He made more than 250 appearances in the Football League playing for Burslem Port Vale and Small Heath / Birmingham between 1898 and 1910.
[2] He made his debut on 4 March 1899 in a 4–1 win over Luton Town at the Athletic Ground, and went on to play a further two Second Division games in the 1898–99 season.
He then left Elm Park and returned to the Midlands and the Football League in 1903 to sign for Small Heath (later renamed Birmingham).
The Daily Express reported thatReading lose a fine back in Stokes, and his place will be hard to fill.
He played 38 of the club's 39 games in the 1906–07 season and scored his first goal at Coventry Road on 6 October, in a 2–0 win over Notts County.