He was the captain of the Royal Engineers team that reached the final of the FA Cup in 1878, where they were defeated 3–1 by the Wanderers.
A centre-forward, he was described as "a useful centre, combining considerable speed and weight with no small amount of energy", although early reports suggested that "he should study shooting at goal".
[5] Wanderers won the match 3–1 although early in the second half, with the score 2–1, Hedley had a "goal" disallowed due to an infringement of the offside rule.
[6] His goal-scoring for the Engineers brought him to the attention of the England selectors who named him in the squad for the international against Scotland on 2 March 1878, but he was not available to play.
[1] Hedley was posted to Ceylon where he drowned at Trincomalee on 29 January 1884, two weeks after his 27th birthday.