In his rookie season, when he began 4 of the Chiefs’ 14 video games, he caught 26 passes for 446 yards. He emerged as a star the following season, and over his profession he was chosen for the Professional Bowl thrice and was a first-team All-Professional twice.
He caught a complete of 410 passes in his profession for 7,306 yards, with 57 touchdowns. He ranks third in Chiefs historical past in receiving yards, after Tony Gonzalez and Travis Kelce.
Taylor’s enjoying profession ended after the 1975 season, and he turned a scout for the group. In 1981, he was upset that Marv Levy, the Chiefs head coach on the time, had not interviewed him for an assistant teaching job.
“I used to be probably the most annoyed and saddest man on this planet,” Taylor informed The Kansas Metropolis Star. “All the roles that had been accessible, and I by no means bought a name from anybody. I’ll by no means put myself on a pedestal and say I ought to get a training job as a result of I’m Otis Taylor. That’s not the way in which the system works. However it might be good at the very least to be considered.”
He was identified with Parkinson’s and dementia in 1990. He filed a profitable declare underneath the roughly $1 billion class motion settlement that resulted from gamers who sued the N.F.L. for masking up the risks of concussions. His household cited “a number of repetitive traumatic head impacts, subconcussive and concussive accidents” throughout video games and practices, and he sought medical take care of the remainder of his life.
He was described as being bedridden and depending on a feeding tube by The Related Press in a 2016 article.
Taylor’s survivors included his spouse, Regina Taylor; his sister, Odell; and his son, Otis III.
Whereas a number of of his teammates have been inducted into the Professional Soccer Corridor of Fame, Taylor has fallen quick, most just lately final 12 months.
“Should you shut your eyes and take into consideration one thing you need to occur,” he informed The Star in 1999, “it could possibly occur if just for a second or two.”