Broncos Ring of Famer Lionel Taylor, star of team’s early years, dies at 89

Broncos legend Lionel Taylor, a wide receiver who set franchise pass-catching standards that endured for over 30 years after his retirement from the playing field, died Aug. 6 at the age of 89.

The club announced his passing Wednesday.

A first-year Bronco who was a part of the 1960 team and remained with the club through the 1966 season, Taylor amassed 6,872 yards and tallied 44 touchdowns on 543 receptions.

His club yardage and reception records stood until eventual Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe surpassed both early in the 1999 season.

Haven Moses matched Taylor’s touchdown tally with his final career scoring catch on Nov. 29, 1981, but no one surpassed it until Rod Smith surpassed the mark in the regular-season opener in 2002.

That it took so long for anyone to exceed Taylor’s marks is testament to how far ahead of his time he was, and why he was among the senior nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame last year, although he did not make it to the final round of voting.

TAYLOR WAS AN EARLY BRONCOS STAR

A four-time first-team All-AFL choice, Taylor led the league in receiving five times in the league’s first six seasons, shining as a bright spot on a usually dim Broncos side. From eventual Ring of Famer Frank Tripucka through a succession of struggling Broncos quarterbacks, Taylor’s wizardry kept plenty of games respectable.

He spent his final two seasons as a player with the Houston Oilers. Taylor was a charter inductee to the Broncos Ring of Fame in its first class in 1984.

A long-time resident of New Mexico, Taylor returned to Denver last September for the Broncos’ alumni weekend and saw his pillar at Ring of Fame Plaza just south of Empower Field at Mile High.

After his playing career, Taylor had a long coaching career He joined Chuck Noll’s Pittsburgh Steelers staff in 1970, coaching their wide receivers for seven seasons and earning two Super Bowl rings. In 1977, he headed west to the Los Angeles Rams for a five-season stint that included two years as their offensive coordinator.

In 1984, Taylor became the head coach at Texas Southern University, where he worked five seasons. He returned to the NFL in 1989 with the Cleveland Browns as tight ends coach, then became their passing-game coordinator in 1990.

Five years later, Taylor capped his coaching years with the World League of American Football’s London Monarchs. He spent one season as their offensive coordinator before becoming their head coach midway through the 1996 season, remaining in that position until the franchise folded after the 1998 campaign, compiling an 11-17 record.

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