He made one appearance for Villa's first team, and moved on after two years to Brighton & Hove Albion of the Southern League.
[1] He made his debut on 15 September 1906 in a 2–0 win against Sheffield United, but played only twice more before moving on to the Scottish First Division with Heart of Midlothian in January 1907.
[1][4] He spent a year in Scotland, scoring five goals from twelve league appearances and playing on the losing side in the 1907 Scottish Cup Final.
According to the Glasgow Herald's match report, "only [Bobby] Walker and Yates were effective forward" for Hearts.
[6] Returning to England in January 1908, he spent three years apiece with Portsmouth and Coventry City, making more than 100 Southern League appearances for each.