Dover, Del. (Dec. 16, 2019) --- John Taylor, whose record-setting years at Delaware State led to National Football League stardom, Super Bowl championships and Black College Football Hall-of-Fame induction, has added another achievement to his resume.

Taylor highlights the list of 12 inductees into the Delaware Afro-American Sports Hall-of-Fame, Inc. Class of 2020, which also includes the late John Martin, former DSU Director of Athletics, along with ex-Hornet student-athletes Vincent Garlick (men's basketball), Dana Roane (women's basketball) and Timothy Gray (football).

The 23^rd Annual Delaware Afro-American Sports Hall-of-Fame banquet is set for April 18, 2020 at the Modern Maturity Center in Dover.

Taylor, a standout wide receiver and punt returner, capped off his Delaware State career as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Offensive Player- of-the-Year in 1985. That season, he earned Black College and Division I-AA All-America honors after topping the MEAC with 15 touchdowns to lead the Hornets to their first conference championship in team history.

Taylor completed his college career as the MEAC's all-time leader with 42 touchdowns and 254 points.

He was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round of the 1986 NFL Draft. During his nine seasons with San Francisco, he was a member of three Super Bowl Championship teams. He caught the game-winning touchdown pass from Joe Montana in the final seconds of the 49ers' Super Bowl XXIII win over the Cincinnati Bengals in 1989.

A two-time Pro Bowl selection, Taylor was selected to the NFL's 1980s All-Decade Team as a punt returner.

His NFL career statistics include 347 catches, 5,598 receiving yards and 43 touchdown grabs. He was also the first player in NFL history with two touchdown receptions of 90-or-more yards in a game.

Last February Taylor became the first Delaware State athlete selected for induction into the Black College Football Hall of Fame, which includes such legends as Walter Payton (Jackson State), Buck Buchanon (Grambling State), Willie Lanier (Morgan State), Jerry Rice (Mississippi Valley State) and coach Eddie Robinson (Grambling State).  

Taylor is also a Delaware State University Athletics Hall-of-Fame and Delaware Sports Hall-of-Fame inductee.

John C. Martin (1932-2017) was appointed by then Delaware State College President Luna I. Mishoe to head the Hornets' athletics department in 1985. He held the position until 1996.

During Martin's tenure, Delaware State's men's and women's programs was each recognized as tops in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, while Hornet teams captured a total of 11 MEAC championships. 

In 1987, Delaware State received the MEAC's Mary McLeod Bethune All-Sports Award for overall excellence in women's sports. The Hornets were presented with the Talmadge Hill Award for overall excellence in men's sports in 1990.

Under Martin's leadership, the Hornets won four MEAC football championships (1987, '88, '89, '91), along with conference titles in volleyball (1986), men's and women's indoor track and field (1987), baseball (1989), men's cross country (1989), women's cross country (1990) and men's outdoor track & field (1992).

Martin was Director of Athletics when the softball program was formed at Delaware State in 1992. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the school's Athletics Compliance Office and a major proponent of the NCAA's Academic Enhancement Program, which provides funding for academic assistance at member institutions.   

Garlick helped lead Newark (Del.) High School to a boys state basketball championship and played two seasons at Penn State before attending Delaware State. He was the Hornets' leading scorer, averaging 13.1 points per game, during his senior year. In two seasons with the Hornets Garlick tallied 524 points, 105 assists and 54 steals.    

Roane was a four-sport star at Howard High School in Wilmington before joining the Lady Hornets. She was a three-time All-Blue Hen Conference basketball selection, and also lettered in volleyball, softball and track and field during her scholastic years. Roane was a four-year basketball letterwinner at Delaware State, tallying nearly 500 points and 181 assists and 66 three-point field goals during her college career.   

Gray was a four-year football letterwinner and standout defensive player for the 1982-85 Hornets. He helped lead the team to an overall record of 28-14-1 during his playing days, highlighted by a 9-2 record and first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship in team history in 1985. Gray was an All-State standout at Cape Henlopen (Del.) High School before enrolling at Delaware State.    

The Delaware Afro-American Sports Hall-of-Fame, Inc. was founded in 1996 and held its first induction in 1999. Since then, 233 Delaware athletes have been honored. AAU and Junior Olympic athletes have been assisted financially when in national competition. Outstanding senior athletes have been recognized annually and scholarships are awarded to selected college bound high school senior athletes.