a star athlete in four sports at Baton Rouge High School, and graduated in 1954. He stayed in town and played college football at Louisiana State University for coach Paul Dietzel's LSU Tigers football team. Taylor played on LSU's freshman team in 1954, but due to struggles in the classroom, he transferred to Hinds Community College in Raymond, Mississippi as a sophomore, where he met his future wife Dixie Grant. He then returned to LSU as a junior. Taylor rushed for 1,314 yards and scored 20 rushing touchdowns over his LSU career, and led the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in scoring in 1956 and 1957. "With the ball under his arm, Jimmy Taylor was the best running back I've ever coached," said Dietzel. "He was just so versatile." After spending the first half of his junior season learning the offense, Taylor scored 51 points in the team's final five games of 1956. As a senior in 1957, he shared the backfield with future Heisman Trophy winner Billy Cannon, a combination that accounted for over 1,500 yards from scrimmage and 17 touchdowns that season. Against Texas Tech, due to the Red Raiders' focus on containing Taylor, Cannon had one of the most productive games of his career. The following week, Taylor scored three touchdowns in LSU's 20–13 upset of a Georgia Tech team whose focus was on stopping Cannon. In his final college game, Taylor carried 17 times for 171 yards and two touchdowns in a 35–6 victory over in-state rival Tulane. He was selected as a first-team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America, and earned first-team All-SEC honors from the Associated Press (AP) and United Press (UPI). After the season, he played in the Senior Bowl and was named the game's most valuable player. Professional career Green Bay Packers 1958–1962 Taylor was selected by the Packers in the second round of the 1958 NFL draft, the 15th overall pick, taken in December 1957 while Lisle Blackbourn was still the head coach. His rookie contract was worth $9,500. That draft for the Packers included future stars Dan Currie (3rd), Ray Nitschke (36th), and Jerry Kramer (39th), but the 1958 team finished with the worst record in the league (and the franchise's worst ever, through 2016), under first-year NFL head coach Ray "Scooter" McLean. Taylor was used sparingly as a rookie, but in the penultimate game at Kezar Stadium, he gained