| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1898-02-26)February 26, 1898 Doswell, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | April 1, 1966(1966-04-01) (aged 68) Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1921–1923 | Northwestern |
| Baseball | |
| 1926 | Dayton Marcos |
| Position(s) | End (football) First baseman (baseball) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1924 | Virginia Normal |
| 1925–1929 | Clark (GA) |
| 1930–1943 | Prairie View |
| 1945–1948 | Virginia Union |
| 1949–1958 | Bluefield State |
| 1959–1961 | Kentucky State |
| Basketball | |
| 1924–1925 | Virginia State |
| 1925–1930 | Clark (GA) |
| Basketball | |
| 1926–1930 | Clark (GA) |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1949–1958 | Bluefield State |
| Head coaching record | |
| Bowls | 10–6 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football 1SIAC (1928) 3SWAC (1931, 1933) | |
| Sam B. Taylor | |
|---|---|
| First baseman | |
| Negro league baseball debut | |
| 1926, for the Dayton Marcos | |
| Last appearance | |
| 1926, for the Dayton Marcos | |
| Teams | |
|
Samuel Brown Taylor (February 26, 1898 – April 1, 1966) was an American educator,Negro league baseball player, andcollege football coach. He served as the head football coach at Virginia State College for Negroes—now known asVirginia State University—in 1925, Clark College—now known asClark Atlanta University—from 1925 to 1929, Prairie View State Normal & Industrial College—now known asPrairie View A&M University—from 1930 to 1943,Virginia Union University from 1945 to 1948, Bluefield State College—now known asBluefield State University—from 1948 to 1958, and Kentucky State College—now known asKentucky State University—from 1959 to 1961.
A native ofDoswell, Virginia, Taylor attendedNorthwestern University. He playedNegro league baseball for theDayton Marcos in 1926.[1][2]
In 1943, Taylor was named the "Supervisor of Negro Education" for the state ofKentucky.[3] He was one of the primary educators in the state of Kentucky responsible for de-segregation of public schools after theBrown v. Board of Education ruling in 1954.[4]
Taylor began his coaching career at the Virginia Normal School and Industrial Institute (now known asVirginia State University) as its first men's basketball coach in 1924–25.
In September 1925, Taylor and his new bride, Lullene Perrin, moved to Clark College–now known asClark Atlanta University–inAtlanta, where Taylor coached football until 1930. He also coached basketball and baseball at Clark.[5]
In 1930, Taylor was hired as head coach at Prairie View State Normal & Industrial College—now known asPrairie View A&M University—inPrairie View, Texas.[5]
Taylor took over the reins as head football coach and track coach atVirginia Union University in 1945 after the war. Once again, Lewis "Jack Rabbit" Smith teamed up with Taylor and ran under the maroon and steel colors of Virginia Union.
In 1948, the Virginia Union football team defeatedJake Gaither'sFlorida A&M Rattlers in theOrange Blossom Classic, 39–18.
In the summer of 1949, Taylor was hired as the head football coach at Bluefield State College—now known asBluefield State University—inBluefield, West Virginia. He coached at Bluefield State until late spring 1959.
Taylor was the 13th head football coach atKentucky State University inFrankfort, Kentucky from 1959 until midway through the 1961 season whenMel Whedbee took charge of the team.[6] Hip replacement surgery sidelined Taylor as the football coach, but he continued to coach track. In 1965, Taylor had the fastest quarter mile runner in the country.
After a lengthy illness, Taylor died inLexington, Kentucky in 1966 at age 68.[7] He was inducted into the K-Club Athletic Hall of Fame October 2009.[8]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia Normal Trojans(Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association)(1924) | |||||||||
| 1924 | Virginia Normal | 5–3–3 | 1–2–3 | T–4th | |||||
| Virginia Normal: | 5–3–3 | 1–2–3 | |||||||
| Clark Panthers(Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference)(1925–1929) | |||||||||
| 1925 | Clark | ||||||||
| 1926 | Clark | ||||||||
| 1927 | Clark | 5–1–2 | |||||||
| 1928 | Clark | 6–1–1 | T–1st | ||||||
| 1929 | Clark | 6–2–1 | |||||||
| Clark: | |||||||||
| Prairie View Panthers(Southwestern Athletic Conference)(1931–1943) | |||||||||
| 1930 | Prairie View | 8–3 | LPrairie View | ||||||
| 1931 | Prairie View | 9–1 | 1st | WPrairie View | |||||
| 1932 | Prairie View | 6–3–2 | 2–2–1 | WPrairie View | |||||
| 1933 | Prairie View | 7–1 | T–1st | WPrairie View | |||||
| 1934 | Prairie View | 5–4 | 2–3 | 4th | LPrairie View | ||||
| 1935 | Prairie View | 4–3–4 | 1–1–4 | 4th | LPrairie View | ||||
| 1936 | Prairie View | 4–4–2 | 1–3–2 | 6th | WOrange Blossom Classic,LPrairie View | ||||
| 1937 | Prairie View | 7–4 | 4–2 | 3rd | WPrairie View | ||||
| 1938 | Prairie View | 5–2–3 | 2–2–2 | 3rd | WPrairie View | ||||
| 1939 | Prairie View | 5–2–1 | 3–2–1 | T–2nd | WPrairie View | ||||
| 1940 | Prairie View | 6–3 | 4–2 | 3rd | WPrairie View | ||||
| 1941 | Prairie View | 7–1–2 | 4–0–2 | 1st[n 1] | LPrairie View | ||||
| 1942 | Prairie View | 5–2 | 3–1 | 2nd | LPrairie View | ||||
| 1943 | Prairie View | 6–2–1 | WPrairie View | ||||||
| Prairie View: | 84–35–15 | ||||||||
| Virginia Union Panthers(Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association)(1945–1948) | |||||||||
| 1945 | Virginia Union | 4–4 | 4–3 | 7th | |||||
| 1946 | Virginia Union | 3–5–1 | 1–5–1 | 13th | |||||
| 1947 | Virginia Union | 4–5 | 3–5 | 9th | |||||
| 1948 | Virginia Union | 6–5 | 3–5 | 10th | WOrange Blossom Classic | ||||
| Virginia Union: | 17–19–1 | 11–18–1 | |||||||
| Bluefield State Big Blues(Colored/Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association)(1949–1958) | |||||||||
| 1949 | Bluefield State | 2–5–1 | 1–5–1 | 15th | |||||
| 1950 | Bluefield State | 6–3–1 | 4–2–1 | 6th | |||||
| 1951 | Bluefield State | 3–6 | 3–3 | 11th | |||||
| 1952 | Bluefield State | 1–7 | 1–5 | 14th | |||||
| 1953 | Bluefield State | 2–7 | 2–5 | 15th | |||||
| 1954 | Bluefield State | 8–2 | 6–1 | 4th | |||||
| 1955 | Bluefield State | 7–2–1 | 5–2–1 | 9th | |||||
| 1956 | Bluefield State | 6–1 | 5–1 | 6th | |||||
| 1957 | Bluefield State | 6–2 | 4–2 | 4th | |||||
| 1958 | Bluefield State | 5–2–1 | 4–2 | 5th | |||||
| Bluefield State: | 46–37–4 | 35–28–3 | |||||||
| Kentucky State(Midwest Athletic Association / Midwest Conference)(1959–1961) | |||||||||
| 1959 | Kentucky State | 3–5–1 | 1–1–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1960 | Kentucky State | 2–8 | 0–3 | 4th | |||||
| 1961 | Kentucky State | 3–2[n 2] | 0–1[n 2] | [n 2] | |||||
| Kentucky State: | 8–15–1 | 1–5–1 | |||||||
| Total: | |||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
..