Brice Union Taylor (July 4, 1902 – September 18, 1974) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player, coach and track athlete. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

as a guard at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

(USC), where he was the first All-American in football at the university in 1925 and the first African-American player for the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...

. Mr. Taylor served as the head football coach at Claflin University in

Orangeburg, South Carolina Orangeburg, also known as ''The Burg'', is the principal city in and the county seat of Orangeburg County, South Carolina, Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population of the city was 13,964 according to the 2020 United Stat ...

in 1927 and from 1932 to 1933,

Southern University Southern University and A&M College (Southern University, Southern, SUBR or SU) is a Public university, public historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. It i ...

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

from 1928 to 1931, Bishop College in

Marshall, Texas Marshall is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Harrison County, Texas, Harrison County and a cultural and educational center of the Ark-La-Tex region. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the population of ...

from 1934 to 1935, and Samuel Huston College in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

from 1936 to 1938.

Early years

Brice Union Taylor was born on July 4, 1902, in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington. His middle name of "Union" was given in honor of his birth falling on

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

. Taylor was a descendant of both African slaves and the

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

Indian chief

Tecumseh Tecumseh ( ; (March 9, 1768October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the Territorial evolution of the United States, expansion of the United States onto Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

. He was the youngest of ten children of Cyrus Taylor, a bricklayer. Orphaned at age 5, due to a fire in the family home, Taylor was taken in and raised by the DiJulio family of Seattle. Although he was born without a left hand, Taylor showed his athletic prowess while growing up in Seattle, Washington and played football at Franklin High School.

College career

Taylor enrolled at the

, where he became a member of the Omega fraternity and remained an active member throughout his life.

Football

Taylor played for the

USC Trojans football The USC Trojans football program represents the University of Southern California in the sport of American football. The Trojans compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate ...

team. He started as a fullback on Gus Henderson's 1924 Trojan team. In 1925, Howard Jones became the new head football coach and moved Taylor to offensive and defensive line and kicker. Taylor played all but four minutes of USC's eleven games that season, a school record that stood for decades. Taylor was also named USC’s first All American football player in 1925.

Track

Taylor was also a sprinter, hurdler and relay runner on the USC track team that won the IC4A meet at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. He won the 100-yard dash with a 9.8 time, won the 220-yard high-hurdles and was the lead runner on the mile relay team that broke the world record that day. He was also selected for the US Olympic relay team for the Olympics held in Paris in 1924 but due to a sprained ankle, he was not able to compete.

Professional career

In June 1927, Taylor was hired as the head athletic coach at Claflin University in

. The following year, he was appointed as head athletic coach at

. He served as head coach for the Southern Jaguars football team from 1928 to 1931.Thomas Aiello

''Bayou Classic: The Grambling-Southern Football Rivalry'', Globe Pequot, September 1, 2007, accessed January 29, 2013. There he began what would become the Bayou Classic against rival Grambling State University.Ken Rappoport & Barry Wilner

''Football Feuds: The Greatest College Football Rivalries'', Globe Pequot, September 1, 2007, accessed January 29, 2013. He led the Jaguars to their first undefeated season in 1931.Southern Yearly Results
, College Football Data Warehouse, accessed January 29, 2013. Taylor returned to Claflin in 1932. From 1936 to 1939, Taylor coached both football and basketball at Samuel Huston College, which later merged with Tillotson College to form

Huston–Tillotson University Huston–Tillotson University (HT) is a private historically black university in Austin, Texas, United States. Established in 1875, it was the first institution of higher learning in Austin. The university is affiliated with the United Methodis ...

. Taylor later became a high school football coach and teacher at Jefferson High School in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and an associate pastor at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles. While a football coach at Jefferson High School, he began a weekend program for students at the high school by opening the gym on Saturdays as well as hosting Sports Nights during the week, offering an opportunity for students to participate in sports activities and games while keeping them off the streets in Central Los Angeles. Besides coaching football, Mr. Taylor also taught

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

and gymnastics. In 1969, Governor

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

appointed him to be the Director of Head Start within the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) in California.

Death and honors

Brice Taylor died on September 18, 1974, in Los Angeles, after having a stroke two weeks prior. He was survived by his wife, Dora Jones Taylor and their three children; two sons, Cryus and Henry, and a daughter, Dora Ada. Mr. Taylor was honored as Teacher of the Year by the City of Los Angeles in 1969 and received the University of Southern California General Alumni Association Service award in 1970. Los Angeles Mayor Sam Yorty appointed Brice Taylor to the Mayor's Community Advisory Board in 1964. Taylor was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995. There is a plaque honoring him as the first All-American at the Los Angeles Coliseum in the Memorial Court of Honor. Every year, the Brice Taylor Award is given to a USC alumnus for outstanding civic service in their community.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Brice 1902 births 1974 deaths American disabled sportspeople American football fullbacks American football guards American male hurdlers American male sprinters Bishop Tigers football coaches Claflin Panthers football coaches Samuel Huston Dragons football coaches Southern Jaguars football coaches USC Trojans football players USC Trojans men's track and field athletes Franklin High School (Seattle) alumni Players of American football from Downey, California Coaches of American football from Washington (state) Players of American football from Seattle Track and field athletes from Seattle African-American coaches of American football 20th-century African-American sportsmen