Bobby Taylor
Bobby is one of only a few players in the history of the CFL to be born in England (Barrow-In-Furness). Taylor went to school in Toronto and then played junior football in Calgary, spending 1958-59 with the Calgary Mustangs and 1960 with the Calgary Wranglers. Naturally enough, Taylor moved up to the Calgary Stampeders in 1961 to begin a five year stay (1961-65) with the the Stamps. Taylor had a slow start to his CFL career with no catches in his first season, though with no game participation stats available, he might have had limited playing time. Taylor shows up in the stats for the first time in 1962 with 7 catches and then has a huge break-out year in 1963 with 74 catches and 1057 yards to lead the West in pass receiving. In 1964, Taylor fell to second in receiving in the West behind the great Tommy Joe Coffey as he snagged 66 passes. Taylor saw his numbers drop a bit in 1965 as he caught 42 passes, good enough for fifth in the West, and then he was traded east to the Toronto Argos. Taylor picked up the pace again in Toronto and led the East in passes caught for the next three years (1966-68) with 56, 53 and 56 catches. Keep in mind that Eastern teams played only 14 games back then, so Taylor was averaging about 4 catches a game in a much more run dominated CFL. Taylor has his best year as an Argo in 1969 when he caught 59 passes and had his second 1000+ yard receiving season with 183. He did lose his division receiving title to an old competitor as Tomm Joe Coffey had also moved East and caught 71 for Hamilton that year. Taylor had an injury plagued 1970, appearing in only 4 games with 10 catches and was traded to Hamilton for the start of 1971. Taylor played 13 games in 1971, six with Hamilton and seven more with Edmonton as he was traded west and had 28 catches total. Perhaps Hamilton thought Taylor's age had caught up to him, but in 1972, Taylor rebounded to have his seventh season with over 50 catches as he caught 51 passes for 800 yards for the retooling Edmonton club. Injuries hit the tough receiver again in 1973, limiting him to 6 games and 17 catches and he finished in career in 1974 as he was traded back to Toronto but only played 6 games with 2 catches. It is a bit amazing that Taylor did not get more recognition that he did during his career. He led his division in passes caught four times, was second twice and had a total of seven seasons with 50 or more catches. For that he got one Eastern All-Star selection in 1969, a year he did not lead in receiving! Taylor was never a speedster, but was a gritty and dependable receiver who finished his career with 521 career receptions, 8223 yards and 50 touchdowns. Hopefully the Hall-of-Fame voters rediscover this overlooked and deserving receiver!