A goalkeeper, Yates played for his village team, Little Lever St Matthew's, before joining Football League club Bolton Wanderers.
Mainly used as an understudy to first-choice custodian Dick Pym, he made six appearances in the First Division during the 1925–26 season.
[1] Yates joined Third Division South side Watford in October 1926, and played in all of the club's remaining fixtures in the 1926–27 season.
Yates left Watford in June 1929, having played 47 league games, and a further two matches in the FA Cup.
[5] Despite playing in the field as a wicket-keeper for the majority of his career with Buckinghamshire, his leg break bowling came in useful on some occasions.