Jim Taylor Remembered

"Taylor ran with a football as though he was hell-bent on turning each and every game into a human demolition derby. There was nothing fancy or pretty about his style. He ran with ferocity. He ran with power. He ran with grit. Bottom line: He played like a man possessed, a throwback to the days when football more closely resembled trench warfare and the sole mission of each player was to seemingly dish out more punishment than he took.

Taylor surpassed 1,000 yards rushing five straight seasons from 1960 to 1964, including a league-high 1,474 yards when the Packers went 13-1 en route to winning the 1962 NFL championship. The Associated Press named Taylor the league's most valuable player that year, although he saved his best for last.

In the 1962 NFL Championship Game, played 17 days after he was voted MVP, Taylor delivered the most memorable performance of his career. In a brutal defensive battle, played in chilling temperatures, raw winds and on a Yankee Stadium field not much softer than concrete, Taylor carried 31 times and gained 85 yards as the Packers outlasted the New York Giants, 16-7. "Taylor isn't human," Giants middle linebacker Sam Huff said in awe after the game. "No human being could have taken the punishment he got today."

While Taylor finished his career as the NFL's second leading all-time rusher, he played at virtually the same time as record-holder Jim Brown of the Cleveland Browns. Brown was tough, too, but also a faster, more elusive runner and, therefore, generally viewed as the better of the two and perhaps the greatest back in the history of the game. In nine seasons, Brown led the NFL in rushing eight times.

But Taylor approached each of their matchups as a personal affront and led the Packers to victory in all three of their head-to-head battles. Taylor also outrushed Brown in two of the three games.

In the 1965 NFL Championship Game, Taylor rushed for 96 yards on 27 attempts and was named the MVP. In what turned out to be Brown's final game, the Packers held him to 50 on 12 carries. The first time the two met was Oct. 15, 1961, when the Packers crushed the Browns, 49-17, as Taylor rushed for 158 yards on 21 attempts. Brown gained 72 on 16 carries.
Super Bowl I flashback: FB Jim Taylor rushes for TD

In all, Taylor started at fullback on four of Vince Lombardi's five NFL championship teams and led the Packers in rushing seven times. "Taylor may not be as big as some fullbacks, but he has balance and determination," Lombardi said after Taylor was named the league's MVP. "He is hard to knock off his feet and he fights for every yard."

Taylor held the Packers' career rushing record for 43 years. His club single-season record of 1,474 yards lasted 41 years. His single-game record of 186 yards, set in a Western Conference-clinching victory over the Giants in 1961, survived 36 years.

Taylor also had one of the lowest fumble rates in NFL history. He fumbled a mere 34 times in 2,166 touches, or once every 63.7 times he touched the ball."
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