Born in Hoxie, Arkansas, Taylor spent his early years in Memphis, Tennessee until his father's death in 1954 when Taylor was five years old. His mother moved the family to Barberton, Ohio. After graduating from high school, Taylor attended the University of Michigan where he became one of the most accomplished football players in school history. He was an All-Big Ten selection three times and a first team All-Big Ten selection two times (1969 and 1970).[1][2]
Taylor broke the Michigan career rushing record with 3,072 yards in three seasons. His record was broken six years later by Rob Lytle.[3]
His 587 carries was also a school record at the time he graduated. He finished his U-M career second to Tom Harmon with 32 career touchdowns and 194 points. He also set the school record in average rushing yards per game at 102 yards per game.[1] He rushed for 1,297 yards in his senior season (1971) and was selected as the team MVP.[1] In the last two minutes of the 1971 Michigan-Ohio State game, Michigan was trailing, 7-3, when Bo Schembechler called Taylor's number. Taylor ran around the end and into the end zone, and Michigan won to cap an undefeated regular season. "It was every kid's dream," says Taylor, remembering what it was like to score the winning touchdown.[4] During Taylor's years they had excellent offensive linemen such as Dan Dierdorf, Reggie McKenzie, and Jim Mandich. Taylor was also named the Most Valuable Player of the 1971 Michigan football team that went undefeated in the regular season (but lost 13-12 to Stanford in the 1972 Rose Bowl game). The team was ranked in the top 5 all season and had four All-Americans.[5]
Although Taylor played in 33 games at Michigan he only carried the ball in 30 of them. His 3072 yards in 30 games gives him a 102.3 yards/game average which was a Michigan average until Mike Hart established a new standard in his career ending in 2007.[6]
In 1969, Taylor rushed for 225 yards against the University of Iowa.[7] At that time, Ron Johnson was the only Michigan player who had rushed for more yards in a game.
Downward spiral and substance abuseEdit
On January 4, 1972, just a few days after Taylor's final game as a Wolverine, his mother died. "After my mother died I didn't want to play anymore" says Taylor. He played in a post-season game at Coach Schembechler's encouragement. O. J. Simpson, who was broadcasting the game, told Taylor to call home. When Taylor called home he discovered that his uncle had killed his aunt and then himself. Late that same summer, his girlfriend, Valerie, was stabbed to death outside a roller rink in Detroit. Taylor wrote in his autobiography that football injuries and deaths of close family members sent him on "a long downward spiral of depression, drinking, drugs and encounters with the law."
Taylor was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the fifth round of the 1971 NFL Draft,[8] but he had a poor training camp with the Falcons. He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals, put on injured reserve, and finally cut. Taylor played the 1972 season with the Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League, getting into two games and totaling 62 yards rushing on seven carries, three receptions for 27 yards and three kickoff returns for 59 yards.[9][10] After brief trials in 1974 with Chicago and Memphis of the World Football League (getting into one game, rushing once for two yards), Taylor's football career was over.
Taylor went into a downward spiral ("I self-medicated" he later said) that lasted 25 years. He managed to get his master's degree in education, get married and have three children, but the ex-football star suffered from depression, divorced his wife, became isolated from his children, and eventually became homeless. Taylor hit a low when he was convicted for having knowledge of a bank robbery and spent 2½ years in a federal penitentiary; after his release, he became an addict living on the streets of Detroit, cut off from friends and family.
RehabilitationEdit
In August 1997, Taylor reports he had an experience with God. "It was August 17, 1997. It was 5 a.m. I was sitting in front of an abandoned apartment building at the corner of Lakewood and Jefferson. I was drinking vodka and Black Label beer. I heard a voice. The voice said, 'William Taylor, come forth.' I heard it as clear as we're talking now. It scared me to death. I jumped straight up in the air. I started cursing and looking for the person who had scared the daylights out of me. ... It was God. I don't want to offend anyone, but that's my testimony."[4]
He stopped drinking and taking drugs that day and published a book about his experience called "Get Back Up: The Billy Taylor Story." In 2003, Taylor received an Ed.D. degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He has held several positions at the Community College of Southern Nevada. Most recently, Taylor was the Director of Rehabilitation Services for the Salvation Army Southeast Michigan working in Detroit and Pontiac, Michigan.
Bentley Library - Taylor Photograph and Career Statistics
Taylor Biography from Get Back Up site
Article on Taylor at thegoal.com
WFL profile
October 25, 2023
billy, taylor, running, back, born, 1949, this, article, uses, bare, urls, which, uninformative, vulnerable, link, please, consider, converting, them, full, citations, ensure, article, remains, verifiable, maintains, consistent, citation, style, several, templ. This article uses bare URLs which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting such as reFill documentation and Citation bot documentation September 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message William Taylor born January 7 1949 is a former professional American and Canadian football running back who played for Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League CFL after starring for the University of Michigan Wolverines At Michigan he became an All American and broke the school record for career rushing yardage and finished second to Tom Harmon in scoring 1 Billy TaylorTaylor playing for Michigan in 1970No 20 42Position Running backPersonal informationBorn 1949 01 07 January 7 1949 age 74 Hoxie Arkansas U S Height 5 ft 10 in 1 78 m Weight 230 lb 104 kg Career informationCollege MichiganNFL Draft 1972 Round 5 Pick 109Career historyAtlanta Falcons 1971 St Louis Cardinals 1971 Calgary Stampeders 1972 Chicago Fire 1974 Memphis Southmen 1974 Offseason and or practice squad member only Contents 1 University of Michigan 2 Downward spiral and substance abuse 3 Rehabilitation 4 See also 5 Notes 6 External linksUniversity of Michigan EditBorn in Hoxie Arkansas Taylor spent his early years in Memphis Tennessee until his father s death in 1954 when Taylor was five years old His mother moved the family to Barberton Ohio After graduating from high school Taylor attended the University of Michigan where he became one of the most accomplished football players in school history He was an All Big Ten selection three times and a first team All Big Ten selection two times 1969 and 1970 1 2 Taylor broke the Michigan career rushing record with 3 072 yards in three seasons His record was broken six years later by Rob Lytle 3 His 587 carries was also a school record at the time he graduated He finished his U M career second to Tom Harmon with 32 career touchdowns and 194 points He also set the school record in average rushing yards per game at 102 yards per game 1 He rushed for 1 297 yards in his senior season 1971 and was selected as the team MVP 1 In the last two minutes of the 1971 Michigan Ohio State game Michigan was trailing 7 3 when Bo Schembechler called Taylor s number Taylor ran around the end and into the end zone and Michigan won to cap an undefeated regular season It was every kid s dream says Taylor remembering what it was like to score the winning touchdown 4 During Taylor s years they had excellent offensive linemen such as Dan Dierdorf Reggie McKenzie and Jim Mandich Taylor was also named the Most Valuable Player of the 1971 Michigan football team that went undefeated in the regular season but lost 13 12 to Stanford in the 1972 Rose Bowl game The team was ranked in the top 5 all season and had four All Americans 5 Although Taylor played in 33 games at Michigan he only carried the ball in 30 of them His 3072 yards in 30 games gives him a 102 3 yards game average which was a Michigan average until Mike Hart established a new standard in his career ending in 2007 6 In 1969 Taylor rushed for 225 yards against the University of Iowa 7 At that time Ron Johnson was the only Michigan player who had rushed for more yards in a game Downward spiral and substance abuse EditOn January 4 1972 just a few days after Taylor s final game as a Wolverine his mother died After my mother died I didn t want to play anymore says Taylor He played in a post season game at Coach Schembechler s encouragement O J Simpson who was broadcasting the game told Taylor to call home When Taylor called home he discovered that his uncle had killed his aunt and then himself Late that same summer his girlfriend Valerie was stabbed to death outside a roller rink in Detroit Taylor wrote in his autobiography that football injuries and deaths of close family members sent him on a long downward spiral of depression drinking drugs and encounters with the law Taylor was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the fifth round of the 1971 NFL Draft 8 but he had a poor training camp with the Falcons He was traded to the St Louis Cardinals put on injured reserve and finally cut Taylor played the 1972 season with the Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League getting into two games and totaling 62 yards rushing on seven carries three receptions for 27 yards and three kickoff returns for 59 yards 9 10 After brief trials in 1974 with Chicago and Memphis of the World Football League getting into one game rushing once for two yards Taylor s football career was over Taylor went into a downward spiral I self medicated he later said that lasted 25 years He managed to get his master s degree in education get married and have three children but the ex football star suffered from depression divorced his wife became isolated from his children and eventually became homeless Taylor hit a low when he was convicted for having knowledge of a bank robbery and spent 2 years in a federal penitentiary after his release he became an addict living on the streets of Detroit cut off from friends and family Rehabilitation EditIn August 1997 Taylor reports he had an experience with God It was August 17 1997 It was 5 a m I was sitting in front of an abandoned apartment building at the corner of Lakewood and Jefferson I was drinking vodka and Black Label beer I heard a voice The voice said William Taylor come forth I heard it as clear as we re talking now It scared me to death I jumped straight up in the air I started cursing and looking for the person who had scared the daylights out of me It was God I don t want to offend anyone but that s my testimony 4 He stopped drinking and taking drugs that day and published a book about his experience called Get Back Up The Billy Taylor Story In 2003 Taylor received an Ed D degree from the University of Nevada Las Vegas He has held several positions at the Community College of Southern Nevada Most recently Taylor was the Director of Rehabilitation Services for the Salvation Army Southeast Michigan working in Detroit and Pontiac Michigan See also EditLists of Michigan Wolverines football rushing leadersNotes Edit a b c d University of Michigan Football All American William Taylor The Regents of the University of Michigan 2007 02 10 Retrieved 2007 12 05 Jones Todd 2007 MacCambridge Michael ed ESPN Big Ten College Football Encyclopedia ESPN Enterprises ISBN 978 1 933060 49 1 Michigan Football Statistic Archive Query Page Regents of the University of Michigan Archived from the original on November 12 2007 Retrieved November 8 2011 a b http www thegoal com events backontop backontop html 1971 Football Team The Regents of the University of Michigan 2007 03 31 Retrieved 2007 12 05 Record Book PDF University of Michigan amp Host Interactive 2007 Archived from the original PDF on 2008 02 29 Retrieved 2007 12 29 Versus Iowa November 15 1969 Regents of the University of Michigan 2003 Archived from the original on May 25 2005 Retrieved 2007 12 05 1972 NFL Player Draft databaseFootball com databaseSports com Archived from the original on 2008 01 19 Retrieved 2007 12 05 1973 Canadian Football League Record Manual 1973 Calgary Stampeders Media Guide Fact bookExternal links EditJust Sports Stats Bentley Library Taylor Photograph and Career Statistics Taylor Biography from Get Back Up site Article on Taylor at thegoal com WFL profile Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Billy Taylor running back born 1949 amp oldid 1176016829, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
