Matthew Taylor was the seventeenth bowler inducted into the GutterAlley Hall of Fame, voted in during the Spring 2025 season.

Matthew joined the league in the Fall 2017 season after being spotted at another bowling alley by Aaron Barber and recruited by him. He was placed on a team with three people he didn't know, and apparently wanting to make a good impression, set a 212 average his first week (including a 248 in game 3) -- giving him the 3rd highest career debut in league history -- and his team spent the next few weeks recovering from the handicap damage. Not having learned his lesson, he did the same damned thing the next season for almost the exact same team, except this time he set a 213 average in week 1 with a high game of 254 in game 3. It wasn't until the third season -- after he left his original group behind and went on to a new team, that he began a season more sanely and went on to win his first championship. It is perhaps from this lesson that in Fall 2021 Matthew became the biggest sandbagger in league history, setting an initial average of 138 and miraculously improving it 37 pins to 175 by the end of week 4. 😂

As of his induction Matthew has participated in 17 seasons and has a high game of 280 and a high series of 747. These are the 6th highest individual scratch game and the 5th highest series in league history. While he has been Most Valuable Bowler and #1 Power Ranked Bowler just 4 times each, he has been #1 Head-to-Head Bowler an amazing 25 times! So far he was won 6 championships.

He has been voted Defensive Bowler of the Season 6 times, People's Choice Most Valuable Bowler 3 times, and has been actual Most Valuable Bowler once. He is also a 2-time winner of the Good Sportsmanship Award, and remains the only league bowler so far to roll a strike while carrying a baby in his other hand. He also advocates for the league and has come up with ways to make overall play more fun for more people. And despite being a strong competitor, he has respect and compassion for his fellow bowlers and makes much-appreciated efforts to help others improve their games and make bowling enjoyable for all.

It is with great pleasure that the GutterAlley Hall of Fame opens its doors to Matthew Taylor.