GoS-DB Players

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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.

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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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FRANK COSGROVE

Note: Unofficial record books call him Fred Cosgrove, but we've found three strong pieces of contemporary evidence to say he was Frank (the 1920-21 PAFC Handbook, the UK Incoming Passenger List for his return from the 1924 tour of South America, and an advert for his benefit match in the Western Morning News in 1929). Subsequent enquiries have revealed that the Football League ledgers for the 1920s also record him as Frank. Whether Fred was an informal nickname, or just a mistake in modern records, is not known.

Came from: Durham City Went to: Retired

First game: 26 February 1921 Last game: 14 February 1931

Appearances: 105 (105/0) Goals: 0

Cosgrove played for Felling Colliery and then Durham City before making the long move to Plymouth in 1920. The Hartlepool-born right-back went on to spend 11 seasons at Home Park, featuring in Argyle's first season in the Football League through to their first campaign in Division Two. However, in that time he made only 105 appearances, in an era in which there were many quality players at Home Park. Players like Harry 'Jazzo' Kirk, Alf Rowe, Albert Fishwick, Perry Richard and Frank himself wore the colours with pride when they had their chance, but all struggled to get long-term runs in the team. Some left to try their luck elsewhere, but Cosgrove remained.

With big hitters like Moses Russell and Billy Forbes regular starters at the beginning of Cosgrove's time at the club, a breakthrough was tough and he was seen as a reliable reserve. However, in the 1924-25 season, between the retirement of Forbes and the arrival of Fred Titmuss, he was a regular partner for Russell.

He had made his debut in Feb 1921 in a 1-0 home win against Swansea Town, going on to make over a century of appearances in green without ever scoring. He also featured in Argyle's summer in South America in 1924, playing in seven of the nine tour games, playing against Portenos, Rosarinos, Uruguay and Argentina.

In 1931 the 34-year-old called time on his career, with Argyle his only Football League club. Returning north, he played for Benwell Colliery (near Newcastle) later that year.

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.

Greens on Screen is run as a service to fellow supporters, in all good faith, without commercial or private gain. I have no wish to abuse copyright regulations and apologise unreservedly if this occurs. If you own any of the material used on this site, and object to its inclusion, please get in touch using the 'Contact Us' button at the top of each page. Search facility powered by JRank Search Engine. UK time at page load: 17 January 2025, 17:27.