He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1950 to 1956 for the Chicago White Sox and Philadelphia Athletics.

McGhee started one game, the season finale against the St. Louis Browns, and notched his first big-league hit, a triple off Stubby Overmire.

[2] On January 27, 1953, he was included in a five-player trade with Philadelphia that brought two-time American League batting champion Ferris Fain to Chicago.

McGhee was the regular center fielder for the 1953 Athletics and reached big-league career highs in games played (104) and most offensive categories.

In 1954, McGhee lost the regular centerfield job to Vic Power, a future fancy-fielding first baseman, and was traded back to the White Sox on June 11.