He played as a left half-back in the Hibs side that reached the Scottish Cup finals of 1923 and 1924, losing to Celtic and Airdrie respectively.
With Hibs on top of the league midway through the 1947–48 season, however, McCartney collapsed during a Scottish Cup match and died later that night.
[11][12] Although Matt Busby was linked with the job, Shaw was appointed as manager within the week, as Hibs faced a match against their main challengers, Rangers.
[13] Shaw completed the Famous Five forward line by introducing Bobby Johnstone to the team in 1948, with all five playing together for the first time on 21 April 1949.
The forward line was broken by the sale of Bobby Johnstone to Manchester City in 1955, and the remaining players were starting to age.