Born in Bonhill, Paton played club football for Vale of Leven, and made two appearances for Scotland in 1879.

[2][3] He was a founder member of Vale of Leven[2] and was part of the team that won the Scottish Cup in 1877, scoring the winning goal in the final's second replay.

[1] According to historical records of Queen's Park, Paton was the first player ever to score against the Glasgow club in January 1875.

[5] Some publications assert that Daniel Paton, also an international from the same neighbourhood, was his brother,[2] but this was found to be incorrect.

This biographical article related to association football in Scotland, about a forward born in the 1850s, is a stub.