| Thomas Taylor (January 29,
1932 – February 6, 1958), better known as Tommy Taylor, was an English
footballer, who was known for his aerial ability. He was one of the eight
Manchester United players who lost their lives in the Munich air disaster.
Taylor began his career playing for a local coal mining team at the colliery
where he worked. At the age of just 16, local scouts offered him the chance to
play for Barnsley.
After impressing at Barnsley, Taylor was transferred to Manchester United in
March 1953 for a world-record transfer fee of £29,999. He was not sold for
£30,000 as the manager, Matt Busby, did not want to give him the pressure of
being the world's first £30,000 footballer (Busby gave the extra pound to a tea
lady).
He got off to a great start, scoring twice on his debut. By the end of the
1952-53 season, Taylor had scored 7 goals in only 11 games for United. He
eventually led the team to league titles in 1956 and 1957 and scored in the 1957
FA Cup Final, when United were denied the double. Such was Taylor's worth that
Matt Busby decided to reject an offer of £65,000 for him from Inter Milan in
1957.
At the time of his emergence, many saw Taylor as the perfect replacement for
Nat Lofthouse in the England side. In all, he played 19 times for England,
scoring 16 goals. Had he not lost his life at Munich, he could conceivably have
become one of the greatest goal scorers ever to play for England.
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