 Waller was born in South Africa and in 1899 was on a tour of England with a club from his home country.He remained in England and was invited on a tour of Germany as a member of a British "FA XI" which played four matches in five days at the end of November.After a brief spell with Tottenham Hotspur, Waller joined Bolton Wanderers of the Football League Second Division in 1900, thus becoming their first foreign player and the first player from South Africa to play in the Football League.