A Grand Occasion

WIN, draw or – whisper it – lose to Cambridge United tomorrow, another milestone in the history of Plymouth Argyle will be reached at the Abbey Stadium on Saturday.

When Enoch Showunmi made his debut for the Pilgrims at the tail end of last season, he became the 999th player to wear the Green in a recognised first-team match.

With at least a half-dozen new players likely to be in Argyle manager John Sheridan’s match-day squad for the Abbey, that means that Saturday’s Sky Bet League 2 curtain-raiser will feature the 1,000th Pilgrim.

Or, more accurately, the joint-1,000th Pilgrims, and, in a team-game, surely it is appropriate that several team-mates will share the honour.

After all, it all began, back in September 1903, with 11 joint-first Pilgrims: Walter Anderson, Andy Clark, Robert Dalrymple, Harry Digweed, Jack Fitchett, Archie Goodall, Bob Jack, William Leech, Jack Peddie, Jack Picken and Jack Robinson.

Also, the celebrations are not just about the 1,000th player (or players!) – they are also about the 999 that went before, from Walter Anderson & Co. to Enoch Showunmi.

Pilgrims all – we salute them.