Later described by the Football League as "perhaps the finest English referee of all time",[4] Taylor was famous for officiating in the 1974 FIFA World Cup Final during which he awarded two penalties in the first 30 minutes.

[1] Aged 25, he became the youngest linesman on the English Football League's list, running the line in a Division Three South match between Coventry City and Bournemouth in August 1955.

[1] Some three years later, he was promoted to the supplementary list of league referees, officiating at a Fourth Division match between Southport and Hartlepool United.

[1] Taylor first refereed at the FIFA World Cup in 1970, taking charge of a group game between Italy and Sweden.

Taylor was awarded the final between hosts West Germany and the Netherlands, played at Olympiastadion, Munich on 7 July 1974.

[1] Over his career, Taylor served as a referee for 33 years, taking charge of more than 1,000 games, over 100 international fixtures played in 60 countries.

[10] After closing his butcher's shop he spent two seasons refereeing in Brazil before returning to England to become Commercial Director at Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1979.

According to his obituary in The Independent:[4] Not that Taylor didn't possess a sense of humour, as he demonstrated after being badly cut in the face by a penny thrown from a bank of Luton Town fans at Kenilworth Road.

[1] Taylor grew up above the butcher's shop next to Wolverhampton Wanderers' Molineux home, and later managed the family business while continuing to referee at weekends.