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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BILL ADAMS

Full Name: William Victor Adams

Born: 10 May 1921

Came from: Plymouth United Went to: Plymouth United

First game: 07 April 1945 Last game: 01 January 1947

Appearances: 22 (22/0) Goals: 1

Born in Plymouth, the full-back made the step up from Plymouth United as one of Argyle's first signings at the end of the Second World War, a time when the club looked to recruit local players to compete in the temporary Football League South. He made his first-team debut in the Football League West Cup near the end of the 1944-45 season, and his first league start in a memorable match, a remarkable 5-5 draw away at Southampton. He went on to play a further 15 times in the Football League South season of 1945-46, as well as playing regularly for the reserves.

Adams went on to make his conventional Football League debut the following season in a 4-1 defeat at Chesterfield on New Year’s Day 1947, in what proved to be his only game at that level. After three seasons with the club, he was released and returned to local football with Plymouth United.

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.

From Steve Rhodes in Romsey, Hants on 10 May 2026 ...

Bill Adams debut put him in direct opposition with one of England's most famous football people. Although the programme picture on the GoS Matchday page shows the Southampton centre forward as "Ramsay" it was, in fact, none other than Alf Ramsey. I have done some work concerning people who 'played for both' with a Southampton historical website. Once I learned of its existence, I scanned it for famous names. That is where I found this piece in (Sir) Alf Ramsey's page.

"Having signed pro forms in 1944, Alf began the transitional season of 1945-46 as a centre-forward, scoring twice in each of the first two games. And he was again at No.9 when “official” football resumed a year later, scoring for the Reserves in each of their three opening matches. But he soon switched to right-back and pretty much established himself in that position – for the Reserves until January, but thereafter in the first team."

Coincidentally, when the official Football League returned in for the 1946-47 season, Ramsey made his Football League debut at the Dell .....against Plymouth Argyle, this time in the right back position where he would go on to play for Spurs and England.

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.