Taylor, William

Personal

Fullname: William Taylor
aka: Willie Taylor
Born: […]
Birthplace: [….]
Signed: 5 Feb 1948
Left: 27 Apr 1951 (free); 31 May 1951 (Alloa)
Position: Inside-left
Debut: Third Lanark 0-2 Celtic, Charity Cup, 2 May 1949
Internationals: None

Biog

Hard working inside-left William Taylor signed for Celtic in February 1948 from Glencairn Juveniles. ‘Discovered’ by Tommy McInally, who had come back to the club as a scout in the late 1940’s, Taylor had scored four goals in the Glasgow Police 5-a-side tournament at Hampden in June 1947.

He made his senior Hoops debut in a 2-0 Glasgow Charity Cup win at Third Lanark in May 1949. His competitive debut in a major tournament was in the League Cup against St Mirren in September 1949.

He was not to go on to become an automatic first pick but still made a total of 17 appearances during what was a generally bleak time for Celtic. He’d actually had a bright start with three goals in his first four league games, but couldn’t keep this form up with just one goal overall thereafter. He’d scored a goal in his league debut in a two nil win over Queen of the South. Celtic finished that season (1949/50) in fifth.

He managed to continue as a part-timer with Celtic whilst working as a motor mechanic with Glasgow Corporation during the day. Following on from Celtic’s policy of wanting all first team players to be full time, Celtic wanted him as a full-timer at the start of the 1950-51 season but failed to offer enough in wages for Willie Taylor to take up the offer.

He eventually did sign a new contract in September 1950 but played very little in that season seeing action only in the Reserves, and so didn’t make it through to the first team squad who finally managed to win the Scottish Cup, Celtic’s first major trophy for what felt like almost a generation.

He left Celtic for a trial at Carlisle in April 1951, but soon moved on to Alloa.

Playing Career

Honours with Celtic

None

Pictures

• Player Pics