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BILLY RAFFERTY
Born: 30 December 1950
Came from: Blackpool Went to: Carlisle United
First game: 16 March 1974 Last game: 19 April 1976
Appearances: 101 (100/1) Goals: 40
The other half of the great striking duo of the 1970s, Billy Rafferty formed a formidable partnership with future England international Paul Mariner. Playing for eight different clubs would suggest that Rafferty was a 'journeyman' footballer, but Home Park was his calling. His long career started at Coventry City and he had two years with Blackpool before his move to Home Park. Knee trouble blighted his first season with the Pilgrims but he returned to action the following year determined to make up for lost time.
Rafferty was powerfully built and a strong runner, yet surprisingly mobile, even graceful. He and Mariner immediately formed an almost telepathic understanding of each other's game. They just had the knack of being in the right place at the right time for each other, and in that Dream Team promotion season, scored goals for fun. The fans were aghast the following season when he was sold to Carlisle for a measly £20,000 after just two years at Home Park. He went on to play for Wolverhampton Wanderers, Newcastle United, Portsmouth and Bournemouth before moving to Portugal and playing for Sporting Club Farense and Loultanos.
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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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