Dick Taylor (Australian Rules Footballer)
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Richard John Taylor (28 November 1900 – 25 May 1962) was an
Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
er who played for
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
and
North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government ar ...
in the
Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...
(VFL).


Family

The son of Richard Taylor (1865-1939), and Charlotte Taylor (1868-1923), née Walker, Richard John Taylor was born at
Armadale, Victoria Armadale is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 7 km south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne City Centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington Local government areas of Victoria, ...
on 28 November 1900.


Football


Melbourne (VFL)

Taylor played as a centreman. He made his VFL debut with Melbourne in the last home-and-away match of the 1922 season, against Fitzroy, at Princes Park, on 16 September 1922. He went on to play 164 games for Melbourne, including 127 consecutive games from his debut until an injury sustained from a kick on the leg in the violent and spiteful 17 August 1929 match against Footscray, in which Taylor had kicked 6 goals, meant that he was unable to pass a fitness test on the morning of the next match and, therefore, could not play in the 24 August 1929 match against St Kilda. He was a last-minute inclusion in that season's final match against Collingwood, at the MCG, on 31 August 1929. He was a member of Melbourne's 1926 premiership side; and, during his time at Melbourne, he represented Victoria at interstate football on 15 occasions.


1927 Brownlow Medal

In 1927 he finished equal second, with Carlton's
Alex Duncan George Robert Alexander Duncan ( – ) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton Football Club, Carlton in the Australian Football League, Victorian Football League, for Stratford in the East Gippsland Football League, Gippslan ...
, behind Collingwood's
Syd Coventry Sydney Alfred Coventry (13 June 1899 – 10 November 1976) was an Australian rules football player, coach and administrator. He played for Collingwood Football Club, Collingwood in the Australian Football League, Victorian Football League (VFL ...
in the
Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as Charlie), is awarded to the best and fairest player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by the f ...
count.


North Melbourne (VFL)

After playing with Melbourne for ten seasons, he was cleared to North Melbourne in 1932 where he was appointed captain-coach. He got suspended after a fiery game in 1932, and was barred from coaching for 4 weeks. Charlie Cameron filled the role in his absence.


Saturday, 14 July 1934

Midway through July 1934, North Melbourne were on the bottom of the VFL Ladder, having not won any of its nine matches to that stage. Hawthorn, with only one win, and eight losses, were second from the Bottom. Immediately after the 14 July game against Hawthorn at Glenferrie Oval a. strong-wind affected game, which Hawthorn won, 6.7 (53) to North Melbourne's 6.12 (48) he resigned as a player, in disgust at the attitude and performance of the North Melbourne players. When asked about the team's performance, following the match he said, "Once again we can attribute our defeat to our forwards. Some of our men are either playing badly or they don't want to play well. I am disgusted with our showing, and am definite that I have played my last game with North." ::Disgusted with Team: Dick Taylor: Club's Worry
"Definitely, I shall not play with North again", said the captain-coach of North Melbourne League Football Club (Dick Taylor) today. I am telephoning my resignation as a player to Jack Adams (club secretary) now.
"I am disgusted with the team", he said, "and after North's showing against Hawthorn on Saturday I feel that there is nothing else for me to do but resign.
"I expect my resignation will come up before the club meeting on Thursday.
"If North will have me as a non-playing coach I will carry on: but I am determined I shall not play again."
His 200th Game
It was Taylor's 200th League game, and he played his typically heady and serviceable game. He received numerous congratulations on having reached his double century, but he was very disgusted when interviewed in the dressing room immediately afterwards.
"What is the use of battling your heart out for a team like that!" he said. "I don't mind a man playing badly when it is because he just cannot hit formthe best of players are always liable to do that.
"I think that the reason why certain of our players did not show up well today waswell, the reason was not that they could not do better! There is not the right team spirit at North; but to say what I think at this stage will not help the team along." ''The Herald'', Monday, 16 July 1934. Given the club's expressed policy of employing only a playing coach, the North Melbourne committee "considered" his request to continue as the team's non-playing coach at its meeting on the Monday evening, and "decided to accept Taylor's resignation with regret", and appointed full-forward,
Tom Fitzmaurice Thomas Joseph Cullinan Fitzmaurice (7 July 1898 – 25 December 1977) was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Football A brilliant centre-half-back, he commenced his career with Essendon Football Club 1918. ...
, as captain-coach for the remainder of the 1934 season. In relation to Taylor's resignation, it is significant that Fitzmaurice, who was re-appointed as North Melbourne's captain-coach for the 1935 season, resigned immediately following the club's 28th consecutive loss since its last win against St Kilda on 12 August 1933 in the match ( against Collingwood, 16.30 (126) to 6.10 (46), on 15 June 1935, as both player and coach, for exactly the same reasons that Taylor had resigned 12 months earlier.


Melbourne (VFL)

Cleared back to Melbourne in 1935, he spent most of the season playing with the Second XVIII; however, he played another three senior games before retiring at the end of the season.


Melbourne Football Club

He served the Melbourne Football Club as its Chairman of Selectors (1947-1950), as its VFL delegate (1953-1962), and as a Director (1936, 1937, 1939-1942, and 1945-1962).


Death

He died at
Heidelberg, Victoria Heidelberg () is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, northeast of Melbourne's central business district, located within the City of Banyule local government area. Heidelberg recorded a population of 7,360 at the 2021 census. Once a ...
on 25 May 1962.Deaths: Taylor, ''The Age'', (Monday, 28 May 1962), p.13.
/ref>


See also

*
1924 Hobart Carnival The 1924 Hobart Carnival was the fifth Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian football Australian states and territories, interstate competition. It was held from 6–15 August and was the first carnival to be hosted by the Tasmania ...
*
1927 Melbourne Carnival The 1927 Melbourne Carnival was the sixth Australian National Football Carnival: an Australian football interstate competition. New South Wales caused the biggest upset of the carnival when they defeated Tasmania by three points and, also, came ...


Footnotes


References


Coulter Law Farcical In Present Form, Says Dick Taylor: Club Pirates are Ruining Football: "Nth. Melbourne Provide Object Lesson": Umpiring at Fault, ''The (Melbourne) Herald'', (Saturday, 21 July 1934), p.30.


External links

*

from AFL Tables *
Richard Taylor, at ''Demonwiki''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Richard 1900 births 1962 deaths Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Australian Rules footballers: place kick exponents Melbourne Football Club players North Melbourne Football Club players North Melbourne Football Club coaches South Yarra Football Club players Melbourne Football Club premiership players VFL/AFL premiership players People from Armadale, Victoria