Tommy Taylor
Shane Murphy[With thanks to John Kehoe for co-writing and providing details]
It’s a special day (27/2/25) for our first league-winning captain as the legendary Tommy Taylor celebrates his 91st birthday today. The great goalkeeper, an Ireland international, was the first Blue to lift the league championship trophy when he led Waterford to glory in the 1965/66 season. It’s great to see him looking so well at home in Dublin these days and keeping in touch with the Blues.
Tommy (pictured above, second left, celebrating the 70th anniversary of Home Farm's 1954/55 FAI Junior Cup win) had three spells with Waterford over the course of twelve years and made a big impression on Maltese football too during his time with Valletta FC. He also entered the record books as the first goalkeeper to score a goal in a ‘first-class match’ from inside his own penalty box.
Having won the FAI Junior Cup with Home Farm in 1955, the 21-year old Tommy was attracting quite a bit of interest around Ireland and across the water. Waterford won the battle for his signature in October of that year as a replacement for Andy Wingate.
(Tommy having just made a save for Waterford against Drumcondra in Tolka Park, 1957)
The Dubliner was Waterford’s number one for three-and-a-half seasons in his first term at the club which saw third, seventh and sixth-place finishes in the league. Most notably, in October 1958, he became the fourth Waterford player to be capped for Ireland when he came on as a substitute in the 68th minute of a 2-2 friendly draw with Poland after Everton ‘keeper Jimmy O’Neill suffered an injury. As it was his only cap, Tommy can claim to be one of the few international goalkeepers never to have conceded a goal!
A month earlier, he had earned another claim-to-fame with a goal against Shamrock Rovers. According to the Irish Independent, “Taylor gathered a loose ball in his own penalty area and sent a terrific drive down the centre past the Rovers’ defence. The advancing Rovers’ goal-keeper, Darcy, completely misjudged the hop of the ball, which sailed over his head into the net. The crowd was dumbfounded for a moment, but a mighty roar was unleashed as the referee pointed to the centre-spot.” His goal put the Blues into a three-goal lead in a game they won 3-2 and, ultimately, meant they won the Shield by one point from Rovers.
(Taylor with Valletta FC)
Two weeks after collecting the Shield, Tommy was on his way to Malta to work in construction. At the same time, he also signed for Valletta FC with whom he would win three league titles and two Maltese Cups. He spent almost six seasons at the capital city side, apart from a six-month spell where he returned to the Blues for the first half of the 1961/62 season, replacing Vin Dunphy between the sticks.
Taylor moved back permanently in the summer of 1964, signing once again for Waterford, and leaving behind an outstanding reputation as one of the island's greatest custodians, and much like Peter Thomas in League of Ireland circles, is still regarded as a benchmark for Maltese keepers.
Of course, his first two seasons back in Ireland provided completely contrasting fortunes with the Blues finishing bottom of the league in ‘64/’65 and top in ‘65/’66. Tommy played every single minute of the twenty-two matches in that league-winning season, keeping eight clean sheets including six in the remarkable run of thirteen consecutive wins that delivered the title. As captain, he had the honour of raising the trophy to begin that incredible period of success for the club.
The arrival of Peter Thomas from Coventry City the following season heralded the end of Tommy's time on Suirside. Now 33, he was granted a free transfer, and moved to Cork Celtic in July 1967. In all, he made 212 senior appearances for the Blues, across eight seasons and will always be regarded as one of our finest ever. Happy birthday to a true legend!
(Tommy, front middle, with the 1965/66 league winners)