[2] After establishing a reputation as a skilled street footballer, he commenced his playing career as a 17-year-old for Seaton Delaval Presbyterians in the Blyth and District League in 1921-22.
[4] After the General Strike in 1926, McIver migrated to Australia in January 1927, settling as a farmer in the Mallee region of Victoria,[5] where to his disappointment, he learned that his beloved football was nowhere to be played.
[10] McIver moved to Hakoah in 1934, where his knack for scoring was rewarded with the ultimate success, the club claiming the premiership with a seven-point margin and just a single loss throughout the season.
[17] With the Second World War looming, Hakoah would amalgamate with Moreland and the combined entity would claim honours in the league in 1943, with McIver excelling once more as the central forward.
[18] As the War drew to a close in 1945, McIver, now in his forties, would spend his final seasons in the Victorian First Division playing for a host of clubs, scoring as many as 24 goals for Prahran City in 1945.
[22] McIver would play for Morwell in the newly formed Latrobe Valley Soccer League, his final season as a player in 1952.
[24] While playing for Preston in the Victorian Second Division, his prolific scoring earned him his first representative honours, rewarded with a spot on the Australia tour of the Dutch East Indies.