Lawrence Taylor
NFL Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor is holding his own on the dance floor with partner Edyta Sliwinnska on this season’s “Dancing with the Stars.” He’s even said in interviews, “I am in this competition to win.”
Taylor was born in Williamsburg, Virginia on February 4, 1959. He played baseball in his youth, but switched to football at age 15. He began playing for his high school team in his junior year, but didn’t receive much recruitment attention after he graduated from Lafayette High School in 1977.
After high school, Taylor went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. There, he was the football team captain and set many defensive records. Named to the All-American He was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year and to the All American team in 1980.
Taylor was drafted by the New York Giants as the #2 overall pick in the 1981 NFL Draft. He helped the Giants improve their record from 4-12 in 1982 to 9-7 in 1981. He was named the Defensive Rookie of the Year and the Associated Press named him the Defensive Player of the Year.
Taylor would play his entire NFL career, which span twelve years, with the Giants. In that time, Taylor would be named Defensive Player of the Year three times, Most Valuable Player once, to the All-Pro team his first nine seasons, and led the Giants to Super Bowl victories in 1987 and 1991.
While Taylor is considered by many to be one of the greatest defensive players ever, he did have some dark times in the NFL. He tested positive for cocaine use during the 1988 season and was suspended for thirty days from the league. He would be suspended several more times for failing drug tests during his NFL career.
Taylor retired after the 1993 season with over 1,000 tackles, 132.5 sacks, 9 interceptions, 134 return yards, 2 touchdowns, 33 forced fumbles, 11 fumble recoveries, and 34 fumble return yards. John Madden would be quoted as saying, “Lawrence Taylor, defensively, has had as big an impact as any player I’ve ever seen. He changed the way defense is played, the way pass-rushing is played, the way linebackers play and the way offenses block linebackers.”
After retirement, Taylor’s drug use escalated. He went to rehab twice in 1995, but was still arrested for attempting to purchase cocaine twice after that. Taylor finally clean up his life and after working as a football analyst for TNT and with the WWF, he took up acting. He has appeared on “The Jamie Foxx Show,” “Arli$$,” “The Sopranos,” “Las Vegas,” and in the films The Waterboy, Shaft, and Any Given Sunday.
Taylor had his #56 jersey retired by the Giants and he was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1999. He is married to his second wife, Maritza Cruz and in his spare time plays golf. His son Brandon has been offered a football scholarship by Purdue University.
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