BIO

Wartime competition 1942-1944
Norwood-North games: 2
Norwood-North goals: 0

Born in Parkside on 26 November 1916, Stanley Tonkin Taylor won the B Grade Magarey Medal in 1939 when the Norwood Association team won its third successive premiership – a feat which did not occur again until 1974,1975 and 1976.

Stan Taylor graduated to the league team in 1940 playing 16 out of the 18 games for the season and was recognized in the club awards as the “best backman”.

In 1941, the last of the regular league competitions for three years, Norwood experienced an outstanding season winning its first premiership for 12 years. Bruce Schulz became the first Norwood player to kick 100 goals in a season.Taylor played in 18 of the 20 games for the season and was again recognized in the club awards as the “best backman”.

He played a prominent role at centre half-back in the match against West Adelaide, in which Norwood came from behind to win and earned the right to play Sturt in the Grand Final, being named second best behind Jack Oatey.  In the Grand Final it was reported that “Taylor had closed the direct route to goal” and that “repeated Sturt thrusts collapsed against the rugged half-back line where Seelenmeyer, Taylor and Lawrence were models of steadiness and consistency”. He was again named in the best players.

Taylor enlisted in August 1941 serving in the 2/10th Infantry Battalion and was discharged in September 1945.  He had played two games in 1944 in the patriotic league; the wartime competition during the years 1942-1944.

After the war in 1946 he re-commenced training at Norwood but an attack of malaria and an appendix operation prevented any return to that year’s premiership winning league side.

Although he did not play any more league games (it is possible that malaria may have been a continuing problem) he did play some association games and in 1949 was appointed coach of the Norwood Association side.

Stan Taylor died on 12 August 1984 aged 67.

G Williams Nov 2015