In 1867, he began as a professional with the Nottingham Commercial Club at Trent Bridge and also started playing for the All England Eleven.
Also in 1869 he started playing for Nottinghamshire and achieved his career highest score of 99 in his second match of the season against Kent.
His form for Nottinghamshire dropped in the 1871 season and in 1872, with residency established, he started playing for Lancashire.
He was a right-handed batsman and played 151 innings in 97 first-class matches with an average of 10.41 and a top score of 99.
McIntyre died at the asylum at Prestwich, Lancashire at the age of 48 and was buried in Bolton Cemetery.