Born in Swansea, he signed for Manchester United on leaving school in the summer of 1955 and played on the youth team's outside-right position.
He made his first team debut on 21 December 1957, aged 18, against Leicester City in a league match at Old Trafford, and was soon the club's first-choice outside-right, at the expense of the older and more experienced Johnny Berry.
He was the youngest player involved in the crash and the last survivor to be rescued from the mangled wreckage of the BEA Elizabethan airliner after he was found unconscious amongst the debris by two journalists five hours after the official search was called off.
He had played in the last match before the disaster, the European Cup quarter-final second leg against Red Star Belgrade, and had so far made 10 senior appearances for United.
He finally left United in 1961, having made 23 first-team appearances without scoring a goal, and signed for Swansea Town in a £3,000 deal.