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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MIKE DOWLING

Born: 03 October 1952

Came from: Apprentice Went to: Bath City

First game: 04 April 1970 Last game: 08 September 1973

Appearances: 35 (29/6) Goals: 1

Born in Bodmin, Dowling was discovered playing for East Cornwall and then Cornwall Schoolboys. He joined Argyle as an apprentice under Ellis Stuttard and made his first team debut in April 1970 at the age of just 17 years old. Dowling later also played under Tony Waiters.

He spent five seasons as a defender or midfielder with Argyle - in modern times he would have been known as a utility player - but could not fully establish himself in the first team.

He scored once for Argyle, a thumped volley in a 2-0 away win in December 1972 against non-league and famed 'giant killers' Yeovil Town on the infamous sloping pitch at the old Huish, to stop Argyle becoming one of their many league victims. The second goal in that game was also notable, coming direct from an Alan Walsh corner.

He is, however, best remembered for his second goal for the club, which is not officially recorded as part of his career statistics. This came when he scored a stunning opening goal in the friendly win against Pele's Santos, then the Club World Champions, at a packed Home Park in March 1973, in front of a 37,639. It was a goal which was to guarantee him a life-time of being stopped in the street and taxi driver conversations.

Dowling left Argyle early into the 1974-74 season to join non-league Bath City. His last game was a 0-1 home defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion at Home Park in September 1973, in which he appeared as a substitute. Moving to Twerton Park, he played 22 times, scoring six goals in the remainder for the 1973-74 season, for the Southern League Division One South side. It was a successful season for the Romans, as they finished runners-up and were promoted to the Southern League Premier Division. Of his six goals, half came via a hat-trick versus Bideford in a 6-1 win, with one coming from a penalty.

After leaving Bath at the end of that season, he returned to his native Bodmin, where he later played for both Bodmin Town and rugby for Bodmin RFC. He also had a subsequent spell as player-manager of the now defunct Bugle.

Post football, he spent the majority of his time working in factories and in the building trade and in later years worked as a collector for a credit company in Bodmin and as an occasional handyman.

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 on this site, and object to its inclusion, please get in touch using the 'Contact Us' button at the top of the page.