Washington football legend Charley Taylor dead at 80

Hall of Fame wide receiver Charley Taylor, an eight-time Pro Bowl selection who led Washington to its first Super Bowl berth, died late Saturday. He was 80.

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Taylor died at an assisted living facility in Northern Virginia. The cause of death was not announced, The Washington Post reported.

The Commanders announced Taylor’s death in a statement.

“He represented the organization with excellence and class over three decades as a player and coach,” Commanders owners Dan and Tanya Snyder said in a statement. “Charley was a great man and will be sorely missed by all.”

Taylor was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1984.

Taylor, who played his entire career in Washington from 1964 to 1977 -- he missed the entire 1976 season with an injury -- retired as the NFL’s all-time leader in receptions with 649 -- a record that has since been broken He had 9,110 yards receiving and scored 79 touchdowns.

“Taylor probably is the greatest natural football player I’ve ever seen,” Washington coach Bill McPeak said in 1964. “He combines power, speed and fine open field moves.”

Washington made Taylor its first-round draft pick in 1964, the third pick overall. He was immediately recognized as a star because of his elusiveness and elegance as a wide receiver.

“He had the great, smooth, classical moves that you don’t teach,” said Frank Kush, his coach at Arizona State University, where Taylor was a two-time all-American. “He had it all. He was poetry on a football field.”

Taylor spent his first three seasons as a halfback, ESPN reported. He rushed for 1,419 yards and had 2,510 yards receiving during those three seasons, before becoming a full-time receiver in 1967. He helped Washington reach its first Super Bowl in 1972.

Taylor’s 90 career touchdowns remain a franchise record for Washington, according to ESPN.

After he retired, Taylor worked in Washington’s front office as a scout and then on its coaching staff from 1981 to 1993, helping the team win three Super Bowls, ESPN reported.

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