Roosevelt Taylor, the two-time Pro Bowl safety who played for the Bears in the 1960s, died Friday at 82. The team did not give a cause of death.
Taylor, who everyone called “Rosey,” played for the Bears from 1961-69, and was at his best during the team’s championship season. He was named a first-team all-pro after posting nine interceptions and 12 takeaways. He was named all-pro in the next two seasons, too.
He posted six defensive touchdowns in his Bears career, including a 96-yard interception return.
The Sun-Times’ Mark Potash ranked Taylor the 37th-best Bears player of all time in a 2019 story.
The Bears traded him to the 49ers for guard Howard Mudd during the 1969 season. Taylor spent two-and-a-half years in San Francisco and his last season, in 1972, with the Redskins. He started at free safety for Washington in its Super Bowl VII loss to the undefeated Dolphins.
Today we lost a Bears great with the passing of Roosevelt Taylor.
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) May 29, 2020
Our thoughts are with Rosey's family and loved ones.
Taylor retired after playing 13 seasons, nine with the Bears.
Taylor, who grew up in the Lower Ninth Ward, was a member of the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame and, at his alma mater, the Grambling State Hall of Fame. He was signed as undrafted free agent by the Bears out of Grambling. He was cut by the Grambling basketball team twice, walked onto the football team and became a star during his sophomore year.
His son Brian appeared in eight NFL games, rushing two times for seven yards as a member of the 1989 Bears. He and wife Claudia were parents to two daughters, too.
