He made his debut for Sunderland against Bury on 1 September 1896 in a 1–0 defeat at Newcastle Road. Through his time at Sunderland, spanning from 1896 to 1902 he made 167 league appearances, scoring 5 goals. Ferguson died in the close season of 1902, aged 26, just weeks after Sunderland clinched the 1901-1902 League championship.
A large attendance at his funeral proved his popularity.
In 1902, Ferguson won an English Football League Championship with Sunderland though, the same year, he died and ultimately missed out on international caps for his country, Scotland. His career highpoint was the league title win, but he was perhaps best remembered for keeping goal in a friendly against Tottenham on January 2, 1900 - after Sunderland goalkeeper Ted Doig injured his wrist the day before.
