Legendary Broncos Star Dead At 89

Legendary Broncos wide receiver Lionel Taylor died at 89 last week, leaving behind a legacy that includes two Super Bowl rings and a stint as one of the first African-American coaches in professional football.

Taylor passed on Aug. 6, according to the Denver Broncos, which called him the “most dominant player of his era.”

“An original Bronco and one of the most dominant players of his era, Taylor had a tremendous impact on the franchise during his seven seasons in Denver (1960-66),” the Broncos said in an announcement.

“Our hearts go out to Taylor’s family and friends.”

Over seven seasons, Taylor compiled unprecedented stats between 1959 and 1968, the earliest years of the AFL. He held the all-time team records of 543 receptions and 6,872 receiving yards for 30 years.

He became the first wide receiver in either AFL or NFL history to collect 100 receptions in a single season.

In 1984, Taylor was one of four initial alums inducted into the Broncos Ring of Fame.

After retiring from play, Taylor returned to the gridiron as a coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers, picking up two Super Bowl championships in the 1970s. Lynn Swann and John Stallworth were among the legendary players who counted Taylor as their wide receiver coach and offensive coordinator during that time, Fox News reported.

“One thing you can’t do: you can’t coach the way you played,” Taylor said about his style of coaching in a recent interview.

“I wanted people to say, ‘Lionel didn’t loaf.’”

Taylor’s health troubles began last December when he was admitted to the hospital for a urinary tract infection. He spent 69 days there before being discharged. However, his health worsened in July, and he was admitted to hospice, where he stayed several weeks before his death.

Born Aug. 15, 1935, Lionel Thomas Taylor grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. He was a three-sport athlete at New Mexico Highlands University, excelling in basketball and track as well as winning awards as the school’s wide receiver.

Taylor entered the 1959 NFL draft as an unsigned agent, first picking up a spot as a linebacker for the Chicago Bears. There, he played eight games before moving to the Broncos and AFL, returning to his natural position as an award-winning wide receiver for the team.

He broke barriers as one of the first African-American coaches in professional football, a fact alluded to by former Bucs coach Tony Dungy during his induction into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2016.

“Finally, I’d like to say a special thank you to 10 men — Willie Brown, Buck Buchanan, Earnel Durden, Bob Ledbetter, Elijah Pitts, Jimmy Raye, Johnny Roland, Al Tabor, Lionel Taylor, and Allan Webb,” Dungy said during his induction speech.

“Now those names might not be familiar to you, but those were the African-American assistant coaches in the NFL in 1977, my first year in the league. It was a small group of men, just 10 of them, if you can believe that, 10 African-American assistant coaches in the entire NFL. Many of them never got the chance to move up the coaching ladder like I did, but they were so important to the progress of this league.”