Taylor, Lawrence

in full Lawrence Julius Taylor

(born February 4, 1959, Williamsburg, Virginia, U.S.) American collegiate and professional gridiron football player, considered one of the best linebackers in the history of the game. As a member of the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL), he won Super Bowl championships following the 1986 and 1990 seasons.

Taylor, who did not play organized football until the 11th grade, attended the University of North Carolina, where he initially played defensive lineman before being moved to outside linebacker. With a rare combination of size and speed, Taylor, 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 metres) tall and weighing 240 pounds (109 kg), excelled as a linebacker, and he was named All-American in 1980.

Taylor entered the NFL draft in 1981 and was the second overall pick, selected by the New York Giants. By the end of his first professional season, he had 9.5 quarterback sacks (an unofficial number, since the NFL did not keep statistics on sacks until the following season) and a reputation for making hard, vicious hits. He was named Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, an honour that he received again the following season. In 1986 he led the league with 20.5 sacks, guided the Giants to victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXI, and was named Most Valuable Player of the NFL—the second defensive player in league history to receive the honour. Taylor and the Giants won a second championship in January 1991, defeating the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV.

Taylor revolutionized the play of outside linebacker, traditionally a “read and react” position (the linebacker would watch the play develop, then move to stop it). Taylor was an attacking linebacker who possessed the strength and speed to make plays anywhere on the field. He was the most disruptive defensive player of his era. During his 13-year career, he was named All-Pro six times (1981–87) and made 10 Pro Bowl appearances (1981–90 seasons). He retired from professional football after the 1993 season with career totals of 132.5 sacks (not including sacks from his rookie year), 1,088 tackles, 33 forced fumbles, and 9 interceptions. He was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1999.