Nathan Blissett became the first player in over four years that Plymouth Argyle have paid a fee for when he left Torquay United to join the Pilgrims.
We will now look at a selection of players to have made the Pilgrimage from Home Park to Plainmoor over the years.
Alan Welsh (Torquay United 1967-1972 & Plymouth Argyle 1972-1974)
Edinburgh-born Alan Welsh joined Torquay United from Millwall in 1967 and formed a legendary strike partnership with Robin Stubbs in a United that narrowly missed out on promotion to what is now the Championship. On October 5th, 1968 Welsh netted the decisive goal that gave Torquay their first ever win against Argyle at Home Park, a result that prompted the then Pilgrims' manager Billy Bingham that United would win the return fixture on Boxing Day 'over my dead body'.
Welsh also won the Gulls' Player of the Year award in 1970 before joining Argyle in the summer of 1972, following United's relegation from the 'old' Third Division.
Whilst with the Pilgrims, Welsh linked up with future England international Paul Mariner and played a instrumental role in Argyle's run to the semi-finals of the League Cup, which included a win away at Queens Park Rangers - then of the 'old' First Division - where they were eliminated by eventual winners Manchester City. The semi-final defeat to Manchester City proved to be Welsh's last game for the Pilgrims as he was sold to Bournemouth, a move that saw him link up with a number of his ex United colleagues who had followed John Bond to Dean Court.
Donal Murphy (Torquay United 1978-1980 & Plymouth Argyle 1980-1983)
Dubliner Donal Murphy arrived at Torquay United on the eve of the 1978-79 season from Coventry City and scored 20 times in 85 appearances which prompted the then Argyle boss Bobby Saxton to pay £65,000 to bring him to Home Park in 1980. Murphy remained with the Pilgrims until February 1983, during which time he briefly returned to Plainmoor on loan, after finding the back of the net 11 times in 57 appearances before joining Blackburn Rovers.
Chris Curran (Torquay United 1990-1995 & Plymouth Argyle 1995-1997)
Chris Curran tasted Play-off success with both Torquay United and Plymouth Argyle in 1991 and 1997. He was part of the Gulls side that beat Blackpool in the 'old' Division Four Play-off final in the 1990-91 campaign on penalties and was the last member of that United side to leave Plainmoor when Neil Warnock, who Curran served under during the 1992-93 season, brought him to Home Park in late 1995. At the end of the campaign he would be celebrating another Wembley triumph as he helped Argyle to defeat Darlington 1-0 to secure an immediate return to Division Two. He remained with the Pilgrims until the summer of 1997 when he joined the select band of players to have played for all three Devon sides when he joined Exeter City for £20,000.
Steve McCall (Plymouth Argyle 1992-1996, Torquay United 1996-1998 & Plymouth Argyle 1998-2000)
A UEFA Cup with Ipswich Town in 1981 under Bobby Robson, Steve McCall arrived at Plymouth Argyle from Sheffield Wednesday in March 1992 and proved to be an instant hit at Home Park.
He was voted as the club's Player of the Year in the 1992-93 and 1993-94 seasons becoming the first player to win the award in consecutive years since Paul Mariners in the 1970s.
He also had a brief spell in charge during the 1994-95 season in between the departure of Peter Shilton and the appointment of Russell Osman as caretaker manager.
In 1996, he moved to Torquay United and became player-youth team coach and then player-assistant manager under Kevin Hodges. McCall also played an instrumental role in helping the Gulls to reach the Division Three Play-off and scored a left footed wonder strike in their Play-off semi-final second leg victory over Scarborough.
He returned to Home Park in 1998 as Hodges' assistant and made another 43 appearances for the Pilgrims on top of the 117 he made during his first stint.
Paul Gibbs (Torquay United 1997-1998 & Plymouth Argyle 1998-2000)
Although he spent only one season with Torquay United and two with Plymouth Argyle, Paul Gibbs left a lasting impression on both sides followings. At Plainmoor he found the back of 11 times in all competitions as a left-wing back in a side that went on a club record run of eight wins in a row before being forced to settle for the Play-offs where they lost to Colchester United in the final.
A move to Home Park followed and he was named in PFA Division Three team of the season before breaking his leg on the final day of the 1998-99 season, in which the Pilgrims lost 2-1 to Carlisle United courtesy of a late goal from Jimmy Glass. Gibbs remained at Home Park for a further season before he moved to Brentford.
Chris Leadbitter (Plymouth Argyle 1995-1997, Torquay United 1997-1999 & Plymouth Argyle 1999-2001)
A key member of Argyle's 1996 Division Three Play-off winning side, Chris Leadbitter also helped Torquay United reach Wembley in the 1997-98 season where they were beaten by Colchester United.
His promotion success with the Pilgrims was his third career promotion alongside the two that he won under John Beck at Cambridge United in 1990 and 1991.
He returned to Home Park in 1999 following his release by the Gulls by his former manager Kevin Hodges. His stay at Argyle was brought to an end midway through the 2000-01 season when he let go by Paul Sturrock, which brought about the end of his Football League career as he returned to his native North East to sign for Guisborough Town.
Kenny Veysey (Torquay United 1987-1990 & 1997-1999 & Plymouth Argyle 1999-2000)
A former Arsenal apprentice, Kenny Veysey was first spotted for Torquay United by Cyril Knowles when playing for Dawlish Town in 1987 after his family had relocated to South Devon from the London area. Veysey established himself as the Gulls' first choice keeper in the 1988-89 season, but unfortunately missed out on the Sherpa Van final appearance against Bolton Wanderers through injury. He remained at Plainmoor until the start of the 1990-91 season when he made a £110,000 move to Oxford United. Veysey spent three years with the U's before spells with Reading, Exeter City and in non-league with Dorchester Town before re-joining the Gulls in the 1997-98 season.
In his second spell with the Gulls, he missed out on another Wembley appearance after he was sent off on the final day of their league campaign against Leyton Orient, which meant he missed their Play-off final appearance against Colchester.
Veysey remained at Plainmoor for a further season before he was released by Wes Saunders and joined the Pilgrims as a back-up keeper for Jon Sheffield.
