Sam B. Taylor

Samuel Brown Taylor (February 26, 1898 – April 1, 1966) was an American educator and college football coach.

Sam B. Taylor
Biographical details
Born(1898-02-26)February 26, 1898
Doswell, Virginia
DiedApril 1, 1966(1966-04-01) (aged 68)
Lexington, Kentucky
Playing career
Football
1921–1923Northwestern
Position(s)End
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1924Virginia State
1925–1929Clark (GA)
1931–1943Prairie View A&M
1945–1948Virginia Union
1949–1958Bluefield State
1959–1962Kentucky State
Basketball
1924–1925Virginia State
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1949–1958Bluefield State

Educator

In 1943, Taylor was named the "Supervisor of Negro Education" for the state of Kentucky.[1] He was one of the primary educators in the state of Kentucky responsible for de-segregation of public schools after the Brown v. Board of Education ruling in 1954.[2]

Coaching career

Virginia State

Taylor began his coaching career at the Virginia Normal School and Industrial Institute (now known as Virginia State University) as its first men's basketball coach in 1924–25.

Clark College of Atlanta

In September 1925, Taylor and his new bride, Lullene Perrin, moved to Clark College–now known as Clark Atlanta University–in Atlanta, where Taylor coached football until 1930.

Prairie View A&M

Taylor established an athletics program that included track and football. His track team was second to none between 1931 and 1942. He coach such athletes as "Blue" Stanley, Lewis "Jack Rabbit" Smith, Johnny Marion, and Veda "Skeets" Metlock Johnson. Johnny Marion and Lewis Smith ran against Jesse Owens in the Olympic Trials of 1936.

Taylor was the fourth head football coach at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Texas and he held that position for 13 seasons, from 1931 until 1943. His record at Prairie View was 69–32–15. Taylor was inducted into the Prairie View Athletic Hall of Fame in June 1987.[3][4]

Virginia Union

Taylor took over the reins as head football coach and track coach in 1945 after the war. Once again, Lewis "Jack Rabbit" Smith teamed up with Taylor and ran under the maroon and steele colors of Virginia Union University.

In 1948, the Virginia Union football team defeated Jake Gaither's Florida A&M Rattlers in the Orange Blossom Classic, 39–18.

Bluefield State

In the summer of 1950, Taylor emerged as the next head football coach of Bluefield State College. He coached at Bluefield until late spring 1959.

Kentucky State

Taylor later went on to be named the 13th head coach at Kentucky State University in Frankfort, Kentucky and he held that position for four seasons, from 1959 until 1962. His coaching record at Kentucky State was 15 wins, 20 losses, and 1 ties. Hip replacement surgery sidelined Taylor as the football coach, but he continued to coach track. In 1965, Taylor had the fastest quarter of a mile runner in the country.

Death and honors

After a lengthy illness, Taylor died on April 1, 1966.[5] He was inducted into the K-Club Athletic Hall of Fame October 2009.[6]

References
  1. University of Kentucky Libraries, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database
  2. Reactions to Brown v The Board of Education, Leigh S. Andrews, 2005
  3. Prairie View A&M University coaching records Archived January 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Prairie View Agricultural & Mechanical University Directory". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011.
  5. "Former CIAA coach Sam Taylor buried". Baltimore Afro-American. Baltimore, Maryland. April 16, 1966. p. 17. Retrieved January 9, 2019 – via Google News.
  6. Kentucky State University coaching records Archived October 9, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
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