Brice Taylor
Brice Union Taylor (July 4, 1902 – September 18, 1974) was an American football player and coach and track athlete. He played college football as a guard at the University of Southern California (USC), where he was one of first All-Americans in 1925 and the first African-American player for the USC Trojans. Taylor served as the head football coach at Claflin University in Orangeburg, South Carolina in 1927 and from 1932 to 1933, Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana from 1928 to 1931, Bishop College in Marshall, Texas from 1934 to 1935, and Samuel Huston College in Austin, Texas from 1936 to 1938.
 Taylor at USC, c. 1925 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 4, 1902 Seattle, Washington |
| Died | September 18, 1974 (aged 72) Downey, California |
| Playing career | |
| 1924–1926 | USC |
| Position(s) | Fullback, guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1927 | Claflin |
| 1928–1931 | Southern |
| 1932–1933 | Claflin |
| 1934–1935 | Bishop |
| 1936–1938 | Samuel Huston |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
| All-American (1925) USC Athletic Hall of Fame | |
Early years
Taylor was born on July 4, 1902 in Seattle, Washington. His middle name of "Union" was given in honor of his birth falling on Independence Day.[1] He was a direct descendant of Native American chief and warrior Tecumseh.[2] Taylor played at Franklin High School in his native Seattle.
College career
Taylor was a prominent guard for the USC Trojans football team of the University of Southern California. He started as a fullback on Gus Henderson's 1924 Trojan team. The next year Howard Jones became head coach and moved him to running guard. Taylor played all but four minutes of USC's eleven games, a school record that stood for decades.
Taylor was a member of USC's 1925 class and was the school's first All-American football player, but was not recorded in the school's media guide due to "the racism that permeated USC's football field at that time." In the 1950s, Brad Pye Jr. and Deke Houlgate Sr. initiated a campaign to have Taylor's name added to USC's media guide listing of All-Americans, which was ultimately successful.
In the spring of 1925, Taylor was a sprinter, hurdler and relay runner on the USC track team that startled the nation by winning the IC4A meet at the University of Pennsylvania. He won the 100-yard dash with a 9.8 time, won the 220-yard high-hurdles and was the lead runner on the mile relay team that broke the world record that day.
He was also selected for the relay team for the Olympics held in Paris in 1924 but due to a sprained ankle, he was not able to compete.
Taylor's All-American status was made all the more spectacular because he was born without a left hand.
While a student at the University of Southern California, he became a member of the Phi Delta Kappa fraternity and remained an active member throughout his life.
Professional career
In June 1927, Taylor was hired as the head athletic coach at Claflin University in Orangeburg, South Carolina.[3] The following year, he was appointed as head athletic coach at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.[4] He served as head coach for the Southern Jaguars football team from 1928 to 1931.[5] There he began what would become the Bayou Classic against rival Grambling State University.[6] He led the Jaguars to their first undefeated season in 1931.[5][7] Taylor returned to Claflin in 1932.[8] From 1936 to 1939, Taylor coached at Samuel Huston College, which later merged with Tillotson College to form Huston–Tillotson University in Austin, Texas.[9]
Taylor later became a high school football coach and teacher at Jefferson High School in Los Angeles, California and an associate pastor at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles. While a football coach at Jefferson High School, he began a weekend program for students at the high school by opening the gym on Saturdays as well as hosting Sports Nights during the week, offering an opportunity for students to participate in sports activities and games while keeping them off the streets in Central Los Angeles. Besides coaching football, Mr. Taylor also taught tennis and gymnastics.
In 1969, Governor Ronald Reagan appointed him to be the Director of Head Start within the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) in California.
Death and honors
Brice Taylor died on September 18, 1974, in Los Angeles, after suffering a stroke two weeks prior. He was survived by his wife, Dora Jones Taylor and their three children; two sons, Cryus and Henry, and a daughter, Dora Ada.[10]
Mr. Taylor was honored as Teacher of the Year by the City of Los Angeles in 1969 and received the University of Southern California General Alumni Association Service award in 1970.
Los Angeles Mayor Sam Yorty appointed Brice Taylor to the Mayor's Community Advisory Board in 1964.
Taylor was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995. There is a plaque honoring him as the first All-American at the Los Angeles Coliseum in the Memorial Court of Honor.[11] Every year, the Brice Taylor Award is given to a USC alumnus for outstanding civic service in their community.
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claflin Panthers (Independent) (1927) | |||||||||
| 1927 | Claflin | 4–2–2 | |||||||
| Southern Jaguars (Independent) (1928–1931) | |||||||||
| 1928 | Southern | 5–2–1 | |||||||
| 1929 | Southern | 7–1 | |||||||
| 1930 | Southern | 5–1–1 | |||||||
| 1931 | Southern | 7–0 | |||||||
| Claflin: | 24–4–2 | ||||||||
| Claflin Panthers (Southeastern Athletic Conference) (1932–1933) | |||||||||
| 1932 | Claflin | 2–5–1 | 1st | ||||||
| 1933 | Claflin | 2–3 | 1st | ||||||
| Claflin: | 8–10–3 | ||||||||
| Bishop Tigers (Southwestern Athletic Conference) (1934–1935) | |||||||||
| 1934 | Bishop | 6–0–1 | 0–0 | NA | |||||
| 1935 | Bishop | 7–2–1 | 3–2–1 | 3rd | |||||
| Samuel Huston Dragons (Southwestern Athletic Conference) (1936–1938) | |||||||||
| 1936 | Samuel Huston | ||||||||
| 1937 | Samuel Huston | ||||||||
| 1938 | Samuel Huston | ||||||||
| Samuel Huston: | |||||||||
| Total: | |||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
References
- Richard J. Shmelter. The USC Trojans Football Encyclopedia. p. 235.
- Don Yaeger. Turning of the Tide. p. 31.
- "Brice Taylor Made Claflin Sport Coach". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. Associated Press. June 15, 1927. p. 36. Retrieved December 2, 2019 – via Newspapers.com
. - "Brice Taylor New Southern 'U' Coach". Pittsburgh Courier. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. September 1, 1928. p. 17. Retrieved December 2, 2019 – via Newspapers.com .
- Thomas Aiello, , Bayou Classic: The Grambling-Southern Football Rivalry, Globe Pequot, September 1, 2007, accessed January 29, 2013.
- Ken Rappoport & Barry Wilner, , Football Feuds: The Greatest College Football Rivalries, Globe Pequot, September 1, 2007, accessed January 29, 2013.
- Southern Yearly Results Archived November 12, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, College Football Data Warehouse, accessed January 29, 2013.
- "Bruce Taylor Appointed Athletic Head At Claflin". The Emporia Citizen. Emporia, Kansas. July 1, 1932. p. 1. Retrieved December 2, 2019 – via Newspapers.com .
- "Chase New Grid Mentor As Sam Huston College". Pittsburgh Courier. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. August 19, 1939. p. 18. Retrieved December 2, 2019 – via Newspapers.com .
- "Taylor, USC's First All-American, Dies". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. September 19, 1974. p. 57. Retrieved December 2, 2019 – via Newspapers.com .
- https://www.lacoliseum.com/celebrating-black-history-month-at-the-coliseum/