GoS-DB Players

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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JACK BUTLER

Full Name: John Butler

Came from: Grimsby Town Went to: Released

First game: 02 September 1907 Last game: 01 May 1915

Appearances: 297 (297/0) Goals: 2

Butler was born in Kiveton Park, near Sheffield, in 1885 and began his career with his hometown club. He moved on from 'The Park' to join Grimsby Town in 1904 and played there for three years, initially as a centre-forward before a change of position to full-back. He made 44 appearances for The Mariners, scoring twice. In 1907 Butler moved to Home Park where he became the first-choice right-back for almost eight years and an extremely reliable performer.

On Boxing Day 1910, Butler was involved in a peculiar moment in Argyle's history: an outfielder was forced to wear the goalkeeper's jersey for the whole game, the only such circumstance in the club's history and one that is unlikely to occur again. Horne was taken ill in London ahead of the match at West Ham, and with Sutcliffe not with the travelling party because he was unwell in Plymouth, right-back Butler played the entire match between the posts. The 4-0 defeat was an inevitable result of the depleted side, which also saw Argyle play with only ten men in the first half, before trainer Tommy Haynes turned out for the second period.

The 1913-14 Argyle handbook described Butler as "an evergreen, who retains most of his original speed, while as a genuine whole hearted trier he is unequalled". The First World War effectively brought Butler's career to an end, although he did return to Home Park after the conflict, but without making any further first team appearances.

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.