Born in Glasgow and nicknamed 'Sandy', he joined Partick Thistle in 1923[2] from local Junior club Strathclyde, where he had become a prolific goalscorer.
By that time he was 25 years of age, relatively old to join a senior club; however, many sources record his birth date as 9 March 1902, and contemporary documents also show a younger age than he truly was, suggesting the player himself may have been aware of this inaccuracy.
[1] After loan spells in lower divisions at Queen of the South, Third Lanark, Alloa Athletic and Bo'ness[1] he established himself with the Jags, scoring 41 goals in 36 Scottish Football League appearances during the 1926–27 season[1][2] (however, Jimmy McGrory of Celtic scored 48 to claim the top scorer award – neither Partick nor Celtic challenged for the league title), plus another five goals in a Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup final victory against Rangers at the end of that campaign.
Hair returned to Britain to play for Colwyn Bay United of the Birmingham and District League,[1] and then served Worcester City as player-manager, Burton Town as a player and Shirley Town as manager.
[1] He later worked as an engineer in Scotland, including at Sir William Arrol & Co.[1] Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup: 1926–27[1]