Ken came to the club as an amateur in 1934, and signed professional forms shortly after his eighteenth birthday, having represented Yorkshire Boys. An elegant-looking defender, with a powerful long throw, he was a reserve for the England Schools' team in their match against Wales at Saltergate in 1933. Ken was awarded a benefit of £750 in 1947, after having made only thirty-two League appearances. The war, of course, accounted for this odd statistic, for Ken, like so many others, lost seven seasons to the conflict. Few would have guessed that he would have played very much at all, after his debut - a 0-5 demolition at the hands of Luton Town. Informed opinion had it that Ken had actually played a blinder against Hughie Billington, the scorer of four on that day.

After five years in the Navy, Ken was at the heart of the Spireites' much-praised defence during the club's post-war spell in Division Two. He stayed only one season after relegation before joining the small ex-Spireite colony at Shrewsbury Town. In the days before footballers were supposed to be cynical, it is reckoned that Ken would have gone further if he had adopted a harder edge to his play: as it was, he was a gentleman on the field, and off it.Away from football, Ken found employment as a wall tiler.