The following story might be a short one but should be considered as a very important one none the less.

The ban on foreign players participating in the Yugoslav league has been referred to many a time. It was a decision made by the "Holy Quartet" of Yugoslavian basketball aimed at forcing clubs to trust their own talents, regardless of their age. In the end, this decision was fully justified by its results.

However, back in 1976, Partizan -featuring stars Kićanović and Dalipagić- was preparing to compete in the European Champions Cup, and Ranko Žeravica was looking for ways to strengthen the Crno Beli. He found the solution in signing the first foreign player in the club’s history, the American Lawyer (by name not profession) "Butch" Taylor.

Of course, Žeravica first sought permission from the top officials of the KSJ. But who could possibly refuse the man who had led the Plavi to the world championship title in 1970? Even if there had been objections, Ranko had a strong counterargument: the previous year, Krešimir Ćosić had brought Douglas Richards to Zadar, albeit only for European matches. The only restriction on Taylor was that he would also play exclusively in the Champions Cup games.

It is very unclear how Žeravica discovered Taylor in the first place, an unknown 2.08-meter-tall center. Taylor had played college basketball for Jacksonville and was selected in the fourth round of the 1974 draft at number 55 by the Philadelphia 76ers. Although he was initially offered a contract, Phily waived him soon after on September 28 1974, and his whereabouts remained unknown until his arrival in Partizan’s roster in August 1976. Partizan fans immediately took a liking to Taylor not so much for his basketball skills, which, to be honest, were not exceptional, but because of his appearance, particularly his thick Afro hair, which earned him the nickname "Partizan’s Jimi Hendrix." Taylor’s time in Belgrade was short-lived. Partizan was eliminated in the second round after failing to overcome the obstacles of Spartak Brno and Bulgaria's Akademik Sofia. What remained was the chant: "Kića, Praja, Baća, koji sve to plaća" (Kića, Praja, and Baća - who's paying for all this?), sung by fans who mistakenly believed that the American's salary was quite substantial, at least comparable to that of stars like Dalipagić and Kićanović.

After his Yugoslav experience, Taylor vanished from the basketball scene, with unconfirmed reports suggesting he played in Italy's lower divisions. Regardless of what followed in his career, "Partizan’s Jimi Hendrix" will always hold the honorary title of pioneer among foreign athletes who wore the Crno Beli colors, especially during a time of unique geopolitical tensions between East and West.