Neil Joseph "Piffles" Taylor (1895 - 1947) was a Canadian World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 pilot, Canadian football

Canadian football

Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...

 player, coach, and executive. He was "largely responsible for the development of football in Western Canada

Western Canada

Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces and commonly as the West, is a region of Canada that includes the four provinces west of the province of Ontario.- Provinces :...

".

Born in Collingwood, Ontario

Collingwood, Ontario

Collingwood is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it is situated on Nottawasaga Bay at the southern point of Georgian Bay.-History:...

, and raised in Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan

Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan

Yellow Grass is a town in southern Saskatchewan, Canada at . It is located 30 km northwest of Weyburn, at the junction of provincial highways 39 and 621. The town is located on the Canadian Pacific Railway Soo Line...

, he studied law and played collegiately at the University of Toronto

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

 before joining the Regina Rugby Club

Saskatchewan Roughriders

The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a Canadian Football League team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. They were founded in 1910. They play their home games at 2940 10th Avenue in Regina, which has been the team's home base for its entire history, even prior to the construction of Mosaic Stadium at Taylor...

 in 1914. In 1916, he joined the Royal Flying Corps

Royal Flying Corps

The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...

 and became a fighter pilot

Fighter pilot

A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained in air-to-air combat while piloting a fighter aircraft . Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and dogfighting...

. He lost an eye when he was shot down and spent a year in a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 prisoner of war camp during World War I. His brother Sam, also a pilot, was shot down and killed.

Despite the loss of an eye, Taylor returned to the Regina RC in 1919, quarterback

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

ing the team to the Hugo Ross Trophy

Hugo Ross Trophy

The Hugo Ross Trophy was named after a Winnipeg real estate broker, Hugo Ross, who donated the championship trophy to the Western Canada Rugby Football Union...

 over Calgary

Calgary

Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...

. He played for the Regina Boat Club from 1920 to 1921, and served as their coach in 1922 and 1923. He joined the newly re-named Regina Roughriders as their executive in 1926. In 1934, he was named team president, a post he held until 1937, when he was briefly president of the Western Interprovincial Football Union. He presided over the WIFU again from 1941 to 1942, and served as president of the Canadian Rugby Union

Football Canada

Football Canada is the governing body for amateur Canadian football. It is Canada's representative member of the International Federation of American Football , the world's governing body for American football.-History:...

 in 1946 before his sudden death the same year. He was posthumously inducted to the Order of the British Empire

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

.

The home of the Roughriders, Park de Young, was renamed Taylor Field

Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field

Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field is a sports stadium located in Regina, Saskatchewan which is used primarily to play Canadian football. It has been the home of the Canadian Football League's Saskatchewan Roughriders in rudimentary form since 1910 and as a complete stadium since 1936...

 in his honour in 1947, and the Hugo Ross Trophy

Hugo Ross Trophy

The Hugo Ross Trophy was named after a Winnipeg real estate broker, Hugo Ross, who donated the championship trophy to the Western Canada Rugby Football Union...

, awarded annually to the champions of the WIFU, was replaced with the N. J. Taylor Trophy

N. J. Taylor Trophy

The N.J. Taylor Trophy is a Canadian Football League trophy, formerly awarded to the West Division champions. The winner of this trophy faced the winner of the James S. Dixon Trophy for the Grey Cup. Both the N. J. Taylor Trophy and James S. Dixon Trophy were retired in 2004.The N.J. Taylor Trophy...

 in 1948. Taylor was inducted to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame

Canadian Football Hall of Fame

The Canadian Football Hall of Fame is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is an open to the public institution. It includes displays about the Canadian Football League, Canadian university football and Canadian...

in 1963. In 2006, the street directly in front of the stadium's west entrance was renamed Piffles Taylor Way.