If ever there was an athlete whose life should be made into a movie, it's Bobby Taylor. Containing elements of "Semi-Tough", "Slap Shot" and "Easy Rider", it would be an entertaining, in-your-face, tell-it-like-it-is epic, viewer discretion advised.
"My whole life, I just did it my own way," said Taylor. "Not too many guys do the stuff I used to do." Such as punch out quarterbacks in a hotel room, play hockey in an outlaw league in northern Alberta, or own a well-known biker bar.
The above are all true, but not too many guys had the success Taylor had on the football field, either. After beginning his CFL career with the Calgary Stampeders, where he led the league in receptions in 1964, Taylor came to the Argos in 1966 and subsequently led the team in receiving his first four seasons. Included in that span was a 59-catch, 1183 yard campaign in 1969, a team record for a Canadian receiver that stood until Paul Masotti finally broke it in 1994.
"The biggest thing I had going for me was that I could run with the ball after I caught it; it took a lot of guys to bring me down," said the stocky, 5-foot-10, 200 pounder, who enjoyed the much more physical aspect of the game played in his era. "Back then, (the defensive backs) could beat on you all the way down the field. But I used to give as much as I got, maybe even more."
While his individual statistics over a 14-year career rank him as one of the league's all-time leaders, Taylor's teams never made it to the Grey Cup. They came agonizingly close many times, such as the Stamps in 1962 and the Argos in 1969, and twice Taylor was let go of squads that eventually made it to the big game; the Argos of 1971 and the Eskimos two years later. It was on the latter team that he had his run-in with quarterback Bruce Lemmerman in a Regina hotel, which ultimately led to his release.
"It was a personal thing between him and I, and he let it cost us a ball game," said Taylor. "I was always a bit of a rebel, but as long as you didn't hurt the team, it was okay."
When the football season ended, Taylor put away his cleats and put on skates. Before anyone had heard of Bo Jackson or Deion Sanders, Taylor was the definition of a two-sport athlete, playing hockey in various outposts across North America. In the NHL, Taylor had a tryout with the Maple Leafs in 1962 and a training camp invite from the Flyers in 1967, but in the latter instance would have had to give up football, which he was reluctant to do. Otherwise, he toiled for years in the Eastern, Western and American leagues, playing in cities such as Tulsa, Victoria and Rochester, and even a year playing with former Leaf coach John Brophy on Long Island. Taylor also spent time in the South Peace Hockey League in northern Alberta, which was the only league that players suspended from the CAHA could play in.
Away from sports, Taylor and Argo teammate Bill Symons opened a sports bar in 1971 called "The Dome Stadium" ("in 1970 there was talk of getting a domed stadium, but they said it would cost $40 million, which was too much money."), and in the late '70s he bought the "Black Bull Tavern", a Queen Street West landmark that he still runs today, along with a lodge in Banff.
This page, and all contents, are Copyright © 1996 by Toronto Argonauts Football Club, Toronto, Canada.