

Coaching career

After retiring, Taylor was hired to work in the Redskins' front office with Bobby Mitchell as a scout. When Joe Gibbs became head coach in 1981, he selected Taylor to be the receivers coach. He served on the coaching staff through 1993 under Richie Petitbon, but was not retained by new head coach Norv Turner in March 1994, ending three decades with the franchise.

Personal life

Taylor and his wife Patricia have been married since 1965. Taylor lives in Falcons Landing in Potomac Falls, VA. They have three children, Elizabeth, Erica, and Charles, Jr., and three grandchildren, Robyn, Jordyn, and Nathan. He does speaking engagements and serves as a consultant to the Redskins.