[4] He was the second son of George Appleyard, a domestic coachman, and his wife Sarah, and had an older brother, Willie.
[5] Appleyard played in non-League football for Norden St James[1] before signing for Third Division North club Rochdale on amateur forms in January 1928.
[1] Having finished in 21st place, Rochdale had to apply for re-election, and with the club's future uncertain, Appleyard was one of just six players offered terms for the 1931–32 season.
His last, in January 1932, was as stand-in for Rochdale's regular left half, George Ward, in a 3–2 defeat at home to Crewe Alexandra.
[4] The 1939 Register finds Appleyard living in Rochdale with his parents and a younger sister and employed as a production process worker in textile bleaching and dyeing.