Career
Athletics
He was an outstanding schoolboy athlete, and displayed great talent both a sprinter and as a high-jumper whilst at Caulfield Grammar School. He also competed in the long-jump. At 15 he had already cleared 6 ft 1 in (185 m) using a "scissors jump" technique.
His best-ever jump was 6 ft 3 in (191 m).
He eventually gave up high jumping because he became too heavy. And, in particular, because no up-to-date high jump coaching was available to him.
Football
He played in Caulfield Grammar"s First XVIII. And, in 1949, he was recruited from the V.A.F.A. team Caulfield Grammarians. Promoted from the Third XVIII, and then the Second XVIII, Taylor played his first senior match for South Melbourne, at 17, on 16 July 1949 (round 13) against Street Kilda at the Street Junction Oval.
Playing as a forward pocket and in the second ruck, he kicked one goal and was one of South Melbourne"s best players.
He played as both a defender (mainly centre-half back) and ruckman for South Melbourne, and was a regular for both Victoria and South Melbourne during the next decade. He played 81 senior games with South Melbourne between 1949 and 1954.
In 1955, aged 23, he moved to Norwood in the South Australian National Football League. He played 13 South.A.F.L. He played four Interstate matches for South Australia in 1955.
He then returned to South Melbourne and played another 72 senior VFL matches from 1956 to 1961.
Taylor played in the first ruck in his first return match (round 1, 1956) against Geelong at the Lake Oval. The match against Geelong was a very low standard scrappy affair. Taylor came off the ground after the match only to be told that his father, who had served as vice-president of the South Melbourne Football Club from 1952 to 1954, had died in the committee reserve whilst the match was in progress, and that his mother had requested that he not be told until after the match was over.
He represented Victoria at interstate football 13 occasions.
In 1973 he was chairman of selectors at South Melbourne.
