The N.J. Taylor Trophy is a Canadian Football League

Canadian Football League

The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....

 trophy, formerly awarded to the West Division

Canadian Football League West Division

The West Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League. Although the CFL was not founded until 1958, the West Division and its clubs are descended from earlier leagues.-Pre-1936:...

 champions. The winner of this trophy faced the winner of the James S. Dixon Trophy

James S. Dixon Trophy

The James S. Dixon Trophy is a Canadian Football League trophy, formerly awarded to the East Division champions. The winner of this trophy faced the winner of the N. J. Taylor Trophy for the Grey Cup. Both the James S. Dixon Trophy and N. J. Taylor Trophy were retired in 2004.The Dixon Trophy was...

 for the Grey Cup

Grey Cup

The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...

. Both the N. J. Taylor Trophy and James S. Dixon Trophy were retired in 2004.

The N.J. Taylor Trophy was named after former Western Inter-Provincial Football Union president N. J. Taylor. The trophy was first awarded in 1948

1948 in Canadian football

-Canadian Football News in 1948:The WIFU increased their games from 8 to 12 games per team.The Hamilton Tigers, formerly of the IRFU joined the ORFU, and the Hamilton Wildcats joined the IRFU on Friday, April 9....

, replacing the earlier Hugo Ross Trophy

Hugo Ross Trophy

The Hugo Ross Trophy was named after a Winnipeg real estate broker, Hugo Ross, who donated the championship trophy to the Western Canada Rugby Football Union...

 which served an identical function.

In 1995

1995 CFL season

The 1995 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 42nd season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 38th Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 1995:...

, as part of the failed American expansion

CFL USA

The term CFL USA refers to the abortive expansion of the Canadian Football League into the United States in the early-to-mid 1990s. The 1993 CFL season saw the addition of the first American team to the league, the Sacramento Gold Miners...

, the Taylor Trophy was awarded to the champions of the Northern Division.