Taylor started his career as an amateur with
Walsall and turned professional in September 1954. He made more than 70 appearances for the "Saddlers" in the
Third Division South.
Frank Buckley failed to keep Walsall out of the re-election zone in the
1954–55 season, and the
Fellows Park club continued to struggle in the lower half of the table in
1955–56 and
1956–57 under the stewardship of
John Love. Despite the introduction of a new boss
Bill Moore, a 20th-place finish in
1957–58 left the club to become founder members of the
Fourth Division. He moved to
First Division club
Birmingham City in June 1958 in exchange for £10,000 and the inside-forward
Jimmy Cochrane.
Manager Arthur Turner described him as a "wonderful prospect". He scored six goals from 30 appearances in the
1958–59 season. Each of the six was the last goal of its match: his first top-flight goal, "tearing through straight from the second-half
kick-off", helped earn his club a draw at
Portsmouth, the other five all came in comfortable wins. Having come into the first-team early in the 1959–60 season when
Gordon Astall was injured in the home defeat of
Newcastle United, Taylor suffered double vision in the reverse fixture a week later and was out for a month. He was selected regularly during October by manager
Pat Beasley After the removal of the maximum wage in 1961, Taylor was unable to agree terms for the coming season, so Birmingham circulated other clubs inviting offers for him. By mid-September, it became clear that the remaining few
contract "rebels", Taylor included, would get no help from the League in settling their disputes with their clubs, and the
Professional Footballers' Association advised them to submit
transfer requests. Taylor played four first-team matches during September, then signed for
Rotherham United on 13 October for a £10,000 fee. Rotherham were competing in the
Second Division under the stewardship of
Tom Johnston. Taylor quickly became an established member of the team at
Millmoor with his "good
crossing ability", making a total of 26 appearances in the
1961–62 season.
Arthur Rowley's "Shrews" posted 11th and 16th-place finishes in the
Third Division in
1963–64 and
1964–65. Taylor played 73 league games in his two seasons at the
Gay Meadow. Taylor was sold to
Jackie Mudie's
Port Vale for £3,000 in July 1965. He scored three goals in 42 appearances in the
1965–66 campaign, but made just 11 appearances at
Vale Park in the
1966–67 season. He was given a
free transfer to Fourth Division rivals
Barnsley in May 1967. Taylor played 24 games and helped
Johnny Steele's "Tykes" to win
promotion with a second-place finish in
1967–68, five points behind champions
Luton Town. Despite this success, he left
Oakwell and entered
non-League football with
Kidderminster Harriers (
West Midlands (Regional) League),
Bromsgrove Rovers,
Welshpool Town,
Oswestry Town and
Darlaston. ==Later life==