PLYMOUTH Argyle are mourning the death of goalscoring legend Mike Bickle.

Bickle, who scored 74 goals in 195 appearances for Argyle, passed away at the age of 79.

Bickle was a milkman by trade and did not feature for Argyle until the age of 21. after catching the eye playing for St Austell in the South Western League.

He was given his first-team debut by Derek Ufton in December 1965. Incredibly, he scored seven goals in his first four games, including a hat-trick in a 6-0 FA Cup win against non-league Corby Town, and by the season’s end, he had scored 12 goals in 19 games, becoming the top goalscorer for that season despite playing fewer than half the games. 

Bickle was leading goalscorer for Argyle for four consecutive seasons, through to the 1969/70 campaign.

He will perhaps be most well-remembered for his four-goal haul in a 6-0 victory over Torquay United at Home Park on Boxing Day 1969, in front of more than 17,000 fans.