Sam B. Taylor

Samuel Brown Taylor (February 26, 1898 – April 1, 1966) was an American educator, Negro league baseball player, and college football coach. He served as the head football coach at Virginia State College for Negroes—now known as Virginia State University—in 1925, Clark College—now known as Clark Atlanta University—from 1925 to 1929, Prairie View State Normal & Industrial College—now known as Prairie View A&M University—from 1931 to 1943, Virginia Union University from 1945 to 1948, Bluefield State College—now known as Bluefield State University—from 1948 to 1958, and Kentucky State College—now known as Kentucky State University—from 1959 to 1961.

Playing career
A native of Doswell, Virginia, Taylor attended Northwestern University. He played Negro league baseball for the Dayton Marcos in 1926.

Educator
In 1943, Taylor was named the "Supervisor of Negro Education" for the state of Kentucky. He was one of the primary educators in the state of Kentucky responsible for de-segregation of public schools after the Brown v. Board of Education ruling in 1954.

Virginia State
Taylor began his coaching career at the Virginia Normal School and Industrial Institute (now known as Virginia State University) as its first men's basketball coach in 1924–25.

Clark
In September 1925, Taylor and his new bride, Lullene Perrin, moved to Clark College–now known as Clark Atlanta University–in Atlanta, where Taylor coached football until 1930.

Prairie View
Taylor established an athletics program that included track and football. His track team was second to none between 1931 and 1942. He coach such athletes as "Blue" Stanley, Lewis "Jack Rabbit" Smith, Johnny Marion, and Veda "Skeets" Metlock Johnson. Johnny Marion and Lewis Smith ran against Jesse Owens in the Olympic Trials of 1936.

Taylor was the fourth head football coach at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Texas, serving for 13 seasons, from 1931 until 1943. He was inducted into the Prairie View Athletic Hall of Fame in June 1987.

Virginia Union
Taylor took over the reins as head football coach and track coach at Virginia 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 defeated Jake Gaither's Florida A&M Rattlers in the Orange Blossom Classic, 39–18.

Bluefield State
In the summer of 1949, Taylor was hired as the head football coach at Bluefield State College—now known as Bluefield State University—in Bluefield, West Virginia. He coached at Bluefield State until late spring 1959.

Kentucky State
Taylor was the 13th head football coach at Kentucky State University in Frankfort, Kentucky from 1959 until midway through the 1961 season when Mel Whedbee took charge of the team. 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.

Death and honors
After a lengthy illness, Taylor died in Lexington, Kentucky in 1966 at age 68. He was inducted into the K-Club Athletic Hall of Fame October 2009.