Background
The son of John Taylor Senior, who played 56 games for SANFL club Portuguese Adelaide from 1915 to 1923, Taylor, along with his brothers John Jnr.
The son of John Taylor Senior, who played 56 games for SANFL club Portuguese Adelaide from 1915 to 1923, Taylor, along with his brothers John Jnr.
And Laurie, began his career at West Adelaide and finished it at Glenelg.
He also played with West Adelaide and Glenelg in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). In between he had two separate stints with South Melbourne, the first while on war service in 1942 when he appeared in five VFL games, two of them finals, including their preliminary final loss to Essendon. He returned in 1947 and from mid season was used as a forward and on the ball, kicking at least two goals in each of his final six games.
In one of those games, against Hawthorn at Glenferrie Oval, he kicked a career best bag of six goals.
As a result of his consistent performances up forward in 1947, Taylor remained there in 1948 and kicked five goals against Richmond in the opening round. He finished the year in defense, his preferred position while at West Adelaide, and in 1949 returned to South Australia and joined Glenelg.
He was recognised in the 1952 "Sporting Life" Team of the Year as a half back flanker and represented South Australia in nine interstate matches during his career. His final contribution to South Australian football came in 1965 when he coached West Adelaide for the season.
The club however struggled and finished the year in ninth position (of ten).