Former Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Otis Taylor has died at the age of 80 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. FOX 4 Kansas City’s Harold R. Kuntz confirmed earlier reports of Taylor’s passing.
A fourth-round draft pick in 1965 out of Prairie View A&M, the 6-foot-3 and 210-pound Taylor played as if he were plucked from a different era of football. He dominated the passing game in a league that was predominantly run-focused. He had two 1,000-yard receiving seasons five years apart (1966 and 1971). His 11 touchdowns in 1967 led the newly-merged AFL-NFL league.
Taylor became a Super Bowl champion with the Chiefs in Super Bowl IV, he ensured that with a 46-yard touchdown reception that would lift Kansas City over the Minnesota Vikings. By the end of his career, Taylor was a two-time AFL Champion, an AFL Championship MVP, and an AFL All-Star. He’d earn First-Team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors in both 1971 and 1972.
Taylor’s 7,306 career receiving yards and 57 career receiving touchdowns currently rank third in franchise history behind Chiefs TE Travis Kelce. Taylor was inducted into the Chiefs Ring of Honor and Hall of Fame in 1982, but he has yet to be selected for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was named a senior semifinalist this past year, but he didn’t make it through to the finalist round. If he’s selected now, he’ll be enshrined in Canton, Ohio posthumously.
