Perhaps no defender in the history of the NFL was more feared than New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor.

“L.T.” was born February 4, 1959 and essentially came out of the womb ready to play football. After an All-American career at the University of North Carolina, the New York Giants drafted Lawrence Taylor with the second overall selection in the 1981 NFL Draft.

Lawrence Taylor made a splash right away in the NFL, winning the league Defensive Rookie of the Year Award in 1981. It would be just one of the many career accomplishments for Lawrence Taylor.

Lawrence Taylor played his entire career with the Giants from 1981 to 1993. He recorded 1,088 tackles, 142 sacks and nine interceptions. Lawrence Taylor was also a 10-time Pro Bowl and 10-time All-Pro Selection and won two Super Bowls with the Giants.

In 1986, Lawrence Taylor recorded 20.5 sacks (a career best) and won the AP NFL MVP. He was named the AP’s NFL Defensive Player of the Year three times (1981, 1982, 1986) and recorded double-digit sacks in seven consecutive seasons dating from 1984 to 1990. Lawrence Taylor was also named to the NFL’s 75th Anniversary All-Time Team and the NFL’s 1980s All-Decade Team.

Lawrence Taylor was arguably the most gifted outside linebacker to ever play the game. He essentially changed the way offensive lines had to play the Giants because of his dynamic athletic ability. In many instances, teams tried to use extra defenders – sometimes three at a time – in efforts to slow Lawrence Taylor down, but were often unsuccessful.

He was a true sideline-to-sideline defender and one of the best pass-rushers in the NFL. When he blitzed, he couldn’t be blocked by only a running back because it was a matchup Lawrence Taylor usually won. His energy and effort was often unrivaled.

Off the field Lawrence Taylor was just as reckless. After he retired, he admitted that he used to send hired prostitutes to opponents’ hotel rooms in hopes to tire them out. He also admitted to spending thousands of dollars on drugs and even fessed up to using teammates’ urine in order to pass league-administered drug tests.

More recently, Lawrence Taylor has pursued a career in acting and even had a role in Oliver Stone’s Any Given Sunday. Lawrence Taylor has also lent his voice to the controversial video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, as well as Blitz: The League.