TAYLOR REMEMBERED,
Taylor praised for his talent and helpfulness
Jim Taylor, who charmed and amused legions of fans over a long and prodigious career as a columnist, including writing sports for The Vancouver Sun and then The Province for nearly three decades, has died aged 82.
On Tuesday, social media lit up with stories about how he wrote witty circles around his colleagues and competitors and how his columns and talks to journalism classes inspired many young admirers to follow him into the industry.
Tweets from a who’s who of sportswriters and others recounted how Taylor’s columns were a daily must-read. The awe and respect for his talent was evident.
B.C. Sports Hall of Fame curator Jason Beck said he was full of admiration and love for Taylor, who was Beck’s first inductee interview in 2005.
Beck said he was a young kid in his 20s when he screwed up the courage to call a man he had read and admired his whole life. Taylor agreed to the interview — “Let’s do it today” — and they sat for hours in a downtown restaurant.
“He was animated, he was funny, he was sarcastic, he had vivid stories and anecdotes, and he was very real and sincere,” recalled Beck. He said he left the interview “buzzing” and they became close friends.
“He was probably old enough to be my grandfather and I had no business being friends with him, but he made you feel welcome as an equal and a peer, no matter who you were,” said Beck.
“He could be sharp and biting and sarcastic in print, but in person he was a really gentle person. I saw him take people under his wing and help them.”
He said Taylor helped him approach publishers for his own book and read the manuscript, offering helpful advice. Beck said he doesn’t think his book would have been published if not for Taylor’s help.
He was also remembered with great affection by Rick Hansen, founder of the Rick Hansen Foundation, who said he admired Taylor as a writer.
“More importantly, Jim was a great human being,” Hansen said. “He had a big heart and made a significant contribution to many areas of society,” including helping to start Hansen’s Man In Motion World Tour and being the first to get the word out about the fundraiser.
Hansen said Taylor understood tragedy, after his daughter Teresa suffered a brain injury in a skiing accident.
“Jim valued inclusivity,” he said. “He treated me like an athlete. His greatest gift was his insight and incredible wit. Those who knew Jim would come away with their daily fix of laughter and humour. He loved to poke fun and take the intensity out of the seriousness and heaviness of life.”
Taylor started his journalism career in 1955 at the Victoria Times Colonist and worked there until 1965, when he moved to The Vancouver Sun’s sports department for 13 years and then The Province for 17 years.
In the mid-1990s, Taylor worked for the short-lived Sports Only magazine, before writing a syndicated column for the Calgary Sun. He retired in 2001.
In addition to the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 2005, Taylor was inducted into the CFL Hall of Fame and received the Bruce Hutchison Lifetime Achievement Award from the Jack Webster Foundation for journalism in 2010 and a lifetime achievement award from Sports Media Canada.
He also wrote 16 books, including biographies about NHL great Wayne Gretzky, his father Walter Gretzky, Vancouver big band leader Dal Richards, Hansen’s Man in Motion tour, race car driver Greg Moore, fellow sports columnist Jim Coleman, Vancouver Whitecaps soccer coach Bob Lenarduzzi, and more.
He wrote an estimated 7,500 columns in his career on a five-times-a-week basis, covering events ranging from the Olympics and Grey Cup to Muhammad Ali fights and the 1972 Canada-Russia hockey series.
Taylor, who died on Monday at his Shawnigan Lake home after a long illness, was predeceased by his wife, Deb, in 2016, and is survived by son Chris and daughter Teresa.