He made over 700 first team league and cup appearances during his career with Dundee, Morton, Queen of the South, Airdrieonians and St Mirren, and was later manager of the latter two clubs as well as Cowdenbeath.
Their best Scottish Cup run was in the middle of those three seasons when Third Lanark required two replays to eliminate Dundee in the quarter-finals.
Fotheringham signed for Dumfries club Queen of the South in 1933, and was part of many landmark events in the club's history[6] including a highly successful first season in the top division finishing fourth – their highest finish to date.
[citation needed] Although he played for 17 seasons in Scotland's top division, Fotheringham was never selected for the national team, nor the League Select team; the closest he came to international recognition was an appearance in the Home Scots v Anglo-Scots trial match in 1923 during his Dundee spell.
[1][9] In 1942, he returned to Paisley to manage St Mirren and he steered them to winning the Summer Cup the following year against Rangers.
[3] Fotheringham later on in life scouted for Carlisle United then Queen of the South, bringing George 'Chopper' Dickson to Dumfries.