Earle Abbott "Dummy" Taylor (February 2, 1891 – September 10, 1955) was a

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 ...

player and oil company distributor. He was one of the first star athletes for the

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American football, American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the ...

team.

Early years

Taylor was born in

Ashland, Kansas Ashland is a city in and the county seat of Clark County, Kansas, Clark County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 783. History Ashland lies along what was once a military r ...

, in 1891. By age nine, he had moved with his family to Gainesville, Florida. His father, Herbert Taylor, was employed as a bank cashier.

University of Florida

Taylor played at the right halfback position for the

team of the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

from

1908 This is the longest year in either the Julian or Gregorian calendars, having a duration of 31622401.38 seconds of Terrestrial Time (or ephemeris time), measured according to the definition of mean solar time. Events January * January ...

1912 This year is notable for Sinking of the Titanic, the sinking of the ''Titanic'', which occurred on April 15. In Albania, this leap year runs with only 353 days as the country achieved switching from the Julian to Gregorian Calendar by skippin ...

; the only UF player to earn five football letters. Some describe him as the school's first star athlete. Taylor was described by contemporaneous newspaper accounts as a legendary broken field runner and a master of the

hidden ball trick A hidden ball trick is a play in which a player deceives the opposing team about the location of the ball. Hidden ball tricks are most commonly observed in baseball, where the defence deceives the runner about the location of the ball, to tag out t ...

, who could

drop-kick A drop kick is a type of Kick (football), kick in various codes of football. It involves a player intentionally dropping the ball onto the ground and then kick (football), kicking it either (different sports have different definitions) 'as it rise ...

field goals "at seemingly impossible angles and distance." He is a member of the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame. He was nominated though not selected for an ''Associated Press'' All-Time Southeast 1869-1919 era team. Taylor was picked as a halfback for an All-Time Florida Gators football team in 1927. In 1937, Lewis H. Tribble, dean of

Stetson University Stetson University is a private university in DeLand, Florida, United States. Established in 1883 as DeLand Academy, it was later renamed John B. Stetson University in honor of John B. Stetson. The university's main campus in DeLand spans 175 ...

, declared Taylor the greatest running back who ever played in the state of Florida.

1908 to 1910

In his first season of

, Taylor's extra point decided the win over

Stetson Stetson is an American brand of hat manufactured by the John B. Stetson Company. "Stetson" is also used as a generic trademark to refer to any campaign hat, particularly in Scouting. John B. Stetson gained inspiration for his most famous ...

, after a Charlie Bartleson touchdown run. Taylor kicked three field goals to beat the Jacksonville Olympics in

1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escapes death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * Janu ...

. He was

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the 1910 team which suffered its only loss to

Mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (automobile), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City, US * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or tra ...

1911

Taylor featured on the undefeated 1911 team captained by Neal Storter. The team tied the

South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fight ...

, defeated

The Citadel Bulldogs The Citadel Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent The Citadel. All sports participate in the NCAA Division I except football, which competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Since 1936, varsity sports have ...

, Clemson and the College of Charleston, declared themselves to be the "champions of South Carolina," and finished their season 5–0–1—still the only undefeated football season in the Gators' history. Of the 84 points scored by Florida in 1911, Taylor scored 49: 25 points on the ground and points-after and 24 on field goals. He also threw two touchdown passes. His 8 field goals were a then school record, standing until 1974. Taylor scored in the tie with

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. and against Clemson he picked up a fumble and ran 45 yards for a touchdown, and then kicked the extra point to win. He kicked three

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...

s to beat Columbia College of

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9–0. "It was on the South Carolina trip that the Florida team was dubbed the ‘Alligators,’ and the battle that took place . . .between the Clemson Tigers and the Florida Alligators is one long to be remembered!" declared the Florida Pennant.

1912

He closed his career on the 1912 team which played in the

Bacardi Bowl The Bacardi Bowl was a college football bowl game played seven times in Havana, Cuba, at Almandares Park and La Tropical Stadium. The games were also referred to as the Rhumba Bowl and were the foremost event of Cuba’s annual National Sports ...

. Earlier in the season, the Gators got their first ever win over South Carolina. Taylor made a field goal. After Taylor missed a drop kick, Carolina fumbled, and Florida's Hoyle Pounds recovered for a touchdown. The 23–7 defeat of

was considered Dummy Taylor's greatest game.

Later years

Taylor continued to reside in Gainesville, Florida. As of June 1917, he was employed as a master mechanic for the Florida Industrial Corporation in Gainesville.Draft Registration Card for Earle Abbott Taylor, born February 2, 1891, Ashland, Kansas. Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 atabase on-line Registration State: Florida; Registration County: Alachua; Roll: 1556849 In 1920, he was living in Gainesville and employed as an engineer. In 1930, he was living in Gainesville with his wife, Leonilla and their six-year-old son, Earl, Jr., and he was employed as a wholesale dealer in gas and oil. In 1940, he remained Gainesville with his wife and son and was employed as a consignee for the

Texas Oil Company Texaco, Inc. ("The Texas Company") is an American oil brand owned and operated by Chevron Corporation. Its flagship product is its fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owned the Havoline motor oil brand. Texaco was an independent company until its ...

. He died in Gainesville in 1955 after suffering a heart attack at age 64.

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Earle 1891 births 1955 deaths American football drop kickers American football halfbacks Florida Gators football players People from Clark County, Kansas Players of American football from Kansas Players of American football from Gainesville, Florida