From which club did Everton sign 1966 FA Cup hero Mike Trebilcock?

The Unlikely Hero Who Came from Plymouth

Mike Trebilcock's name is forever etched into FA Cup folklore, yet his journey to Wembley Stadium in 1966 began at a club many people wouldn't have expected: Plymouth Argyle, then a modest Third Division outfit based in Devon.

Everton spotted the young Cornish-born striker while he was plying his trade at Home Park and signed him in December 1965 for a fee of around £23,000. It looked like a routine piece of squad business — a backup option, a player to fill the depth chart. Nobody could have predicted what was coming just five months later.

The FA Cup Final That Defied All Logic

The 1966 FA Cup Final between Everton and Sheffield Wednesday is one of the most dramatic comebacks in the competition's history. Wednesday went 2–0 up and were utterly dominant. Everton looked finished. Manager Harry Catterick had left out established striker Fred Pickering in favour of Trebilcock, a decision that raised eyebrows at the time.

Then Trebilcock struck. Twice. In the space of just five minutes, the man from Cornwall pulled Everton level with two clinical finishes that silenced the Wednesday end. Derek Temple completed the stunning turnaround with a third goal to seal a 3–2 victory. Everton had won the FA Cup from the dead, and Trebilcock had written himself into history.

A Career That Never Matched That Moment

Trebilcock's story after Wembley is, in many ways, a cautionary tale about football's brutal unpredictability. Despite his heroics, he never truly nailed down a regular starting spot at Goodison Park. He made only a handful of league appearances for Everton and was sold to Portsmouth in 1968.

He later had spells at Torquay United and in the North American Soccer League, eventually emigrating to Australia where he built a life away from the spotlight. For decades he remained a largely forgotten figure — celebrated locally but never given the wider recognition his Wembley performance deserved.

Why Plymouth Argyle Deserves the Credit

It's easy to overlook Plymouth Argyle's role in this story, but the club developed Trebilcock during his formative years and gave him the platform that caught Everton's eye. The Pilgrims have produced some excellent players over the decades, and Trebilcock stands as one of the most consequential — even if his greatest achievement came in someone else's colours.

In recent years, Trebilcock has received more recognition from Everton and the wider football community, attending anniversary events and being celebrated properly for what he did. But the origin story remains the same: a young striker from Devon, playing Third Division football at Plymouth Argyle, who would go on to score two of the most important goals in FA Cup history.