Billy Taylor (of Hartford)

Name: Billy Taylor
Birth Name: William Jefferies Taylor
Hometown: Springfield, Massachusetts, USA
Birthplace: Hartford, Connecticut, USA
Died: 2024-12-12 (Age:90)
Pro Boxer: Record
Amateur Boxer: Record

Taylor was the son of a Hartford, Connecticut, fight official, and he took up amateur boxing for therapeutic reasons. As a youngster, he was crippled in an accident, and his family told him he could never take part in sports. In addition, there was a question of whether he ever would walk. So his father decided on a course of physical exercises, the same ones he used when he was boxing. Taylor progressed little by little, and when it was time for college, he went to Springfield to continue his physical training. What he learned from his father he put to work at the school, and he was away ahead of candidates for the boxing team. He was also far superior to anybody in local amateur shows except Brocton’s Ray Lessard, who had just turned pro.

• 1954 Lowell, Massachusetts 147 lb Open Golden Gloves Champion
• 1954 New England AAU 147 lb Golden Gloves Champion