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WILLIAM BAKER
Came from: Green Waves Went to: Army
First game: 18 September 1909 Last game: 01 May 1915
Appearances: 209 (209/0) Goals: 1
Born in Plymouth in 1882, Baker began his career in local football with Green Waves in 1901. After four seasons with the club, during which he also played for both the Devon County and Cornwall County sides, he left to play in the United States and for De Beers in South Africa. On returning to Devon he rejoined Green Waves before signing for Argyle in 1909.
Baker went on to make over 200 appearances at left-half over the next six seasons, scoring his solitary career goal in a 1-2 home defeat by Bristol Rovers in October 1910, and made his last appearance on 1st May 1915, away at Southend, after which he left for active service. The Argyle handbook described him as "possessed of inexhaustible energy and indomitable pluck".
Baker joined the 17th Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment, which became known as the Footballers Battalion because it contained a plethora of talented footballers during the First World War. Sadly on October 22nd 1916, in Serre, France during the Battle of the Somme, 33-year-old Sgt. Billy Baker made the supreme sacrifice for his country. Awarded the Military Medal, he is commemorated in the Sucrerie military cemetery at Colincamps.
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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.
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