William Burton “Bill” Taylor, 79, of Danville passed away on Friday, October 23, 2026. Born August 5, 1947, he was the son of the late Henry Clay and Christine Steele Taylor.

Bill retired from UPS after 30 years and was also retired as a Professional Fisherman for Major League Fishing where he had worked for 30 years. He loved fishing, hunting, and being outdoors. Bill was a US Army veteran.

Bill is survived by his wife of 60 years, Barbara Taylor; son, Mark (Angela) Taylor of Danville; daughter, Antoinette Taylor (husband, Robert Smith) of Danville; sisters: Christie (Cliff) Williams of London, Kathy (Bill) Sears of London, and Joyce (Joe) Cummins of Mt. Vernon; brothers: Bobby Taylor of London, Larry (Joan) Taylor of London; and Joey Taylor of London; grandchildren: Jacob Padgett, Hana Christine Blank, Emma Susiane (Bradley) Passmore, and Molly Christine Taylor. In addition to his parents, Bill was also preceded in death by a sister, Janice Taylor Hoskins.

Honoring Bill’s wishes no services will be held at this time. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.

The following is an article written by Major League Fishing:

Major League Fishing and the entire bass fishing community are mourning the loss of longtime tournament director, mentor and friend Bill Taylor, who passed away Friday at the age of 79 following a brief battle with liver cancer.

For more than three decades, Bill was one of the most familiar and respected figures in tournament bass fishing. From the early days of Operation Bass through the growth of FLW and eventually MLF, he helped shape how tournaments were operated and how generations of anglers experienced the sport.

He was demanding and meticulous because he cared about getting things right, especially when it came to protecting the integrity of competition. Whether interacting with superstars fishing for hundreds of thousands of dollars or young anglers trying to figure out where they belonged, Bill would make time for a conversation, be it offering advice or simply talking fishing.

“Bill was a dear friend and someone you could always count on,” said Kathy Fennel, MLF Executive Vice President and General Manager. “His loyalty, his fairness and his kindness were what stood out. He always wanted to do what was right. He was also such a tremendous ambassador and supporter of our company and this sport, and he was an incredible mentor. Whether it was a young angler just getting started, an established pro going through a difficult time or one of us who worked alongside him, Bill was always there to offer his support.”

Bill’s path into the fishing industry was anything but conventional. He grew up fishing farm ponds in Kentucky and eventually fell in love with chasing bass on Lake Cumberland. After college, Bill was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1970 and served for two years, including a stint overseas as a medevac helicopter flight medic. It was an experience he rarely spoke about in detail but one he remained deeply proud of throughout his life.

After returning home, Bill went to work for UPS and began tournament fishing seriously. He competed in the first Operation Bass tournament in 1980 and quickly established himself as one of the organization’s most accomplished competitors. He would eventually win more than a dozen Operation Bass events, and for a time, he held the organization’s record for tournament victories.

Fishing eventually led him in another direction. In 1989, while still working full time for UPS, Bill accepted a part-time position with Operation Bass as a tournament assistant. His initial motivation was simple – his daughter was heading to college, and the extra work would help with expenses.

That part-time job eventually turned into a career that lasted more than three decades. Bill spent his vacation time from UPS traveling to tournaments, hauling equipment, setting up weigh-in trailers and stages and doing whatever needed to be done. When Operation Bass launched its new televised professional circuit in the mid-1990s, Bill was there. When the organization became FLW in 1996, he was there.

Bill Taylor served in just about every tournament-related role that’s ever existed at MLF, FLW and Operation Bass.

Shortly after Bill retired from UPS in 2000 following 30 years with the company, Fennel and Charlie Evans offered him a full-time position as tournament director. As Bill later joked, he got a six-month vacation between careers.

Bill officially took over as FLW Tour tournament director in 2001 and remained in that role through the 2019 season, making him the longest-serving tournament director in company history. Following Major League Fishing’s acquisition of FLW, he served his final two seasons as MLF’s Senior Director of Tournament Operations before retiring in January of 2022.

By then, Bill had been involved in nearly every aspect of the tournament business. His input helped devise the boater/co-angler format that became a foundation of tournament fishing. He pushed for using emerging technology to distribute tournament pairings electronically, was involved in the early days of wrapping tournament boats, trucks and trailers with sponsor branding, and helped test some of the earliest equipment used to transmit live coverage from anglers’ boats. Many of those things seem routine today, but at the time, they represented real changes in how tournaments were conducted and presented.

Bill constantly looked for ways to make tournaments operate better and serve anglers more effectively. His philosophy was straightforward – keep the things that worked and fix the things that didn’t.

What mattered most, though, was the trust he earned from the anglers.

Bill knew the rules, knew the fisheries and knew the people competing in his tournaments. He prepared relentlessly and took pride in knowing every detail he could before an event began.

Years after leaving the tournament director’s chair, Bill said the most difficult part of the job was disqualifying an angler, particularly when a violation was clearly unintentional. He understood what those moments meant, because he had spent years on the other side of those decisions as a tournament angler himself.

Still, the rule was the rule. Bill believed competition had to be fair, and his job was to protect that fairness even when doing so meant delivering news neither he nor the angler wanted to hear. His preparation, consistency and willingness to explain his decisions earned him a level of respect few tournament directors achieve.

“Bill was a by-the-book tournament director, and the anglers knew that,” Fennel said. “He was always prepared and always on top of things. Nobody was going to outwork Bill. He was the first one at the ramp every morning. You couldn’t beat him there, and he was always one of the last to leave. When he had to make those hard decisions, anglers might have been disappointed, but they respected and accepted them because they knew Bill was fair. He handled those situations with professionalism and compassion, but he never hesitated to make the tough call when it was the right call.”

Few, if any, tournament directors have earned more respect from competitors than Bill Taylor. 

Bill took the responsibility of enforcing the rules seriously, but he was every bit as invested in the people competing in his tournaments. He took pride in watching young anglers grow and offered advice about everything from fishing and sponsorships to finances and family. He remembered the competitors who listened, asked questions and wanted to get better, and he enjoyed seeing them succeed.

In a 2022 appearance on the MLF Bass Fishing Podcast with Jody White shortly after his retirement, Bill reflected on the relationships he’d built during his career. He said he hoped people respected him not only for his work ethic and accomplishments as an angler but for how he handled and talked to them in different situations. He spoke about anglers who had come to him with financial problems, family issues and other challenges away from the water and said it meant a great deal to know he was able to help.

He also took great pride in watching anglers develop. Bill saw some of the biggest names in bass fishing rise through the ranks with Operation Bass and FLW. He took satisfaction in knowing he had played a role in building a system that gave anglers a place to begin, develop and eventually compete at the highest levels of the sport. Even in retirement, he still referred to Major League Fishing as “our company.”

Bill’s contributions extended beyond tournament operations. He was a passionate conservation advocate, particularly on issues affecting Kentucky Lake, and testified before Congress about the threat posed by invasive Asian carp. In 2025, those decades of service were recognized when the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame selected Bill to receive its Meritorious Service Award, an honor reserved for individuals who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the sport.

Over the course of his career, Bill helped develop tournament formats, establish procedures and write rules that remained in place for years. He encouraged anglers, trained tournament directors, mentored employees and built relationships with sponsors and host communities across the country. Thousands of competitors heard Bill call their boat number, watched him standing at the tanks during weigh-in or walked over to ask him a question about a rule.

Those who worked alongside Bill knew him as much more than a tournament director. He was a storyteller, a fisherman and a friend who could debate techniques, fisheries or tournament schedules for as long as anyone was willing to listen. He cared about people’s families, remembered what was going on in their lives and expected those around him to do their jobs correctly. He was also quick to help when someone needed guidance.

A Guestbook is available at www.wlpruitt.com.