He also played for Sneyd Park, before joining League side Bristol Rovers as a junior in 1959.
He went on to make 148 appearances and score six goals for The Pirates until leaving to join Southend United on a free transfer in 1968.
[2] His time in Southend was less successful than his spell with Rovers, and although he played in their first five games of the 1968–69 season, he only made one more appearance in the remainder of the campaign.
The job lasted for just five months however, when Stone resigned at the end of the 1968–69 season following Hastings' refusal to give him a long-term contract.
[1] After two years as a player, Welton appointed him as their player-manager, and he picked up his first trophy as a manager by winning the Premier Division of the Western League in 1973–74.