Gordon was born in West Calder (then in Midlothian) and started his professional career with local side Broxburn before moving to England in April 1903 to join Everton.
Gordon was unable to break into Everton's first-team and, after a year of reserve team football, he moved to the south coast in the 1904 close season to join Southern League champions, Southampton.
Described as "a capable fullback with the physique of a blacksmith", he had a "deceptive burst of speed"[1] which helped the Saints reserves win the Hampshire Senior Cup in 1905.
[2] In the summer of 1905, Gordon returned to his native Scotland to join Falkirk for two seasons, then St Mirren[3] where he remained for a further year (playing in the 1908 Scottish Cup Final) before signing for Middlesbrough of the English Football League Second Division in May 1908.
By the end of the 1909–10 season, he had joined another Second Division club, Hull City, for whom he made only eleven appearances before returning to Southampton in the summer of 1911.