The third of seven sons of a British pole vault champion of whom five played professional football — no fewer than 3 of them with West Ham United — he made four Second Division appearances during the first half of 1936-37. He had only one chance in the League side at Haig Avenue due to the consistency of Lem Newcomb. He made 38 appearances in the Reserves. He moved back to Scotland during the war and worked for Rolls Royce for 34 years until his retirement. He preferred athletics to football, competing in the Highland Games and finishing second in the Powderhall Sprint in 1945. He acted for many years as a starter at athletics meetings in his capacity as an official of the Amateur Athletics Association.