Hugh Wilson "Bones" Taylor (July 6, 1923 – November 1, 1992) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player and coach. He played as an

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

. Taylor attended

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...

at the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

where he was a Navy V-12 student. At Tulane he was an All-Southeastern Conference and All-American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player in 1943. After being discharged from the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

in 1946, he played college football at Oklahoma City College before entering the NFL in 1947. In his first NFL game, he gained 212 yards receiving, setting league records for an NFL debut and first game of the season. Those records were broken by Anquan Boldin in 2003 and Frank Clarke in 1962, respectively. As a member of the Redskins from 1947 to 1954, the 6-foot-4-inch Taylor made the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

in 1952 and 1954. Following his playing career, Taylor coached in the college and professional ranks. After two seasons as an assistant at Florida State University, he served as the head football coach at Arkansas State College—now known as

Arkansas State University Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osa ...

from 1958 to 1959, compiling a record of 7–11. While at Arkansas State, he was initiated into the Sigma Pi fraternity chapter there. Taylor then moved to the American Football League (AFL), as an assistant coach with the New York Titans from 1960 to 1962 and with the San Diego Chargers in 1963. He was an assistant for the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 a ...

for one season before succeeding

Sammy Baugh Samuel Adrian Baugh (March 17, 1914 – December 17, 2008) was an American professional football player and coach. During his college and professional careers, he most notably played quarterback, but also played as a safety and punter. He ...

as head coach in 1965. The Oilers went 4–10 in 1965, resulting in Taylor's dismissal at the end of the season. Taylor coached receivers for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL from 1966 to 1968. In 1969, he coached the Spokane Shockers of the Continental Football League. The Shockers were owned by Taylor's former Redskins teammate, Ed Justice. With the Shockers Taylor coached Ken Stabler, a rookie

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

late signed by the Oakland Raiders. Taylor died on November 1, 1992.

Head coaching record

College

NFL

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Hugh 1923 births 1992 deaths American football ends Arkansas State Red Wolves football coaches Continental Football League coaches Florida State Seminoles football coaches Houston Oilers coaches New York Jets coaches Oklahoma City Stars men's basketball players Oklahoma City Chiefs football players Pittsburgh Steelers coaches San Diego Chargers coaches Tulane Green Wave men's basketball players Washington Redskins players Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players People from Wynne, Arkansas Players of American football from Arkansas United States Navy personnel of World War II American men's basketball players Houston Oilers head coaches