[1] A native of Shotts, Kennedy played at inside-right and began his career with Hibernian, one of the city's two principal clubs.
He played for Hibs in the 1896 Scottish Cup Final, a 3–1 defeat by Edinburgh derby rivals Hearts.
[3] In April 1898 Kennedy moved to English side Stoke who at the time were struggling at the foot of the table.
He also played in the final match against Burnley, both teams went into the match knowing that a draw would see them remain in the First Division and throughout the 90 minutes not a single attempt on goal was made, this led to the introduction of automatic promotion and relegation.
[1] Kennedy experienced a far more successful 1898–99 season as Stoke reached the FA Cup semi final for the first time losing 3–1 to Derby County.