Career
During his career, he had spells at clubs in Scotland, England and Wales. He joined Celtic in 1923, but only made one league appearance for the club and was loaned out to Clydebank and Stenhousemuir. After leaving Celtic, McLaughlan had short stints at Clydebank and Mid Rhondda before joining Clyde in 1925.
McLaughlan played one League match for Darlington before transferring to Hull City in June 1926.
However, he again struggled to break into the first team and made only eight appearances for the club during the 1926-1927 season. In May 1927, McLaughlan signed for Third Division North side Accrington Stanley and went on to score 21 goals in 76 league games for the Lancashire outfit.
During the 1929-1930 season, he played 29 matches for Nelson but was one of eight players released by the club in the summer of 1930. McLaughlan subsequently moved into non-League football with Morecambe of the Lancashire Combination.
