At the end of the First World War he joined Manchester City as an apprentice, before moving in the summer of 1919 to Stalybridge Celtic, then playing in the Central League.
[3] At Wednesday, he made his debut in a 2–0 defeat at Nottingham Forest on 11 February 1922, replacing Johnny McIntyre who had left for Blackburn Rovers.
Petrie retained his place for the remainder of the season, but in October 1922 was in turn replaced by the newly signed Andy Smailes.
[3] At The Dell, Petrie provided extra competition for first team places and made his debut, replacing his former Sheffield Wednesday colleague Sam Taylor, away to Leeds United on 3 September 1927.
[5] For the duration of his time with the Saints, Petrie was in and out of the side, with his longest run of games being eight matches in September/October 1928, before Herbert Coates was signed in October.