View source for Taylor Graham

{{short description|American soccer player}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name                 = Taylor Graham
| image                = Taylor Graham 2.jpg
| image_size           = 250
| caption              = Graham playing for Seattle Sounders FC plays against Boca Juniors on May 28, 2010
| birth_date           = {{birth date and age|1980|6|3}}
| birth_place          = [[Fair Oaks, California]], U.S.
| height               = {{height|ft=6|in=4}}
| position             = [[Defender (association football)|Defender]]
| currentclub          =
| clubnumber           =
| collegeyears1        = 1999–2002
| college1             = [[Stanford Cardinal]]
| collegecaps1         = 66
| collegegoals1        = 3
| years1               = 2003–2004
| clubs1               = [[Kansas City Wizards]]
| caps1                = 19
| goals1               = 1
| years2               = 2005
| clubs2               = [[Seattle Sounders (1994–2008)|Seattle Sounders]]
| caps2                = 28
| goals2               = 2
| years3               = 2006–2007
| clubs3               = [[New York Red Bulls]]
| caps3                = 15
| goals3               = 0
| years4               = 2007–2008
| clubs4               = [[Seattle Sounders (1994–2008)|Seattle Sounders]]
| caps4                = 38
| goals4               = 3
| years5               = 2009–2011
| clubs5               = [[Seattle Sounders FC]]
| caps5                = 1
| goals5               = 0
| totalcaps            = 101
| totalgoals           = 6
| nationalyears1       = 2008
| nationalteam1        = [[Puerto Rico national football team|Puerto Rico]]
| nationalcaps1        = 3
| nationalgoals1       = 1
| medaltemplates       =
}}

'''Taylor Graham''' (born June 3, 1980) is an American former [[association football|soccer]] player.

==Career==

===Youth and college===
Graham attended [[Rio Americano High School]] and played five years of [[College soccer in the United States|college soccer]] at [[Stanford University]], registering as a walk-on his freshman year of 1998, and only appearing in two games in 1999.  After appearing in 18 games his sophomore season, Graham started every possible game his final two, winning first team All-Pac-10 his senior year, as he led the Cardinal to an appearance in the [[NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament|NCAA College Cup]].

===Professional===
After graduating from Stanford, Graham was drafted 33rd overall in the [[2003 MLS SuperDraft]] by the [[Kansas City Wizards]]. Graham was signed to a [[developmental contract]], making two appearances and playing a total of ten minutes. In his second season Graham was given significantly more playing time, playing as both a right back and central defender. After a season in the [[USL First Division]] when he played every minute for the [[Seattle Sounders (1994–2008)|Seattle Sounders]], led his team to the title, and was named USL Defender of the Year, Graham was acquired by the [[MetroStars]], now [[New York Red Bulls]].  He was released midway through the 2007 season and signed with his former club [[Seattle Sounders (1994–2008)|Seattle Sounders]]. He then signed with [[Seattle Sounders FC]], a continuation of the Sounders in Major League Soccer. On May 26, 2010, he had his first appearance of the 2010 season in a friendly against [[Boca Juniors]] of Argentina, playing the full 90 minutes and putting up a solid performance.

Graham announced his retirement on December 2, 2011, after he was dropped from the roster by the Seattle Sounders.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.soundersfc.com/News/Articles/2011/12-December/Graham-Retires.aspx| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111205004810/http://www.soundersfc.com/News/Articles/2011/12-December/Graham-Retires.aspx| archive-date = 2011-12-05| title = Defender Taylor Graham Retires - Seattle Sounders Football Club}}</ref>

===International===
Graham represented [[Puerto Rico national football team|Puerto Rico]] in three international friendlies (including the team's first win in 14 years) during early 2008. The national team coach [[Colin Clarke (footballer born 1962)|Colin Clarke]] had misunderstood the requirements to play for Puerto Rican national side following a change to the eligibility criteria.<ref>{{cite web|title=Taylor Graham Interview|url=http://www.prostamerika.com/features/taylor-graham-interview|publisher=prostamerika.com|accessdate=20 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160124130255/http://www.prostamerika.com/features/taylor-graham-interview|archive-date=24 January 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Previously, all U.S. citizens were eligible for Puerto Rico national teams, but now the player pool is restricted to players who have lived on the island for at least five years, meaning that Graham is no longer eligible for the Puerto Rico national team per federation rules.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://carolinarailhawks.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=628&Itemid=271 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708122426/http://carolinarailhawks.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=628&Itemid=271 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2011-07-08 |title=Carolina RailHawks profile |publisher=Carolinarailhawks.com |accessdate=2010-06-30 }}</ref>

====International goals====
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align: left;"
|-
!#
!Date
!Venue
!Opponent
!Score
!Result
!Competition
|-
|1
|January 16, 2008
|[[Thomas Robinson Stadium]], [[Nassau, Bahamas|Nassau]], [[Bahamas]]
|{{fb|Bahamas}}
|align="center"|0 - '''1'''
|align="center"|0 - 2
|Friendly
|}

==Honors==

===Kansas City Wizards===
*'''[[Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup]] (1):''' [[2004 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup|2004]]
*'''[[Major League Soccer]] Western Conference Championship (1):''' [[2004 Major League Soccer season|2004]]

===Seattle Sounders===
*'''[[USL First Division]] Championship (2):''' [[United Soccer Leagues 2005|2005]], [[United Soccer Leagues 2007|2007]]
*'''[[USL First Division]] Commissioner's Cup (1):''' [[United Soccer Leagues 2007|2007]]

===Seattle Sounders FC===
*'''[[Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup]] (3):''' [[2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup|2009]], [[2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup|2010]], [[2011 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup|2011]]

==Television==
Graham appeared on ''[[The Price Is Right (U.S. game show)|The Price Is Right]]'' on June 24, 2009. In the showcase he spoke on one of the prizes which was a vacation to Seattle, to go to any 2 home games of Seattle Sounders and watch them play.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbs.com/daytime/the_price_is_right/video/video.php?cid=559221502&pid=INgCctBI0_QQBEnUX432GT5a5iEBdtyT&play=true&cc=0 |title=The Price Is Right Video |publisher=CBS.com |date= |accessdate=2010-06-30}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref>

==Personal life==

After retiring as a player, Taylor Graham became Director of Business Operations for his former club, Seattle Sounders FC.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://seattletimes.com/html/soundersfcblog/2017848882_furlough_day_tuesday_links_1.html |title=Furlough day (Tuesday links) |publisher=The Seattle Times |last=Mayers |first=Joshua |date=27 Mar 2012 |accessdate=17 Sep 2013}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{MLS player|taylor-graham}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090318060958/http://www.soundersfc.com/Team/Players/Taylor-Graham.aspx Seattle Sounders bio]
* {{NFT player|25891}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Taylor}}
[[Category:1980 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American men's soccer players]]
[[Category:Sporting Kansas City players]]
[[Category:Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players]]
[[Category:New York Red Bulls players]]
[[Category:Seattle Sounders FC players]]
[[Category:Stanford Cardinal men's soccer players]]
[[Category:USL First Division players]]
[[Category:Major League Soccer players]]
[[Category:Puerto Rico men's international footballers]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Fair Oaks, California]]
[[Category:Soccer players from Sacramento County, California]]
[[Category:Sporting Kansas City draft picks]]
[[Category:Major League Soccer broadcasters]]
[[Category:Men's association football defenders]]
[[Category:Puerto Rican men's footballers]]
[[Category:Seattle Sounders FC non-playing staff]]