After originally being rejected by Newcastle United as a teenager (the local pit worker was told to "come back when you grow up"), he played some non-league football for Shildon Athletic and Coxhoe before joining Bradford City in 1911 for a short spell, making only one competitive appearance.
His performances helped Newcastle reach the 1924 FA Cup final, with goals against Portsmouth, Derby County, Liverpool, and Manchester City, before scoring a thunderous 20-yard half volley to secure the win over Aston Villa.
This was to be the end of his playing days as he decided to turn down the chance to join North-east rivals Middlesbrough and set up a sports shop in Newcastle upon Tyne, as he vowed "never to kick a ball again".
He had more influence on who could play than Watt had during his time at the club, and in fact did not believe that one man should have sole responsibility for picking the team.
However, Seymour still believed that the manager's responsibilities should extend no further than training and motivating the players, something he demonstrated when Livingstone attempted to drop Milburn from the team for the 1955 FA Cup final.
By the end of the year, Livingstone had been completely barred from working with the first team in any capacity, and his resignation near the start of 1956 allowed Seymour to fully take over the manager's role again.
Newcastle's overall form deteriorated rapidly after this, though, and when the club only avoided relegation on goal average in 1958, it paved the way for chairman William McKeag (a bitter rival of Seymour's) to appoint Charlie Mitten as the new manager.