A native of Glasgow, McCartney began as a full back with Cartvale at the age of 18, later playing for Thistle.
[3][4][5] His spell in Edinburgh encompassed the club's rise to the top of the Scottish League with a group of exciting young players he brought in, and the decimation of that team after they enlisted together to fight in World War I, with several killed and others wounded.
[6] The closest he came to silverware was in the 1919 Victory Cup where Hearts were defeated in the final by his old club St Mirren.
In September 1927 he returned to management with Luton Town, but with his health declining further, he resigned in December 1929 and retired from football.
McCartney authored two booklets documenting Scottish footballers in the Great War[8] and those from Hearts who perished.