For the past two seasons, Eli Heidenreich has been steadily pursuing a series of Navy football receiving records. He surpassed three of the most significant marks this season: becoming the program’s all-time record holder for receiving yards in a game, season and career.
All three of those records were previously held by 1968 Naval Academy graduate Rob Taylor.
As a standout wide receiver for Navy from 1965 to 1967, Taylor had 129 receptions totaling 1,736 yards and 13 touchdowns. In 1967, Taylor had 61 catches for 818 yards and six scores. All six of those records stood until Heidenreich came along.
Heidenreich equaled the Navy record for touchdown catches in a season, jointly held by Taylor and four other players, with six in 2024. He now owns the program record for touchdown catches in a career with 15, overtaking Taylor and Phil McConkey.
This season, Heidenreich seized the marks for most receiving yards in a season (877) and a career (1,930).
Taylor also shared the single-game record for receiving yards — 179 versus Vanderbilt in 1967. Dave King matched that total against Notre Dame in 1976.
Heidenreich surpassed them both by piling up 243 receiving yards against Air Force on Oct. 4. He had three touchdown catches that day, tying the single-game record now shared by six players.
Taylor stayed in Annapolis in 1969 along with a couple teammates to coach the Navy plebe football team, then embarked on a career as a Naval aviator. He flew the LTV A-7 Corsair light attack aircraft.
After retiring from the United States Navy, Taylor worked for a medical supply company before taking a job with the Marriott Corporation and rising to the rank of vice president. The Gaithersburg resident tragically died in a motorcycle accident in 2008 at age 62.
Bill Dow, captain of the 1967 Navy football team, was very familiar with Heidenreich but did not know he was “encroaching” on so many of Taylor’s records.
“I think Eli would have something in common with Rob Taylor. Rob sort of snuck up on those records,” Dow said. “He was a steady contributor who just accumulated those statistics without a lot of attention. Frankly, it astounds me that these records have lasted this long.”
John Cartwright was the Navy starting quarterback from 1965-67 and therefore played a prominent role in Taylor setting all those records. Cartwright was aware of Heidenreich’s pursuit of Taylor’s marks and was pleased to hear television announcers reference his friend and former teammate.
“It was good to hear Rob’s name come up because he was truly a great guy,” Cartwright said. “There was not a lot of flair to Rob, who just went out and did his job. He would set a record in Saturday’s game then go out to practice on Monday as though it was no big deal. Just another record broken.”
Cartwright accumulated 3,626 passing yards during his three-year varsity career and it is notable that more than half went to Taylor. Dow, who was a starting end on defense and reserve receiver on offense, said the quarterback and wideout had a strong connection.
“Most of the time I was standing on the sideline along with the rest of the defense watching these two guys go to work, and it was like music,” said Dow, now 79 years old and splitting time between homes in Florida and Annapolis.
“John would take the snap from center and roll out to the right. Rob would run swiftly down the field — like a smooth sled through snow. Rob would always get himself to the right spot and John would throw him the ball. It was magic to watch and they came through many more times than they didn’t. It was a pairing made in heaven.”
Cartwright does not deny that Taylor was his favorite target for a variety of reasons. He was the fastest wide receiver on the team, ran great routes and had a knack for gaining separation from defensive backs.
“Rob just knew how to get open and never dropped a pass. He was always reliable,” Cartwright said. “Whenever we needed a first down, we called a pass play for Rob. We didn’t try to fool anybody. Everyone knew where we were going. Just a really clutch receiver. Opponents would double-team him and he still found a way to get open.”
Cartwright said coach Bill Elias, who took over in 1965, installed a pro-style offense that was relatively balanced between the run and pass. The Midshipmen normally operated out of the I-formation with two wide receivers, a tight end, fullback and tailback.
“We did depend on the passing game and did a good amount of play-action. They liked to get me outside on rollouts and bootlegs,” said Cartwright, now 79 and recently retired as pastor of Calvary Independent Baptist Church in Morton, Pennsylvania.
Lee Corso, who would later gain fame as a member of the ESPN College GameDay crew, took over as offensive coordinator and brought considerable creativity. Cartwright had 1,537 passing yards that season with Taylor setting the single-season receiving record by grabbing more than half that total.
“Coach Corso brought an energy to our offense that really sparked us,” Cartwright said. “I attribute a lot of that success to Coach Corso bringing the offense to greater heights.”
Navy had an up-and-down season in 1967 — beating such perennial powerhouses as Penn State, Michigan, Syracuse and Pittsburgh, while losing to lesser opponents such as Rice and Duke.
By far the most disappointing defeat came at the hands of William & Mary, the traditional Homecoming opponent. The Midshipmen had routed the Tribe 42-14 in 1965 and 21-0 in 1966. However, when Taylor, Dow, Cartwright and company were seniors, Navy was upset by William & Mary, 27-16.
Dow recalls the Midshipmen coming out flat and remembers running up and down the sidelines slapping players on their helmets while exhorting them to pick it up.
“It’s hard to explain that William & Mary game. We were probably a big overconfident and underestimated their ability,” Cartwright said. “We’re still trying to figure out what happened that day.”
After suffering two straight losses then tying Vanderbilt, Navy pulled it together and beat archrival Army, 19-14, to wind up with a winning season (5-4-1). Now, 1967 is being remembered as the year when Taylor capped an outstanding career by setting multiple receiving records.
“One of the things about Rob was that he was a humble guy, but also very confident,” Cartwright said. “Rob went up against some of the best defensive backs in the country and, as a receiver, stood above them. None of those teams were able to stop him.”
Barring a monstrous performance by Heidenreich against Cincinnati in the Liberty Bowl, several of Taylor’s records will stand a little longer. He still holds the Navy marks for catches in a game (10), season (61) and career (129).
Shortly after being commissioned as an ensign, Taylor married his steady girlfriend then headed off to flight school.
“Rob was a redhead, so he could show his temper once in a well, but for the most part he was a cool, level-headed, logical guy,” Dow said. “He paid attention to academics and never got in any trouble in that regard. He was a very dependable, regular guy who went about his business on and off the football field.
“We remember Rob not only for being good at football, but also for being a good person in his day-to-day life. He was a wonderful human being in addition to being a great football player.”
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