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

Thanks to Dave Rowntree for many of the player images after 1984.

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).

Back to GoS-DB Hub Find Another Player

STEVE MCCALL

Born: 15 October 1960

1. Came from: Sheffield Wednesday Went to: Torquay United

1. First game: 28 March 1992 Last game: 16 April 1996

2. Came from: Torquay United Went to: Workington Town

2. First game: 08 August 1998 Last game: 06 May 2000

Appearances: 160 (149/11) Goals: 6

A Carlisle-born midfielder, McCall's career began at Ipswich Town and took off in 1979 when manager Bobby Robson thrust him into the first team. Two years later, he helped Ipswich win the UEFA Cup in 1980-81, beating AZ Alkmaar 5-4 on aggregate. He also went on to earn six caps for the England under-21s. He had previously won four caps for England Youth in 1978. He also won a solitary England B cap in 1978, against New Zealand. In total, he made over 300 appearances for the Suffolk side before moving to Sheffield Wednesday for £20,000, where he rarely played during his five years with the club, often because of injury, playing just 29 times, scoring twice. He also had a spell on loan at his hometown club Carlisle United, making six appearances. Joining Argyle in 1992 for £25,000, he remarkably won the Player of the Year award in both of his first two full seasons with the club.

McCall's accolade-laden start to his career at Argyle was warranted. He was the archetypal cultured midfielder who had the rare knack of making the game look painfully easy. He was an immaculate passer of the ball and a true exponent of the art of football. McCall also took charge of the club for two months following the departure of Peter Shilton and stayed on as a member of the playing squad when first Russell Osman, and then Neil Warnock were brought in. He then moved to Torquay United as a player-coach under Kevin Hodges, returning to Home Park when Hodges was appointed manager and played for another two years before retiring.

His playing career ended in 2000 at Argyle during his second spell. Ironically, at this time, he appeared in the famous Jimmy Glass game against his hometown club Carlisle, in which the goalkeeper famously scored in the 94th minute to keep Carlisle United in the Football League.

A brief spell with non-league Workington followed, before becoming a coach and then a scout for Ipswich Town in 2001. In September 2014, after 13 years with Ipswich, McCall was appointed chief scout for Colchester United before moving back to his hometown to take up a role as chief scout for Carlisle United in February 2022.

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.