‘Touchdown’ Taylor scores on second chance at life

For before he was Dr. William Taylor, he was Billy Taylor, All-American. Touchdown Billy Taylor.

He got that name during the Michigan-Ohio State game in 1971. With less than two minutes to play, the Wolverines trailed 7-3 when Bo Schembechler called Taylor’s number.

They were from the same hometown – Barberton, Ohio. Perhaps that had something to do with it.

Bo Schembechler said Billy Taylor was the best running back he had ever seen. That definitely had a lot to do with it.

"Cipa rolls out to the right and pitches off to Taylor. And Taylor is to the 20, down to the 15, down to the 10, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 – touchdown Billy Taylor! Touchdown Billy Taylor!"

Michigan 10, Ohio State 7. The Wolverines finished the regular season undefeated.

Then Michigan lost 13-12 to Stanford in the Rose Bowl. Three days later, Taylor’s mother died.

Billy Taylor didn’t have a father.

A couple of weeks later, his uncle killed his aunt, and then his uncle killed himself. That summer, his girlfriend was stabbed to death outside a roller rink in Detroit. And then Billy Taylor didn’t want to play football anymore.

He was cut by the Falcons in training camp, and then he was cut by the old St. Louis Cardinals. He played in two games for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League.

And then his career was done, tossed into a brutal downward spiral that lasted 25 years.

Before he would become Dr. William Taylor, he was Billy Taylor, alcohol and cocaine addict. And Billy Taylor, homeless guy. And, finally, Billy Taylor, ex-convict, after being sentenced to eight years in federal prison for helping a guy rob a bank, in his hometown of Barberton.

Eventually, he got sober – it has been 15 years since he "self-medicated" – and he made his way to Las Vegas. He said Las Vegas was where he turned his life around.

Imagine that. Touchdown Billy Taylor, turning his life around in Las Vegas. Indiana will go to the Rose Bowl before Billy Taylor toes the straight and narrow in Vegas. That’s what everybody said.

But, "I found a new life in Las Vegas," Taylor said Saturday, with Michigan clinging to a 21-20 halftime lead, after he had answered the phone "Go Blue!" and after he said the Wolverines would have to play better defense in the second half – because Bo said defense is what wins the close ones.

"Las Vegas is where I started to dream again."

He began substitute teaching at Mountain View Christian School on East Bonanza Road. He went to a lot of movies at Texas Station. He stayed out of the bars.

He got a job at College of Southern Nevada, where he wore lots of hats, including compliance director for the baseball team when Tim Chambers was coach.

He thought about getting his doctoral degree. Those dreams again.

He was told to call Dr. Paul Meacham, the former CSN president – a Michigan man himself – who had joined the UNLV faculty as an emeritus professor in the College of Education.

Taylor said Meacham immediately knew he was "that Billy Taylor."

Billy Taylor didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. It must have been a good thing. Taylor received a handshake and his doctorate from then-UNLV president Dr. Carol Harter in 2003.

"Dr. Meacham was my academic Bo Schembechler," Taylor said. "He pushed me, pushed me, pushed me."

Dr. William Taylor eventually lost his job at CSN when a new administration reported for duty. He bought a parka and went back to Michigan, where investors helped him purchase an old school on Dexter Avenue in downtown Detroit. For Billy Taylor had yet another dream.

The old school was transformed into Get Back Up, Inc., a modern residential substance abuse treatment facility with 30,000 square feet and 160 beds – and 160 dreams of turning one’s life around, the way he had.

"What a great story," said Chambers, who has become UNLV’s baseball coach. "He’s a great guy and it’s a super story, a story that needs to get out, because who knows how many lives it could change?"

The story of how Billy Taylor scored that touchdown and then went to hell and back finally is getting out, thanks to a book and a documentary about his life. "Perseverance: The Dr. Billy Taylor Story" is now showing at a theater near you, if you live in Ann Arbor or Lansing or Grand Rapids.

Our conversation ended just before the second-half kickoff of the Michigan-Ohio State game. The snow in Columbus had ceased. Dr. William Taylor sounded strong. He sounded like Touchdown Billy Taylor again, though he is 62.

He was right about Michigan having to play better on defense. It did. It allowed Ohio State only six points in the second half. But Ohio State didn’t allow Michigan any points, and Ohio State won, 26-21.

It always hurts a Michigan man when the Wolverines lose to the Buckeyes. But if a loss to Ohio State can be a minor setback to a Michigan man, Billy Taylor is that Michigan man, given what he has been through.

While researching this column, I found a photo that showed Billy Taylor covering his face while being hauled away in handcuffs after the bank robbery. I asked if, when the game was over, he could send a more recent picture, of better things, of better times.

The photo he sent was of him and President Obama after he presented the Chief Executive – now that Bo is gone – with an autographed copy of his book.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ron Kantowski can be reached at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow him on Twitter: @ronkantowski.