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'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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BILL ARCHER

Full Name: John William Archer

Born: 24 July 1908

Came from: Coventry City Went to: Royal Air Force

First game: 26 November 1938 Last game: 08 June 1940

Appearances: 51 (51/0) Goals: 9

Born in Wednesbury, then in Staffordshire but in the present-day West Midlands, Archer started locally with Walsall, playing 29 times in the 1929-30 season.

His performances at left-half attracted the eye of top-flight Everton in 1932, but he played just 15 times and scored twice in three years at Goodison Park, spread across four seasons. He was largely understudy to Jock Thomson, a Scottish international who made over 250 appearances for the club.

Returning to his native area in search of more regular football, he signed for Coventry City, where he went on to play 76 times between 1936 and 1938.

He then made the move to Home Park early in the 1938-39 season under Jack Tresadern, and went on to make 51 appearances for the club, scoring nine goals. He played latterly under Rollo Jack after Tresadern had departed.

His goals included a hat-trick in a March 1940 South West Regional League match at Home Park, in a 3-0 win over Newport County in front of 3,436.

His spell in green was cut short by the Second World War, with his first season in the Football League followed by a second playing regularly in the South West Regional League, after which his footballing career was ended by his call-up to the RAF, where he served as a PT (Physical Training) Instructor.

After the hostilities were over, and having been in his early 30s when they started, he did not return to professional football but did return to his roots to live out the rest of his life, settling in Coventry, the club for which he had made most appearances during his career. He passed away there in the second quarter of 1985, aged 76.

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.

We are very grateful to many who have helped write GoS-DB's player pen-pictures, and to Dave Rowntree and the PAFC Media Team 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.