Archibald played 27 times for Scotland, earning selection for their 1982 and 1986 World Cup squads, and was inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame in 2009.
He was playing for local teams such as Croftfoot United and Fernhill Athletic[3] while completing his training as a car mechanic when he was spotted by Scottish First Division club Clyde in 1974.
[4] He first came to prominence playing in midfield for Clyde, but after manager Billy McNeill paid £20,000 to bring him to top-division side Aberdeen in January 1978 he was converted to striker, forging a prolific partnership with Joe Harper.
[3] He was a popular figure at the Camp Nou until restrictions on fielding foreign players led to him being excluded from the squad in favour of Gary Lineker and Mark Hughes.
[7] Archibald's time at East Fife saw the club gain promotion to the First Division, and was also notable for the acquisition of Trinidad and Tobago internationalists Arnold Dwarika and Craig Demmin.
[3] Although Airdrie supporters were impressed by Archibald and the skills of the imports, he ultimately failed to conclude the purchase of the club, leading to the departure of himself and the foreign players in March 2001,[3] and causing them to narrowly miss out on relegation to the Second Division.