At the time, the Gulls were second bottom in the Football League and were without a goalkeeper due to an injury sustained by first choice keeper Kenny Veysey.
Manager Wes Saunders acted quickly to bring in the former Wales goalkeeper who had been working as a goalkeeper coach at Huddersfield Town, who, at the time, were managed by Saunders' former Newcastle United teammate Peter Jackson.
Southall had previously appeared at Plainmoor once earlier in his career during the 1980-81 season with Bury before going on to win two League titles, two FA Cups, a European Cup Winners Cup with Everton, along with a record 92 caps for Wales.
He soon made himself at home as he marked his debut with a clean sheet as Torquay defeated the Tigers, who incidentally were bottom of the league and one place below the Gulls, 2-0.
His arrival coincided with an upturn in Torquay's fortunes as they moved away from the foot of the table before eventually reaching safety.
At the end of the season, his efforts were recognised by the Plainmoor faithful as he won the club's Player of the Year award.
The following season saw Torquay challenging for promotion with Southall as the club's first choice keeper with a team that contained a number of strong connections with his former club Everton.
During the close season, the Gulls signed one of Southall's former Goodison teammates Paul Holmes, who had appeared for Torquay earlier in his career, and Everton's FA Youth Cup winning captain of 1998, Mick O'Brien, also signed.
The Gulls captain at the time was Alex Watson, brother of Dave who had appeared alongside Southall during many of his 578 appearances for the Toffees.
In the first half of the season saw Torquay mount a promotion challenge and enjoy their first run to the third round of the FA Cup in a decade.
Their reward for reaching the third round was an away tie against QPR at Loftus Road, a game which saw Southall roll back the years with a virtuoso display as the Gulls drew 1-1 to take the R's to a replay back at Plainmoor, which they lost 3-2.
Southall eventually left Plainmoor on February 2nd 2000 and went on to enjoy a Premiership swansong with Bradford City a month later in the Bantams 2-1 defeat at the hands of Leeds United.
He later have spells as a manager of Dover Athletic, where he signed his former Gulls' teammate Jimmy Aggrey, Hastings United and a caretaker spell in charge of Margate.
Southall is currently working as a teacher in the Kent area, after qualifying for the professional in 2006, and specialises with working with excluded children.
NEVILLE SOUTHALL TUFC STATS:
Debut: 12 December 1998 vs Hull City (Home)
Farewell: 29 January 2000 vs Chester City (Away)
Apperances: 53 League, 4 FA Cup, 2 Worthington Cup, 2 Auto Windscreens Shield.
Honours: 1998-99 Player of the Year.
