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Doug Taft

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Doug Taft
Personal information
Full name Douglas Taft[1]
Date of birth (1926-03-09)9 March 1926[1]
Place of birth Leicester, England
Date of death 29 September 1987(1987-09-29) (aged 61)[1]
Place of death Derby, England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2]
Position(s) Centre forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
19??–1947 Gresley Rovers
1947–1949 Derby County 6 (1)
1949–195? Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 (0)
1950–1952 Chelmsford City
1952–1953 Bedford Town 40 (22)
1953–1955 Peterborough United 83 (50)
1955–1956 Kettering Town
1956–195? Rugby Town
195?–1959 Hinckley Athletic
Managerial career
195?–1959 Hinckley Athletic (player-manager)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Douglas Taft (9 March 1926 – 29 September 1987) was an English footballer who made six appearances in the Football League playing as a centre forward for Derby County in the 1940s. He was on the books of Wolverhampton Wanderers without playing league football for the club, and also played non-league football for clubs including Gresley Rovers, Chelmsford City, Bedford Town, Peterborough United, Kettering Town, Rugby Town and Hinckley Athletic, where he was player-manager.

Life and career

Taft was born in Leicester in 1926.[1] He served in the Army during the Second World War, and was playing football for Gresley Rovers when he caught the attention of First Division club Derby County. He was of powerful build, six feet (1.83 m) tall and weighing 14 st (89 kg). After demobilisation,[2] he signed professional forms in November 1947,[1] and began his career playing for the reserve team in the Central League.[3] He made his first-team debut in the league match away to Stoke City on 11 December 1948, deputising for Jack Stamps who failed a late fitness test, and scored the opening goal after 14 minutes, but Derby went on to lose 4–2.[4] He returned to the team for the Christmas fixtures against reigning champions Arsenal, and created the goal with which Derby opened the scoring in a 2–1 win at the Baseball Ground:

Harrison gained possession and pushed the ball down his own wing to the wandering Taft, who, with a brilliant piece of foot jugglery, sold the dummy to Smith and whipped across a perfect centre. Broome was there to nod the ball home via the goalpost.[5]

Taft kept his place for a few weeks, a period that included Derby's first three matches in the 1948–49 FA Cup.[6] The Star Green 'Un thought he played his best game for Derby in the fifth-round win against Cardiff City and had developed a good understanding with inside left Billy Steel.[7] However, Stamps returned to the side, and Taft made no more first-team appearances.[6][8]

He was one of 33 professionals placed on Derby's retained list, but did not remain with the club for long.[9] In July 1949, as part of a deal that took Wolves' Les Mynard to Derby and in the same week as he celebrated his wedding to Norma Allwood, Taft signed for Wolverhampton Wanderers as backup to Jesse Pye.[10] He soon suffered a knee injury that required surgery, which deprived him of a chance to play for the first team when Pye was injured in January.[11] When fit again, Taft was still unable to break into the first team, so he requested a transfer,[12] and was listed at a fee reported as £5,000.[13] There was interest from Second Division clubs,[14] but eventually Taft signed for a Southern League club, Chelmsford City.[13] His season was soon disrupted by injury and the need for a second cartilage operation,[15] but he stayed on for a second season.[16]

Ahead of the 1952–53 season, he was still on Wolves' retained list at a fee reported as £10,000.[16] He reportedly came close to signing for Biggleswade Town of the United Counties League,[17] but instead joined another Southern League club, Bedford Town.[18] Because Ronnie Rooke, the club's player-manager, was established at centre forward, Taft played at inside left for Bedford. He ended the season with 29 goals from 53 appearances in all competitions, 22 from 40 in the Southern League, as the team finished third.[16][19] The club wanted him to stay on, but the directors wanted to reduce the wage bill, and Taft was one of several professionals to refuse the terms offered.[20]

He signed for Midland League club Peterborough United.[21] He made a spectacular start: he scored in the opening fixture, then contributed five goals to a 9–1 win against Gainsborough Trinity, and a hat-trick in his sixth match, against York City's reserves, took his total to twelve in the first month of the season.[22][23] His scoring rate slowed, but he finished the season as the Midland League's top scorer with 42 goals.[24] He captained the team in the 1954–55 season,[25] but his goalscoring deserted him,[26] and he played much of the season at right half.[27] He was given a free transfer at the end of the season,[25] and returned to Southern League football with Kettering Town.[28] A season later, he moved on to captain Rugby Town of the Birmingham & District League,[29] and "served his side quietly and efficiently by nearly always being in the open space when the ball has come out his side of the centre. That he has not scored more goals is almost entirely due the fact that he favoured a berth well back to help the halves and the wingers."[30] He moved on to Hinckley Athletic as player-manager, a post he resigned in January 1959.[31]

Taft died in Derby in 1987 at the age of 61.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Doug Taft". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Taft retained". Derby Daily Telegraph. 31 December 1948. p. 8.
  3. ^ "Strong reserves". Derby Daily Telegraph. 5 December 1947. p. 4.
  4. ^ Nicklin, Frank (11 December 1948). "Taft scores early in his debut". Derby Daily Telegraph. p. 8.
  5. ^ Nicklin, Frank (27 December 1948). "Derby County give a Boxing Day treat". Derby Daily Telegraph. pp. 1, 8.
  6. ^ a b "Doug Taft". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  7. ^ Oldfield, Irvine (19 February 1949). "Doncaster: Solid foundation for the future". Star Green 'Un. p. 2.
  8. ^ "Bolton Wanderers v Derby County, 19 February 1949". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  9. ^ "Billy Steel re-signs for Rams". Derby Daily Telegraph. 2 May 1949. p. 12.
  10. ^ "Wolves' double deal with Derby County". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 14 July 1949. p. 6.
    "Two footballers marry". Nottingham Journal. 18 July 1949. p. 2.
  11. ^ "Wolves experiment". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 14 December 1949. p. 7.
    "Wolves' problem". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 13 January 1950. p. 6.
  12. ^ "Gossip from the soccer camps". Sports Argus. Birmingham. 15 April 1950. p. 4.
  13. ^ a b "Valued at £5,000". Chelmsford Chronicle. 4 August 1950. p. 1.
  14. ^ "Jimmy Dunn fit and back in training". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 20 July 1950. p. 6.
  15. ^ "What an idea! 'City should return to amateur status'". Essex Newsman. 8 September 1950. p. 4.
    "Suttle returns to City side". Chelmsford Chronicle. 13 October 1950. p. 7.
  16. ^ a b c "1952/3 summary". Bedford Old Eagles. David Williams. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  17. ^ "More internal disputes for Waders". Biggleswade Chronicle. 26 June 1953. p. 13.
  18. ^ "To-morrow's trial at Eyrie". Bedfordshire Times and Independent. 15 August 1952. p. 7.
  19. ^ "1952/3 results and teams". Bedford Old Eagles. David Williams. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  20. ^ "1953/4 summary". Bedford Old Eagles. David Williams. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  21. ^ "Taft signs for Peterborough". Bedfordshire Times and Independent. 26 June 1953. p. 10.
  22. ^ "Doug Taft: Matches for Peterborough". Up The Posh. Chris Wilkinson. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  23. ^ "Douglas Taft right out on his own as leading marksman". Star Green 'un. Sheffield. 5 September 1953. p. 3.
  24. ^ "Midland League Affairs: Taft's 42 goals topped the list". Star Green 'un. Sheffield. 8 May 1954. p. 5.
  25. ^ a b "Six retained out of 30". Lincolnshire Standard. 14 May 1955. p. 17.
  26. ^ "Grimsby's 25 goals have been netted by 16 players". Grantham Journal. 19 November 1954. p. 11. This time last season, Doug Taft had 21 goals to his credit, but this season he has been unable to retain a regular place as Peterborough's centre-forward.
  27. ^ "'Double' day for United". Peterborough Advertiser. 21 January 1955. p. 13.
    "Frickey give United a shock". Peterborough Advertiser. 22 March 1955. p. 10.
  28. ^ "Posh arrival and departure". Grantham Journal. 1 July 1955. p. 8.
  29. ^ "Town's new men show form". Rugby Advertiser. 17 August 1956. p. 3.
  30. ^ "Good defensive record". Rugby Advertiser. 3 May 1957. p. 3.
  31. ^ "Taft resigns". Sports Argus. Birmingham. 10 January 1959. p. 3.
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