[3] He spent six years with Clyde and six with Motherwell[4] (being heavily involved during a period in the late 1920s where the "Steelmen" consistently finished near the top of the Scottish Football League table, being runners-up in the 1926–27 and 1929–30 seasons).

Serving as captain at some points, he was also reported as being on the verge of leaving the club when left out of the team,[5][6] and eventually fell out of favour at Fir Park and moved to second-tier Dunfermline Athletic.

[3] During his time at Clyde, Frame played in the Glasgow FA's annual challenge match against Sheffield in four consecutive years,[3] and he was a guest member of a squad organised by Third Lanark that toured South America in the summer of 1923,[8][9] also visiting that region with Motherwell in 1928.

[10][11] After retiring, he unsuccessfully applied to be manager of Ayr United[12] and Raith Rovers[13] and later joined the AEI works at Motherwell, where his sons already worked;[14] 1960s player John Moore credited Frame with providing good advice on becoming a professional having seen him play in casual workplace games.

[16] Frame's career has been merged in some sources[4][3][17] with that of a younger player of the same name, a goalkeeper who was a reserve with Motherwell at the same time as the defender left the club,[18] then played in England's Football League for one year with Gateshead in 1931–32,[19][20] followed by two seasons at Bray Unknowns in the Republic of Ireland and four seasons with Linfield in Northern Ireland,[21] returning to Motherwell for a short spell in 1938.