He started his career at Scottish junior club Yoker Athletic before signing for Blackpool, managed by fellow Scot Sandy MacFarlane, in 1933.

In 1935–36, with Jimmy Hampson injured, Finan deputised at centre-forward and ended the season as the Second Division's joint-top scorer with 34 goals.

He scored two hat-tricks: the first in a 6–2 win against Charlton Athletic at Bloomfield Road on 22 February 1936, and the second in a 6–0 whitewash of Newcastle United at home on 22 April.

[3] As he grew older, his speed began to wane, and he was moved to outside-left, where he laid on goals for Willie Buchan and, later, Jock Dodds.

[5][6] As the conflict progressed, he went on to serve in the Middle East and was a regular in the RAF (Egypt) side, once severely injuring his knee in a Cairo Canal-area match at El Alamein.