Charley Taylor, among the first Black stars to play for the Washington NFL team, died Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022.

He was 80 and residing in Sterling in Northern Virginia, not far from his gridiron exploits at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium.

Mr. Taylor, named to the NFL Hall of Fame in 1984, ranks with the greatest wide receivers of all time. Between 1964 when he was named NFL Rookie of the Year and retirement in 1977, he had 649 receptions for 9,110 yards and 79 touchdowns.

Also utilized at running back by coaches Bill McPeak, Vince Lombardi and George Allen, he carried the ball 442 times for 1,488 yards and another 11 touchdowns.

Following an All-American career at Arizona State University, Mr. Taylor, a native Texan, was the NFL’s third overall draft pick in 1964.

When Mr. Taylor arrived in Washington in 1964, the franchise was still just dipping its toes in the water as far as hiring Black players. In 1962, Washington was the last NFL team to integrate, 16 seasons after the league broke the color line in 1946.

In 1962, Washington made Syracuse University running back Ernie Davis the first overall draft pick. Davis was then traded to Cleveland for another Black star, Bobby Mitchell.

Like Mr. Taylor, Mitchell was a receiver/running back combination. Mitchell, another Hall of Fame selection who died in 2020, played with Washington from 1962 to 1968.

Mitchell and Mr. Taylor gave quarterback Sonny Jurgensen and Washington perhaps the best set of deep-threat receivers in the sport’s annals.