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JACK VIDLER
Born: 13 June 1905
Came from: Army Went to: Bristol City
First game: 02 March 1929 Last game: 04 February 1939
Appearances: 257 (257/0) Goals: 103
Born in Portsmouth, Vidler joined Argyle from the Army and immediately started scoring with unerring regularity. He was a left-sided forward who could unsettle defenders with his determination and bustling style, and in 11 seasons at Home Park he amassed more than 250 appearances and over a century of goals, placing him 6th in the all-time goalscoring list.
In his time at the club he netted six hat-tricks and became one of a select band to have hit four in a game when he scored all the goals in a 4-1 home win over Norwich City in April 1930. He played a key role in one of the two instances of the club's largest victory, a hat-trick in the 8-1 home win against Millwall in January 1932 - a week after scoring in the 4-1 FA Cup defeat of Manchester United - and three years later he finished the season as the club's leading scorer with 21 goals.
Vidler's time at Home Park ended with a move to Bristol City in the summer of 1939, just before the outbreak of the Second World War. After the 1939-40 League programme was abandoned, he continued to play for City in the South West Regional League, which included two returns to Home Park at the age of 35 – a 6-0 drubbing for the Bristol club in October 1939 followed by a 10-3 hammering in February 1940 – an unfortunate end to the career of a true Home Park legend.
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APPEARANCE DETAILS [reselect competitions]
The details below reflect appearances in the following selected competitions: Southern & Western Leagues, English Football League, Football League, Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, Minor Cups
Excluded: Football League (1939), War Leagues
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.
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