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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WILLIE MACDONALD

Note: Some books incorrectly spell his name as McDonald.

Full Name: William MacDonald

Born: 09 July 1905

Came from: Coventry City Went to: Royal Air Force

First game: 26 August 1939 Last game: 08 June 1940

Appearances: 27 (27/0) Goals: 8

MacDonald was one of six Pilgrims who made their Argyle debut in one of the three games of the abandoned 1939-40 season. Born in Coatbridge in Lanarkshire, the inside-forward started his career with his hometown team and then moved to the unusually named Law Scotia, based in the village Law on the south-east side of Glasgow between Carluke and Wishart, south of Coatbridge itself. He was briefly on Dundee's books and then played for Broxburn United, Armadale and Airdrieonians before moving south of the border to sign for Manchester United in 1931.

He spent two years at Old Trafford, playing 27 times and scoring four goals. In 1934 he joined Tranmere Rovers for a two-year spell, making 81 appearances and scored 19 goals, and then spent a further two years with Coventry City, this time making 91 starts and scoring 24.

It was from Highfield Road that MacDonald moved to Home Park, playing in the first two games of the abandoned Football League competition, and then regularly in the South West Regional League until the end of the 1939-40 season. He then returned to Glasgow on war work, and also played for East Fife during the conflict. Being 34 at the outbreak of war, he had retired from the game by the time hostilities ceased.

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.