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 VIDLER

Born: 13 June 1905

Came from: Army Went to: Bristol City

First game: 02 March 1929 Last game: 04 February 1939

Appearances: 257 (257/0) Goals: 103

Born in Portsmouth, Vidler joined Argyle from the Army and immediately started scoring with unerring regularity. He was a left-sided forward who could unsettle defenders with his determination and bustling style, and in 11 seasons at Home Park he amassed more than 250 appearances and over a century of goals, placing him 6th in the all-time goalscoring list.

In his time at the club he netted six hat-tricks and became one of a select band to have hit four in a game when he scored all the goals in a 4-1 home win over Norwich City in April 1930. He played a key role in one of the two instances of the club's largest victory, a hat-trick in the 8-1 home win against Millwall in January 1932 - a week after scoring in the 4-1 FA Cup defeat of Manchester United - and three years later he finished the season as the club's leading scorer with 21 goals.

Vidler's time at Home Park ended with a move to Bristol City in the summer of 1939, just before the outbreak of the Second World War. After the 1939-40 League programme was abandoned, he continued to play for City in the South West Regional League, which included two returns to Home Park at the age of 35 – a 6-0 drubbing for the Bristol club in October 1939 followed by a 10-3 hammering in February 1940 – an unfortunate end to the career of a true Home Park legend.

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.