 Born in Glasgow, he signed for David Calderhead's Chelsea as a junior from local club Bridgeton Waverley and made his debut for the club in 1926 against Bradford City.He soon established himself as Chelsea's first choice full-back, a position he would hold for most of his time at Stamford Bridge and was one of the less glamorous, though more reliable, members of a star-studded Chelsea squad which included his Scottish teammates, Hughie Gallacher, Alex Jackson, Willie Ferguson and Andy Wilson.He made 318 appearances for Chelsea, scoring 19 goals, mainly from penalties.