 He made his debut against Charlton Athletic soon after and became a mainstay of the side for several years.He was quick in making his mark as a footballing hard man, playing against Middlesbrough on 11 January 1958 he came up against prolific striker Brian Clough.Clough had been verbally riling Malloy throughout the match and as play went towards the Middlesbrough end Malloy swung a punch at Clough leaving him sprawled out on the pitch.