Long time Kansas City Chiefs Wide receiver Otis Taylor, who helped lead the franchise to its first Super Bowl victory in 1970, has died, the team confirmed Friday.
Taylor, who spent more than 10 years at Kansas City, he died Thursday after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease and dementia.
Super Bowl I: Kansas City Chiefs Otis Taylor (86) in action, running against the Green Bay Packers. Los Angeles, CA, January 15, 1967. (Walter Iooss Jr./Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
«The Kansas City Chiefs organization is saddened by the passing of Otis Taylor. My family and I want to express our deepest condolences to Otis’ wife Regina, his sister Odell and the entire Taylor family as we mourn his passing,» Chiefs president and CEO Clark Hunt said in a statement.
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«Otis was Chief throughout his 11-year career, and he played an integral role in our franchise’s early success. He became a Kansas City icon with his signature touchdown run in Super Bowl IV, while helping the Chiefs to bring home our first Lombardi Trophy,» Clark added.
«He was one of the most dynamic receivers of his day and helped revolutionize the position. Off the field, he was kind and dedicated to his community. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family. Otis’s legacy will live on forever as a member of the Chiefs Hall of Fame.»
Wide receiver Otis Taylor, #89 for the Kansas City Chiefs, sitting on the bench in the early 1970s during an NFL football game at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. Taylor played for the Chiefs from 1965 to 1975. (Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
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Taylor was selected by the Chiefs in the fourth round of the 1965 AFL draft and would go on to have a dynamic career alongside the legendary quarterback. Len Dawson, who passed away just seven months before Taylor.
Despite his many accolades, including two Pro Bowl selections, two 1,000-yard seasons and the iconic 46-yard touchdown pass he helped the Chiefs defeat the Vikings in Super Bowl IV, Taylor was never inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
«Otis made my job easy,» Dawson once said. «If you gave Otis the pass, you knew he would catch it.»
Kansas City Chiefs Otis Taylor (89) in action against the Oakland Raiders at Municipal Stadium. Kansas City, MO, November 23, 1967 (Walter Iooss Jr./Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
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A two-time AFL champion and AFL MVP, Taylor played for the Chiefs from 1965 to 1975. He finished his career with 7,306 receiving yards and 57 receiving touchdowns.
In 1990, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and associated dementia, which led his family to file a lawsuit against the league in 2012, alleging that the NFL was legally responsible for the health problems he experienced, beginning with the seizures in 1969.
Associated Press contributed to this report.