GoS-DB Players

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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's 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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BRIAN JOHNSON

Born: 21 October 1955

Came from: Apprentice Went to: Retired

First game: 29 August 1973 Last game: 02 May 1981

Appearances: 231 (218/13) Goals: 43

Originally born in Isleworth, Johnson was an Argyle apprentice who spent his entire career with the club, barring two brief loan spells with Torquay United. He was a consistent and reliable performer throughout his time at the club, mainly operating on the right wing across eight seasons at Home Park.

He made his first team debut in August 1973 at the age of 17, and appeared in the first round of the Football League Cup, for a side that was to reach national prominence with their run to the semi-final. He went on to become a key member of the side that won promotion to the Second Division in 1974-1975, alongside the strike-duo of Paul Mariner and Billy Rafferty. In the 1978-79 season he also had a loan spell with Torquay United, playing five matches, scoring twice.

However, during a reserve team game in 1981, Johnson was knocked unconscious in a collision with teammate and goalkeeper, Neil Hards. He suffered a fractured cheekbone and damage to both eyes, which required surgery and his jawbone to be wired up. Resuming training four weeks later, he started a second loan stint with Torquay United to help regain fitness. However, he experienced severe pain when heading the ball and having made just two further appearances for The Gulls, rather than risk permanent blindness, Johnson retired from professional football, at the age of just 26. He had amassed a Football League career of 204 appearances and 42 goals - impressive when considering the time he could have had left to continue, were it not for his injury.

Johnson's name is often cited as part of Argyle folklore, as a result of firing a penalty so far over the crossbar at the Barn Park End that it was eventually retrieved from the hippopotamus enclosure at the then neighbouring Plymouth Zoo.

In mitigation Greens on Screen has been reliably informed that the penalty was during a reserve match, rather than a Football League game - still the stuff of legend perhaps, nevertheless!

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. I 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. Search facility powered by JRank Search Engine. UK time at page load: 10 June 2025, 13:27.