Jim Taylor
Teams
Green Bay Packers (1958-1966)
New Orleans Saints (1967)
Playoffs
Appearances - 5 (1960,1961,1962,1965,1966)
Conf Champ Games - 5 (1960,1961,1962,1965,1966)
Champ Games/Super Bowls - 5 (1960,1961,1962,1965,1966)
Championships - 4 (1961,1962,1965,1966)
Awards and Honors
MVP - 1 (1962)
All-Pro First Team - 1 (1962)
All-Pro Second Team - 2 (1960,1963)
Pro Bowl - 5 (1960,1961,1962,1963,1964)
Hall of Fame - 1976
All-Time Ranks
Rushing Touchdowns - #18
Total Touchdowns - #32
Rushing Yards - #42
Yards per Rush - #64
Rushing Yards per Game - #66
League Leads
Rushing Yards (#1-1962, #2-1960,1961,1963,1964, #5-1965, #10-1966)
Rushing Touchdowns (#1-1961,1962, #2-1960,1963,1964, #7-1959)
Yards per Rush (#2-1962, #3-1961,1964, #6-1960)
Rushing Yards per Game (#1-1962, #2-1960,1961,1963,1964, #7-1965, #10-1966)
Total Touchdowns (#1-1961,1962, #3-1964, #6-1960,1963, #8-1959)
Scrimmage Yards (#1-1962, #2-1961, #4-1964, #5-1960, #8-1963)
Yards per Touch (#9-1961, #10-1962)
Jim Taylor rushed for 762 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior at LSU, which was followed by the Green Bay Packers selecting him in the second round of the 1958 NFL Draft.
Taylor did not play much as a rookie, gaining only 247 yards, but his playing time started to increase when Vince Lombardi took over as coach in 1959. By 1960, he was showing signs of greatness, rushing for 1101 yards and 11 touchdowns. Green Bay made it to the championship game for the first time in 16 years, and Taylor had 151 scrimmage yards in that game, but the Packers lost to the Eagles 17-13.
In 1961, Taylor was the MVP runner-up to teammate Paul Hornung after he led the league with 15 rushing touchdowns while amassing 1307 yards on the ground. Green Bay returned to the championship game, where they beat the Giants 37-0, with Taylor contributing 69 yards on the ground.
1962 was an historic year for Taylor. He led the league in rushing yards with 1474, becoming the first and only player ever to beat Jim Brown in rushing yards in a season, and he set a new league record with 19 rushing touchdowns. He also led the league with 1580 scrimmage yards, and was named the MVP of the league.
Green Bay lost only 1 game that season en route to a championship rematch with the Giants, and Taylor scored the only offensive touchdown in that game to go along with 85 rushing yards in Green Bay's 16-7 repeat championship victory.
Taylor surpassed the 1000-yard mark in each of the next 2 seasons as well, making him the first player ever to reach that mark in 5 straight seasons. Green Bay missed the postseason in those 2 years, but returned in 1965, just as Taylor's effectiveness began to decline. Though he had only 734 yards in the regular season, he had 96 in the team's championship win over the Browns.
Green Bay was still the best team in the NFL in 1966, reaching the first Super Bowl against the Chiefs at the end of the season, and just like the year before, Taylor's poor regular season numbers did not affect his postseason performance, and he had 56 yards and a touchdown as the Packers won 35-10.
Taylor left the Packers after that championship, his 4th, to join his hometown New Orleans Saints. He rushed for only 390 yards on the season, gaining just 3.0 yards per carry, before retiring at season's end. He had reached the championship game in half of his 10 seasons, and had 4 championships to show for it.
Taylor finished #2 in the league to Jim Brown in rushing yards 4 times, and was the only player to take a rushing title away from Brown, during his 1962 MVP season. He was a huge reason for the Packers dynasty of the 1960s, and was second to Brown in all-time rushing yards and touchdowns when he retired. Despite playing fullback, he missed only one game in his career, and he is easily one of the greatest to ever play the game.
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