Background
He was born in Derby one of eleven brothers and one sister.
He was born in Derby one of eleven brothers and one sister.
Joe moved to play professionally at Bolton Wanderers, then for Accrington Stanley where he managed 8 goals in 13 appearances which gained interest from Liverpool who signed him on 7 November 1923 on an 18-month contract, paying a transfer fee of £1200. His Liverpool career under manager Matt McQueen started well, scoring 2 goals in 9 matches with his first appearance on 22 December 1923 away against Cardiff City and his first goal four days later away against Newcastle United. Playing his last league game on 19 April 1924, he later played for Liverpool against South Africa at Anfield on 1 October 1924.
Joe served out the rest of his contract before moving on to Wolverhampton Wanderers on 26 May 1925.
At Wolves he was also known as "Jack", and scored 5 goals in 10 games his last appearance being on 7 November away at Derby County. On 26 November that year he went to Wrexham for a short period and then to Doncaster Rovers.
On 20 February 1926 at Belle Vue, Joe, Harry and Frank all played upfront for Doncaster against Wigan Borough, with Harry scoring in the 1–1 draw. He left the club before the start of the next season, and went on to play for Horwich Remote Method Invocation, Lancaster Town and Ribble Motors.