Nickname "Whitey" due to his white hair, Fleming began his career as an apprentice with Scottish Football League Third Division club Beith F.C.
When it refused to raise his wages or release him from his contract, he decided to move to the United States.
[1] In September 1907, Fleming arrived in Quincy, Massachusetts, and went to work in the Fore River Shipyard, signing with the company team, of the New England League.
In 1913, he left Scotland for good to sign with Bethlehem Steel of the amateur Allied American Football Association of Philadelphia.
In July 1922, Fleming, surprising the team management and fans, announced his intention to pursue other playing opportunities.
That season, J&P Coats won the league championship as Fleming scored twenty-two goals.
The U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame inducted Fleming in 2005 as part of a process of recognizing significant pre-1950s players.
In order to correct these oversights we established a Blue Ribbon panel consisting of historians Colin Jose, Roger Allaway and Hall of Famer Walter Bahr, to review the credentials of all Veterans from the pre-NASL era.