Sammy Black
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Samuel Black | ||
Date of birth | 18 October 1905 | ||
Place of birth | Motherwell, Scotland | ||
Date of death | 1977 (aged 71) | ||
Place of death | Plymouth, England | ||
Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[1] | ||
Position(s) |
Outside left | ||
Youth career | |||
19xx–1924 | Kirkintilloch Rob Roy | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1924–1938 | Plymouth Argyle | 470 | (174) |
1938–1939 | Queens Park Rangers | 5 | (0) |
Total | 475 | (174) | |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Samuel Black
outside left
.
Often regarded as the greatest player to have represented
Royal Naval Armaments Depot.[3]
He was inducted into the Plymouth Argyle Hall of Fame in 2004.
Playing career
Standing at just five feet six inches tall, Black was the epitome of what a winger was like in the mid-twentieth century. In those days wingers rarely tracked back. They were not expected to do anything other than terrorise
Football League debut in a 7–1 win against Brentford. His skill on the ball and goalscoring ability made him a darling of the Home Park crowd and he formed a lethal partnership with Jack Leslie; they scored 320 goals between them in all competitions for Argyle.[3][6] When rumours of interest from other club's surfaced, a Sammy Must Not Go! campaign sparked demonstrations and public meetings; Black was destined to remain as Argyle's talisman
.
His last match for the club in January 1938, with Bob Jack still in charge of
first team selection but due to retire at the end of the 1937–38 season. Black then joined Queens Park Rangers, having scored 182 goals in 491 appearances for the club. His stay at Loftus Road was ended abruptly by the outbreak of war and he returned to Plymouth having made just five league appearances. To mark Plymouth Argyle's 100th year as a professional club, the club's supporters were asked to vote on who they thought were the best to have represented Argyle during that time. Black was included alongside twelve other people, but he was the only one who played before the war.[7]
Personal life
Black returned to
Royal Naval Armaments Depot at HMNB Devonport as a storehouse assistant. He continued to live in the city after hostilities had ceased and was awarded the Imperial Service Medal
in 1966 for his contribution to the depot. He died in 1977.
Career statistics
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Total | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Plymouth Argyle | 1924–25 | Third Division South | 38 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 13 |
1925–26 | 38 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 19 | ||
1926–27 | 36 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 10 | ||
1927–28 | 29 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 16 | ||
1928–29 | 41 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 45 | 13 | ||
1929–30 | 37 | 21 | 4 | 3 | 41 | 24 | ||
1930–31 | Second Division | 42 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 19 | |
1931–32 | 35 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 37 | 14 | ||
1932–33 | 41 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 13 | ||
1933–34 | 41 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 12 | ||
1934–35 | 34 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 36 | 8 | ||
1935–36 | 37 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 39 | 16 | ||
1936–37 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 5 | ||
1937–38 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
Total | 470 | 174 | 21 | 8 | 491 | 182 | ||
Queens Park Rangers | 1937–38 | Third Division South | ||||||
1938–39 | ||||||||
Total | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||||
Career total | 475 | 174 | 21 | 8 | 496 | 182 |
Honours
Plymouth Argyle
Individual
- Imperial Service Medal: 1966
- Plymouth Argyle Hall of Fame: 2004
- Plymouth Argyle Team of the Century: 2004
References
- ^ "Plymouth Argyle. Their capture: goal-getting centre from Scotland". Sunday Dispatch Football Guide. London. 23 August 1936. p. vii – via Newspapers.com.
- ISBN 1-874287-47-3
- ^ a b c "Sammy Black". Greens on Screen. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
- ^ "Sammy Black". Plymouth Argyle. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
- ^ "Gone pro". Kirkintilloch Rob Roy. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
- ^ "Jack Leslie". Greens on Screen. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
- ^ "Plymouth Argyle's Team of the Century". Archived from the original on 18 August 2004. Retrieved 18 August 2004.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 August 2010.