Career
During his playing career Scanlon represented East Stirlingshire, Aberdeen, Street Mirren and English club N ottinghamshire County. Scanlon moved from East Stirlingshire to N ottinghamshire County for a fee of £10,000. In November 1974 he scored a hat-trick against Sheffield Wednesday, taking 165 seconds from the first to the third goal, a club record.
In 1977, after being dropped for a game against Carlisle United, Scanlon walked out on N ottinghamshire County.
After openly considering retirement from football, and making false claims to have inherited money, he joined Aberdeen.