Lionel Taylor (born August 15, 1935 in Kansas City, Missouri) was an American football wide receiver who led the American Football League in receptions each year for the first six years of its existence. After leaving New Mexico Highlands University, where he had starred in basketball and track, and made all-conference wide receiver in 1956 and 1957, Taylor first played eight games with the Chicago Bears of the National Football League before moving to the Denver Broncos of the AFL for the 1960 season. Second in all-time receptions (543) for the Denver Broncos and their all-time leading receiver in yardage (6,872), Taylor was the Broncos' team MVP in 1963, 1964 and 1965, and an AFL All-Star in 1961, 1962 and 1965.
Taylor was the first professional football receiver ever to make 100 catches in a single season, and he accomplished that feat in only 14 games (1961). He had four seasons with over 1,000 yards receiving, and averaged 84.7 catches from 1960 to 1965, then the highest six-year total in professional football history. He completed his career with the Houston Oilers in 1967 and 1968.
