GoS: Player Details

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Greens on Screen started its life in 1999 before many of the football sites that we are familiar with today, including Plymouth Argyle's own official site. Greens on Screen is dedicated to the sights, sounds and history of Plymouth Argyle Football club. It is owned and run by the Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive, a charity dedicated to the promotion, preservation, and display of the heritage of our great football club.

The site owes its existence to Steve Dean.Without Steve's dedication and commitment for over 25 years, GoS would not exist and be the valued and loved resource for all football fans that it is today. The site is truly the envy of many clubs, and we owe a huge debt to Steve for his tireless work, and continued support behind the scenes.

Greens on Screen's first page was published in January 1999. Its early purpose was to bring Plymouth Argyle a little closer to those unable to see their team, and whilst it has changed a great deal over the years, its core themes - sights and sounds for Westcountry exiles - still stand. The site was very lucky to take on the content of Trevor Scallan's Semper Viridis in the summer of 2007, and in 2009 launched GoS-DB, a wealth of facts and figures from PAFC's history. A year later, we embarked on a complete history of Argyle, with much-valued contributions from chapter authors. Greens on Screen was taken over by its new custodians, The Argyle Archive, in 2024.

Greens on Screen is an amateur website and proud of it. It is run by a team of volunteers from the Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive (Argyle Archive). Without the hard work and much-valued contributions of these volunteers, running the site would not be possible. Greens on Screen is self-taught and as a result, a little bit quirky.

Greens on Screen remains advertisement free, which means we are grateful for the generous support of our donors and the work of our volunteers to help keep it free of promotions. If you would like to support the work of Greens on Screen, please consider donating to the Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive.

GoS's sole aim is to be a service to fellow supporters, and we look forward to continuing to celebrate Argyle'ss history for many years to come.

Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive.
April 2024

Can you help? This page is the result of the best endeavours of all concerned. If you spot a mistake or know of facts to add, or have a better photo, please get in touch using 'Contact Us' (top, right).

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TOMMY BLACK

Came from: Arsenal Went to: Southend United

First game: 08 April 1933 Last game: 06 May 1939

Appearances: 168 (168/0) Goals: 0

Born in Holytown, to the north of Motherwell in North Lanarkshire, and a left-half, he joined Arsenal from Strathclyde in July 1931 and became a regular for their reserves in the Football Combination while the first team were enjoying success in the early 1930s.

Black went on to make his debut for the Gunners, filling in for regular left-back and soon-to-be England international Eddie Hapgood. The match in question, however, was in Arsenal's shock 1933 FA Cup defeat to Walsall in January 1933 - dubbed the 'biggest upset of all time'. Herbert Chapman's all-conquering team lost 2-0 to the Third Division North Saddlers and Black had a disappointing game, kicking an opponent at 1-0 down before giving away the penalty which led to the second.

It was his first appearance for the club and would be his last. Chapman was furious with Black's performance and perceived lack of effort, feeling he had tarnished the club's reputation. On the train journey back to London, Chapman reportedly told Black he would never play for the club again, banned him from Highbury, and had his boots and transfer forms sent to him a week later, whereupon he moved to join Argyle, later in January 1933.

Black ended up staying with Argyle for seven seasons and established himself as a solid and reliable defender, making over 150 appearances at left-half, usually in front of Jimmy Rae. He moved to Southend United in 1939 but played just three times for the Essex side in the first three league games of the 1939-40 campaign before it was abandoned following the outbreak of the Second World War. He left Southend for Third Lanark in December 1939, playing three matches for them in the wartime Emergency League West, as well as in the Southern League until 1942, after which the remainder of the Second World War brought all remaining football and thus his career to an end.

YOUR CONTRIBUTION

If you can add to this profile, perhaps with special memories, a favourite story or the results of your original research, please contribute here.

APPEARANCE DETAILS [reselect competitions]

The details below reflect appearances in all first-team competitions.

I'm very grateful to many who have helped write GoS-DB's player pen-pictures, and to Dave Rowntree, the PAFC Media Team and Colin Parsons for their help with photos. Thanks also to staff at the National Football Museum, the Scottish Football Museum and ScotlandsPeople for their valuable assistance.

The following publications have been particularly valuable in the research of pen-pictures: Plymouth Argyle, A Complete Record 1903-1989 (Brian Knight, ISBN 0-907969-40-2); Plymouth Argyle, 101 Golden Greats (Andy Riddle, ISBN 1-874287-47-3); Football League Players' Records 1888-1939 (Michael Joyce, ISBN 1-899468-67-6); Football League Players' Records 1946-1988 (Barry Hugman, ISBN 1-85443-020-3) and Plymouth Argyle Football Club Handbooks.

Greens on Screen is run as a service to fellow supporters, in all good faith, without commercial or private gain. We have no wish to abuse copyright regulations and apologise unreservedly if this occurs. If you own any of the material used on this site, and object to its inclusion, please get in touch using the 'Contact Us' button at the top of each page.