On 12 March 1949, after spending time in Chesterfield's reserves, Dale made his debut for the club in a 2–1 defeat against Fulham.
[1] On 27 June 1951, following Chesterfield's relegation from the 1950–51 Second Division, First Division side Portsmouth signed Dale for £20,000, becoming Portsmouth's record transfer fee at the time, as well as Chesterfield's record outgoing transfer.
In the 1954–55 season, Dale appeared in more than half of Portsmouth's fixtures for the first time in his career with the club.
A day after signing, Dale made his debut for Exeter in a 2–1 loss away to Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic.
Dale's time at Exeter was a "success", scoring 8 goals in 124 league appearances for the club.