It was good to get so many interesting comments on the Revie story yesterday, and while Plymouth-Leicester is still topical I'd like to put something else on here. I write about football history generally, not just about the foxes, and here I'd like to give an outsider's view of a few stand-out moments in Argyle history. You might find the choices a little bizarre, or too biased towards the dim and distant past, but anyway, please comment and tell me what you think. I'll present it as a Top Ten, in reverse order:
10) The New Offside Rule
When the FA changed the law in 1925 to say that you'd only be offside if you were in front of the last defender when the ball was played, attackers had a field day. Teams went goal crazy, and in the first few weeks of the season, the side that enjoyed the greatest goal spree was Plymouth Argyle. Especially at home.
These were the results of the first seven games at Home Park that season:
A grand total of 34 goals in seven games. A headline in the Mirror that autumn was 'League goals as plentiful as blackberries'. They were flying in everywhere. But nowhere more than at Home Park.
Argyle fans saw a total of 71 goals at home that season, while Reading managed only 49. But it was The Royals who sealed the Division Three South title from Argyle by a point. And only one team was promoted back then. More on 1920s agony coming up.
9) Archie's Last Design
December 27th 1952. Argyle 2 Birmingham City 1 in Division Two. When the teams ran out that day, they did so from the newly completed Main Stand, which was the last ever football-related commisson for the most renowned stadium architect of them all - Archibald Leitch. Archie himself had actually passed away in 1939, but the company carried on, putting the same design ideas into practice, though much less often after the war due to limitations on resource use.
8) Old International's Career Highlight.
It wasn't only famous footballers who died in the Munich Air Disaster in 1958. Eight leading journalists also lost their lives. One of them was Harold 'Donny' Davies, the Manchester Guardian's football correspondent. He used the byline 'Old International', and he had indeed represented his country at football. Though only for the England Amateur side, and in fact, just once. Still, he wasn't exaggerating. He could justifiably call himself 'old international'. That single amateur cap came in a 9-1 victory againt Wales on February 7th 1914 - at Home Park. He played on the right wing and scored one of the goals.
As you can see, Davies played for Northern Nomads, who were based in Liverpool and Manchester. Yes - both. Being nomads, of course, they had no fixed home ground. And being amateurs, they were dignified by the use of initials in team line-ups; the full international side would have only surnames listed.
I'd like to know more about 'H.W. Raymond'.
7) Johnny Chooses the Wrong End.
Malcolm Allison's team were drawn against Leicester City in the semi-finals of the League Cup in 1964/65, which meant captain Johnny Newman was heading back to his old club. He won the toss, and knowing a bit about the foxes' habits, he knew they liked to attack the Double Decker end in the second half.
Unfortunately, his decision to defend that goal in the first half backfired. Another piece of local knowledge would have told him that that was the end of Filbert Street with the 'dark corner', the part of the pitch that hardly received any sunlight, and especially on a frosty night like this, would be hazardous for defenders. The home forwards skated around happily and Argyle went in at half time 3-0 down, the tie as good as over.
6) Uncanny Brotherly Synchrony
Another Leicester connection (sorry) but this one was a happy tale for both clubs, and an extraordinary statistical quirk. Goalscoring brothers Jack and Arthur Rowley were two of the most distinguished forwards in the game after the War. At the start of the 1955/56 season, Plymouth's Jack and Leicester's Arthur were both approaching the major landmark of 200 League goals - a figure only an exclusive few ever reach in their whole career.
On Saturday October 22nd, both stood on 199. Argyle were at Barnsley that day, while Leicester were at Fulham - both fixtures in Division Two. Who would reach the landmark first?
Arthur brought up the double century in the 53rd minute at Craven Cottage, and Jack did the same just 12 minutes later at Oakwell. Both added another goal that afternoon, with Argyle winning 2-1 and Leicester going down 3-2.
5) First Ever?
There is some debate about the first ever 'two-touch penalty' - where, after a side is awarded a spot kick, two players combine to confuse the opposing goalkeeper, one touching it to one side, the other running up unexpectedly to put the ball in the net. It was first tried, apparently, in a Northern Ireland game in 1957, but the referee, perhaps unsure of the rules, told them to retake it. Which they did, scoring in the conventional manner. It seems that the first ever successful attempt was made by Wilf Carter and John Newman on February 6th 1961 in a League Cup tie against Aston Villa at Home Park. That put Argyle two up, but Villa came back to win 5-3.
4) Sore Losers
No opposition side ever looked forward to a trip to The Den with relish. Especially in the 1960s, when Millwall went on a record-breaking unbeaten home run of 59 games.
Then Plymouth Argyle turned up on January 14th 1967 and won 2-1. For a young Danny Baker, it was the first time he'd ever seen his beloved Lions lose a match, two years after he started going. The home fans didn't take it too well. This was how the Argyle coach looked a few minutes after the final whistle;
3) Worth Waiting For
Back to the 1920s - and that incredible sequence. 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 4th - and then champions of Division Three South. Even for someone with no skin in the game, it's harrowing to read about that six year spell in which Argyle repeatedly failed to make it over the line, on more than one occasion blowing it on the very last day. But finally in 1929/30 came the record breaking season that took them up - Played 42, Won 30, Drawn 8, Lost 4, Points 68. Exactly the same record as the team often cited in debates about the greatest side in the history of English football - Liverpool 1978/79.
2) The Best Week Ever?
I can't imagine there has been a time in Argyle history - or any club's history - when fans have been dancing in the streets quite as joyously as a week in January of 1974/75. After Billy Rafferty's famous flicked goal against Blackpool in the Third Round of the FA Cup, Argyle were drawn against League leaders Everton in Round Four, and then the following Saturday went to Bournemouth for a League game and hammered them 7-3. That meant a leap of three places up the table into second, behind Blackburn Rovers. The dancing continued until the end of the season, with Argyle promoted just a point behind Rovers.
1) Dreams That Never Come True
...are often the most moving stories of all. My favourite Argyle story is about Michael Foot, who I'm sure everyone knows was MP for the Plymouth Devonport constituency after the War and leader of the Labour Party in the early 1980s. His dreams of a socialist nation were partially realised after the Labour landslide of 1945, but his dream of watching Argyle in the top flight was one he went to his grave without seeing fulfilled. His favourite game - or games - of all time was the double-header against Tottenham at Christmas 1935, when Argyle won 2-1 at White Hart Lane on the 25th then repeated the scoreline the following day at Home Park, leaving them handily placed to challenge for promotion. But then defeats at Newcastle and Manchester United took the wind out of their sails. But Foot would always remember that moment of hope, and that line-up, which included Sammy Black and Jimmy Rae.
So that's the top ten from an outsider. Once again, please correct any factual or contextual howlers. I'd love to hear your comments. And enjoy the match tonight. We're playing rubbish at the moment so don't be too hard on us.
10) The New Offside Rule
When the FA changed the law in 1925 to say that you'd only be offside if you were in front of the last defender when the ball was played, attackers had a field day. Teams went goal crazy, and in the first few weeks of the season, the side that enjoyed the greatest goal spree was Plymouth Argyle. Especially at home.
These were the results of the first seven games at Home Park that season:
A grand total of 34 goals in seven games. A headline in the Mirror that autumn was 'League goals as plentiful as blackberries'. They were flying in everywhere. But nowhere more than at Home Park.
Argyle fans saw a total of 71 goals at home that season, while Reading managed only 49. But it was The Royals who sealed the Division Three South title from Argyle by a point. And only one team was promoted back then. More on 1920s agony coming up.
9) Archie's Last Design
December 27th 1952. Argyle 2 Birmingham City 1 in Division Two. When the teams ran out that day, they did so from the newly completed Main Stand, which was the last ever football-related commisson for the most renowned stadium architect of them all - Archibald Leitch. Archie himself had actually passed away in 1939, but the company carried on, putting the same design ideas into practice, though much less often after the war due to limitations on resource use.
8) Old International's Career Highlight.
It wasn't only famous footballers who died in the Munich Air Disaster in 1958. Eight leading journalists also lost their lives. One of them was Harold 'Donny' Davies, the Manchester Guardian's football correspondent. He used the byline 'Old International', and he had indeed represented his country at football. Though only for the England Amateur side, and in fact, just once. Still, he wasn't exaggerating. He could justifiably call himself 'old international'. That single amateur cap came in a 9-1 victory againt Wales on February 7th 1914 - at Home Park. He played on the right wing and scored one of the goals.
As you can see, Davies played for Northern Nomads, who were based in Liverpool and Manchester. Yes - both. Being nomads, of course, they had no fixed home ground. And being amateurs, they were dignified by the use of initials in team line-ups; the full international side would have only surnames listed.
I'd like to know more about 'H.W. Raymond'.
7) Johnny Chooses the Wrong End.
Malcolm Allison's team were drawn against Leicester City in the semi-finals of the League Cup in 1964/65, which meant captain Johnny Newman was heading back to his old club. He won the toss, and knowing a bit about the foxes' habits, he knew they liked to attack the Double Decker end in the second half.
Unfortunately, his decision to defend that goal in the first half backfired. Another piece of local knowledge would have told him that that was the end of Filbert Street with the 'dark corner', the part of the pitch that hardly received any sunlight, and especially on a frosty night like this, would be hazardous for defenders. The home forwards skated around happily and Argyle went in at half time 3-0 down, the tie as good as over.
6) Uncanny Brotherly Synchrony
Another Leicester connection (sorry) but this one was a happy tale for both clubs, and an extraordinary statistical quirk. Goalscoring brothers Jack and Arthur Rowley were two of the most distinguished forwards in the game after the War. At the start of the 1955/56 season, Plymouth's Jack and Leicester's Arthur were both approaching the major landmark of 200 League goals - a figure only an exclusive few ever reach in their whole career.
On Saturday October 22nd, both stood on 199. Argyle were at Barnsley that day, while Leicester were at Fulham - both fixtures in Division Two. Who would reach the landmark first?
Arthur brought up the double century in the 53rd minute at Craven Cottage, and Jack did the same just 12 minutes later at Oakwell. Both added another goal that afternoon, with Argyle winning 2-1 and Leicester going down 3-2.
5) First Ever?
There is some debate about the first ever 'two-touch penalty' - where, after a side is awarded a spot kick, two players combine to confuse the opposing goalkeeper, one touching it to one side, the other running up unexpectedly to put the ball in the net. It was first tried, apparently, in a Northern Ireland game in 1957, but the referee, perhaps unsure of the rules, told them to retake it. Which they did, scoring in the conventional manner. It seems that the first ever successful attempt was made by Wilf Carter and John Newman on February 6th 1961 in a League Cup tie against Aston Villa at Home Park. That put Argyle two up, but Villa came back to win 5-3.
4) Sore Losers
No opposition side ever looked forward to a trip to The Den with relish. Especially in the 1960s, when Millwall went on a record-breaking unbeaten home run of 59 games.
Then Plymouth Argyle turned up on January 14th 1967 and won 2-1. For a young Danny Baker, it was the first time he'd ever seen his beloved Lions lose a match, two years after he started going. The home fans didn't take it too well. This was how the Argyle coach looked a few minutes after the final whistle;
3) Worth Waiting For
Back to the 1920s - and that incredible sequence. 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 4th - and then champions of Division Three South. Even for someone with no skin in the game, it's harrowing to read about that six year spell in which Argyle repeatedly failed to make it over the line, on more than one occasion blowing it on the very last day. But finally in 1929/30 came the record breaking season that took them up - Played 42, Won 30, Drawn 8, Lost 4, Points 68. Exactly the same record as the team often cited in debates about the greatest side in the history of English football - Liverpool 1978/79.
2) The Best Week Ever?
I can't imagine there has been a time in Argyle history - or any club's history - when fans have been dancing in the streets quite as joyously as a week in January of 1974/75. After Billy Rafferty's famous flicked goal against Blackpool in the Third Round of the FA Cup, Argyle were drawn against League leaders Everton in Round Four, and then the following Saturday went to Bournemouth for a League game and hammered them 7-3. That meant a leap of three places up the table into second, behind Blackburn Rovers. The dancing continued until the end of the season, with Argyle promoted just a point behind Rovers.
1) Dreams That Never Come True
...are often the most moving stories of all. My favourite Argyle story is about Michael Foot, who I'm sure everyone knows was MP for the Plymouth Devonport constituency after the War and leader of the Labour Party in the early 1980s. His dreams of a socialist nation were partially realised after the Labour landslide of 1945, but his dream of watching Argyle in the top flight was one he went to his grave without seeing fulfilled. His favourite game - or games - of all time was the double-header against Tottenham at Christmas 1935, when Argyle won 2-1 at White Hart Lane on the 25th then repeated the scoreline the following day at Home Park, leaving them handily placed to challenge for promotion. But then defeats at Newcastle and Manchester United took the wind out of their sails. But Foot would always remember that moment of hope, and that line-up, which included Sammy Black and Jimmy Rae.
So that's the top ten from an outsider. Once again, please correct any factual or contextual howlers. I'd love to hear your comments. And enjoy the match tonight. We're playing rubbish at the moment so don't be too hard on us.
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