After the Kansas City Chiefs triumphed over the highly-favored Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl 4 to win the club’s first-ever championship in 1969, eight of the players responsible made the Pro Football Hall of Fame within the following decades. But one name that has since faded yet continues to be snubbed year after year is wide receiver Otis Taylor.
But Taylor’s luck might be turning around as Canton’s 12-person committee with the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced the 25 semifinalists of senior candidates for the Class of 2023. Taylor officially made it through the semifinalists round of voting and joins Ken Anderson, Maxie Baughan, Mark Clayton, Roger Craig, LaVern Dilweg, Randy Gradishar, Lester Hayes, Chris Hinton, Chuck Howley, Cecil Isbell, Joe Jacoby, Billie “White Shoes” Johnson, Mike Kenn, Joe Klecko, Bob Kuechenberg, George Kunz, Jim Marshall, Clay Matthews Jr., Eddie Meador, Stanley Morgan, Tommy Nobis, Ken Riley, Sterling Sharpe, and Everson Walls.
Taylor, 79, was arguably one of the fastest and most prolific wideouts during his days in the American Football League of the 1960s. From 1965 to 1975, Taylor was the Chiefs’ top pass-catcher with 410 receptions, 7,306 receiving yards, and 57 touchdowns for his career. Taylor was part of the Chiefs teams that won two AFL Championships (1966 and 1969) and Super Bowl 4.
Taylor also earned three Pro Bowl and two First-team All-Pro awards. In 1971, Taylor led the National Football League with 1,110 receiving yards and had the highest yards-per-game average of any receiver that played that season with 79.3 yards.
At the beginning of his pro career, the 6-foot-3 wideout from Prairie View A&M was part of a civil rights movement by Owner Lamar Hunt to recruit African American players. By 1969, the Chiefs became the first team in NFL history to have over 50% of their starters be Black.
Taylor was also at the epicenter of the NFL-AFL signing wars. Following the 1965 draft, the Chiefs, who drafted Taylor in the fourth round, hid him away in a hotel to prevent the Philadelphia Eagles, who also drafted Taylor, from singing him.
The next round of voting for 12 finalists will be on July 27. From there, up to three players will be inducted into the Class of 2023, giving Taylor his best chance of enshrinement, which is long overdue.
