Samuel James T. Taylor (17 September 1893 – 1973) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

, who played at

inside forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

for various clubs in the 1920s, including

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

and

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

Football career

Taylor was born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

and as a youth played for various works teams in the area, including Atlas & Norfolk Works and

Silverwood Colliery Silverwood Colliery was a coal mining, colliery situated between Thrybergh and Ravenfield in Yorkshire, England. Originally called Dalton Main, it was renamed after a local woodland. It was owned by Dalton Main Collieries Ltd. History Dalton ...

. During the First World War, he played as a guest for Rotherham County and

Bradford Park Avenue Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club, sometimes abbreviated as BPA AFC, is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in , at the eighth tier of the English football league ...

. In May 1919, he signed for

of the

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...

. In his first season, he was ever-present scoring 35 goals from 42 league appearances as Huddersfield finished as runners-up and were promoted to the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

for the first time. This made Taylor the top scorer in the Second Division for 1919–20. Taylor also held the record for the highest number of goals scored in one season by a Huddersfield player (later equalled by

George Brown George Brown may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George Loring Brown (1814–1889), American landscape painter * George Douglas Brown (1869–1902), Scottish novelist * George Williams Brown (1894–1963), Canadian historian and editor * Ge ...

) until this was beaten by

Jordan Rhodes Jordan Luke Rhodes (born 5 February 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker. He will become a free agent when his contract with Blackpool expires on 30 June 2025. Born in England, he represented the Scotland national team. ...

in April 2012. Taylor also scored six goals in Huddersfield's run to the 1921 FA Cup final, during which they defeated First Division sides

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

and

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. In the final, they met another First Division side,

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

; Villa's "form and pedigree" were too much for Huddersfield who, despite dogged defending, were beaten in extra time by a header from Billy Kirton. Taylor was unable to reproduce his form in the First Division, managing only four goals in 1920–21 and he returned to the Second Division when he was transferred to

in January 1921. He made his debut for Wednesday on 15 January 1921 away to

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

and remained in Sheffield for four full seasons until May 1925, making a total of 128 appearances, scoring 39 goals. Taylor spent the 1925–26 season in the

Midland League The Midland Football League, officially known as the Capelli Sport Midland Football League since January 2025 for sponsorship reasons, is an English football league that was founded in 2014 by the merger of the former Midland Alliance and Midl ...

with

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

before returning to the Second Division with

in June 1926. The Saints paid a

fee A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for rights or services. Fees usually allow for overhead, wages, costs, and markup. Traditionally, professionals in the United Kingdom (and previously the Republic of Ireland) receive a fee in contrad ...

of £300, which was paid to Sheffield Wednesday, who still retained his registration. He made his debut at

inside-right In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on bein ...

in the opening game of the season, a

local derby A sports rivalry is intense competition between athletic teams or athletes, affecting participants, management, and supporters all to varying degrees. One of the first known sports rivalries occurred in the Roman Empire between the Blues and th ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, when he scored in a 3–1 defeat. He retained his place for a further five games without scoring and was replaced by Alf Bishop before being recalled, this time at

inside-left In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

on 9 October. Taylor then scored in three consecutive matches and retained his place for the rest of the season. Described as "a thoughtful and intelligent inside-forward", Taylor developed a good relationship on the left-wing with Billy "Spud" Murphy and Stan Woodhouse with "simple, planned moves" allowing Taylor a free run at goal. Alternatively, his "decoy" moves would allow Murphy the room to run down the flank. In 1927–28, Taylor rarely missed a match, occasionally alongside his namesake

Tommy Taylor Thomas Taylor (29 January 1932 – 6 February 1958) was an English association football, footballer, who played as a Forward (association football), centre-forward and was known for his aerial ability. He was one of the eight Manchester United ...

, until mid-March when he lost his place to his former Sheffield Wednesday colleague,

Charlie Petrie Charles Petrie (8 August 1895 – 8 March 1972) was an English professional footballer who played at inside-left for various clubs in the 1920s. Football career Petrie was born in West Gorton, Manchester and played as a youth for the nearby O ...

. At the end of the season, he was released and moved back to the north of England to join Halifax Town. He then wound down his career with spells at

Grantham Grantham () is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road. It lies south of Lincoln, England ...

, Chesterfield and

Llanelli ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is on the estuary of the River Loughor and is the largest town in the Principal areas of Wales, ...

Honours

Huddersfield Town *

runners-up: 1919–20 *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

finalists:

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen in Finland, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its ow ...

References

External links

Career details on www.11v11.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Sammy 1893 births 1973 deaths Footballers from Sheffield English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Atlas Sports & Social F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Silverwood Colliery F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Halifax Town A.F.C. players Grantham Town F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Llanelli Town A.F.C. players English Football League players 20th-century English sportsmen