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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WILLIAM HORNE

Born: 19 April 1881

1. Came from: Essa Went to: Fulham

1. First game: 30 January 1904 Last game: 21 March 1906

2. Came from: Fulham Went to: Retired

2. First game: 02 November 1907 Last game: 28 November 1914

Appearances: 245 (245/0) Goals: 0

Horne was born on 19th April 1881, rather than the same date, 1885 as some records indicate, thought to be caused by a man of the same name being born on the other date.

Plymouth-born Horne served in South Africa during the Second Boer War, with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, for whom he also played football, before returning to make a name for himself in local football. A goalkeeper, he played for Tavistock and Essa, and then joined Argyle on amateur terms in January 1904. Signing a professional contract two months later, he made three appearances as understudy to Jack Robinson that season, 1903-04. The following season he played 30 times as Argyle clinched the Western League First Division title.

Ironically known as 'Tich' due to his size, Horne became the first choice 'keeper for the next campaign but eventually lost his place following the arrival of England international John Sutcliffe. Other than a year spent with Fulham in 1906-07 (making three appearances), Horne served as back-up to Sutcliffe for a further five seasons. During this time he was greatly in demand from other clubs but remained loyal to his home town and was rewarded when he took over as Argyle's number one in 1911.

He then won another title with the club in the 1912-13 season as Argyle won the Southern League First Division title.

The Argyle handbook of 1913-14 states that he "carries his 15 stone with the agility of a 3-year-old and none can tell us of a more reliable custodian. His record proves him the best in the United Kingdom". He remained the first choice until the 1914-15 season after which his career was interrupted by the outbreak of war. Despite still being on Argyle's books until 1920, he did not play again after hostilities ended and eventually retired due to ill health. Horne died in Surrey, where he later settled, aged 60 in the latter part of 1941.

Whilst Horne's former understudy Fred Craig, would go on to become Argyle's only goalscoring goalkeeper with five penalties, and remains so to this day, it could have been 'Tich'. Horne took a penalty (and missed) in a home match against Brighton & Hove Albion in October 1912, making 'a mess' of his kick, according to local press.

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.