Career
Often regarded as the greatest player to have represented, 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. He moved to Devon in 1924 and became an instant favourite with the club"s supporters.
Nicknamed The Mighty Atom, Black was known to play with a cigarette stub tucked behind his ear.
He ended his career with Queens Park Rangers and returned to Plymouth during the war to work in the Royal Naval Armaments Depot. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004.
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.
lieutenant 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.
His performances caught the eye of Bob Jack, a fellow Scot who was manager of.
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.
His last match for the club in January 1938, with Bob Jack still in charge of first team selection but due to retire at the end of the 1937-1938 season. Black then joined Queens Park Rangers, having scored 182 goals in 491 appearances for the club
His stay at Loftus Road was ended abruptly by the outbreak of war and he returned to Plymouth having made just five league appearances.
To mark "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. Black returned to Plymouth when his playing career was brought to an end to work in the Royal Naval Armaments Depot at HMNB Devonport as a storehouse assistant.
He died in 1977.
Hall of Fame: 2004 Team of the Century: 2004.