He played for Port Vale, Darlington, Everton, Accrington Stanley, Barnsley, Burnley, Bury, Oldham Athletic, Manchester United, Southport, Leyland Motors, Morecambe and Chorley.
[2] Holdcroft played for local clubs, Biddulph, Norton Druids and Whitfield Colliery, before joining Port Vale as an amateur in August 1926, signing professional forms the following month.
Top-flight football at Deepdale continued right up until the outbreak of World War II, as Preston finished 11th in 1934–35, 7th in 1935–36, 14th in 1936–37, third in 1937–38 and ninth in 1938–39.
Holdcroft also played in the 1938 FA Cup final victory over Huddersfield Town at Wembley, keeping a clean sheet over 120 minutes in a 1–0 win.
During the war he guested for Accrington Stanley, Barnsley, Burnley, Bury, Oldham Athletic, Manchester United and Southport, and also played for non-League clubs Leyland Motors, Morecambe and Chorley.