Tommy Taylor is pictured above playing for West Ham during their
2-2 draw with Stoke City.
|
| Leyton Orient: |
1967-1968 |
Played |
17 |
Scored |
0 |
goals |
(Division 3) |
| |
1968-1969 |
Played |
40 |
Scored |
2 |
goals |
(Division 3) |
| |
1969-1970 |
Played |
46 |
Scored |
2 |
goals |
(Division 3) |
| |
1970-1971 |
Played |
11 |
Scored |
0 |
goals |
(Division 2) |
| |
| Transferred in October 1970 |
| |
| West Ham Utd: |
1970-1971 |
Played |
30 |
Scored |
1 |
goal |
(Division 1) |
| |
1971-1972 |
Played |
42 |
Scored |
0 |
goals |
(Division 1) |
| |
1972-1973 |
Played |
37 |
Scored |
3 |
goals |
(Division 1) |
| |
1973-1974 |
Played |
40 |
Scored |
0 |
goals |
(Division 1) |
| |
1974-1975 |
Played |
39 |
Scored |
0 |
goals |
(Division 1) |
| |
1975-1976 |
Played |
42 |
Scored |
2 |
goals |
(Division 1) |
| |
1976-1977 |
Played |
36 |
Scored |
0 |
goals |
(Division 1) |
| |
1977-1978 |
Played |
42 |
Scored |
2 |
goals |
(Division 1) |
| |
1978-1979 |
Played |
32 |
Scored |
0 |
goals |
(Division 2) |
| |
|
Transferred to Leyton Orient in May 1979 for whom
he played 116 League games (5 goals).
|
| |
Tommy Taylor was born in Hornchurch in Essex and started his playing career with Orient.
The highly rated nineteen-year-old centre half, who had captained England at youth level,
was signed by West Ham from their East London neighbours in October 1970 for a £80,000
fee, with inside forward Peter Bennett going in the opposite direction.
Taylor made his Hammers
debut in a 2-2 draw against Spurs at Upton Park in October 1970, making in total thirty-one
first team appearances in his first season.
He scored his first West Ham goal in a 2-1 away league win against Southampton in April 1971.
During his second season at Upton Park he was ever present, as he made the number five shirt
his own, forming a central defensive partnership with Bobby Moore for the next couple of seasons.
Taylor’s impressive early performances for the Hammers saw him winning a total of thirteen Under
23 caps for England between 1971 and 1973, however he was never selected for England at senior level.
When Moore left for Fulham in March 1974, youngster Kevin Lock became Taylor’s new defensive partner
and the pairing made thirty-eight league appearances together during the 1974/75 season, playing alongside
each other in the West Ham team that beat Fulham 2-0 in the 1975 FA Cup Final at Wembley. Taylor was
again ever present during the 1975/76 season, playing a total of fifty-nine games in all competitions.
That season however saw the biggest disappointment of his career, the Hammers 4-2 defeat to Belgian’s
Anderlecht in the final of the European Cup Winners Cup, Taylor having played in every game during the
European campaign.
Although Taylor was known as a ball playing defender, he also made occasional appearances in West Ham’s
midfield and during the Hammers injury crisis at the start of the 1976/77 season he was even used as a stand
in striker. He was once again ever present during the 1977/78 season in which West Ham were relegated to
Division Two. However, following failure to gain promotion back to Division One at the first attempt, Hammers
manager John Lyall made the decision to clear out some of the old guard and consequently Taylor, who had
lost his first team place to Alvin Martin, left Upton Park in August 1979 to re-join Orient for £20,000.
In total Taylor made three hundred and ninety-six appearances in his nine years at West Ham, putting him
eighteenth in the club’s all-time appearance list, also scoring eight goals.
After retiring from playing Taylor
enjoyed a long managerial career, including five years as manager of Leyton Orient, in 2021 was the
Director of Football at non-league Histon. (Mark Matthews).
Tommy managed many teams including:
1991 Margate
1995–1996 Cambridge United
1996–2001 Leyton Orient
2001–2002 Darlington
2003 Farnborough Town
2004–2006 King's Lynn
2007 Peterborough United (caretaker)
2007–2008 Boston United
2009–2010 Grenada
2011 Belper Town
2013 PS Kemi Kings