Laurie Taylor (footballer, born 1918)

Laurie Taylor (12 October 1918 – 18 October 1980)[1] was an Australian rules footballer who played in the Victorian Football League (VFL) for the Richmond Football Club and in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) for West Adelaide and Glenelg Football Clubs.

For the South Melbourne, St Kilda and Hawthorn footballer, see Laurie Taylor (footballer, born 1916).

Laurie Taylor
Personal information
Date of birth 12 October 1918
Date of death 18 October 1980(1980-10-18) (aged 62)
Original team(s) West Adelaide
Height 188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 81.5 kg (180 lb)
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1944, 1947 Richmond 20 (48)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1947.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Taylor was 6'2", an inch taller than fellow Richmond ruckman Jack Dyer and was a well-built centre-half forward, renowned for his strong marking.

War service

Taylor served with the 2nd AIF in Borneo during World War II.[2]

Shoulder dislocation

On 17 May 1947, in the first match that Taylor played after his discharge from the A.I.F., Richmond was playing Hawthorn and Taylor was playing in the ruck. At the first bounce, Taylor punched the ball an amazing 40 yd (37 m) and, at the same time, dislocated his shoulder.[3]

The Taylor football family

Laurie's record as a player and as a coach is impressive:

  • 1936–1937, West Adelaide Juniors
  • 1937–1941, 1946, West Adelaide 44 games (127 goals)
  • 1944, West Adelaide/Genelg: 1 game (1 goal)
  • South Australian Interstate Team: 5 games (7 goals)
  • 1944, 1947, Richmond: 20 games (48 goals, including five 5-goal matches)
  • 1948: Corowa, captain-coach. Also represented New South Wales in interstate football?
  • 1949: Coolamon Football Club captain-coach. Represented NSW v Victoria.[4][5][6]
  • 1950, 1952, Glenelg: 28 games (60 goals)
  • 1951, Coolamon, captain-coach of premiership side ?
  • 1953–1954: Naracoorte, captain-coach, 1953 & 54 premiership coach.[7]
  • 1955–1956: West Gambier, Captain-coach

His family were also steeped in football.

  • John Taylor Sr., his father, played 56 games with SANFL club Port Adelaide[8] including their 1914 team which was unbeaten for the entire season.
  • John Taylor Jr., his brother, played 258 games for SANFL clubs West Adelaide and Glenelg as both player and as captain-coach. He played for South Australia five times. He was the first SANFL player to play 250 games.[9]
  • Don Taylor, his other brother, played 20 senior games for South Melbourne in 1942 and 1947. On 30 August 1947, in round 19, South Melbourne played Richmond at the Punt Road Oval; Laurie Taylor was the Richmond full-forward, and Don Taylor was the South Melbourne full-forward.[10] Laurie Taylor kicked 5 goals for Richmond, and was one of the best on the ground, whilst Don kicked two goals for South Melbourne.[11] He also played 136 senior games for West Adelaide and Glenelg between 1939 and 1954. He played for South Australia nine times. He also coached West Adelaide in 1965.[12]

Notes
  1. "Laurie Taylor - Player Bio". Australian Football. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  2. World War II Nominal Roll: Lawrence Taylor (SX28428).
  3. Bottle Strikes Player on Head, The Argus, (Monday, 19 May 1947), p.12; South hang on to Chambers: wanted by VFA, The Argus, (Friday, 30 May 1947), p.12; Ross, 1996, p.178. Hawthorn went on to win the match 16.11 (107) to Richmond's 10.9 (69).
  4. "1949 - NSW v Victoria". The Daily Advertiser, Wagga.
  5. "1949 - NSW v Victoria match preview". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  6. "1949 - Vicroria easily defeat NSW". The Daily Telegraph.
  7. "KNFL Premiership table". LogoKowree Naracoorte Tatiara Football League. LogoKowree Naracoorte Tatiara Football League.
  8. Atkinson, pp. 129-30.
  9. "Full Points Footy: John Taylor". Archived from the original on 4 February 2012.
  10. VFL Teams for Tomorrow, The Argus, (Friday 29 August 1947), p.18.
  11. Details of Six VFL Games, The Argus, (Monday, 1 September 1947), p.18
  12. "Full Points Footy: Don Taylor". Archived from the original on 4 February 2012.

References
  • Atkinson, G. (1982) Everything you ever wanted to know about Australian rules football but couldn't be bothered asking, The Five Mile Press: Melbourne. ISBN 0 86788 009 0.
  • Hansen B: Tigerland: The History of the Richmond Football Club from 1885, Richmond Former Players and Officials Association, (Melbourne), 1989. ISBN 0-7316-5047-6
  • Hogan P: The Tigers of Old, Richmond FC, (Melbourne), 1996. ISBN 0-646-18748-1
  • Ross, J. (ed), 100 Years of Australian Football 1897–1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported, Viking, (Ringwood), 1996. ISBN 0-670-86814-0
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