Robert Taylor (athlete)
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's Athletics | ||
Competitor for  United States |
||
| Olympic Games | ||
| Gold | 1972 Munich | 4 x 100 metres |
| Silver | 1972 Munich | 100 metres |
| IAAF World Cup | ||
| Bronze | 1977 Düsseldorf | 400 meters |
Robert Taylor (September 14, 1948, Tyler, Texas – November 13, 2007, Houston, Texas) was a former American athlete, winner of gold medal in 4x100 m relay at the 1972 Summer Olympics. He is the father of NFL player Bobby Taylor.
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[edit] Career
Taylor won the AAU championships in 100 m in 1972 and in 400 m in 1977.[1]
At the Munich Olympics, Taylor was second in the 100 m.[2]
On the way to the final, Taylor was unwittingly a participant in the first athletics controversy of his career. Unlike his teammates Eddie Hart and Rey Robinson, Taylor was narrowly able to reach the start of his quarter-final race, when their coach Stan Wright unknowingly used an outdated Olympic schedule and failed to deliver his athletes to the track in time. As Taylor told it in a 2000 interview with the Tyler Morning Telegraph.[3], the three athletes and Wright had left the Olympic village for the stadium in time for their quarter-final runs. Whilst waiting for the bus to transport them, they wandered into the ABC-TV headquarters where they saw to their utter horror the athletes lining-up for the first heat, Robinson's heat. A frantic dash to the stadium ensued in a car driven by the ABC-TV employee Bill Norris. Both Robinson and Hart, who was scheduled to run in heat 2, were too late to run. Taylor, who was scheduled to run in heat 3, only had time to rip-off his sweats, put on his running shoes, and do a couple of knee bends before running
Taylor also ran the second leg in the American 4x100 m relay team, which won a gold medal and equalled the United States' own world record of 38.19.[4]
At the 1975 Pan American Games, Taylor was a member of gold medal winning 4x400 m relay team.
Taylor came third in the 400 meters at the 1977 IAAF Athletics World Cup in Dusseldorf whilst representing the USA[5]. By virtue of this, he was part of a second athletics controversy in his career. The race was re-run the day after the first run because Alberto Juantorena (of Cuba representing the Americas) lodged a successful protest that he had not been able to hear the starter's gun in the first race.[6]
His coach at Texas Southern University, Porter Robinson, has stated that Taylor had tried out for the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs as a wide receiver, but did not make it because "he had the speed but couldn't catch the ball".[7].
[edit] Personal Life
Taylor graduated from Emmett J. Scott High School in Tyler, Texas in 1968.[3]
He then attended Texas Southern University and graduated with a degree in education.[8]
After graduation, Taylor was a teacher first at Hogg Middle School in Tyler, then moved to Houston to teach special education. At the time of his death, he was teaching in Missouri City, Texas.[3]
Taylor died in 2007 of a heart attack at the relatively young age of 59. He was taken ill at his school and never recovered. His wife has stated he had been suffering from heart problems.[7][8]
Taylor was survived by his wife, Cheryl, and three children Bobby, Johnathan and Cecilee.
[edit] World Rankings
Taylor was voted by the experts at Track and Field News to be ranked among the best in the USA and the world in the 100 meters sprint event in the period from 1969 to 1972.[9][10]
| Year | World rank | US rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | 10th | 5th |
| 1970 | - | 6th |
| 1971 | - | - |
| 1972 | 2nd | 1st |
When he transfered his attention to 400m, he was again ranked as one of the best.[11][12]
| Year | World rank | US rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | - | 7th |
| 1976 | 7th | 5th |
| 1977 | 3rd | 1st |
| 1978 | - | 7th |
[edit] Lifetime Achievements
As well as participating at an Olympics, which Taylor has said was 'the highlight' [3]of his athletics career, Taylor was a respected family man, athlete and teacher.
During his life, he received the following accolades:
- All-Southwestern Athletic Conference and NAIA All-American.[3]
- Inducted in 1973 into the Outstanding College Athletes Hall of Fame.[3]
- In 1996, inducted into the Texas Southern University Hall of Fame.[3]
- Inducted in 2007 imto the Prairie View Interscholastic League Coaches Hall of Fame.[3]
- Southwestern Conference Hall of Fame.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/archive/usa-nat-champs-history.html A History Of The Results Of The National Track & Field Championships Of The USA From 1876 Through 2003, Track and Field News, Retrieved 3 February 2012.
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX-TW_btOg8&feature=related 1972 Olympic Games 100m Men
- ^ a b c d e f g h i http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20071114/NEWS08/71114022 tylerpaper.com,'Tyler Olympic star Robert Taylor dies.' by Phil Hicks, 14 November 2007. retrieved 26 February 2012.
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGzFfQwWoQ8 Munich 1972 4x100m men (amateur footage)
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYK9E1XAzdI 1977 World Cup 400m - men
- ^ http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1092794/2/index.htm Sports Illustrated, 12 September 1977. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
- ^ a b http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=oly&id=3111194 ESPN Obituary
- ^ a b http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/16/sports/16taylor.html 'Robert Taylor dies at 59; Won 2 medals in 72 Olympics.' by Frank Litsky, NY Times, 16 November 2007. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
- ^ "World Rankings Index--Men's 100 meters". Track and Field News. http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/rankings/men/100worldbyathlete.pdf.
- ^ "U.S. Rankings Index--Men's 100 meters". Track and Field News. http://trackandfieldnews.com/rankings/men/100usbyathlete.pdf.
- ^ "World Rankings Index--Men's 400 meters". Track and Field News. http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/rankings/men/400worldbyathlete.pdf.
- ^ "U.S. Rankings Index--Men's 400 meters". Track and Field News. http://trackandfieldnews.com/rankings/men/400usbyathlete.pdf.
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[edit] External links
- 1948 births
- 2007 deaths
- American sprinters
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics
- Deaths from cardiovascular disease
- Olympic track and field athletes of the United States
- Olympic gold medalists for the United States
- Olympic silver medalists for the United States
- Texas Southern University alumni
- Olympic medalists in athletics (track and field)
