Career
Born in Backworth, Tyne and Wear, he played for the majority of his career at Sheffield United, making nearly 400 appearances for the Blades. Sampy played his early football in his native Tyne and Wear in the north-east of England, turning out for Choppington, South Shields and Chopwell Colliary before being spotted by Sheffield United. Turning professional and signing for the Blades in November 1920, Sampy was initially employed as an inside right, scoring on his debut against Blackburn Rovers in February 1921.
After playing regularly in that role for a number of seasons, Sampy was switched to right half in the autumn of 1925, where he played for the rest of his Blades career.
Sampy was made club captain during the 1930-1931 season but lost his place and the captaincy to Harry Gooney a year later. Regaining his place in the first team during the 1932-1933 season, Sampy remained a regular with United until 1934.
His role was primarily focused on the coaching side however, and Sampy made only one league appearance for the Tykes. In May 1936 Sampy accepted a coaching role at Sheffield Wednesday where he remained until the onset of World World War II in 1938.