He began as a trainee at London non-league club Storey Athletic before being spotted by West Ham United.
He really broke through at Molineux in the following campaign as the club successfully retained the League Championship, making 18 appearances and scoring 12 goals.
Their league triumph gave Lill the chance to appear in the European Cup during the 1959–60 season, but he still found himself on the sidelines often and left for Everton in early 1960.
After less than a season with the Pilgrims, he moved along the South coast to fellow second-tier club Portsmouth in March 1963.
He eventually worked as a PE teacher at Sacred Heart College, Observatory, just outside central Johannesburg.