FOR COLLECTORS of memorabilia, the appearance of a big-name player at a venue where such an occasion is a rarity rather than the norm, the match programme is a much-desired item.
Home Park cannot lay claim to having world-class players gracing the turf regularly, so the expectation when one does visit will always cause a buzz.
And so it was when Stanley Matthews, for Stoke City, and Argentine World Cup winner Ossie Ardiles, in the colours of Blackburn Rovers, took to Home Park.
Top teams to visit Plymouth in cup competitions and testimonials include Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.
But the rarity of a player at the peak of his fame playing in Plymouth would ensure a scramble of tickets. To have a keepsake from a famous occasion, the obvious selection would be the match programme.
And the announcement that the world's top player was coming to the city caused excitement at a level never felt before.
The night of Wednesday, March 14, 1973 went down in history as the day Edson Arantes do Nascimento, the one and only Pele, played in Plymouth.
His club side, Santos, would often take advantage of his fame by arranging tours in various parts of the world.
Their appearance at Home Park even provided drama hidden from the supporters crammed inside Home Park.
Argyle's recent form in Division Three had improved under new manager Tony Waiters and attendances had started to creep over 10,000.
But more than 37,000 jostled at the turnstiles in anticipation of witnessing with their own eyes a player they would only have dreamed of seeing on television.
It was an era before commercialism had really started to make a mark in football, so there was no cashing-in on souvenirs other than the programme.
Even that was a humble publication, in the same style of the regular programmes at Home Park, although the cover price doubled to 10p.
Printed by EJ Rickard at Holborn Street, St Judes, the front cover was naturally enough given over to Pele, and he was the subject of the Argyle manager's notes on page three.
Waiters, though, revealed that he would not even be in attendance as he was committed to another role, with the England youth team who were playing that night at Highbury.
But the manager wrote of the occasion in which he had played against Pele. It was at the massive Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro as England met Brazil in the 'Little' World Cup – so called as with Portugal and Argentina competing in the mini-tournament it was seen as a dress rehearsal for the possible semi-finals of the 1966 World Cup in England.
With the score at 1-1, Pele turned on his magic, and Waiters found himself picking the ball out of his net a further three-times as Pele helped himself to a hat-trick in 20 minutes.
The Argyle-Santos programme was keen to highlight the other members of the Brazilian side, and there was certainly no shortage of household names, seven of which were in the original squad of 40 for the 1970 Mexico World Cup.
Five of those players made the final cut, including captain Carlos Alberto who, like Pele, played in each game of the trophy-winning tournament as did another Santos player, Tauares Clodoaldo.
However, Clodoaldo didn't appear in the Home Park showdown.
Maybe not too surprising, as with the money-making enterprise of annual out-of-season world tours, the Santos side was more than used to playing more than 100 games a year.
Making up the contingent of other internationals who played in Plymouth were Edu and goalkeeper Claudio.
Reading the programme in the dressing room before the match must have been a surreal experience for the Pilgrims' players who, in their previous outing, had defeated Wrexham by a single goal.
The photograph of Pele inside the programme shows the great man holding a full-size golden football, presented to him on the occasion of his 1,000th competitive goal, which was scored with a penalty against Vasco da Gama.
Another article questions why footballers of other countries, particularly in Europe, have never been able to emulate the skills of the Brazilians. It concluded that it was down to upbringing and something that could not be replicated in the European climate on a regular basis.
Many young Brazilian footballers learnt their trade by playing barefoot on beaches, often in the numerous beach leagues. This enabled them to not only hone their close control but also learn how to play instinctively.
The 1972-73 Argyle programme included a regular feature entitled 'Pick of the Past' in which a game of bygone years was detailed. But with no previous meeting against Santos, the spotlight was on the previous year's tour by Santos when they were beaten 2-1 by Aston Villa in front of a bumper crowd of 54,437.
For the record, Villa raced to a 2-0 lead through Pat McMahon and a Ray Graydon penalty before Edu scored from a swerving 25-yard free-kick.
Another regular feature at the time was 'Supporters Scene' and on such a night when many thousands of programmes were printed a potential opportunity seemed to have been missed to advertise all the goodies available from the club shop.
Instead, commercial manager Bill Pearce dedicated the whole page to a supporters' questionnaire, asking readers to fill their answers in the spaces provided and fill in the name and address lines, then cut the page out and return it to the club. As if anyone who valued their programme would deface it in any way!
In two sections, the first was addressed to 'ghost' supporters asking for responses to questions as to why their attendance was not regular. The second section invited comments towards the match day experience and asking if there was need for a supporters' social club.
It was stated that if the survey was to mean anything, then the co-operation of all supporters was requested.
Even though the print run was much larger than normal, obtaining a copy today can command a price in the region of £10.
If you are fortunate enough to have a copy signed by Pele, then it could increase the value by at least double. Add even more if the whole of the Santos team added their signatures.
As for the match, Cornishman Mike Dowling opened the scoring with one of his trademark shots of great power. The visitors were shocked to go further behind when Derek Rickard connected with a header before Jimmy Hinch made it 3-0.
For once, Argyle supporters would not deny the chance to witness an opponent scoring if it meant they had seen the great Pele tuck one away. That he did, albeit from a penalty.
Edu reduced the arrears but it wasn't enough as the Greens finished 3-2 winners.
But the controversy off the pitch resulted in a delay to the start of the match. Those in attendance presumed the late kick-off was purely down to ensuring everyone was safely inside the ground before the game got underway.
But on seeing the interest to the Plymouth public, Santos officials demanded an extra appearance payment of £2,500.
With the possibility of a real public disturbance if the game was called off, Argyle chairman Robert Daniel had little option but to reluctantly agree.
The money was handed over, in cash and in an envelope, at the after-match reception and dinner.
It was some time later that Argyle succeeded in their attempts to get that extra payment returned with the help of the international football authorities.
Pele had certainly made his mark in Plymouth, but so had Santos in their attempts to make even more from the money-making venture on the Plymouth leg of their tour.
Home Park cannot lay claim to having world-class players gracing the turf regularly, so the expectation when one does visit will always cause a buzz.
And so it was when Stanley Matthews, for Stoke City, and Argentine World Cup winner Ossie Ardiles, in the colours of Blackburn Rovers, took to Home Park.
Top teams to visit Plymouth in cup competitions and testimonials include Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.
But the rarity of a player at the peak of his fame playing in Plymouth would ensure a scramble of tickets. To have a keepsake from a famous occasion, the obvious selection would be the match programme.
And the announcement that the world's top player was coming to the city caused excitement at a level never felt before.
The night of Wednesday, March 14, 1973 went down in history as the day Edson Arantes do Nascimento, the one and only Pele, played in Plymouth.
His club side, Santos, would often take advantage of his fame by arranging tours in various parts of the world.
Their appearance at Home Park even provided drama hidden from the supporters crammed inside Home Park.
Argyle's recent form in Division Three had improved under new manager Tony Waiters and attendances had started to creep over 10,000.
But more than 37,000 jostled at the turnstiles in anticipation of witnessing with their own eyes a player they would only have dreamed of seeing on television.
It was an era before commercialism had really started to make a mark in football, so there was no cashing-in on souvenirs other than the programme.
Even that was a humble publication, in the same style of the regular programmes at Home Park, although the cover price doubled to 10p.
Printed by EJ Rickard at Holborn Street, St Judes, the front cover was naturally enough given over to Pele, and he was the subject of the Argyle manager's notes on page three.
Waiters, though, revealed that he would not even be in attendance as he was committed to another role, with the England youth team who were playing that night at Highbury.
But the manager wrote of the occasion in which he had played against Pele. It was at the massive Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro as England met Brazil in the 'Little' World Cup – so called as with Portugal and Argentina competing in the mini-tournament it was seen as a dress rehearsal for the possible semi-finals of the 1966 World Cup in England.
With the score at 1-1, Pele turned on his magic, and Waiters found himself picking the ball out of his net a further three-times as Pele helped himself to a hat-trick in 20 minutes.
The Argyle-Santos programme was keen to highlight the other members of the Brazilian side, and there was certainly no shortage of household names, seven of which were in the original squad of 40 for the 1970 Mexico World Cup.
Five of those players made the final cut, including captain Carlos Alberto who, like Pele, played in each game of the trophy-winning tournament as did another Santos player, Tauares Clodoaldo.
However, Clodoaldo didn't appear in the Home Park showdown.
Maybe not too surprising, as with the money-making enterprise of annual out-of-season world tours, the Santos side was more than used to playing more than 100 games a year.
Making up the contingent of other internationals who played in Plymouth were Edu and goalkeeper Claudio.
Reading the programme in the dressing room before the match must have been a surreal experience for the Pilgrims' players who, in their previous outing, had defeated Wrexham by a single goal.
The photograph of Pele inside the programme shows the great man holding a full-size golden football, presented to him on the occasion of his 1,000th competitive goal, which was scored with a penalty against Vasco da Gama.
Another article questions why footballers of other countries, particularly in Europe, have never been able to emulate the skills of the Brazilians. It concluded that it was down to upbringing and something that could not be replicated in the European climate on a regular basis.
Many young Brazilian footballers learnt their trade by playing barefoot on beaches, often in the numerous beach leagues. This enabled them to not only hone their close control but also learn how to play instinctively.
The 1972-73 Argyle programme included a regular feature entitled 'Pick of the Past' in which a game of bygone years was detailed. But with no previous meeting against Santos, the spotlight was on the previous year's tour by Santos when they were beaten 2-1 by Aston Villa in front of a bumper crowd of 54,437.
For the record, Villa raced to a 2-0 lead through Pat McMahon and a Ray Graydon penalty before Edu scored from a swerving 25-yard free-kick.
Another regular feature at the time was 'Supporters Scene' and on such a night when many thousands of programmes were printed a potential opportunity seemed to have been missed to advertise all the goodies available from the club shop.
Instead, commercial manager Bill Pearce dedicated the whole page to a supporters' questionnaire, asking readers to fill their answers in the spaces provided and fill in the name and address lines, then cut the page out and return it to the club. As if anyone who valued their programme would deface it in any way!
In two sections, the first was addressed to 'ghost' supporters asking for responses to questions as to why their attendance was not regular. The second section invited comments towards the match day experience and asking if there was need for a supporters' social club.
It was stated that if the survey was to mean anything, then the co-operation of all supporters was requested.
Even though the print run was much larger than normal, obtaining a copy today can command a price in the region of £10.
If you are fortunate enough to have a copy signed by Pele, then it could increase the value by at least double. Add even more if the whole of the Santos team added their signatures.
As for the match, Cornishman Mike Dowling opened the scoring with one of his trademark shots of great power. The visitors were shocked to go further behind when Derek Rickard connected with a header before Jimmy Hinch made it 3-0.
For once, Argyle supporters would not deny the chance to witness an opponent scoring if it meant they had seen the great Pele tuck one away. That he did, albeit from a penalty.
Edu reduced the arrears but it wasn't enough as the Greens finished 3-2 winners.
But the controversy off the pitch resulted in a delay to the start of the match. Those in attendance presumed the late kick-off was purely down to ensuring everyone was safely inside the ground before the game got underway.
But on seeing the interest to the Plymouth public, Santos officials demanded an extra appearance payment of £2,500.
With the possibility of a real public disturbance if the game was called off, Argyle chairman Robert Daniel had little option but to reluctantly agree.
The money was handed over, in cash and in an envelope, at the after-match reception and dinner.
It was some time later that Argyle succeeded in their attempts to get that extra payment returned with the help of the international football authorities.
Pele had certainly made his mark in Plymouth, but so had Santos in their attempts to make even more from the money-making venture on the Plymouth leg of their tour.
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