Samuel Brown Taylor (February 26, 1898 – April 1, 1966) was an American educator,

Negro league The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

baseball player, and college football coach. He served as the head football coach at Virginia State College for Negroes—now known as

Virginia State University Virginia State University (VSU or Virginia State) is a public historically Black land-grant university in Ettrick, Virginia. Founded on , Virginia State developed as the United States's first fully state-supported four-year institution of hi ...

—in 1925, Clark College—now known as Clark Atlanta University—from 1925 to 1929, Prairie View State Normal & Industrial College—now known as Prairie View A&M University—from 1931 to 1943,

Virginia Union University Virginia Union University is a private historically black Baptist university in Richmond, Virginia. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. History The American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS) founded the school as Rich ...

from 1945 to 1948, Bluefield State College—now known as

Bluefield State University Bluefield State University (Bluefield State) is a university in Bluefield, West Virginia that is an historically black university. It is a part of West Virginia's public education system and converted to a university in the summer of 2022. It a ...

—from 1948 to 1958, and Kentucky State College—now known as Kentucky State University—from 1959 to 1962.

Playing career

A native of

Doswell, Virginia Doswell is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Hanover County, Virginia, Hanover County in the Central Region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. Originally called Hanover Junction, it was located on t ...

, Taylor attended

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

. He played Negro league baseball for the

Dayton Marcos The Dayton Marcos were a Negro league baseball team based from Dayton, Ohio that played during the early twentieth century. Founding and early years The Dayton Marcos history predates the formal organized leagues of Negro league baseball. As an ...

in 1926.

Educator

In 1943, Taylor was named the "Supervisor of Negro Education" for the state of

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

. 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 ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segrega ...

ruling in 1954.

Coaching career

Virginia State

Taylor began his coaching career at the Virginia Normal School and Industrial Institute (now known as

) as its first men's basketball coach in 1924–25.

Clark

In September 1925, Taylor and his new bride, Lullene Perrin, moved to Clark College–now known as Clark Atlanta University–in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, where Taylor coached football until 1930.

Prairie View

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 Prairie View is a city in Waller County, Texas, United States, situated on the northwestern edge of the metropolitan area. The population was 8,184 at the 2020 census. Prairie View A&M University, the second oldest public university in Texas, is ...

, serving for 13 seasons, from 1931 until 1943. He was inducted into the Prairie View Athletic Hall of Fame in June 1987.

Virginia Union

Taylor took over the reins as head football coach and track coach at

in 1945 after the war. Once again, Lewis "Jack Rabbit" Smith teamed up with Taylor and ran under the maroon and steel colors of Virginia Union. In 1948, the Virginia Union football team defeated

Jake Gaither Alonzo Smith "Jake" Gaither (April 11, 1903 – February 18, 1994) was an American football coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Florida A&M University (FAMU) for 25 years, from 1945 to 1969, compili ...

Florida A&M Rattlers The Florida A&M Rattlers represent Florida A&M University (FAMU) in college athletics. Florida A&M is a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference and participates in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). FAMU offers men's ...

in the

Orange Blossom Classic The Orange Blossom Classic is an annual college football game first held between 1933 and 1978 and again since 2021. In its first incarnation, it featured Florida A&M and another historically black school in an unofficial ''de facto'' championsh ...

, 39–18.

Bluefield State

In the summer of 1949, Taylor was hired as the head football coach at Bluefield State College—now known as

—in

Bluefield, West Virginia Bluefield is a city in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 9,658 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Bluefield WV- VA micropolitan area, which had a population of 106,363 in 2020. Geography Bluefie ...

. He coached at Bluefield State until late spring 1959.

Kentucky State

Taylor was the 13th head football coach at Kentucky State University in Frankfort, Kentucky, serving for four seasons, from 1959 to 1962, and compiling a record of 15–20–1. Hip replacement surgery sidelined Taylor as the football coach, but he continued to coach track. In 1965, Taylor had the fastest quarter mile runner in the country.

Death and honors

After a lengthy illness, Taylor died in Lexington, Kentucky in 1966 at age 68. He was inducted into the K-Club Athletic Hall of Fame October 2009.Kentucky State University coaching records

Head coaching record

Football

Notes

References

External links

an
Seamheads
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Sam B. 1898 births 1966 deaths African-American basketball coaches African-American coaches of American football African-American players of American football American football ends Baseball first basemen Baseball players from Richmond, Virginia Basketball coaches from Virginia Bluefield State Big Blues athletic directors Bluefield State Big Blues football coaches Clark Atlanta Panthers football coaches College track and field coaches in the United States Dayton Marcos players Kentucky State Thorobreds football coaches Northwestern Wildcats football players People from Hanover County, Virginia Players of American football from Virginia Prairie View A&M Panthers football coaches Virginia Union Panthers football coaches Virginia State Trojans football coaches Virginia State Trojans men's basketball coaches 20th-century African-American sportspeople