Larry Taylor Montreal Alouettes Team Issued & Signed 2009 97th Grey Cup Reebok Sweatpants

Description

Larry Taylor is a free agent wide receiver and kick returner most recently playing for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. He originally signed with the Montreal Alouettes as a free agent in 2008. He played college football for the Connecticut Huskies (UConn), where he returned punts for touchdowns in each of the Huskies’ first two bowl games—the 2004 Motor City Bowl and the 2007 Meineke Car Care Bowl. Taylor has also been a member of the New York Jets.

Taylor grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Raised by his grandmother since he was 2, Taylor was taken under wing by David Lucca and Ross Teider, fathers of football teammates, who helped him to escape from the streets and eventually transfer to Glades Day School for his junior year of high school. At Glades Day, Taylor played running back and rushed for 1,774 yards and 28 touchdowns. He averaged 11 yards per running attempt, and 42.3 yards per kickoff return. In his senior season, Taylor was the Palm Beach County offensive player of the year, Class A (small school) player of the year, and a finalist for the Mr. Football award in Florida.

Taylor’s speed—measured at 4.3 seconds on the 40-yard dash—made him an attractive target for Division I football programs; his diminutive size—5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m) and 157 pounds (71 kg)—caused that interest to abate. Schools such as Tennessee and Mississippi State evaluated Taylor but eventually declined to offer a scholarship. In the end Connecticut, Eastern Michigan, and Middle Tennessee State made scholarship offers. After making his only official visit to Connecticut, Taylor opted to sign with the Huskies.

Taylor played his college football at the University Connecticut, registering 25 catches for 259 yards as a senior. He also had 31 punt returns for 357 yards and two touchdowns and 11 kickoff returns for 205 yards. Taylor has outstanding speed and quickness and is tough to bring down because of his strength and low center of gravity.

Taylor signed with the New York Jets in the 2010 off-season. He was the shortest player in training camp when off-season workouts began. His performance in training camp caused him to become a subplot in HBO’s Hard Knocks documentary series about the Jets. In the 2010 preseason, Taylor returned seven kickoffs for 175 yards and six punts for 58 yards and caught four passes.

In 2008, the native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., led the Montreal Alouettes in punt-return yards with 517 and was sixth in the CFL, despite starting the season on Montreal’s practice squad. The 24 year old turned in a breakout performance in 2009 with a league-high 788 yards on 89 punt returns for an 8.9-yard average. Two of his returns went for touchdowns. The five-foot-six, 177-pound Taylor also averaged 20.8 yards on 51 kickoff returns. In addition to being the league’s top special-teams performer, Taylor was an East Division and CFL all-star in 2013.

The featured Grey Cup reebok sweatpants were issued to Larry Taylor in 2009 for the 97th Classic as a member of the Montreal Alouettes. Taylor has signed along the right leg and added “CFL Grey Cup” in black. The 97th Grey Cup was played on November 29, 2009, at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alberta, and decided the Canadian Football League (CFL) champion for the 2009 season. The Montreal Alouettes came from behind to defeat the Saskatchewan Roughriders 28-27, on a 33-yard field goal by Damon Duval as time ran out. Duval had actually missed a first attempt, but Saskatchewan was penalized for having too many men on the field, allowing Duval a second field goal attempt. The pants show wear. Nice memento from one of the Alouettes best players that season!