Charles Robert Taylor was born on Sept. 28, 1941, in Grand Prairie, Texas. He was raised there by his mother, Myrtle, a chef, butcher and restaurant owner, and his stepfather, James Stevenson, who built airplane parts.
Charley was a star athlete at his segregated high school, but he struggled to find a college where he could play football — collegiate teams in Texas were still segregated — and he considered entering the military. Instead, his football career was launched when a man who owned a local grocery store and had attended Arizona State arranged a meeting between Charley and the school’s football coach, Frank Kush.
When Taylor entered the N.F.L., there were no Black quarterbacks or coaches. After retiring, he set his ambitions on making history by becoming the first Black head coach or general manager. He spent 16 years working with the Redskins as a scout and coach, but he never ascended beyond an assistant position.
Taylor is survived by his wife, Patricia (Grant) Taylor; their three children, Elizabeth, Erica and Charles Jr.; and several grandchildren.
Taylor did not celebrate touchdowns with a conventional spike. He held his arms aloft, football in hand, while looking pridefully around the field.
“It was sort of a gesture said, ‘I’ve done all I can do with the ball,’” Taylor explained in an interview with NFL Films. “It was my way of saying, ‘I rest my case.’”