Washington Redskins receiver Charley Taylor was still a Pro Bowl staple when I first discovered the NFL in the 1970s. I didn't see a lot of the Redskins in those days but I knew that he was a very good football player. At the height of his career he was a great football player. I knew more about Taylor through reading about him than actually seeing him play. That's a shame. I'd like to have seen much more of him on a football field. Actual games rather than career highlights.
I was reminded of Charley Taylor recently while reading Tom Danyluk's terrific book The Super '70s. There's a lot of great stuff from that wildly entertaining football decade in this book. Taylor came up in an interview with Dallas Cowboys safety Cliff Harris. The Redskins and Cowboys had many great battles in the early 1970s. Some of the best parts of those battles could be found on the ground shared by Taylor and Harris.
Without a doubt, Charley Taylor was the most intimidating receiver I faced during my whole career. He would attack you in trying to block you. He broke (Cardinal DB) Jerry Stovall's jaw once. He blasted (Cardinals DB) Larry Wilson in the jaw. He knocked me down and almost out after popping me in the jaw. When Taylor would catch the ball, it hurt to tackle him. You really had to gear up for him, differently than against other receivers. Charley was fast and strong. He would talk to you. He'd tell Charley Waters, "You're no good. I'm gonna beat your ass all day." Typically, it's the defensive back that does the talking, but Taylor was giving it to us.
-Cliff Harris
Harris was one of the most physical, hardest-hitting safeties of his era, actually, any era, and here's a receiver taking it to him. I've always enjoyed watching tough, physical receivers play football. Hines Ward is a more recent example of the sort of receiver that kept defensive players on high alert. Steve Smith and Julio Jones are doing it today. These are receivers that carry with them an attacking, defensive sort of mentality. Charley Taylor was one of the first receivers to play the position with that sort of physicality. The Washington Redskins drafted him with the third pick in the 1964 NFL Draft as a running back out of Arizona St. He started his NFL career as a running back and was even named Rookie of the Year and selected to his first two Pro Bowls at the position. He wasn't switched to receiver full-time until 1966, his third season in the league. He played his new position much like he had played his old one. He attacked the opposition. He initiated contact. At 6'3" and 210 lbs he had the size to play physical and cause harm. That first season as a receiver was the best statistical season of his career. 72 catches for 1119 yards and 12 touchdowns. He and future Hall of Fame quarterback Sonny Jurgensen were an explosive pair. Taylor played thirteen seasons. At his retirement, he was the NFL's all-time leading receiver with 649 receptions, 9110 yards, and 90 TDs. He had 10,803 all-purpose yards. Receivers from today's pass-happy NFL are dwarfing those numbers but they are still impressive. They are incredible numbers for the era that he played. Charley Taylor would have been a nightmare for defensive backs in any era.
Taylor was named to the Pro Bowl eight times. 1964-67, 1972-75.
1960s All-Decade Team
70 Greatest Redskins
Washington Redskins Ring of Honor
Ranked #85 on The Sporting News' 1999 list of the 100 Greatest Football Players
In 1984 Charley Taylor was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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