Biography
John “Jock” Taylor was born in Elgin on the North East coast of Scotland and joined Parkhead FC in Glasgow in his early 20s. In August 1907 he headed south and joined Hull City but didn’t make his first team debut until the last day of February 1908 when he was chosen to play inside right, filling for City’s pre-WW1 goal machine John Smith.
In the 1908/09 season Taylor again filled in occasionally for absent colleagues before getting a run of five consecutive starts in February and March 1909, during which he scored twice in a 4-0 win over Derby and once in a 4-1 win over Stockport. By the end of March he was again out of the first team picture and was made available for transfer in the 1909 close season.
Jock spent the next four years in Kent playing initially for Tunbridge Wells Rangers then quickly moving to Southern League side New Brompton (who in 1912 became Gillingham FC) where he was a regular starter and goalscorer. In the 1909/10 season Jock hit 20 goals for New Brompton and added another 25 goals in the next three seasons, making 137 starts for the Kent side.
Taylor joined Belfast-based side Distillery for the 1913/14 season. His registration as a professional footballer was still held by Hull City until May 1914 when the £25 fee demanded was waived and Taylor joined Edinburgh-based Scottish Division Two side Leith Athletic. After hitting 20 goals for Leith in the 1914/15 season Taylor served St Bernard’s, another Edinburgh club, in 1915 before signing up to the war effort.
Taylor served the Royal Scots Regiment in France during World War 1 and was killed in action at the Battle for the Somme on 15 September 1916. He is commemorated at the Thiepval Memorial in Northern France.
Details
Nationality: Scotland
Date/Place of Birth: 12 December 1885, Elgin
Hull City First Game: 29 February 1908, Stockport County A (Division Two), 22 years, 79 days old
Hull City Final Game: 12 April 1909, Wolverhampton Wanderers H (Division Two), 23 years, 121 days old
Clubs
Parkhead, Hull City (1907-1909), Tunbridge Wells Rangers (1909), New Brompton/Gillingham (1909-1913), Distillery (1913-1914), Leith Athletic (1914-1915), St Bernard’s (1915)
Hull City Record
Career: 9 apps, 3 goals
Jock Taylor| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1907/08 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1908/09 | 8 | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |