Football Hall of Fame

With an amazing career of 36 years, few Central Illinois football coaches were better known and more successful than George Taylor. Taylor spent 27 years as a football coach in Chillicothe, where for many years he also coached the baseball, basketball, and track teams. When he retired from coaching in 1972, his football record at Chillicothe was 162-79-11 with 12 conference championships and three undefeated seasons. His two sons, Ron and Tim, played quarterback for him, throwing for a combined 94 touchdowns. Ron went on to quarterback several University of Missouri bowl game teams, and Tim is now a successful television actor known as Josh Taylor.

Taylor also coached basketball for 22 years - winning eight league championships, earned 23 track trophies in 25 years and coached baseball for 10 years.

Taylor, who played his collegiate football at Eureka College, received congratulations upon his retirement from another old Eureka gridder, Ronald Reagan, who was then Governor of California. In 1977, Taylor became a charter member of the Illinois Football Hall of Fame and the Chillicothe Athletic field was named "Taylor Field" in his honor in 1978.