Samuel Black ISM (18 October 1905 – 1977) was a Scottish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as an

outside left In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

. Often regarded as the greatest player to have represented

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

,Plymouth Argyle 101 Golden Greats, Andy Riddle he is the club's all-time record scorer with 182 goals. His career began in his native Scotland with Kirkintilloch Rob Roy, where he was spotted by

Bob Jack Robert Jack (4 April 1876 – 6 May 1943) was a Scottish football player and manager. Born in Alloa, Jack played in the Football League for Bolton Wanderers, Preston North End and Glossop, and the Southern League for Plymouth Argyle and Southe ...

. He moved to

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

in 1924 and became an instant favourite with the club's supporters. His goalscoring ability made him stand out from other wingers and his partnership with

inside left In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

Jack Leslie became legendary, as the club challenged for promotion to the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

during the 1930s. Nicknamed ''The Mighty Atom'', Black was known to play with a cigarette stub tucked behind his ear."Sammy Black"
Greens on Screen. Retrieved 6 February 2010. He ended his career with

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

and returned to

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

during the

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

to work in the

Royal Naval Armaments Depot A Royal Naval Armament Depot (RNAD) is an armament depot (or a group of depots) dedicated to supplying the Royal Navy (as well as, at various times, the Royal Air Force, the British Army, and foreign and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth f ...

. He was inducted into the Plymouth Argyle Hall of Fame in 2004.

Playing career

Standing at just five feet six inches tall, Black was the epitome of what a winger was like in the mid-twentieth century. In those days wingers rarely tracked back. They were not expected to do anything other than terrorise full backs. It was Black's eye for goal that made him stand out from other players in his position. He was comfortable using either foot and many of his goals came from unlikely angles with staggering regularity. He began his career with Kirkintilloch Rob Roy, a junior club based in

East Dunbartonshire East Dunbartonshire (; , ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders Glasgow City Council Area to the south, North Lanarkshire to the east, Stirling (council area), Stirling to the north, and West Dunbartonshire to the west. East ...

. His performances caught the eye of

, a fellow Scot who was manager of

. Black joined the club in 1924 and scored on his

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

debut in a 7–1 win against

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

. His skill on the ball and goalscoring ability made him a darling of the

Home Park Home Park is a football stadium in the area of Milehouse, Plymouth, Devon, England. With a capacity of 17,900, the ground has been the home of Plymouth Argyle Football Club since 1903, and was also used between 1900 and 1903 by Argyle Athlet ...

crowd and he formed a lethal partnership with Jack Leslie; they scored 320 goals between them in all competitions for Argyle. When rumours of interest from other club's surfaced, a ''Sammy Must Not Go!'' campaign sparked demonstrations and public meetings; Black was destined to remain as Argyle's

talisman A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...

. His last match for the club in January 1938, with Bob Jack still in charge of

first team First team may refer to: Sports * First team (association football), the colloquial name given to the most senior team fielded by a football club * The First Team, the first players known to have played the sport of basketball * First Team All-A ...

selection but due to retire at the end of the 1937–38 season. Black then joined

, having scored 182 goals in 491 appearances for the club. His stay at

Loftus Road Loftus Road, currently known as MATRADE Loftus Road Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Shepherd's Bush, West London, Greater London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers F.C., Queens Park Rangers Football Club, w ...

was ended abruptly by the outbreak of war and he returned to

having made just five league appearances. To mark Plymouth Argyle's 100th year as a professional club, the club's supporters were asked to vote on who they thought were the best to have represented Argyle during that time. Black was included alongside twelve other people, but he was the only one who played before the war.. BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 August 2010.

Personal life

Black returned to

when his playing career was brought to an end to work in the

HMNB Devonport His Majesty's Naval Base, Devonport (HMNB Devonport) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Portsmouth) and is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the Roya ...

as a storehouse assistant. He continued to live in the city after hostilities had ceased and was awarded the

Imperial Service Medal The Imperial Service Medal is a medal affiliated with the Imperial Service Order. The medal was established under the statutes of the Imperial Service Order, on 8 August 1902, by King Edward VII, with the first awards appearing in the ''London G ...

in 1966 for his contribution to the depot. He died in 1977.

Career statistics

Honours

Plymouth Argyle *

Football League Third Division South The Third Division South of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to ...

: 1929–30 Individual *

: 1966 * Plymouth Argyle Hall of Fame: 2004 * Plymouth Argyle Team of the Century: 2004

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Sammy 1905 births Footballers from Motherwell Scottish men's footballers Men's association football wingers Kirkintilloch Rob Roy F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players English Football League players 1977 deaths Royal Navy personnel of World War II Scottish Junior Football Association players 20th-century Scottish sportsmen