Born in Aberdeen, Maconnachie spent his early career in his native Scotland with Glasgow Perthshire and Hibernian,[1] before moving to English side Everton in 1907.
[2][3] Between September 1907 and May 1915 Maconnachie made 229 appearances in the English Football League,[4][5] winning the competition as team captain in 1914–15 before the regular competitions were suspended during World War I, during which he served in the British Army, then as a mechanic in the Royal Air Force.
[3] He resumed his football career when the conflict was over and played one further top level season for Everton (16 league appearances, 2 goals) in 1919–20.
[2][6] Maconnachie then moved to Swindon Town, making a further 55 appearances in the Football League Third Division (South) over two seasons.
[7] He moved to Sweden in 1922 to become manager of Djurgårdens IF, a club he had played for as a guest during the war, and then on loan,[2][3] but soon returned to England, making one more appearance for Swindon in January 1923.