Five-time Parramatta Eels grand final champion Paul Taylor reveals heartbreaking homeless secret

Paul Taylor was sleeping on the streets, struggling to find food and had a beach towel for his only warmth. Then one chance turned his life around. He reveals his inspiring redemption.

The untold story of Parramatta Eels legend Paul Taylor. Picture: Glenn Hampson

From hero to homeless.

Paul Taylor, the champion Parramatta fullback who played in five grand finals during the 1980s, has revealed he was once destitute and living off $1 McDonald’s hash browns and stolen tea bags.

“One day you’re playing in front of 50,000 people and the next minute you’re sitting in a park with two homeless people,” Taylor said.

With only a beach towel to keep him warm, Taylor slept in parks around Brisbane’s CBD, from the Botanic Gardens to the Story Bridge, begging for money and wearing the same clothes for a week.

A lifetime away from the Sydney Cricket Ground, where he played in grand finals for Parramatta in 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1986.

With his beloved Eels just days away from chasing their first premiership since Taylor wore the No.1 blue-and-gold jersey 36 years ago, Taylor has revealed how his life plummeted to a horrid low.

“It toughens you up. It was all about existence — like all homeless people. Existence in the middle of nowhere,” Taylor said of the 18 months of his life he spent on the streets, 15 years ago. “You’ve got nobody.

Paul Taylor (L) with Steve Edge (C) and Peter Wynn (R) after the 1983 grand final.

“I would eat the dollar hash browns at McDonald’s. I used to pinch a couple of Lipton tea bags because there was a park where you could get hot water. They had toilets and taps in the parks.

“I had nowhere to go and had a beach towel. I had no job, no money, nothing. One night the sprinklers came on so there went the beach towel. But I couldn’t think: ‘Poor Paul, he’s in the park’. You’ve got to get tougher and work it out.

“I walked into the casino one day and asked a bloke if he would give me $100. I just had no money. I would see people working and ask them if they had any work.

“When you wake up in the morning — if you do — with nothing, something has to be positive in your head. If you think that you have to sit around all day before going back to sleep then you can’t go forward. It’s impossible.

“It was shit what happened and I never expected it. You sit in the park nearly all day. I probably wore the same clothes for a whole week.”

FALL FROM GRACE

Taylor was used as a reserve in the 1981 grand final – Parramatta’s first premiership win – and played fullback in another four grand finals, collecting three premierships.

Eels super coach Jack Gibson was such a massive fan of the hardworking No.1, who weighed just 71kg, he even named his pet German shepherd, Taylor.

After he hung up his boots in 1990, following three games for Penrith, Taylor had a couple of mortgages.

“I once had two houses. I had a four-acre property in Matcham and a place at Umina,” Taylor said.

But when he lost his job, the debts began to mount.

“I went broke,” he said.

“I lost my money over a period of time back then. I got divorced but it wasn’t her fault. It was just the way things went.”

Paul Taylor in his playing days. Picture: NRL Photos

Paul Taylor now lives on the Gold Coast. Picture: Glenn Hampson

FOR MY SON

Taylor moved to Queensland to be close to his son, Jamie.

It was there where his life came crashing down.

Despite his predicament, he constantly wanted to show his love for Jamie.

One day, with only a few coins in his pocket, Taylor stole a bike and rode 25km to Jamie’s school.

“My wife lived at South Tweed, that’s where we lived before I had to move out,” Taylor said.

“I stole a bike in Mudgeeraba and rode down the M1, that’s the major highway. I push-biked nearly 25km to 30km to South Tweed School. I had $5 – it’s all I had.

“So I went to McDonald’s and then went to school when the kids were having play lunch. I gave the McDonald’s to Jamie and all the kids are looking at him and saying: ‘How lucky are you?’

“Then I had to push-bike all the way back. The whole reason I came up here (to Queensland) was because of my son. He is why I had to stay up here and Jamie (who now lives in Sydney) has turned into a great bloke.”

Taylor, though, is not ashamed of his past.

“I would’ve slept in my car but a car was a luxury — I didn’t have one,” Taylor said.

“I look at homeless people now and feel sorry for them because I understand what they’re going through.

Former Parramatta Eels star Paul Taylor (left). Picture: Supplied

“I don’t disrespect them.

“Sometimes they don’t have any support, they don’t have anything.

“Their family might be dead, they’re by themselves and people look down on them. I don’t look down on them. I just know the shit’s hit the fan somewhere along the line.”

Taylor couldn’t say exactly how long he was homeless. He never counted the days. And never believed it would be forever.

“You can get used to it. That’s why homeless people buy tents,” he said.

“You have to get your arse out of there. I knew I had to get out of it.

“I’m 63 now and you look at your life. I’ve had the good and the very, very bad. I’m not criticising it – that’s just the way it was.

“There are people worse off than you. Everything was going bad but I’m sure you’ve had bad times in your life.

“The funny thing is I’m quite happy that it happened. I’ve got no regrets. You’ve got to go down sometimes in life to come back up.

“Anyway, I’m not dead, I’m still around.”

THE TURNING POINT

Miraculously, life turned for Taylor.

He applied for the dole but was told he wouldn’t get his money for a fortnight. Excited at a job interview he had in Uluru, and the chance to escape homelessness, Taylor pleaded to the unemployment officer for the money, who eventually relented.

“It was the turning point,” Taylor said.

“I went to Ayers Rock for 18 months and went from a resort in Yulara to a place called Longitude 131 (a resort near Uluru).

“I was then earning $3000 a week. I was doing three jobs at 131. That’s when it all turned around.

Paul Taylor (bottom, right) with the legendary 1981 Eels side.

“I’ve now got a business going now on the Gold Coast. It’s called Tazza’s Landscaping and Maintenance. I live across the road from the beach at Main Beach.”

Former Parramatta teammate Peter Wynn praised Taylor’s strength.

“‘Taz’ was at the bottom of the ladder. He did it tough but has fought back. He is so resilient. It’s a credit to his personality,” Wynn said.

Just like the Eels, Taylor is enjoying a resurgence built on hard work, and urged the current team to throw everything at Penrith on Sunday night, predicting a famous Parramatta victory.

“You only get one shot at it – you only get 80 minutes,” he said.

He took the same approach to being homeless.

“It’s like football – if it’s not working then change the game,” Taylor said.

“I learnt in my football career that you have to fight, otherwise I would still be in the park.”