[a] Frank Buckley failed to keep Walsall out of the re-election zone in the 1954–55 season, and the Fellows Park club continued to struggle in the lower half of the table in 1955–56 and 1956–57 under the stewardship of John Love.
[9] Having come into the first-team early in the 1959–60 season when Gordon Astall was injured in the home defeat of Newcastle United,[10] Taylor suffered double vision in the reverse fixture a week later[11] and was out for a month.
He was selected regularly during October by manager Pat Beasley[9] until a broken leg, sustained in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup semi-final win over Union Saint-Gilloise in mid-November, kept him out for a year.
[3] He scored on his return against Manchester United, and made 24 appearances during the remainder of the season, sharing the outside-left position with Billy Rudd: Taylor was preferred on a heavy pitch.
[9][12] After the removal of the maximum wage in 1961, Taylor was unable to agree terms for the coming season, so Birmingham circulated other clubs inviting offers for him.
[13] By mid-September, it became clear that the remaining few contract "rebels", Taylor included, would get no help from the League in settling their disputes with their clubs, and the Professional Footballers' Association advised them to submit transfer requests.
[2] Taylor played 24 games and helped Johnny Steele's "Tykes" to win promotion with a second-place finish in 1967–68, five points behind champions Luton Town.