Plymouth

Formation and early years (1886–1937)

The club was founded in 1886 as Argyle Football Club, the first match taking place on 16 October 1886 against Caxton, a team from Cornwall and saw the Pilgrims lose 2–0. Later that week Argyle won for the first time–beating Dunheved College (now Launceston College) in Launceston (where many of the club's first members had been educated) 2–1. They played several friendlies against Plymouth United, but poor performances on the pitch led to the club going out of existence in 1894 before being resurrected in 1897 as one part of a general sports club, the Argyle Athletic Club. In 1898, Argyle F.C. produced its first rulebook. The club's ground was given as Marsh Mills, an area on the edge of the city of Plymouth.

Much speculation surrounds the origin of the name Argyle. One explanation is that the club was named after the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, an army regiment with a strong football side of its own. Another theory is given by the local geography–suggesting the name comes either from the nearby public house, The Argyle Tavern, where the founder members may have met, or from a local street Argyle Terrace. The club adopted its current name when it became fully professional in 1903 joining the Southern League, under the management of Bob Jack. Argyle's first professional game was on 1 September 1903 against West Ham United resulting in a 2–0 win for Argyle. Their first home game as a fully professional club was on 5 September 1903 when they beat Northampton Town 2–0 in front of a crowd of 4,438. Argyle won the Southern League in 1913, then in 1920 entered the Football League Third Division as a founder member, where they finished 11th in their first season.

In the summer of 1924, a Plymouth Argyle team visited South America to play some exhibition football in Argentina and Uruguay. Argyle thrashed Uruguay 4–0 in their first game (who went on to win the first ever World Cup just six years later) before pulling off another shock by beating Argentina 1–0. They then held Argentine giants Boca Juniors to a credible 1–1 draw. Moses Russell captained the side and played in all nine matches. Russell's style of play caught the attention of the Argentine press; at the end of the tour 'The Standard of Buenos Aires' commented: "The visit of Plymouth Argyle will be best remembered by the outstanding personality and genius of Moses Russell. His effective style, precise judgement, accurate and timely clearances, powerful kicking and no less useful work with his head...one of the most wonderful backs and one of the brainiest players ever seen on the football field."

In the match against Boca Juniors on 9 July 1924, the Boca Juniors supporters invaded the pitch after their team had scored the opening goal and carried all eleven home players shoulder high around the stadium. After a half-hour delay, the referee restarted the match, but a further invasion was sparked when the referee awarded a penalty against the home side. When the match was again restarted, the Argyle players had agreed that Patsy Corcoran would take the spot-kick and miss, to prevent another pitch invasion. However, the ultra-competitive Russell was not prepared to accept this, and just before Corcoran was about to take the penalty he was pushed aside by Russell, who took it himself and scored. This prompted a further pitch invasion by the Boca fans and this time the match was abandoned.

Back in England, uniquely, between 1921–22 and 1926–27, Argyle finished second in the Third Division South six seasons in a row, thereby missing promotion. Argyle eventually won promotion to Football League Division Two in 1929–30, when they topped the Third Division South, with attendances that season regularly reaching 20,000. Manager Bob Jack resigned in 1937, having spent a grand total of 27 years in charge of the Pilgrims. Eleven years earlier in 1928, David Jack, who began his career with Argyle in 1919 but left in 1920, joined Arsenal F.C. from Bolton Wanderers for a fee of £10,890 – which made him the most expensive player in the world at the time. He was also the first player to score at Wembley Stadium.

1937–1986

After the Second World War Argyle's 20-year stay in Division Two came to an end in 1950–despite the efforts of inspirational captain Jack Chisholm. However, they were back in Division Two before long, after winning the Third Division South in 1952. The closest they ever came to playing in the Football League First Division (top tier) was in 1952–53, when they reached fourth place in the Football League Second Division, their highest finish to date. In the 1954–1955 season floodlights arrived at Home Park, but in 1956 Argyle went down again. The Pilgrim's reputation as a 'yo-yo club' continued after they won Division Three–by now a national league–in 1959.

The 1960s started with one of the most bizarre events in Argyle's history. It came in the spring of 1963, when they went on a mini-tour of Poland—the Pilgrims were invited to play a game as a warm-up to an international cycle race. Amazingly, 100,000 saw Argyle that day—the biggest crowd ever to attend a Plymouth match. In 1965 Argyle reached the Football League Cup semi-final, as a 2nd division team, for the first time in their history, but lost to Leicester City. But the decade ended disappointingly as Argyle returned to Division Three after relegation in 1968.

In March 1973 a memorable moment in Argyle's history was witnessed by 37,639 people at Home Park. Argyle played a friendly match against Brazilian giants Santos FC, who at the time were one of the best teams in the world. That day Santos also had arguably the best footballer of all time in their starting line-up –Pelé. However, Argyle, then a Third Division side, shocked the world with a 3–2 win. The Greens were actually 3–0 up at one stage (thanks to goals from Mike Dowling, Derek Rickard and Jimmy Hinch) but a penalty scored at the Barn Park End by Pelé helped a Santos fightback. However, in the end they came up short and were defeated. There was a huge pitch invasion at the final whistle after a win for The Pilgrims.

In 1974 – with future England striker and Argyle manager Paul Mariner now playing for them – Argyle again reached the League Cup semi-final, this time as a Third Division side. Argyle drew the first leg against Manchester City 1–1, but lost the Maine Road encounter 2–0. After spending six years in Division Three, Argyle finally returned to Division Two in 1974–75, under the management of Tony Waiters. This was mainly thanks to strike partners Paul Mariner and Billy Rafferty, who scored a very impressive 46 goals between them. However, they were back down again in 1977. Although the decade did end on a high note–in 1978–79 Kevin Hodges made his Argyle debut, and he went on to play 620 games for the club–more than anyone else.

In 1984 Plymouth reached the FA Cup semi-final despite being in the Third Division. After a successful cup run in which they beat West Bromwich Albion, a top division team at the time (1–0 courtesy of a Tommy Tynan goal after 58 minutes), and Derby County (the first game ended 0–0, but Argyle won the replay 0–1 at the Baseball Ground), they lost 1–0 to Watford in the semi-final at Villa Park courtesy of a George Reilly goal. However, manager John Hore was sacked the following campaign and was replaced by Dave Smith. In 1985–86, Smith's first full season in charge, Argyle finished as runners-up in Division Three, resulting in promotion. The following season, despite being a newly promoted team, Argyle finished a respectable 7th place in Division Two, thereby only just missing the division's new play-off zone and the chance to move to the First Division (now the Premier League). In 1988 Smith surprisingly left to take charge of Dundee, making way for Ken Brown to become manager.

Success and into the Championship (1986–2008)

In the 1990s a new face took over the club: Businessman Dan McCauley became chairman, and his first major decision was to sack Dave Kemp and appoint England's record cap holder Peter Shilton as player-manager in the 1991–92 season. But Shilton was unable to prevent relegation as Argyle finished 22nd in Division Two. Ahead of the 1992–93 season, English football had a revamp. The First Division (top tier) became the Premiership, Division Two (second tier) became Division One, Division Three (third tier) was now Division Two and so on. As a result, Argyle were still in Division Two, but it was now the third tier instead of the second.

In 1992–93 Argyle finished in mid-table in the third tier, but Peter Shilton's side finished third the following campaign (as a result of playing some excellent football), thereby qualifying for the play-offs. But Argyle were defeated in the semi-final by Burnley, which saw the start of a fierce rivalry between the two clubs. The Pilgrims suffered even more disappointment in 1994–95 as Shilton parted company with the club, and they were eventually relegated to Division Three (fourth tier) for the first time in their history. Player Steve McCall became the club's manager on a short-term deal after Shilton's departure, but at the end of the season his contract was not renewed and Neil Warnock stepped in as his successor. At the end of the 1995–96 season, Warnock took Plymouth to Division Three play-off glory in his first campaign as manager, with the semi-final being a memorable affair. Argyle played Colchester United and were 1–0 down from the 1st leg, but won 3–1 at Home Park in the 2nd, meaning the Pilgrims were going to Wembley for the first time in their history.

But Warnock was sacked within a year as the club narrowly avoided being relegated back to the fourth tier. Mick Jones became his successor, and, that season, in February 1997 Argyle participated in 'The Battle of Saltergate' – in a 1–2 win at Chesterfield. The following season Argyle went down under Jones, and his successor Kevin Hodges (the club's record appearance holder) lasted three years before a failure to attain promotion (or even a play-off place) cost him his job. At this point Argyle were in danger of going bust, and it was the lowest point in their history.

The appointment of Paul Sturrock as manager in November 2000 marked a turning point in Argyle's history. He saved the club from relegation out of the Football League (they were fourth from bottom when he became manager), and finished 12th in his first season. The following campaign proved to be the most successful in the club's history, as they went on to win the Division Three title. Argyle defeated Cheltenham Town 2–0 to finish the season with a club and league record of 102 points to clinch the Division Three title.

Argyle were one of the favourites to win the Division Two title ahead of the 2003–04 season, and they proved everyone right as they earned their second promotion in three years. In March 2004 Bobby Williamson was appointed manager. Argyle's first game in the newly re-branded 'Championship' (second tier) saw them draw 0–0 at home to Millwall, who were FA Cup finalists the season before. Argyle's strong start continued, and they sat top of the table – their highest ever position – briefly after a 0–1 win at Cardiff City. Though plummeted down the table and finished 17th. The 2005–06 included some memorable results for the Green Army that season was the 2–0 win against high-flying Wolverhampton Wanderers and a 0–0 draw at Leeds United, who went on to reach the play-off final at the Millennium Stadium but lost 3–0 to Watford. The Pilgrims finished 14th that season, in the end well clear of the relegation zone.

In summer 2006, in one of Holloway's first games in charge of the club, Argyle played a pre-season friendly against Real Madrid in Austria, as both clubs were training in the country at the time. Ian Holloway's first competitive game in charge was a 1–1 draw at home to Wolves. The team made significantly better progress than in recent seasons in the FA Cup, reaching the quarter-finals. They beat League Two Peterborough United. They beat Championship league leaders Derby County 2–0 in the next, but in the quarter finals, they were drawn at home to Premier League strugglers Watford and lost, Argyle finished the 2006–07 in 11th place, their highest league finish for 20 years.

Before the start of the 2007–08 season, manager Ian Holloway said that Plymouth were capable of earning promotion to the Premier League for the first time in their history, and they made a good start to the new season with a 2–3 win at Hull City. The club's good start continued as they stayed near the play-off places for the first few months. However, on 21 November 2007 Ian Holloway controversially resigned to take charge of Leicester City.

Decline and Financial issues (2008–2018)

The club finished 2008 in 15th place–now 8 points adrift of the play-offs. On 3 January 2009, Argyle travelled to the recently built Emirates Stadium to play against Premier League giants Arsenal in the FA Cup third round. Striker Robin Van Persie scored his second of the game five minutes from time to give Arsenal a 3–1 win. The club finished 21st in the league table, five points and one place clear of the relegation places–Argyle's first season where they didn't improve their league position for eight years.

Paul Sturrock's second stint in charge came to an end on 10 December 2009, when a press conference confirmed he was relieved of his managerial duties due to two years of poor results and fan unrest. However, Mariner lost his first two games–his first fixture resulted in a 2–0 loss at Preston North End and then Argyle were defeated 1–0 at home to Coventry, leaving the Pilgrims bottom of the table and six points adrift of safety. Argyle ended the season as the second lowest-scoring team in the division. The club's six-year stay in the second tier of the Football League was over. On 20 November, following a 1–2 home defeat to Brentford, newly relegated Argyle were 20th in League One, just one place and three points above the relegation zone.

On 23 November, Argyle came from 0–1 down to beat fellow strugglers Dagenham & Redbridge 2–1 at Home Park, lifting them up to 15th. However, just 4,960 were present at the game. That was Argyle's lowest league attendance since they were in the bottom tier. Not long after, the Pilgrims were presented with a winding-up order by HMRC and appeared in court on 8 December, only to earn a 63-day adjournment so they could pay the taxes they owed. Relegation was later confirmed on 2 May, following a 3–1 home defeat against Southampton.

James Brent's Akkeron Group agreed to a deal with the Administrators to buy the club with Peter Ridsdale also confirming that he would leave the club when the deal had been completed. Further problems occurred with the Administrators threatening to quit the club. Argyle agreed to a deal to sell Home Park back to Plymouth council on 14 October for £1.6m and they had to pay £135,000 a year for rent. The team's form greatly improved after the takeover, and while the eventual League finish of 21st was the lowest in the club's history, they still secured survival with three games to spare, which was quite an achievement considering they had been well adrift at the bottom for the first half of the campaign. In the following season, the club was again narrowly saved from relegation, and they finished 21st for the second season in a row. Sheridan then agreed a three-year contract to continue as Argyle manager, and in his first full season in charge, the club finished 10th. Argyle had a far stronger start to their fourth consecutive season in League 2, winning 4 games consecutively for the first time since 2008.

The team had the chance to go up as champions. But the title was handed to Portsmouth via goal difference. The pilgrims got off to an appalling start to their League One campaign with only racking up 5 points in their first 11 games and sitting rock bottom, 4 points off of safety even 11 games in. And a 2–1 defeat at home to Fleetwood added to Argyle's woes pushing their winless run to 10 games racking up 2 points from a possible 30 in that time. Some fans disputed about the board sacking Derek Adams even after taking them up in the previous season due to poor tactics and game management. The turn of December 2017, into 2018 saw Argyle record 16 wins, 6 draws and only 5 losses to escape relegation and finish 7th, only missing out on a play-off spot by 3 points.

Hallett takes over (2018–present)

In August 2018, Hallett became the majority shareholder of the club, with James Brent reducing his stake, as well as stepping down as chairman. Hallett had originally appointed David Felwick CBE as Argyle's chairman-elect, but he cited "personal reasons" for being unable to takeover, so Hallett took over as chairman on 1 November 2018. At the end of the 2018–19 season, Argyle were relegated to League Two.

Ahead of the 2019–20 season, Hallett appointed Ryan Lowe as Derek Adams' successor, signing the then 40-year-old Liverpudlian and his assistant manager Steven Schumacher from Bury. The change in management was a success as that season, Argyle finished in third place, and were thus promoted back up to League One. Albeit, the next season the team struggled to find their footting in the third tier, and finished 18th on 53 points. The following season was an improvement, and in December 2021 Ryan Lowe was replaced by his assistant, Steven Schumacher leading the club into 7th place for the 2021–22 season.

Argyle had their best season since 2008 in 2022–23, with the new Mayflower stand fully built, the capacity of Home Park rose to 17,900, and the club regularly saw 16,000 fans turning up to support the team. The club won EFL League One title, clinching it away at Port Vale, finishing the season on 101 points. After thirteen years below the second tier, the team participated in the EFL Championship for the 2023–24 season.