Ned Taylor, by all accounts, you were the second best athlete of
your day, behind only the legendary Harry Dadmun, a Hall of Famer
and an Olympian. Born and raised in Worcester, you attended
Worcester High and were a member of the school's first football
team. You captained the track and football teams while at WPI. You
played halfback for the football team and competed in all events
for the track team, your favorites being the middle distances
between a quarter mile and a mile.
You were particularly proud of a medal you won at a track meet
in which you took seven firsts and two seconds, claiming high
scorer for the meet. Your career totals were 14 firsts, 5 seconds
and two WPI records broken. Together with Dadmun, you gave your
school a one-two track combination that was rare at that time.
During one memorable meet, you and Dadmun had already placed
first and second in the quarter mile, but the team needed one more
such combination to win the meet. The last event was the mile run,
an event you loved, but Amherst had a good miler who was fresh. You
and Dadmun entered the 120-yard hurdles and finished one and two to
win the meet. (as it happened Amherst won the mile with a new meet
record.)
After graduation you worked in the development of hydroelectric
power before being called to serve your country during World War I.
You were a major in the Army Corps of Engineers until your
retirement from active service in 1922. You then returned to
Worcester to go into private practice with WPI professor Charles
Allen. Over the next 20 years, you could usually be found at a WPI
athletic event. Late in life, you moved to Albany, N.Y. to work
with your son, Robert B. Taylor '35.
Ned Taylor, it is a privilege to honor one of the greatest
athletes in WPI history by inducting you into the WPI Athletic Hall
of Fame.
