When legendary wide receiver Lionel Taylor heard the Broncos would be practicing next week in West Virginia, he was quick with a quip. “Let the guys see what the hillbillies live like,’’ Taylor said. Then he laughed.
Taylor, who grew up in West Virginia, knows well The Greenbriar in White Sulphur Springs, where Denver will practice between games Sunday at Tampa Bay and next Sunday at the New York Jets, is quite luxurious. “That’s the most beautiful place in the world,’’ said Taylor, who starred for the Broncos from 1960-66 and is in their Ring of Fame. Not as beautiful is where Taylor grew up 2 hours down the road in the tiny rural community of Lorado.
“It’s coal mining country,’’ he said. Taylor, who is Black, graduated from Buffalo High School in 1953, a year before the Supreme Court outlawed segregation in schools. However, it would not be until the 1960s that West Virginia schools were desegregated.
All-Black Buffalo High in Accoville, which now has a population of 596, was 3 miles away from all-white Man High School in Man, which has a population of 772. Taylor couldn’t attend Man High but said relations were fine then with those at the school. “We got along great,’’ he said.
“We scrimmaged against each other. We always said, ‘How come we can’t play together. We’d have a better team.
’ The Black people had good relations with the White people because everybody was working the coal mines and trying to put food on the table for their families and nobody had time to worry about racism.” Taylor, who was born in Kansas City, Mo., but never knew his father, moved with his mother Bertha Glend to West Virginia when he was very young.
He was raised there by his mother, a cook, and stepfather, J.C. Glend, who was a coal cutter at the mines.
“That was a very good job for a Black man at the time,’’ Taylor said. “He ran a machine that cut coal.” Buffalo High School closed after desegregation finally came to West Virginia.
But Taylor didn’t end up being forgotten by the school system there. Last September, Man High School, which Taylor wasn’t allowed to attend, inducted him into its Hall of Fame. Taylor, who is 89 and lives outside Albuquerque in Rio Rancho, N.
M., couldn't make it to the ceremonies, but the school sent him a number of gifts, including a nice watch. “I couldn’t go to the school 70 years ago, but now I’m in their Hall of Fame," Taylor said.
“That showed a lot of class.” That’s not the only recent honor for Taylor in West Virginia. A few years ago, a sign was erected on the road into Man that reads “Home of Former NFL Players Charles Cowan, Lionel Taylor.
” Cowan, who died in 1998, was Taylor’s teammate at Buffalo High and was a Pro Bowl offensive lineman from 1961-75 with the Los Angeles Rams. Taylor hasn’t been back to West Virginia since the 1990s, which is when his mother died, a decade after his father did. But he’s happy to see the Broncos heading to his home state, where they will arrive Monday and practice Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
It’s part of coach Sean Payton’s plan to keep the team acclimated with consecutive games in the Eastern Time Zone. Taylor did make it back to Denver last weekend for the first time in a while. He toured the city and attended the Broncos’ 13-6 loss to Pittsburgh at Empower Field at Mile High.
Taylor, who was inducted into the charter class of the Ring of Fame in 1984, had been to the stadium after it was opened in 2001, but had not before seen his Ring of Fame pillar, which was erected in 2013. Taylor went to Denver along with his wife Lorencita, and he signed autographs for fans before the game against the Steelers. He was the wide receivers coach for Pittsburgh from 1970-76.
The visit was arranged by the Broncos and by NFL Films, which is producing a a segment on Taylor that will air in November. “They filmed it and put the final touches on it,’’ said Taylor, who caught 567 passes for 7,195 yards in a pro career that spanned from 1959-68 and in 1961 became the first pro receiver to have a 100-catch season. When Taylor was at last Sunday’s game, he was shown on the videoboard sitting in a suite and he waved to fans.
He saw the retired No. 18 in the stadium for Frank Tripucka, who was Taylor’s quarterback with the Broncos from 1960-63. “We used to joke with each other that we can do everything together except we can’t go to school together," Taylor said of Tripucka, who died in 2013.
Portis to visit? Running back Clinton Portis was with Denver for only the 2002 and 2003 seasons but made quite an impact. Could he be returning for a visit? Reuben Droughns, a running back who was Portis’ teammate in his two Broncos seasons, said Portis could be in Denver in two weeks during the team’s alumni weekend. Many former Broncos are expected back and will attend the Oct.
6 game against the Las Vegas Raiders. “We’ve got a big Broncos sort of chat that we talk to guys on, and he said he was planning on coming,’’ Droughns said. “I sure hope so.
That would be really cool.” Portis had seasons of 1,508 yards rushing as a rookie in 2002 and 1,591 in his second year before he was traded in 2004 to Washington for future Hall of Fame cornerback Champ Bailey. Portis went on play for Washington through the 2010 season and finished his career with 9,923 yards rushing and two Pro Bowl appearances.
Droughns, who took over as Denver’s primary back after Portis left and had 1,240 yards rushing in 2004, said he has never seen Portis at a Broncos alumni function. Portis in 2022 was sentenced to six months in prison and six months of home confinement for his role in a scheme to defraud a health care benefit program. While Droughns is hoping to reconnect with Portis, he is also looking for another notable former Denver running back.
He said he and some other Broncos players have lost contact with Mike Anderson, who had 1,000-yard rushing seasons in 2000 and 2005. “Now we’re searching for Mike Anderson,’’ Droughns said. “He’s like a nomad now.
” What I’m hearing —Before the Broncos put outside linebacker Baron Browning on injured reserve Saturday with a left foot injury, they signed Dondrea Tillman off the practice squad last Wednesday for depth at the position. Denver players are intrigued with Tillman, who got plenty of experience playing the past three spring seasons with the Birmingham Stallions. “With ‘Till’ in the room, he’s going to be comfortable playing,’’ outside linebacker Nik Bonitto said of Tillman, who could get some snaps from scrimmage at Tampa Bay.
—While at Illinois in 2022, Broncos tackle Alex Palczewski became close with Illini quarterback and current New York Giants backup Tommy DeVito. Palczewski keeps up regularly with DeVito and was well aware how crazy it was when he started six games last season for the Giants, who practice and play in New Jersey. “It was like a dream come true for Italians in New Jersey,’’ said Palczewski, who grew up in a heavily Polish Chicago area as the son of immigrants and speaks Polish.
“I was telling my parents it would be like if the starting quarterback for the Bears was Polish. Imagine how big that would be.” What I’m seeing —A number of Broncos players have talked about the potential benefits of a week of practice in West Virginia.
“I think it will be a good bonding thing,’’ said wide receiver Devaughn Vele. “I think everybody is excited to get to know each other better and to help us with our team chemistry and get us going in the right direction.” If the 0-2 Broncos lose to the Buccaneers, they will need something to help turn them around.
—The Broncos anxiously have been waiting for tight end Greg Dulcich to get healthy after he missed 15 games last season due to hamstring issues. Now that he is back, Dulcich hasn’t delivered much in two games. He has five catches for a modest 28 yards and had two drops against the Steelers.
Dulcich took ownership of the drops, but if his play doesn’t step up, one wonders if the Broncos will give some playing time to Lucas Krull, who was inactive the first two games. What I’m thinking —It's interesting that Broncos running back Tyler Badie hasn’t been given more of a look in three Denver seasons. As a rookie in 2022, he was elevated for the final game of the season and had a 24-yard catch against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Last Sunday, he was elevated to face the Steelers and had a 16-yard run in the second quarter but didn’t get another carry in the game. Badie also had a run against the Chargers for no gain and caught a 2-yard pass against Pittsburgh. But two of his four NFL plays have been explosive.
He was elevated again for Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers and should get a longer look. —I’m surprised NFL teams haven’t come up with intriguing ways to handle kickoffs with the new rules, such as booting hard-to-handle knuckleballs. It was odd that late in the loss to Pittsburgh that Payton didn’t call for an onside kick.
But rather than have Wil Lutz kick the ball for a touchback, wouldn’t having at least attempt a type of boot that could be fumbled been a strategic option?.
