He was a small man of slight build,[2] with considerable pace and trickery,[3] whose preferred position was outside right, but he was also capable of playing on the left wing.
He began his football career with junior clubs Wishaw White Rose and Carluke Rovers, and had a trial for Scotland schoolboys, before joining Celtic in 1933.
Unable to break into the first team at Celtic, he had trials at a variety of clubs both within Scotland and outside it[4] before moving to England to join Southern League Dartford in 1935.
[3] His military service did not prevent him playing in the wartime football competitions, in which he made guest appearances for no fewer than twelve clubs.
[3] That season he contributed to the club winning the championship of the Football League South and scored seven goals in their run to the semi-final of the first post-war FA Cup.