Northwest Nazarene University Athletics is proud to honor Jerry Taylor, a 'founding father' of NNU's Men's Golf, this Friday, November 28th.
The recognition will occur during the men's basketball game against Cal State Los Angeles, which is set to tip off at 7:00 p.m. in the Johnson Sports Center.
Jerry showed up on NNC's campus in January 1962, eager to join NNC's Men's Golf team. He'd spent the latter part of his childhood living on the 9th green of a golf course where a lifelong passion for the game was sparked. After graduating from Ontario (Oregon) High School, he spent six months active duty for the Oregon National Guard and returned home, unsure of his next steps.
The answer came in the form of a postcard from NNC, which featured a group of students golfing. Eager to prove himself at the college level, that card (and some encouragement from his grandmother who attended a Nazarene church) was all Jerry needed to pack his bags for Nampa.
Shortly after arriving, he went to see legendary athletic director and men's basketball coach, Orrin Hills, asking to join the golf team. Orrin smiled, breaking the news to Jerry that NNC did not have a golf team. The students on the postcard had been participating in an intramural tournament held on campus each year. But, Orrin promised, if Jerry would find a way to get privileges at (the now-closed) Broadmore Country Club, he would enter him into some tournaments.
In exchange for giving lessons to members' daughters, Jerry was allowed to play the course. Without a full team, Orrin found it difficult to enter Jerry into tournaments, and he played just one that year.
Not to be deterred, Jerry went door to door in the dorms his sophomore year, looking for teammates. He found Ron Graham and a few ministerial students to join him. Armed with his Bob Duden "dude" putter, he led the team in matches against Idaho, Idaho State, Eastern Oregon, College of Idaho, and Boise State. Gordy Six, Jerry's roommate, pitched in by keeping the team fed with lunches from Saga.
The team made a big jump his junior year when Harlem Friesen, John Williamson, and Steve Fowler joined the team, along Babe Prior from Indiana, who challenged Jerry for the top spot. They qualified for Nationals in Rockford, Illinois, in only the team's second year of existence.
Jerry finished his golf and academic career at NNC the next year, having changed from Business to Education after observing a third-grade class at Roosevelt Elementary. From then on, Jerry says, he was "hooked on education" and began his long teaching and coaching career at Lincoln Elementary School in Nampa. His brother, Bob Taylor, and sister, Deb (Taylor) Weisen, followed in his footsteps to NNC where Bob played on the team for three years, and Deb even joined for a year!
Jerry looks back fondly on his time at NNC, calling it a "wonderful" place where he made many lifelong friends. And to see a team that started with a promise from Orrin Hills to young man passionate about golf continue to provide student-athletes with opportunities almost 64 years later is a gratifying reminder of those formative years.
