For the most part, sports dynasties happen suddenly and can end just as abruptly.
The right mixture of front-office management, coaching, and players can turn a woebegone franchise into a perpetual champion nearly overnight.
After claiming six NFL titles from the organization’s inception in 1919 until 1944, the Green Bay Packers went on a championship dry spell.
By 1958, Green Bay was an outfit that could only muster one victory.
That same year, fullback Jim Taylor joined the team and contributed just two starts.
However, the following year former New York Giants offensive coordinator Vince Lombardi was hired to lead the Packers.
Within the next decade, Lombardi assembled a roster filled with All-Stars and future Hall-of-Famers.
In turn, the franchise won five of six NFL Championships and also claimed victories in the first two Super Bowls.
Along the way, Taylor redefined the fullback position.
Hall-of-Fame FB Jim Taylor, who starrred for the Green Bay Packers from 1958-66, passed away Saturday morning.
Taylor was 83. pic.twitter.com/zpZQoHgeDl— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 13, 2018
In his pro career, Taylor took the NFL rushing title once, was the league MVP once, and won four NFL titles and a Super Bowl.
His legacy was recognized in 1976 when Taylor was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
This is the story of Jim Taylor.
Late Football Bloomer
James “Jim” Charles Taylor was born on September 20, 1935, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
While he was young, Taylor got a harsh dose of how difficult life can be when his father passed away.
In order to help his mother make ends meet, Taylor delivered newspapers in the mornings and afternoons.
He would later explain that riding his bicycle while delivering papers helped him build his leg muscles, which would aid in his future profession.
When he wasn’t working, Taylor played sports as often as possible.
By the time he enrolled at Baton Rouge High School, Taylor fancied himself a hoops star.
He also ran track, but Taylor loved running up and down the hardwood and proving himself against opponents.
“My favorite sport was basketball,” Taylor once said. “It helped me improve my balance and my stamina when I was younger. I became a better runner in football because of my balance.”
His basketball skills didn’t translate to the gridiron until Taylor was a junior.
#31 DAYS UNTIL LOUISIANA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL IS BACK!!
Jim Taylor from Baton Rouge High!
– SB Champ
– 4X NFL Champ
– 5X Pro-Bowl
– 6X All-Pro
– NFL MVP
– NFL HOF
Just to name a few of the achievements of the former LSU/NFL Star!GREATNESS starts in #LAHSFB!
📸: Neil Leifer pic.twitter.com/VyMOIsXEm2— Louisiana Football Report #LAHSFB (@LAFBReport) July 30, 2018
Until that point in his prep career, Taylor didn’t have any desire to play football.
“I didn’t like the game,” Taylor explained. “I didn’t think I was big enough. I don’t like anything unless I do it real well.”
When he did join the Bulldogs’ football team, Taylor was put in the defensive secondary.
He was only 5’9 and 155 pounds and Taylor’s coaches believed he could do the most good as a defensive back.
Taylor Shines for the Bulldogs
Once Taylor got the hang of football all he wanted to do was get better.
In the summer before his senior year, Taylor added 15 pounds and was moved to running back.
He became a devastating runner who didn’t really care to avoid tacklers.
Taylor found it was much easier going through opponents to pick up yardage than to try and go around them.
Also, his confidence in his ability to run the ball effectively was noted when Taylor would change plays in the huddle so he got the ball and crucial yardage.
At the end of his senior season, Taylor was named a high school All-American and selected for a national high school all-star game.
Incredibly, he was also selected for a national prep all-star game after his final basketball season as well.
“Jim could have played anything and been good at it,” former Bulldogs’ track coach Bat Gourrier said. “If you stuck a tennis racket in his hand, he would have been great. If someone bought him a set of golf clubs, he could out-do you in that, too. He was just a natural as an athlete.”
With graduation looming, Taylor sorted through the pile of college offers for basketball and football and decided to stay home and play football for Louisiana State University (LSU).
Academic Troubles Send Taylor to JuCo
Initially, Taylor found life enjoyable at LSU.
NCAA rules at the time forbade freshmen from competing at the varsity level.
However, Taylor played on the Tigers freshman team and gave the coaching staff a sample of what he would do for the variety the following year.
The only problem was, Taylor didn’t take to the academic side of college and found himself in hot water by the end of his first semester.
He was summoned to the office of university president General Troy Middleton who looked over Taylor’s report card and asked the freshman a simple question.
“If you were in my shoes what would you do?”
Not one to mince words, Taylor admitted that he would kick himself out of school.
Thankfully, Middleton and LSU coach Paul Dietzel had a better plan and enrolled Taylor at Hinds Community College in Raymond, Mississippi.
Hinds (MS) Community College's only Pro Football Hall of Fame member, Jim Taylor died today. More famous for his exploits at LSU and for Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers, he nonetheless is recognized in the Hall for his time at Hinds in Raymond. Got his autograph on this 1962. pic.twitter.com/SBzxUT5Ezp
— Bill Hetrick (@Dolphan_Bill) October 14, 2018
LSU regularly sent its athletic hopefuls to Hinds to get help with their academics before returning to LSU.
“Back then,” Durwood Graham (who also went through the process with Taylor) said, “LSU called Hinds its farm club.”
During the 1955 football season, Taylor played for Hinds and helped lead the Eagles to only one loss.
It was also during the ‘55 season when Graham saw his first glimpse of Taylor the ball player.
“Most of all, I remember he was tough as hell,” said Graham. “Jimmy would rather run over you than run around you.”
As he was running roughshod on the gridiron, Taylor was also taking care to work on his grades.
He greatly improved in the classroom and was eligible to return to LSU for the 1956 season.
Back With a Vengeance
Taylor was ready to make up for lost time and returned to Baton Rouge with a chip on his shoulder.
In 1956, Dietzel’s club struggled to a 3-6 finish.
Meanwhile, Taylor struggled to learn the Tigers’ new offense, but picked up steam toward the end of the year and scored 51 points in the season’s final five contests.
During LSU’s victory over Arkansas late in the season, Taylor rushed for 170 yards.
LSU, NFL Legend Jim Taylor Passes Away https://t.co/gwAyjoK4Zm pic.twitter.com/j5H9DFog8Y
— LSU Football Report (@LSUReport) October 14, 2018
Then, in the season finale against Tulane, Taylor scored a touchdown and kicked the extra point.
He then played in the secondary and made two crucial plays including an interception to preserve LSU’s 7-6 win.
Said Dietzel of Taylor, “With the ball under his arm, he was the finest football player I’ve ever seen.”
Taylor and Cannon
After running for 552 yards and eight touchdowns (which led the Southeastern Conference) as a junior, Taylor was paired with sophomore sensation Billy Cannon in 1957.
LSU needs a statue of the great Jim Taylor next to Billy Cannon. pic.twitter.com/VS18p0b24r
— Rhonda Jeansonne (@JeansonneRhonda) October 28, 2018
Cannon was an electrifying runner who zigged and zagged around defenders in the open field.
Backfield mate Taylor was the complete opposite.
“I’m gonna tell you this, Jim Taylor attacked the tackler before the tackler attacked him,” said Graham.
With Cannon and Taylor doing the heavy lifting, the Tigers improved to 5-5 in 1957 including shutout wins of Alabama and Kentucky.
Weeks after scoring three times in a 20-13 victory over Georgia Tech, Taylor blasted Tulane for 171 yards and two long touchdown runs on the way to a 25-6 win.
RIP Jim Taylor
Here’s his 1957 scouting report out of LSU… pic.twitter.com/pmlkFXvnnH
— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) October 13, 2018
His final totals of 762 yards and 12 scores led Taylor to a consensus All-American and first-team All-SEC nod.
Taylor’s touchdown total in 1957 also led the SEC for the second year in a row.
In just two seasons, Taylor had rushed for 1,314 yards and 20 touchdowns.
His combination of blocking and speed made NFL teams ponder how they could capitalize on Taylor’s athleticism in the pros.
Green Bay Selects Taylor
One of the teams interested in Taylor was the lowly Green Bay Packers.
Unlike today’s pre-draft process, team management sent Taylor a letter to gauge his interest in playing for Green Bay.
Taylor didn’t care that the Pack had only won seven games total in 1956 and 1957.
He was ready to play pro ball and ply his trade against NFL-caliber athletes.
“I am very much interested in playing professional football,” Taylor wrote in response to a letter from Packers scouting director Jim Vainisi. “Football is a great sport and I enjoy playing it. Yes, I would be interested in playing with the Green Bay Packers. Fullback is the position I feel I can play better.”
With the 15th overall selection in the second round of the 1958 NFL Draft, Green Bay picked Taylor.
Today in 1957: Packers pick LSU's Jim Taylor, Illinois' Ray Nitschke and Idaho's Jerry Kramer in 1958 NFL Draft. pic.twitter.com/qQIr9JThRe
— Packers History (@HistoricPackers) December 2, 2015
In his rookie year, Taylor received just two starts in coach Ray McLean’s offense and he ran for 247 yards and two total scores for the 1-10-1 Packers.
Lombardi Re-Builds Green Bay
One victory was the lowest win total ever for the Green Bay franchise and McLean was fired after one season.
In his place came former New York Giants offensive Coordinator Vince Lombardi.
How It Started: Vince Lombardi as he packs his suitcase to leave for Green Bay upon being hired by @packers.
How It Went….. pic.twitter.com/OYv8YpR2oh
— Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) June 11, 2022
It didn’t take long for the Packers to realize that Lombardi had a specific way of running his team.
Players either got on the same page as the coach or found themselves out of a job.
Although Taylor didn’t always see eye-to-eye with Lombardi, he respected his coach.
“He taught me lots of character, and virtues, and principles,” Taylor said of Lombardi. “He established a caliber of football that he felt would bring a championship.”
While Lombardi’s outfit improved to 7-5 in 1959, Taylor got more playing time and rushed for 452 yards and six touchdowns while grabbing two more scores on receptions.
Lombardi quickly took to Taylor’s hard-nosed attitude and playing.
“Taylor may not be as big as some fullbacks, but he has balance and determination,” Lombardi once said. “He is hard to knock off his feet, and he fights for every yard.”
Indeed, it wasn’t just Taylor’s balance and determination that made him a success.
"Here's Mud in your Eye" 📸 ✨ …
Jim Taylor of the Green Bay Packers#NFL #1960s #GreenBay #Packers #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/1GzpgUA38m— JVAN (@VanderlansJim) January 1, 2023
There was also his personal training that consisted of weight lifting and running which he continued throughout his life.
In fact, Taylor’s coaches and teammates likened him to a piece of granite with a crew-cut hairstyle at the top.
Taylor Busts Loose as Green Bay Wins
By 1960, the Packers’ roster was loaded with talent.
Lombardi had Bart Starr at quarterback, Taylor and Paul Hornung in the backfield, Boyd Dowler and Max McGee catching passes, and Forrest Gregg, Fred “Fuzzy” Thurston, and Jerry Kramer busting heads on the offensive line.
The defense boasted linebacker Ray Nitschke and lineman Willie Davis.
Looking at his offensive talent, Lombardi believed he could get Hornung and Taylor even more yards by pulling Thurston and Kramer on what he called “Packer Sweeps” and having Hornung and Taylor run behind them.
Sure enough, the idea worked like a charm and both runners benefited greatly.
During the 1960 season, Taylor rushed a league-leading 230 times for 1,101 yards and 11 touchdowns.
During the 1960s, fullback Jim Taylor was a powerful force in the @packers' backfield, helping lead the team to four NFL Championships.
On the four-year anniversary of Taylor's passing, we honor his legacy. #HOFForever pic.twitter.com/XMviTd2DhO
— Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) October 13, 2022
His numbers were astounding for a fullback as Hornung (who played halfback) had only 671 yards rushing, although he also led the NFL with 13 touchdowns.
Both players contributed to Green Bay’s 8-4 record and Taylor was selected as an All-Pro and to his first Pro Bowl.
In the organization’s first championship game since 1944, the Packers lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, 17-13.
The Packers weren’t down in the dumps for long though.
Green Bay was even better in 1961 when the team went 11-3 behind Taylor’s 1,307 yards and NFL-best 15 touchdowns.
As good as Taylor was, Hornung won the league’s MVP award.
Then, in the 1961 NFL Championship game against the New York Giants, Hornung set an NFL title game record with 19 points as Green Bay won easily, 37-0.
Taylor Named NFL MVP
Four years after the franchise summoned only one win, the Packers were suddenly flush with talent and competing for world championships.
The great Jim Taylor (LSU) who died yesterday on left with Vince Lombardi, Paul Hornung and Bart Starr. @packers pic.twitter.com/QqJKSkp6Ry
— Matt Toohey (@Landmannery) October 14, 2018
A season after his backfield mate won the NFL MVP award, Taylor won his own MVP by rushing for a league-best 1,474 yards on 272 carries for 19 touchdowns (also league-highs).
“Being voted the MVP of the league in 1962 is something that I look back and cherish,” Taylor said. “I felt like I accomplished and achieved my goal.”
His yardage that year gave Taylor the NFL rushing title, breaking the streak of the Cleveland Browns’ Jim Brown who was in the midst of eight rushing titles in nine years.
31 days left!!!! Today's player is Jim Taylor. The only player to beat yesterday's featured player, Jim Brown, for the NFL single season rushing title pic.twitter.com/EVuOoKqCsg
— Lumpkin Co Indians Football (@LumpkinFB) July 19, 2022
The 1962 season was a major accomplishment for Taylor as he was frequently compared to Brown.
However, as talented as both runners were, some defenders believed that Taylor was the hardest to tackle.
“The impact of meeting Taylor after five yards is greater than meeting Brown at the same point,” the Giants’ Sam Huff said. “Brown is strong, but he doesn’t shock you like Taylor does. Brown would rather slide off to the side and keep going.”
Even Lombardi felt Taylor was the more physical runner.
“Jim Brown will give you that leg and then take it away from you,” Lombardi said. “Jim Taylor will give it to you and then ram it through your chest!”
1962 NFL Championship
Green Bay ended the 1962 season with a 13-1 record and a third straight NFL Championship game appearance.
The contest was played against the Giants for the second year in a row and hosted by New York.
At kickoff, the temperature was 13 degrees with gusts of wind up to 40 miles per hour.
“Old Days”The Green Bay Packers Jim Taylor runs straight ahead vs NY Giants Defense during 1962 NFL Championship Game at Yankee Stadium.#Packers #GreenBay #NYGiants #NYG #NYC #NFL #1960s pic.twitter.com/43OHLb5eCm
— Tom's Old Days (@sigg20) August 16, 2018
As cold and miserable as the afternoon was, the Giants had one mission that day, to stop Jim Taylor.
“If Taylor went up to get a program, [Sam] Huff was supposed to hit him. Wherever Taylor went, Huff went with him,” Kramer told the Associated Press in 2008.
Of course, Taylor enjoyed these matchups and was known to chirp at Huff, often getting under the linebacker’s skin.
“He was always hooting his mouth off on the field,” Huff said of Taylor. “He’d tell me, ‘Yeah, you’re just a big talker.’ He brought the best out in you. He was an unusual player, a great player, but an agitator … I did everything I could to that sonofabitch.”
In the second quarter, Taylor scored his first championship game touchdown in his career with a seven-yard plunge to help the Pack lead 10-0.
He spent the remainder of the game picking up brutal yard after brutal yard with the New York defenders slamming into him every chance they got.
By the time Green Bay wrapped its second championship, 16-7, Taylor had nearly bitten through his tongue and required seven stitches to close an elbow laceration at halftime.
#Packers Jim Taylor and Vince Lombardi during the waning minutes of the 1962 NFL Championship at arctic Yankee Stadium — Green Bay's second consecutive NFL title. OTD 59 years ago. pic.twitter.com/A90YY5rquG
— Kevin Gallagher (@KevG163) December 31, 2021
Despite his painful ailments, Taylor rushed for 85 yards and a touchdown.
“You got to enjoy punishment because you are going to deliver so much of it, and you are going to get so much of it,” Taylor said. “ … If you are prepared you don’t really feel the punishment during the game.”
“Taylor isn’t human,” Huff said in awe after the game. “No human being could have taken the punishment he got today.”
Taylor Keeps up the Pace
Before the 1963 season began, the NFL suspended Hornung for the year due to gambling violations.
His absence meant that Taylor was the primary runner and he met expectations with 1,018 yards and 10 touchdowns (including one receiving).
From the December 3, 1963 issue of “LOOK” magazine in a story titled, “Sunday Football Madness.” Caption: “Sam Huff attempts to unscrew the head of Green Bay’s Jim Taylor, as hooded opponents admire his resolve.”
.#GreenBayPackers #GreenBay #Packers #GoPackGo #LambeauField #NFL pic.twitter.com/paP2AoTGCG— Packerville, U.S.A. (@Packerville) May 7, 2023
He was added to the Pro Bowl roster for the fourth time that season as well as in 1964 when Taylor rushed for 1,169 yards (his fifth straight 1,000-yard season) and 15 combined scores.
Taylor also led the NFL with an 84-yard run for a touchdown and had a career-high 354 receiving yards.
“That son-of-a-gun is the toughest son-of-a-gun in the league,” Hornung said of Taylor. “I’ve seen him run over guys 30 or 40 pounds bigger than he is like that [snap of a finger].”
Green Bay finished second in the Western Conference both years and won the third-place Playoff Bowl against Cleveland in 1963 before losing the same contest against the St. Louis Cardinals the following year.
Taylor Slows but Makes History
During the 1965 and 1966 seasons Taylor started every game, but his physical running style was beginning to take its toll.
Lombardi ran him 200-plus times both years and Taylor responded with over 1,400 combined rushing yards and added 331 receiving yards in 1966.
Green Bay continued to batter the rest of the NFL and went 10-3-1 in ‘65 and beat Cleveland in the Championship game, 23-12.
Then, the franchise took a 12-2 record into the 1966 postseason and defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 34-27, in the NFL Championship game before meeting the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl I.
Super Bowl I flashback: Jim Taylor's touchdown gives the #Packers the lead.
🎥: https://t.co/4oX3XpagjM pic.twitter.com/C1CGYw5VYC
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) October 13, 2018
After Green Bay and KC traded receiving touchdowns, Taylor became the first player in Super Bowl history to rush for a touchdown when he scored from 14 yards out in the second quarter.
“It was just good blocking on a weak-side sweep play,” said Taylor. “It’s a cakewalk when you get the blocking. It was just like we had been doing the last five or six years.”
The Packers continued to pour it on in the second half and won easily, 35-10.
Along with his history-making touchdown, Taylor led all runners that day with 56 yards.
New Orleans and Retirement
As good as things appeared in Green Bay, Taylor was not happy.
His yardage total had slipped, but he was still used by Lombardi as the team’s workhorse runner.
Taylor felt he should have been paid accordingly for how much he was used, but Packers management thought differently.
The two sides were at odds before the expansion New Orleans Saints contacted Lombardi and Green Bay with an offer.
New Orleans’ owner, John Mecom, wanted to bring Taylor home to Louisiana and play for the Saints.
NFL veteran QB Gary Cuozzo with PFHOFers Jim Taylor and Tom Fears, the NFL's first Latino head coach.#Saints 1967 pic.twitter.com/JwQaZqrdWA
— Kevin Gallagher (@KevG163) November 26, 2021
Seeing an opportunity to play for more money and play in his home state, Taylor took the offer from Mecom.
“It worked out,” Taylor said in 2016. “I had been in Green Bay nine years and I was moving on. I was a free agent.”
While Green Bay marched to Super Bowl II and won yet another world title, Taylor rushed for 390 yards and two scores and caught 38 passes for another 251 yards for the 3-11 Saints.
He returned to play in 1968 before Saints head coach Tom Fears told Taylor he would only play on special teams.
Taylor was upset at the demotion and retired instead.
Career Stats
During his career, Taylor changed the way that NFL teams used their fullbacks.
Previously viewed as a glorified blocker who rarely ran the ball, NFL clubs began using fullbacks as runners.
Jim Taylor, legendary Green Bay Packers running back & 1962 NFL MVP, is dead today. Yes, fullbacks were actually offensive weapons, once upon a time. pic.twitter.com/JUOKjwjrJ2
— Celebrity Flatliner (@CelebFlatline) October 13, 2018
Taylor did that and more during his decade in the NFL.
He retired with 8,597 rushing yards, 83 rushing scores, 225 receptions, 1,756 receiving yards, and 10 receiving touchdowns.
Remarkably, as physical as he was, Taylor only fumbled 34 times in over 2,000 carries.
Taylor’s single-season mark of 1,474 yards in 1962 wasn’t broken until 2003 when Ahman Green rumbled for 1,883 yards.
Additionally, Taylor’s 19 rushing touchdowns in 1962 still leads the Packers for single-season rushing scores.
Taylor was a four-time NFL champion and one-time Super Bowl winner, a five-time Pro Bowler, six-time All-Pro, NFL MVP once, NFL rushing yards leader once, NFL scoring leader once, and led the league twice in rushing touchdowns.
After retiring, he was named to the NFL’s 1960s All-Decade Team, the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame, and had his number 31 retired by New Orleans.
Happy BDay to HOF FB Jim Taylor! Played 10 seasons w/ @packers & @Saints. Selected to 5 Pro Bowls & @NFL 1960s All-Decade Team. pic.twitter.com/2mICAeS3A7
— Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) September 20, 2017
In 1976 Taylor became the first Green Bay player from the Lombardi era to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
He has also been inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame.
Life After Retirement and Death
Former teammates and coaches who caught up with Taylor after he retired were shocked.
Instead of a former player who let his weight balloon because he no longer had to train, friends found Taylor was still in game shape.
He continued working out regularly and was known to run six miles per day well into his 60s.
In 1979 Taylor competed in the televised Superstars competition against other former athletes and took fourth.
Taylor also spent time as the commissioner of the United States Rugby League and reunited with Hornung to call LSU games.
Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame fullback Jim Taylor dies at 83https://t.co/6HrxiXfMD8 pic.twitter.com/gv2ymRxgur
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) October 14, 2018
Then on October 13, 2018, Taylor died suddenly at the age of 83.
“Jim Taylor lived life the same way he played football, with passion, determination and love for all he did,” Hall of Fame president/CEO David Baker said in a statement. “… While Jim’s spirit forever resides at the Hall, we will miss his smile that would light up a room.”
References
https://www.latimes.com/sports/nfl/la-sp-jim-taylor-obit-20181013-story.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Taylor_(fullback)
https://www.profootballhof.com/players/jim-taylor/
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/jimmy-taylor-1.html
https://goldenrankings.com/LSUShortStoryTaylor.htm
http://www.cmgww.com/football/taylor/biography/
https://www.packers.com/history/hof/jim-taylor
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/T/TaylJi00.htm
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