He began his career during World War I, playing in the Scottish Football League with Morton, Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian, before signing with English Second Division club South Shields in 1919.
He made 190 league and cup appearances and helped the "Black Cats" to a second-place finish in 1922–23 before moving on to Everton for £7,000 in 1927.
[5] His brother, Frank, also played for Sunderland as well as clubs including West Bromwich Albion, Chester and Notts County.
[5] Corbett was in the Bishop Auckland team which won the FA Amateur Cup three years in succession in the 1950s.
Hence, the teenage Cresswell moved north of the border to play for Morton, Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian.
His last full campaign at Roker Park, 1926–27, ended up with Sunderland again in third place, seven points behind rivals Newcastle United.
The "Toffees" made an immediate return to the top flight, marching to the Second Division title in 1930–31, seven points ahead of runners-up West Bromwich Albion; they scored 121 goals in their 42 league games.
Their success continued in the Charity Shield in 1932, as they beat Newcastle United 5–3 at St James' Park.
Retiring at the age of 38, having made 306 appearances for the club,[13] after his death, he was inaugurated into the Gwladys Street's Hall of Fame.
He has been described during his Everton days as: "A stylish English fullback, who made 'modern' runs forward and usually stole the ball from the opposition with skilful rather than crude tackling".
[16] One player recounted how his leg was broken following a collision with Cresswell, who appeared later at the hospital with a pouch of smoking tobacco,[17] which at the time was probably considered more manly than flowers or a bag of grapes.
[18] He introduced strict training methods to the club, the emphasis being on fitness, using activities such as running and gymnastics.
[19] He signed winger Gerry Kelly from Chester; right-half Tommy Ward from Grimsby Town; and left-half Spencer Evans from Altrincham.
[19] Vale then became hard to beat, and remained undefeated for thirteen matches between 24 October and 2 January, with central player Fred Obrey proving to be a revelation.