Western Colorado University Athletics

An NCAA record-setting kicker was one of three individual inductees into the 2009 Mountaineer Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony Oct. 2, 2009. Wolfgang Taylor finished with 237 career kicking points and helped lead the Mountaineers to three RMAC titles from 1972-75.

“Wolfgang Taylor was truly a great figure in our football history and on teams that had a great deal of success in the RMAC,” said former head coach Duke Iverson in his nomination letter.

Taylor was a two-sport athlete in football and track at Cathedral High School in Denver before focusing on football on his arrival in Gunnison. In his freshman season of 1972, he set the RMAC record for kicking points in a game with 16 against Adams State by converting four field goals and four point-after attempts. He tied the conference record for field goals in a game, became the first conference kicker to post a perfect season on point-after touchdown kicks and set the longest consecutive point-after streak in a season with 31 points on 31 attempts.

Taylor led the RMAC in scoring and kick-scoring in 1973 with 60 points on 30 point-after kick conversions and 10 field goals. He earned his second all-conference honor and helped lead Western State to a conference championship.

Taylor posted another perfect PAT season in 1974 with 17 conversions and led the conference in scoring with 41 points. He finished with first-team All-RMAC honors for the third straight season as the Mountaineers repeated as conference champions.

Taylor and Montana State kicker Pat Bolton both entered their senior seasons in 1975, and both would eventually break the former Division II kicking-scoring record of 215 points.

Bolton and Montana State finished the season a week earlier than the Mountaineers and Bolton finished his career with 234 career kicking points. Taylor entered his final game against Colorado School of Mines with 227 points. He tied Bolton's record with a pair of field goals and a point-after conversion and broke the record with a 50-yard field goal as time expired.

Taylor still holds the Western State record for longest field goal with a 56-yard field goal against Mines in the same 1975 game he broke the Division II scoring record. His name appears three times in the top-10 list for season kicking points, and held the record of 73 points until 2003.

“Not only was he an excellent athlete at WSC but his commitment to his family and his volunteerism over the years has made him an exceptional human being,” said Cynthia Taylor in her nomination letter. “He has overcome hardship and continues to help others in his community through dedication and sincerity.”