Taylor Swift wouldn’t be much good in a boxing ring

This is an admission: Until about six months ago, I always thought Taylor Swift was a man. Around that time I asked if ‘he’ was maybe a boxer, a contender for a World heavyweight title.

“What are you talking about,” asked a disbelieving member of the younger set. “She’s a singer, the best in the world, and when she comes to Dublin, a whole lot of us are going up to see her.”

It’s only the amateur boxing game – and another Taylor, Katie – that catches my attention nowadays. There was a time when it was different. My interest was a sharp as a left hook when there was only one heavyweight champion of the World.

Rocky Marciano, Floyd Patterson, Joe Louis and the Swede, Ingemar Johannson – who had the temerity to come in and change the old order – were in their pomp, and when we went to the pictures, it was a real bonus when Universal News showed a title fight.

Then came Cassius Clay – later to become Muhammad Ali – Sonny Liston and, yes, Al Blue Lewis, who fought Ali in a non-title bout in Croke Park.

After that different organisations began to invent their own titles, giving us a number of boxers claiming to be a world champion. It was then that I threw in the towel on the professional game. Back to Taylor. No, not the girl who sings songs for millions, but those with the surname.

Tommy Taylor played in goals with Waterford, along with the Fitzgeralds and Hales, when I was an Oriel Park regular. There was, however, another Tommy Taylor, whose name will always be mentioned when the discourse is centred on Manchester United.

He was a centre-forward when Matt Busby was guiding his famous Babes, and his performances in the red jersey were good enough to earn him a regular place on the England team. He was there for the oft-recalled World Cup qualifying match with the Republic of Ireland at Dalymount Park in 1957.

The Republic needed a win to stay in the competition, and looked certain to get it when, with only minutes remaining, Alf Ringstead’s early strike had the look of a winner about it.

After Tom Finney had taken the ball down the right wing, and then put in the perfect cross, Johnny Atyeo rose to head the ball to the net, stunning the crowd of 47,000. Wireless commentator, Philip Green, was speechless – you could, as the fella says, hear the silence all over the country.

Within a year, Tommy Taylor was dead, a victim of the Munich Disaster. Others who played in that game in Dalymount were among the seven other footballers who perished, Ireland’s Liam Whelan among them.

The transfer rules were relaxed to allow United to rebuild, and one of those to come in was another Taylor, Ernie, who had won an FA Cup medal with Stanley Matthews’ Blackpool in 1953. The collection of newcomers and Munich survivors went close to glory, making it to the 1958 Cup final.

Nat Lofthouse was in form for Bolton Wanderers, scoring the game’s two goals. Best-known of this country’s sporting Taylors is Dennis. Those among the many millions looking in on television will never forget the Coalisland man’s World Snooker final with multiple champion, Steve Davis.

The game couldn’t have stretched any further, with a decision not arrived at until the last ball in the 35th frame was potted. There was just the white and the black on the table when Taylor leaned over the cushion to take what was the final shot. Dramatic stuff which kept the millions up until the early hours of a Bank Holiday Monday.

To finish: Paul Taylor played for, and managed, the Sligo county team, Taylor Fritz got a good run at Wimbledon recently, and Lenny was a printer with Tempests when I was a Democrat apprentice getting, covered in ink whenever I had to clean a massive printing machine. Unlike most of the above, not the most pleasant of memories.