Untold story of the Pilgrims' 'forgotten' first international star

FROM Paul Mariner to Taribo West and of course the iconic Jack Leslie, Plymouth Argyle have boasted no shortage of footballers with famous international stories.

- By EDD MOORE

But as half a dozen current Pilgrims jet off around the world to represent their countries during this latest international break, the tale of the Pilgrims' first ever full international remains largely untold.

The honour of being the first player capped by his country while playing for Argyle falls to a relatively unknown former Green, who nonetheless had a remarkable career.

A teenage soldier who saw active service in the Second Boer War, Richard 'Dickie' Morris went on to enjoy a short-lived but action-packed career as a forward, starring for Liverpool amongst others and winning 11 caps for Wales where he was teammates with one of the most celebrated players of the era.

It was the last of those 11 appearances, a 1-0 defeat to Ireland in April 1908, that came while he was on the books at Home Park, making history as Argyle's first international. Born in Newtown in 1876, Morris worked as a draper at the town's Royal Welsh Warehouse, according to the Powys County Times, and represented his hometown club at a teenager in 1897 before enlisting in the army.

He is said to have been one of the first in the town to volunteer his services at the front of the Boer War, joining the South Wales Borderers and fighting in South Africa between 1899 and 1902, where he won the Queen's South Africa Medal and the King's South Africa Medal. A talented footballer, he returned home towards the end of the war to sign for Newtown and had a remarkably fast rise to prominence as an inside left forward.

Morris was quickly spotted by the Wales setup of the time and made his international debut in a 3-0 defeat to Ireland in Cardiff in 1902. His performances earned him a move to Welsh club Druids, a side based in Ruabon near Wrexham who were one of the giants of the Welsh game at the time.