Friday, July 15, 2011

Legendary Photographer & Subject

The July 4, 2011 edition of Sports Illustrated was the annual “Where Are They Now?” issue, and more often than not, someone from Green Bay’s history is usually featured, it seems. Hall of Famer Jim Taylor is depicted in a two-page spread, in the section about SI photographer Walter Iooss, Jr. It opens with, “For more than five decades, SI photographer Walter Iooss, Jr. has captured football in all its muddy, bloody glory. Now he revisits some of his favorite subjects — the men who made the game great.” Two great shots of Taylor are shown, one from his playing days (above), and one from today (below).

JIM TAYLOR
RB Green Bay Packers
“Jim Taylor and his old helmet, he's like Barney Fife and his bullet. He's so proud of being with the Pack," Iooss says. "He's so proud of his condition too. He has, like, no lasting injuries, which is amazing. He told me how he once hurt his knee, and through a pad and the adhesive tape holding it together, they stuck him with a needle and sent him back into the game numbed out." Ramrod straight at 75, the N.F.L.'s leading rusher and M.V.P. in 1962 has settled into the golf life in Baton Rouge.